Page 121 of The Rules of Playing with Fire

“Hey Majnu, just because you’re in India, it doesn’t make you an expert in Indian sayings,” I said with reproach.

“Umm, who’s Majnu?”

I laughed loudly. “He’s our Romeo, you Romeo.” I shook my head and got up to put away our cups.

At dinner that evening, I watched my love life get autopsied at the hands of my mother.

I had expected Aai to uncloak the latent desire running beneath the surface like hot lava, but she went on a completely different tangent.

Over the true-as-advertised heavenly pie, Aai casually asked, “So Mihir, are you married?”

I almost coughed out my pizza. When I stole a quick look at Appa, he shook his head to signal he had nothing to do with whatever was happening.

“No, not yet,” Mihir replied graciously.

“Oh!” Aai said, projecting surprise. “Are you looking?”

Mihir kept his eyes off me as he answered her. “I was in a serious relationship, but it ended.”

“That’s too bad, but you can’t dwell on it. You have to move on, right? I know a very nice girl. She’s an engineer and a very eligible young woman.”

I dropped my slice to the plate. “Aai, what are you doing? Let’s not put him on the spot.”

“I’m not putting him on the spot, dear, but if he’s looking, he can’t find a better match than Rajvi.”

“Who’s Rajvi?” I spewed, my insides burning hot.

“She’s the daughter of Thomas’ colleague. You don’t know her,” she said to me, then turned to him with enthusiasm. “She’s tall, much taller than Sona. She’s smart and very attractive. She looks like a model and cooks like a chef. Our Sona can hardly cook.”

I felt the anger in my face. “He says he’s not looking. And why do you keep comparing her to me?” I frowned at my mother.

Mom maintained her cool demeanor against my fiery outburst. “I’m not comparing, my dear. I’m saying because he knows you well, he can get an idea about how good Rajvi is, you know?” Aai looked at him expectantly.

“Thank you, Mrs. Thomas, but I’m not looking, not yet.”

But Aai was unrelenting. “Now, that’s unreasonable for a good-looking, well-settled boy like you.”

Unwittingly, I made a sulking face, which seemed to spark something in Mihir. He turned to me. “What do you think, Sona? You do know me well. Do you think this Rajvi would be a good match for me?”

Not to be outdone, I whipped out an exuberant fake smile. “Oh, absolutely. She’s gorgeous, right, Aai? And an engineer! Oh, and a very good cook. She’ll keep you very happy.”

“That sounds fun!” Mihir said. “Do you think I can meet her, Mrs. Thomas, or would it be inappropriate?”

“Oh, not at all! I’ll arrange it. This is so exciting! If it works out, Rajvi can settle into a new life in the U.S. knowing Sona is right next door. Dallas and Houston are close, aren’t they, Sona?”

“They aren’t that close.” I pouted.

The pizza placed was decidedly overrated. I hated every piece after the first few bites.

As I lay in bed that night, perusing books I had downloaded on my tablet, my phone buzzed with a text message. Even before I glanced at the screen, I knew it was from Mihir.

Thank you for the pizza tonight. You were right, every flavor was spot on.

I ignored him and went back to my reading.

I had a terrific evening. Hope you did too, he texted again.

I dropped the phone on the bed and returned to the tablet in my hand, but it buzzed in the silent night. Despite my attempts to ignore it, I caught a glimpse of the message on the banner.

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