‘We must decide the date keeping in mind the US holiday calendar,’ Shobha
aunty said and I felt she was moving way, way too fast.
‘Easy, aunty, easy,’ Ananya said.
Thanks, Ananya madam, that is so nice of you to finally impart some sense to these
people. ‘You OK?’ Manju offered an idli to me. I had spent two months with him.
He could sense the turmoil in me.
‘I’m good,’ I said.
The breakfast continued. And then Ananya’s mother did something that paled
all the idli-passing and date-setting comments. She began to cry.
‘Amma?’ Ananya said as she stood up and came to her mother.
Amma shook her head. Manju looked at her but didn’t stop eating. The uncles
pretended nothing had happened.
‘What, Radha?’ Suruchi aunty said as she put a hand on Amma’s shoulder.
‘Nothing, I am so happy. I am crying for that,’ she said in such an emotional
voice even I got a lump in my throat. All the other aunts had moist eyes. Harish’s
mother hugged Ananya’s mother. I looked at Ananya. She rolled her eyes.
‘How quickly our children grow up,’ one aunt said, ignoring the small fact that
with the children, she’d grown into an old woman, too.
I’m going to get you all, I will, I swore to myself as I went to wash my hands.
nora
(Nora)
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