Vernon' "realty bites"

Vernon is single, earns reasonably well (FC with Emirates, Dubai) and owns at least 4 properties in Mumbai. He called Bamoo and me over to "Pratap", a small eatery near Fort, so that he could discuss the out-of-court "settlement" that he was negotiating with his landlord, who had broken into his apartment in Byculla.

Bamoo and I decided that we'd make the best of the occasion given Vernon' parsimonious nature:-) We ordered King Prawns, Huge Crabs and Squids; a veritable gastronomical delight, all of it washed down with "appertiffs":-) We acted like stern solicitors so as to, at least superficially validate his trust in our capacity to advise him. We emboldened him on how to take a hawkish position on his "settlement", encouraged him on marriage and on how he could live life to the hilt, given his (notional) wealth embedded in his properties. We concluded the evening with a raucous toast and a promise to go together for the carnival in Rio during which they burst into a guffaw (which drew annoying looks from other tables) when I told them that Monsoon had promised to sponsor my trip to Rio :-))))))))))))

When the bill arrived, it seemed like we had not done enough justice to testing Vernon' parsimony. Its his good fortune that "Pratap" is a budget but outstanding eatery & bar, added to Bamoo' "influence" in getting us a discount - they should actually be adding a "surcharge" considering that Bamoo orders everyone around like he goddamned bankrolled the eatery:-))). Maybe we should make up for the shortfall by getting Vernon to finance our "participation" in the revelry at the Carnival:-))))))))))