‘We miss you.’
‘I miss you guys too.’
‘We feel bad. Our daughter is working thirteen hours a day and sending money home. We may
have limited means after dad’s retirement, but things are not so bad.’
‘Again, mom,’ I said, my voice upset, ‘you have to stop. Let me do things for my family.’
‘Don’t shout at me. It’s early morning here.’
‘Well, you have to stop irritating me.’
‘I am not irritating you. You keep saying “family”. If you don’t get married how will you have
a family?’
‘Bye, mom. I don’t want to lose it. Please go have tea with dad.’
‘Did I say anything wrong now? It’s a fact, no?’
‘I have reached home. I have to take the lift. I will talk to you later.’
‘As you wish. All you kids behave in this hi-fi manner now. Call whenever. End whenever.
Shout whenever. I am just your mother.’
I took three deep breaths.
‘I am sorry for shouting at you,’ I said.
‘You are becoming too aggressive. If you stay like this who will.. .’
Before she could say that my aggression would hamper my chances of getting married, I had to
end the call.
‘Sorry,’ I said, ‘I am sorry.’
‘Go rest. Don’t work so hard.’
I entered the apartment. Debu sat in the living room watching football on TV. He wore a loose grey T-
shirt and a pair of black shorts. He held a can of beer in his hand.
‘Hey,’ he said, his eyes not moving an inch from the screen.
‘Hi,’ I said, my voice curt. Is it too much for him to get up from the sofa and give me a hug?
I removed my jacket and placed it on the dining table. I saw takeaway bowls from Mr Chow, a
Chinese restaurant in Tribeca.
‘You ordered in?’ I said.
‘Yeah. Felt too lazy to make anything. Plus, there was this game.’
‘This food is too greasy for me. You could have ordered something healthier.’
‘Mr Chow is cheap. Have you seen the portion sizes? It will last us two days.’
I dumped my handbag on the dining chair. Sometimes, I wished Debu wasn’t so obsessed
about saving a few bucks.
‘I fought with my mother. I called her to have a chat and ended up yelling at her.’
‘Uh huh,’ he said, eyes on the TV. ‘That’s not nice.’
‘Debu, can you please shut the TV off for a minute?’ I said. Screamed, in fact.
Debu looked mildly surprised. He didn’t switch off the TV, but muted it. He turned to me.
‘What happened, baby?’
‘I’ve come home after a long day. Can you just pretend to be happy to see me?’
‘Of course I am happy, baby.’