Page 117 of The Art of Taking Second Chances

When Riya was done talking, they got up and exchanged a brief, formal hug, which led her to cry a little. He put his hand on her shoulder. I let them finish before approaching. Then we dropped him off at home, and the driver took us to Amar’s.

“Amar is leaving for Mumbai tomorrow,” I said to Riya. “It will get a bit lonely.”

“He’s very quiet. Not like you. You’re chatty.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“It’s good. I like chatty people.”

“You’ve decided you like me, then?” I asked cheekily.

“No, but I have no choice, right?”

“You always do, Riya. If you have even the slightest hesitation about coming back with me, tell me. I won’t do anything against your wishes. If you decide you want to come back to India after a year, we can work that out too. But I’m confident you’ll have a good time there. And you’ll love Tara. The two of you are so much alike.”

“Who’s Tara?”

My chest squeezed a little.

“Tara is my…well, you can sort of say she’s my girlfriend, but she’s more. She’s my strength, my life. She’s my lover,” I said and grinned wide.

“Ew, Sameer! You have to stop using that word,” she chided me.

I laughed. “How was your meeting with your not-boyfriend?”

“His name is Ayaan,” she said haughtily. “It was good. I told him I liked him.”

“Yeah?”

“He said he liked me too, but he thought I liked someone else.”

“Wow, a triangle at thirteen?”

“No, I don’t like that other guy. He’s an assho—sorry.”

“Don’t worry, I’m a heavy swearer myself. Big on the F word.”

She smiled. “This other guy, he’s rich, good-looking, and he thinks the world revolves around him. He’s insufferable. I can’t believe Ayaan thought I could be interested in someone like him.”

“I was him once,” I said.

Her eyes widened. “But you don’t seem that way now. What changed?”

“I met Tara.”

She looked at me with kind eyes.

“Does she make you happy?”

“Very.”

“That’s good. I want everyone to be happy, including you. I don’t want to see the sorrow I saw in Mumma’s eyes ever again.”

“Riya, I’m sorry about what I did to Sangita. And to you.”

“Mumma said she understood. But I don’t think I understand. Maybe you can explain it to me someday.”

“Tell me what happened with Ayaan.”

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