If you want to read the story from the beginning click here.(https://wp.me/p2b25R-fw)

***********

Spring 2008

The phone is ringing as I am busy looking through the catalogs and other information sent by the universities. It is that time of year when a senior in high school must start looking for colleges. There is a lot to digest and many decisions to make. Krishna is attending the University of Virginia. I may get special consideration as a sibling of an alumnus. I am not interested in applying to big-name Ivy League colleges. Neither is Dad. He thinks the Ivy League is for rich people, although there is prestige involved in attending one. According to Dad, there are good universities in Virginia. I have a meeting with the school career counselor coming up. Who knows what she will recommend?.

The phone keeps ringing.

“Can anyone get it, please?” I shout.

I know everyone is at home, doing something, I don’t know what. I guess they expect me to answer it since I am closer to it. When I get up and lift the receiver, all I hear is the dial tone.

“Who was it?” asks Lakshmi from upstairs.

“I don’t know. Whoever it was hung up.” I go back to my catalogs.

Fifteen minutes go by, and the phone rings again.

Damn it, looks like I have to answer it.

“Hey!” I say and hold my hand on the receiver. “It’s for you,” I shout so Lakshmi can hear.

“For me?”

“Yes. You want to come down and take it?”

“Who’s it?”

“Your friend, Doug.”

“Tell him I’ll call back.”

I do that and hang up. Girls. Why can’t she come down and answer the phone?

A few minutes later, I hear giggling, laughing, and something like “get out of here.” Lakshmi wants to have a talk in private with Doug, and she called him from her iPhone. I wonder why he didn’t call her cell phone in the first place. Who knows?

Mom comes through the kitchen door that leads to the garage. I didn’t hear a car stopping, just the garage door opening. She must have used the keypad on the garage door frame.

“Where’ve you been?” I ask.

“Oh, I was with Megan next door,” she says as she sits on the sofa next to me.

“Anything special?”

“No, just neighborly talk. We hadn’t chatted in a while. It seems like Evan will be visiting Portland for business.”

“That’s a nice place, I hear. They have a good basketball team.”

“I don’t know about that, but Megan and I may go out for lunch somewhere next week.”

“That’s super.”

I go back to reading the catalogs. There is a lot to digest. All the courses and the requirements for each major. There is information about the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), which I find interesting.

“Where’s everybody? Where’s Dad? Lakshmi? I want to know what you guys want for dinner.” I hear Mom asking. I am so absorbed in the catalogs that I first don’t understand that Mom is directing the questions at me. I am about to say that I have no idea, but I hear Lakshmi’s voice.

“Don’t count me in. I’m going out.” I hear Lakshmi saying.

Lakshmi has come down and is standing in the foyer by the front door. She’s all dressed up in a party outfit. 

Mom looks at her from head to toe, surprised.

“And where do you think you are going, young lady, all dressed up?” Mom asks.

“To Haley’s. Some of us are gathering there and will go to a movie or something,” Lakshmi answers as if it’s no big deal.

“Who’s taking you there? She’s in Falls Church, I believe.” Mom looks concerned.

“Doug is on his way to pick me up.”

“Doug?”

“Yes. My friend, remember?”

Mom has a confused look on her face. She doesn’t know what to say. We were just talking about Lakshmi and Akaash as if that relationship was stable. She doesn’t want to stop Lakshmi from going with Doug, but at the same time, she’s not sure how Dad will react.

“Okay,” she says quietly. “Don’t stay out too late. Make sure to come home before eleven.”

“Mom. I’m not a kid anymore.”

“I know. But one should be careful, you know. Besides, you’re a girl. You have to be more careful.”

Lakshmi pouts and leaves. We hear a car backing up from our driveway, and then the sound fades away.

I look at Mom.

“What?” she asks, assuming I have a question for her.

“Nothing,” I say.

“Come on. I know you want to say something.”

“Well. Are you upset Lakshmi is going out with Doug?”

“I don’t know what to say. Akaash is a nice young man, and I like him. We all liked him. But nothing has happened yet.”

“What do you think has to happen?”

“Well, he visited us and spent a whole weekend with Lakshmi, and…”

“And?”

“It’s a bit complicated, Arjun. How do we know it will work out?”

I want to know what Mom thinks about Lakshmi’s relationship with Doug. Mom sits down next to me.

“What are all these catalogs and brochures?” she asks.

“Mom. You’re changing the subject.”

“I know. Your Dad and I want her to marry a nice young man with a bright future. Someone who will have a stable career and they will raise a lovely family. If he happens to be an Indian, that’s well and good.” 

“And if not? Are you going to get mad at her and abandon her?”

“Shut up.” Mom is in one of those playful moods. “Do you think we are those kinds of parents?”

“Not you, but I’m worried about Dad. How will he react if Lakshmi decides to marry someone like Doug?”

“I don’t know how to answer that, Arjun. The real issue is, how is the other family?”

“Mom. Do you think non-Indian families are not as good as Indian families?”

“I don’t want to say that. Look at Megan. She and Evan have a good family. They have raised nice kids. When we are together, all we talk about is kids, their college plans, and Evan’s career. Just like when I talk with our Indian lady friends.”

“What’s the problem with Doug then?”

“I didn’t say there is a problem with Doug. We don’t know anything about Doug or what his family background is. What do his parents do? What is he going to do career-wise?”

“And you approve of Akaash? You only met him once.”

“I know. But Mayur has done all the work for us. He knows the Joshi family. They have their own business, and they are well-to-do. Akaash will be a doctor and will have a successful practice if all goes well.”

We don’t realize Dad is standing behind the sofa. I don’t know where he was. I hope he wasn’t in the study listening to us all the time.

“What are you two talking about? It looks like I interrupted a serious conversation.”

I am relieved. He wasn’t listening to us.

“Nothing serious.” Mom replies.

“Come on.” Dad doesn’t believe us. “I want to know what it is all about.”

I don’t want Dad to know that we were talking about Lakshmi and Aakash and that Lakshmi has gone out with Doug. I know how he will react.

“We were talking about Akaash’s visit,” I say. I don’t look at him but continue scanning the catalogs. The one in my hand is from the University of Virginia.

“Oh,” Dad says. “Yes, Akaash. Isn’t he a nice boy? I bet his internship keeps him very busy; otherwise, we would be seeing more of him. I’m sure Lakshmi likes him.”

I don’t say anything. Dad looks around as if he wants to find something. Mom has been quiet all this time. All of a sudden, Dad asks a question that neither of us wants to hear.

“Speaking of Lakshmi,” he says. “Where is she?”

Mom and I look at each other. We don’t know who should speak. Finally, Mom is the savior.

“She has gone to her friend Haley’s. She will be there for the evening.” Mom says in a quiet tone.

“Oh!” Dad is not perturbed. “Is someone going to bring her home? Or do I have to drive and bring her back?”

Again. A loaded question. Should we tell him that it will be Doug who will bring her home?

“One of her friends is coming this way. She will drop her off,” Mom lies.

“Okay.” Dad does not seem to worry about it. “What’s for dinner? I’m hungry.”

Mom gets up and starts walking towards the pantry in the kitchen corner. She opens the pantry and takes out a packet.

“I have this falafel mix from Costco. I’ll make a nice salad to go with the falafel and boil some corn. How does that sound?”

“I’m good with that. Something different than Indian, once in a while.” Dad answers.

One of the shows Dad likes to watch is Doc Martin on PBS. He loves the dedication of the Doc in his medical practice in the small village in Cornwall, England. We settle down on the family room sofa to watch the show after we have finished our dinner. Mom is sitting in her favorite leather recliner with her knitting gear. She wants to finish the blanket for Uncle Soman’s granddaughter.  

In the episode we are watching, the good doctor is asked to come to the local school to present awards, but his mind is on his patients. He’s getting irritated. Immersed in the show, we don’t realize that someone is at our front door ringing the bell.

It is Lakshmi. Doug is standing next to her. I don’t know whether I should invite him in. He saves me.

“Why didn’t you use your key?” I ask Lakshmi.

“I forgot to take it with me, and I could see through the sidelight you all sitting in the living room.”

I see Doug walking away from our door.

“I’ll see you later. Take care,” he says and drives away as he waves.

“What are you guys watching?” Lakshmi asks. “Oh. No. Not Doc Martin again.”

“Hello, Lakshmi Beti. How are you? How was the party?” Dad is in a good mood.

“I’m fine. We all went to a movie.”

Dad is not interested in knowing what movie they saw.

“Who brought you home? I heard a man’s voice.”

I am surprised Dad has his ears tuned to the front door while watching the show. I am not sure if Lakshmi is going to be truthful or lie.

“It was Doug,” she replies calmly.

Oh, Oh! I want to see what happens next.

“Relax, Dad,” Lakshmi adds. “Don’t jump to any conclusions.”

Mom raises her eyes to look at her as she continues to knit.

“I didn’t say anything.” Dad is calm.

“I thought you were going to shout at me on hearing Doug’s name.”

“And why would I do that, young lady?” Dad says, without getting up.

I am surprised too by Dad’s reaction. It isn’t what I expected.

“Because,” Lakshmi is a bit agitated and wants to make the best of the situation. She continues, “I know you are going to get mad. I went out with Doug.”

“Well. What’s happening with Doug? Are you two going to continue to see each other?”

I am hoping this doesn’t get into a heated argument.

“No.”

“No. How so?”

“He’s leaving.”

“Where to?”

“Seattle. His uncle has a custom home-building business there. He’s going to help him out and maybe join his company in some capacity.”

“Well. Good for him. What qualifies him to help his uncle in his business?”

“He has just received a license to be an electrician. So, he can do all the electrical work.”

“An electrician? Not an engineer?”

“Yes. He wants to be an electrician. Anything wrong with that?”

“No. What about his college?”

“He doesn’t want to finish college here. If he decides otherwise, he can continue there.”

“Okay. That’s his life.”

Lakshmi goes upstairs to her room, and we resume watching Doc Martin. I can’t say for sure if Dad is relieved that Doug won’t be around anymore. Perhaps he is confident about Akaash and Lakshmi getting together, and all is going according to his wishes.

**********

To continue reading chapter 13 click here.https://wp.me/p2b25R-gT