Page 111 of The Ex Factor

“You should return now,” Dad continued. “I miss you here.” His voice was soft, but he quickly cleared his throat and gruffly added, “The business needs you.”

I glanced at Aakash again, who shook his head and got back to his food. I burst into a quick laugh, and Dad realized his error.

“Err...I didn’t mean to imply Aakash isn’t doing a good job?—”

“It’s all right, Papa,” Aakash interjected. “We both know she’s more qualified than me to handle it.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean you are not holding it on your own,” Dad consoled him, then turned to me, “But we are still awaiting your return, Aarti.”

“Darn, he must really miss you,” Aakash said with a grin. “When’s the last time you heard him express his feelings so vocally?”

Mom chuckled in response and said to me, “We all miss you, my darling.”

“And we want you to be back here,” Jia added. “For good.”

I smiled around the table at everyone. “I have some unfinished business in New York. As soon as I see it through?—”

“You’ll take the next flight back,” Dad declared without looking at me. He had his attention on his food, enjoying his favorite aloo ki sabzi with dal and chawal.

It was another thing we shared. We both loved this particular potato recipe that only Mom could make perfectly.

I took the opening to broach the subject. “About that…”

Dad sat upright and glared at me. “What? I knew there was something fishy when you decided to buy that condo there.”

“Is that true?” I heard the panic in Mom’s voice. “Are you having second thoughts about coming back?”

Now Aakash joined in. “Come on, Sis. This is ridiculous.” He huffed. “You can’t let Sameer drive you out of your ownhometown. This is your birthplace. You can’t just up and leave because he broke off an engagement.”

And then Jia chimed in. “Aakash is right. I can’t imagine Nitara growing up without you around her.”

“Will you all just calm down?” I cried with a frown. “No one is driving me out. I’m neither timid nor fragile to be frightened off so easily. But the expanding nature of our business means we need another home base. And New York seems like a logical one, doesn’t it, given how much property we’ve already invested in?” I looked pointedly at Dad, who returned a resigned, sheepish look.

“We can find someone else to conduct business there,” Aakash suggested.

“Yes, and you can travel there whenever you need to, but don’t even think about moving there!” Jia said with a panic in her voice. I understood her fears and empathized. New York wasn’t a place of particular fondness for her. She grew up adjacent to the city where she had experienced the worst years of her life.

I reached over and placed a hand on her arm. I had no real words of comfort to offer, and I didn’t want to lie if only to assuage her.

“Nitara will never grow up without me in her life,” I said. This was the truth. Even if I were across the world on another continent, I would be in her life and she in mine. “I can’t imagine growing old without her in mine either.”

“Old?” Jia said and burst out laughing. “Please, you’re never getting old. You’re like fine wine. You’ll age like Angela Basset or Jane Fonda.”

Mom smiled lovingly at Jia first, then at me. “Or like Rekha, the Bollywood icon of agelessness.”

“Or like our own Ma right here,” Jia said with a love so pure, it existed only in the realm of the spiritual. Mom beamed and gifted Jia the most brilliant smile I had seen on her in a while.

“Alright, alright, you both!” I chided lovingly and was instantly reminded of Sujit. If he were here, he would have agreed with them and probably added a few more names to the list. Michelle Yeoh, perhaps.

A wave of gentle warmth brushed my heart at his thought, and suddenly, the idea of being away from my family halfway across the country didn’t fill me with dread. Instead, I found myself daydreaming of a fulfilling life with him. I looked at my father, his blissful self enjoying a satisfying meal with his family.

We gathered in the anterior room and chatted until Dad excused himself and retreated to the study. A tired Jia went to her room to spend time with Nitara.

“You both head up too,” I said to Ma and Aakash. “I’ll talk to Papa for a bit, then turn in, or I’ll be tired on my flight tomorrow.”

Ma gave me a tight hug. She did miss me but I wasn’t worried because she had found a daughter in Jia. I knew she’d be loved and cherished in my absence. I also knew I was only a phone call and a four-hour flight away if she ever needed me.

Outside the study, I spent a few moments admiring my father hard at work before I knocked. He waved me in.

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