He Was a Nice Man

"Hey! Not coming to the party tonight? Heard that you are saddled with an urgent job?"
"I am coming, no fear! I will request Akash to make this presentation for me."
"This is the fourth time this month that you are tapping him. Will he agree?"
"He is a nice guy. He will certainly help."
* * *
"Amma! I want two months salary in advance."
"You cannot keep asking...."
"Nitu! Give her the money. Where will our servant maid go in an emergency?"
"Akash! I don't think we should..."
"It will not bankrupt us, Nitu!"
* * *
"My Dad has been hospitalized. Can you do my presentation for me? I need to go to the hospital."
"I wish I could do it for you, Akash! But I am already tied up with urgent work."
An hour later
"Akash did your job so often and you refused today. If he sees you now, leaving for home, do you think he will help in future?"
"I would have helped him if I could. But I had so much work that I had to sit half an hour longer at office. I would need to sit another couple of hours to do his job. What can I do? Akash is a nice guy. He will understand."
* * *
"We need you to come early in the morning and just do the dishes. We have to go to the hospital."
"Amma! I cannot. The corner house lady will yell at me if I come fifteen minutes late."
* * *
"You know what? Akash has become nasty these days. Can you believe it? He refused to help merely because he does not want to sit late. And I thought he was a nice man."
* * *
"I thought that the middle house lady's husband was a good man. Can you believe it? I asked him for only one month's advance and he refused? And I thought he was a nice man."