The Six Types of Love

AYUSH

Seeing Isabella was warming for my soul. She was practically my mother when I lived here. Making Si meet her felt like forcing two magnets that should repel each other stick. It was an unreal experience. Either way, I'm glad that one scene from the movie helped her business so much. She is finally getting the level of attention she deserves. However, I would be lying if I didn't say I'm even more excited to meet Gauri tonight. As the sun rises, I get more and more antsy to begin the day. I hate sitting idle.

I get up and go down to the lobby at around seven, deciding to walk around a bit. After an hour of finding old haunts and mourning lost ones, I finally go back to the hotel and wake Si. He has to process where he is for a minute before everything comes back to him.

"Come get ready. The realtor is almost here," I make sure Si's fully awake before I grab my backpack and leave the room to give him his privacy. A couple of minutes later he comes outside, his day-old stubble suiting him more than that atrocious beard ever could. I remember the first time Everett showed me Si's beard, I sent it to the group chat I had with my friends and had a field day with it. God, I am so glad it is gone. Wispy beards are embarrassing. As we head downstairs, Si is trying to fix his hair in the front camera on his phone.

I laugh internally at how some things never change. We step into the brightly lit lobby, and I see Biago, the realtor that Gauri recommended, wearing a purple shirt that covers his slight beer belly. He's in his late fifties with salt and pepper hair and a goatee that he can actually pull off.

I extend my hand to greet Biagio, and he does the same. I tell him that I narrowed down the properties I want to see. However, if he feels that there is an option with a similar vibe, he should take me to that as well. Furthermore, I already sent him my list of questions for each property, including everything from the return on the investment if Rang was to use it simply as an investment, to the average income of the population within a ten-mile radius. Some of my questions catch him off guard, but Biago has tonight to do research, so it doesn't bother me.

Si seems very confused, so I begin to explain why we are perusing commercial real estate in Rome rather than sight-seeing: "Basically, Rang is looking to start our flagship location in Italy next to one of Rome's iconic landmarks. The neighborhood should be chic, but not pompous and we want the restaurant to effortlessly fit in with the surroundings while still making people curious about what's inside."

The first property we see is near St. Peter. It's on a quaint city corner that has kept up with the times just enough to be considered contemporary. There are barely any tourists here this time of year, but Biagio tells me that they will pick up during the summer months. The structures surrounding us are only a few stories tall and are painted varying pastel hues. The property itself is in a four-story tall orange building with yellow and green buildings to the right and left respectively.

I try to talk about the property with Si to create a conversation, but he seems lost. I don't want it to seem like I'm trying to catch him off guard, so I eventually stop. He seems to be quite engaged in catching up on work anyway though, which eases my guilt of leaving him out of Biagio's and my discussion.

We move on to the next property, a little further from the Vatican. This part of town seems to be a neighborhood for locals and is a lot quieter. I liked it when I saw it virtually, but I don't like it in person. We decide to skip it. The day slowly goes by as we see property after property. Everything has to be perfect for the opening. The first restaurant sets the tone for all the others. I remember sitting in meetings last year talking about which city would be the best in Italy. Our family had decided on Rome because it was the best way to bring fast casual Indian food into a city full of culture and history.

Rang wants to respect their culture by adding to it. Furthermore, if we could get American tourists to try our food here, they would come back to the US and be loyal customers. I explained all of this to Si who seemed shocked that I was this knowledgeable about basic business tactics.

"Business school changes a person," I tell him as we walk through yet another cobblestone street, seeing the leaves of the trees above us change color.

"I just think it's insane how you can write and help run a company," Si puzzles.

"It's a lot easier than it seems," I explain, "I just help them with items that are very specific to replicating the experience of the restaurant. Like if we don't have a reliable experience, customers won't come to us when they are on vacation. We lose credibility and you can't trust anyone other than family for things like that."

Our trio stops at around 2:00 pm for a quick lunch at one of Biago's friend's restaurants. It seems to be able to fit around fifty people and is on a side street slightly further away from the Aqueduct. The food looks good, so I'm not complaining. I order a Caprese Salad and Si orders an Eggplant Parmesan. Biagio, on the other hand, sits down with his friend at the bar, giving us our privacy.

"Is this your first time coming to Italy?" I ask Si, realizing I don't know.

"Yes," He responds devouring the food on his orange percaline plate with his eyes as much as with his mouth.

"How is it?" I ask him.