Page 85 of The Rules of Playing with Fire

“Mihir?” Mom said, unsure about how I wanted to introduce Sona.

I stood and, flipping the introductions etiquette, said, “Anju, this is my girlfriend, Sona.” Sona gave her a short wave from her seated position as Anju smiled in response. “Sona, this is Anju, my ex.”

The expression on Anju’s face mirrored my mother’s. Surprise, shock, disbelief, and uncertainty all rolled into one.

Anju gathered herself. “It’s nice to meet you.” Then, holding us both in an uncharacteristically warm gaze, she added, “I wish you both the best. Have a nice dinner, Aunty.”

She gave Mom another quick hug and, with one final look at me, glided away toward her date, who smiled at her. He looked smitten, and I was happy for her.

“See, baby, I told you,” Sona whispered. “Honey, not acid.”

I clasped her hand under the table as Mom’s gaze lingered over me with a thousand questions.

“Not now, Mom,” I said, and she nodded.

I had expected Mom to pick up the subject the moment we were in the car on our way back home. But she didn’t. Contrary to her upbeat demeanor all evening, when I glanced at her in the rearview mirror, I spotted a distinct sadness on her visage. Then an unsuspecting tear rolled down her cheek and she swiped it away quickly, just as Dad wrapped his arm around her.

“Is everything alright, Mom?” I asked, locking my gaze with her in the rearview mirror for one tiny second.

“Oh yes,” she said as I watched them both sit upright with bright smiles on their faces. “Thank you for today. Sona, I must thank you too. It was a perfect evening.”

The next month, I flew out to see Sona. Spending a freezing February weekend in New York wasn’t my idea of romantic, but here I was, in her cozy Park Slope-adjacent apartment.

With one arm under my head and the other stretched out for her, I lay in bed naked, as we always ended up. Her curls covered my arms, and her eyes closed as a smile danced on her lips. When I pulled her leg over mine, she opened her eyes and turned to her side to face me.

“That was the best gift anyone has ever received for acing an interview,” she said with a giggle.

“Wait till you get the job. I’ll make you the happiest woman on Earth.”

She’d been shortlisted for the campus interview in Houston, and we were celebrating in our own style.

“I’ve been looking into opening a branch in Houston, but it’s on the DL right now. I don’t want my New York investors spooked.”

“And if I get the job?” she asked, sitting up.

“Then I’ll set up in Houston and send Alex to head the Manhattan office. He’s more than ready to make the move.”

She placed an icy hand on my cheek as I sat up and closed my knees around hers.

“Nervous?” I asked.

“A bit. It’s happening too fast. We’ve been together for only a few months.”

“As I see it, I’m not twenty-five anymore. I know who I am, what I want, and where I want to go from here.”

She nodded as I rubbed her palms between mine to warm them.

“Alright, no pressing the panic button now. This isn’t how I imagined doing it, but I’m doing it right now.”

She brought her hands to her mouth, her eyes bulging in disbelief. “No!”

“Yup, it’s happening, babe.”

She dropped her face in her palms.

“Marry me, Sona.”

“No, no, no!” She looked up from between her fingers, the same way she watched horror movies.

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