Half Girlfriend

My mother did not respond. Riya took it as assent and left.
'Now I see why you go to Patna,’ Ma said.
‘It’s not what you think. Riya is just a friend. An old classmate,’ I
said.
‘How come she’s already married and divorced?’
‘That surprised me too. I ran into her in Patna by chance.’
‘And she latched on to you,’ Ma said.
‘Not true. I can’t study English all the time, Ma. I need friends
there. Besides, she helps me practise. Her English is excellent. She is
from a high-class society.’
‘I can see the class,’ my mother said.
‘I don’t know the details of her divorce. Her father is sick. Be nice
to her.’
'I am nice. She is staying in my house. What else do you want me
to do?’
I rolled my eyes.
‘Why is she wearing such tight pants?’ she said next.
‘I have no idea, Ma,’ I said, my voice loud. ‘I don’t know why she
got married or divorced or wears tight pants. Can you let her be?’
‘You are shouting at your mother for her?’
My mother looked away from me. It was Rani Sahiba’s classic
sulky face.
‘I’m not shouting,’ I said, my voice still too loud to classify it as
anything else. My mother looked away.
I realized I needed her cooperation to have a peaceful dinner.
‘Sorry,’ I said.
Ma sniffed.
En route to the dining room with a stack of plates, Riya smiled at
me. I smiled back.
‘I said sorry, Ma,’ I said after Riya went back to the kitchen.
My mother glared at me
'I've suffered enough in life. Don’t add to it,’ she said.
‘I’m not,’ I said.‘By the way, have you heard of Steve Jobs?’