Page 39 of The Ex Factor

A distraction that wasn’t one because it led me right back to Sujit’s home, sitting beside him, soaking in his gentle scent.

“Yes, Ma. I…”

“Don’t worry. I disliked every one of them. But I didn’t want to make that decision for you. You take the time you need. I want you to find love, not an alliance, not an exchange. I want you to thrive in love, my darling. We were wrong to push you towards Sameer and we learned our lesson the hard way.”

Mom was the only one before whom I could cry without inhibition. So, I did. I cried for the love I had lost and for the attraction that would never materialize into anything tangible. Mom cried with me.

“All right, that’s enough, my baby,” she said, finally wiping her tears. You are too strong to let yourself wallow in pain. When you come back, we’ll cry together. I can’t console you from afar. I need to hold you when you’re upset. I need to wipe your tears. Don’t cry now when I am far away and helpless.”

I smiled through my tears. “Okay, Ma. I love you.”

“Now, let me tell you something juicy. That will take your mind off things.”

She spent the next twenty-two minutes sharing gossip about the people we knew while I tidied up my stuff. We were very much a part of the desi rumor mill that Sujit and I had talked about. Deeply entrenched in it, although Mom’s gossip was innocuous. She wasn’t spiteful and firmly refused to participate in spreading malicious falsehoods, but she did enjoy gossiping. She also updated me on the health and well-being of our extended family, venting about how women her age were always bitching about their daughters-in-law and how, like professional life, family responsibilities should come with a retirement age. They needed to take a chill pill—yes, she used that term—and let the youngsters take charge of their own lives and families.

Her chatter did help take my mind off my woes as I got ready and headed out. I stopped by the condo. It looked in good shape to move into on the weekend. Later, I drove to three sites around the city to assess the condition of the properties and got estimates for the cost of repair and repainting. One old building needed its electrical system redone. I called Dad to discuss this, and he agreed with my assessment. That would be a substantial cost that we had not accounted for in this quarter. We would need to adjust some numbers, but we would proceed with the rewiring of the building before we leased it out for commercial use.

By early evening, I was happy, tired, and in need of good food. I texted Sujit to ask if we were still on for that evening. He called me back.

My spirits lifted as I envisioned the sweet smile on his stunning face. “Hey, how’s it going?”

“Good, how was your day?” he asked.

“Very satisfying, but I’m bone tired! Are we on for today? If not, I’m going to grab a quick something and crash in bed,” I said.

“Here’s a counterproposal. I’ll pick you up, we can have a nice, relaxed dinner, then you can crash in my guest room, and I can drop you back tomorrow.”

“What if I want to stay longer?” My stupid mouth ran itself before I could rein it in. I wondered if he’d regard my jest as presumptuous.

But his reply was instant and unhesitating. “Then bring a bag,” he said. “Fair warning, though, Saturday is game night, and it’s my turn to host. We’re playing Catan.”

“Oh, then I’ll make my escape before that.”

“Why? Don’t you enjoy board games?”

“I do, but I wouldn’t want to intrude on your nerding-out time, and I haven’t played Catan.”

“Really? Then you should join us. We are lovable nerds. Plus, you’re so beautiful, we might be too distracted and you can outplay us with ease.”

I fell silent. My beauty had been commented on for most of my adult life. I had heard variations of the word that could fill an entire thesaurus. Hearing him say it—simple and straightforward—hit differently. My pounding heart expanded with pride.

He had fallen quiet, too, perhaps thinking of ways to backtrack his words.

“Oh, so you’ve noticed I’m beautiful?” I asked to ease the tension.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it the way it sounded.”

“How did it sound?” I asked.

“Crass and replete with lechery. In absolute bad taste.”

I smiled at his honesty. Most men didn’t have the guts to acknowledge their errors in this way. Most men didn’t have egosmagnanimous enough to offer an apology of this kind. Sujit wasn’t like most men, and he’d proved this over and over again.

The warmth in my heart effervesced as mischief. “Then what way did you mean?” I asked, wondering if he’d take my bait.

The brief pause I had anticipated drew out into an overbearing one.

“Sujit?” I prodded with innocence.

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