Page 58 of The Ex Factor

Does he know you say these things about him?

What do you think?

Of course, he did. He hadn’t married her for her money or good looks. It was for her charm and sass.

I will, soon. I promise.

Not soon enough. Is the wedding over?

It’s a few weekends away.

Do you want to come over?

No, I have plans.

What plans? Is there someone I don’t know about?

Yes, a very handsome building we just acquired that needs my attention.

You know you’re not funny. I’m the funny one.

You’re funny, smart, and gorgeous. What does that leave me with?

You’re the genuine one, the one with all the love and warmth.

Less interesting than being smart and funny.

I might be smart, but you’re brilliant

I could visualize her warm smile.

Come over. I’ll send a car.

They had an apartment in the city, but they both spent most of their time upstate, at their estate along the water.

She was one of only three people with whom I could be myself in all my glorious weirdness. Mom was my first confidant, Mary Beth my second. And now, Sujit had made himself my third humraaz. At that moment, I made a quick decision.

Can I bring a friend? I texted.

Mary Beth

What friend? Boyfriend?

A friend.

Aarti Marie Bhatia, what are you hiding from me?

My middle name wasn’t Marie. I didn’t have a middle name, so Mary Beth had assigned me one to use in admonishment.

I’ll text you.

My heart bubbled with anticipation and excitement as I considered the idea of taking Sujit with me to see her. If Mary Beth approved of him, I would gain a level of confidence to assess the situation accordingly. The more I thought about it, the more excited I got.

For the next hour, I tried in vain to focus on the mountain of paperwork before me. It was a metaphor, of course, because we no longer used paper. Everything was digital, with backups of backups on server farms far, far away.

Before I could change my mind again, I pulled out my phone and typed,Wanna come with me to see Mary Beth this weekend?

Nah, too casual. I deleted it.

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