“How did you handle it?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I just kept going to sleep in the bottom bunk and waking up. Then time took over. A week, a month, a year. Eighteen years. I have some strong memories, but I’ve also forgotten a lot. A Roma person once told me tears are wounds of the heart. I had stopped shedding them a few months after their death. I guess I didn’t want to spend any more time with a wounded heart. My mom was a big believer in dusting off and moving on. She hated wallowing.”
“I don’t think she would have faulted you for grieving,” Sam said.
“I guess I’ll never know. Let’s not talk about this. Tonight is for hearts and chocolate.”
He grinned. “How did you know about my sweet tooth?”
“Tanvi let it slip when I told her we were going out,” Meena said, “told me to bring you homemade cookies. I didn’t tell her I’d already done that. You weren’t impressed.”
“I did finish them off.”
Meena ate the little pat of goat cheese. The saltiness hit just right.
On the way back to the house, he held her hand, and Meena was happy. It was good to just be with him on this one night. His palm was warm against hers. She leaned closer, and her jacket brushed his wool coat. Couples passed them, in their own personal worlds.
Meena hadn’t expected her life to take this turn, but she was glad that she’d found herself here, that she’d come back. “I’m adding an interim phase in my two-step plan.”
Sam glanced at her as they waited for the light to cross Boylston Street.
“To figure out which auntie is my birth mother,” Meena said. “I’m going to find biological similarities, like if anyone is allergic to bananas.”
“You can’t eat bananas?”
“They give me hives. Also, I’ll see if there are similarities I haven’t noticed yet,” Meena said, “personality-wise.”
“Or maybe tell them everything. Get it out in the open.”
She sighed. “Only one of them knows. If I guess wrong, it could blow up their friendship. My issue is with the one who has the secret. I have to find out who it is.”
“How many phases are going to be in this two-step plan?” Sam asked.
“This one, so far.” Meena held up her fingers. “Step two is me spending some time with each of them one-on-one. They travel as a pack, but I’m going to divide and conquer. I’m trying to figure out reasons.”
“Lean into their interests,” Sam suggested.
Meena thought about it as they got closer to Marlborough Street. “How so?”
“Uma likes to teach. Tell her you want to learn something. Sabina likes to cook, maybe swap your cookie recipe for one of hers.”
“Very funny,” Meena said. “You know my recipe is to turn on the oven and set it to the right temperature. But I do make a great pie.”
He squeezed her hand. “Sabina makes the best sabudana khichdi. Ask her to make it for you and bring me leftovers. It’s my favorite. Tanvi is the easiest. You don’t need a reason. She’d be happy just to be in your company.”
“Yeah.” Meena knew that if Tanvi was her biological mother, it wouldn’t be hard to forgive her, but it would beg the question of why she hadn’t shared who she was.
They took the steps up to the front door. Sam unlocked it and led her in before closing it behind them. The warmth of the hall helped relax her shoulders, which had been hunched against the cold, made the rose scent more fragrant. They stood in the middle, and Sam faced her.
“What?” Meena asked.
“I’m waiting for you to kiss me.”
She smiled. “Right. Let me walk you to the door.” She pressed him back against it, then rose on her toes to reach him. He waited. Up close, she could see gold flecks in his dark-brown eyes, feel his smooth skin as she brushed her hand over his cheek. Still he waited. She supposed he really was leaving it to her. She finally touched his lips, doing what she’d wanted to months ago. His taste mingled with hers, red wine and chocolate mousse. She pressed against him, and his arms wrapped around her. With layers in between, she couldn’t get any closer, so she put everything into the kiss. Then she pulled back.
That his breathing was hard and fast gave her a sense of satisfaction. She leaned back as he still held her. “I guess we save the ‘invite me in’ part for a third date?”
He brushed his lips against hers. “If you count the dinners that were not dates as dates, we’re well past third.”
She tilted her head to count. “Invite me in, Sam.”
He grinned wide as he opened the door and tugged her into his apartment. Wally barked his greeting and waited for Sam to let him out of the crate.
“I’m going to take Wally out to the backyard for a quick potty break,” Sam said. “Lock the door. I don’t want the aunties to interrupt.”
“They have their own private celebrations going on.”
Sam covered his ears as he followed Wally out. “Don’t kill the mood. I’ll meet you back on the couch, or in bed. You decide.”
She wandered around his apartment as she removed her coat and boots. She peeked into his bedroom. It was simply decorated, with a bed, two bookshelves, a TV on a wall, and a desk holding computer equipment. The gray comforter was clean, and she lifted it.
“Did you change your sheets?” Meena sat on the bed as Sam came into the room and closed the door. Wally whined on the other side. “Were you hoping to get lucky?”
“Yes to both.” Sam sat next to her.
Meena leaned over and kissed him, then pulled him into the bed with her.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE