Page 58 of I Wish We Weren't Related

“Let’s not talk about her,” said Reeva. “It’s too exhausting to relive. And I don’t want to be the cliché daughter who bitches about her mum.”

“ ’Course you don’t,” muttered Sita. “Because you’re her favorite.”

“I refuse to dignify that with a response,” said Reeva, grandly raising her head. “So, what about you, Jaya? What secret are you hiding then?”

“Secret?” Jaya stared at her. “What secret?”

“Reeva’s bald, I’m single. What’s yours?” asked Sita.

Jaya blushed deeply. “Oh my god, nothing. Why are you guys being so dramatic?”

“There is something!” cried Reeva. “I was kidding, but there is!”

Sita jumped up. “I’ll hold her ankles. You hold her wrists.”

“What is wrong with you lunatics?” shrieked Jaya. “You can’t just tickle me till I tell you. That’s abuse!”

Reeva shrugged and reached out for Jaya’s ankles. “Why not? It worked when you were nine.”

“Oh my god, as if this is happening!” Jaya tried to fight off her sisters, but they held on to her and began tickling her. She cried out with a combination of laughter and agony before eventually collapsing into gasps. “Okay, okay, I’ll tell you. I just... Please don’t be weird about it.”

Reeva let go and grinned triumphantly at Sita. “Go us!”

“Spill,” commanded Sita. “I don’t have all day.”

“Okay. Here’s a clue—I’ve been drinking the same glass of wine all night.”

Reeva’s mouth dropped open. “No. You’re not... You can’t be...”

“I’m pregnant!”

—

Reeva dialed Lakshmi’snumber again. She still wasn’t picking up. The one time she desperately needed to speak to her, and she was AWOL. Fuck! She couldn’t process this alone. And who was she meant to speak to if not her best friend? Nick was on aflight to LA, and Reeva didn’t want to go to him about this. In an act of desperation, she tried her mum. But the phone rang with no answer. Who else? She had other friends, sure, but they mostly had husbands and families. She couldn’t call them at eleven p.m., slightly drunk on a Wednesday night. They’d be asleep. Though they might wake up when she told them her youngest sister was going to have her ex-boyfriend’s child. No, Reeva couldn’t burden them with this. It was a family crisis, so she’d have to share it with family.

Reluctantly, Reeva messaged Sita.You up?

She replied instantly.What is this, a booty call? But yes. The girls are sleeping, so I’m in the living room watching shit TV.

Reeva left her room and padded downstairs in her thick socks, oversized T-shirt, and the men’s boxers she loved sleeping in. They were so much roomier than the female versions.

Sita was sitting on the sofa, wrapped up in a fluffy cream dressing gown, sipping from a mug. The TV was on, with what looked like a gritty crime drama. Sita spoke to her without taking her eyes off the screen. “CSIreruns.”

Reeva curled up on the other end of the sofa. “Cool.” She turned to face her sister. “So. We’re both going to be aunts now.”

The show turned to ads, and Sita turned to look at her. “Yup. God knows what Jaya’s spawn will turn out like.”

“It feels odd.”

Sita sighed. “Yeah. I thought it might be hard for you. I guess you always thought you’d have kids with Rakesh. And now she’s at it.”

Reeva nodded. “Pretty much. It also makes me the only sister who isn’t going to be married or a mum. And I’m the oldest.”

“I’m not really married anymore; just on paper.”

“I know. I don’t want to fall into a self-pity hole. It’s just making me realize nothing in my life is going to plan.”

“I thought you were happy with Nick?”

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