“He’s very wealthy, which is probably why my mother is friends with him. And yes, he’s handsome, too, even for someone his age.”
Derek nodded. “Was the Kama Sutra ever out of your possession during your trip home?”
“No,” she said firmly. “We had a three-hour layover in London and I carried it with me at all times. If you’ve seen it, you know it’s priceless. I couldn’t let it leave my sight. If nothing else, Brooklyn would’ve killed me if it were stolen.”
I smiled. “What about on the plane? Did you leave your seat at any time?”
“I went to the restroom a few times, but there’s no way anyone could’ve tampered with my stuff and gotten away with it.” She seemed to relax even more as she spoke, and now she showed a hint of a smile. “There were two women sitting next to me who would’ve gone berserk if that happened. They were, you know, yentas.”
Derek flashed me a look.
I grinned. “Yenta. It’s Yiddish, I think. It means ‘busybody.’ ”
“Dad used to call Mom a yenta,” Austin said, and awarded me a crooked smile.
“Right,” I said, enjoying the fact that Austin might be letting go of his anger. “Because she was.”
“Still is.”
It wasn’t much, but I took the brief exchange to mean that Austin’s feelings were thawing out.
Robin stared at her fingernails, then gazed up at Derek. “Is my mother in danger?”
Derek reached over and gave her arm a consoling squeeze. “I don’t see why she would be. But I’ve alerted my people to check on her, if you don’t mind.”
“No, I don’t mind,” she said, sounding relieved. “Thank you. She’s a pain in the butt, but she’s mine, you know?”
“Anyone for dessert?” Mom called from the kitchen door.
“Can we get it to go?” I asked.
“Oh, my goodness!” Mom cried out in shock. “Oh, my goodness!”
“What is it, Becky?” Dad called from somewhere on the other side of the house.
Austin stood, ready for anything. “Mom, what’s going on?”
Derek whipped around. Gabriel looked ready to pull a gun from his pocket.
“The most wonderful surprise,” Mom gushed as she pulled open the screen of the sliding glass door. “Robin will be so thrilled.”
“We are all delighted,” Guru Bob announced as he walked out to the terrace, arm in arm with a tall, beautiful, dark-haired woman.
“Oh, my God,” I whispered.
Robin’s mouth fell open. “Mom?”
“It’s simple really,” Shiva said, once everyone had hugged and greeted her. She gripped Robin’s hand as we all moved inside to the living room. “While you were visiting, I was reminded of everything I love here at home. Then, after you left, I missed you so much. I decided it was time to take a trip back to Dharma.”
“We have missed you as well, gracious,” Guru Bob said. “You have been away too long.”
“Thank you, Robson,” she said, smiling sweetly for her teacher and guru. “It has been such a long time. And yet, now that I’m here, it feels as though I never left.”
“That is the nature of true friendship,” he said.
She touched her jawline. “Sadly, I’ve grown into an old woman in the interim.”
Guru Bob chuckled. “That is simply not true.”
“Thank you, my friend, but I’m feeling my age more and more every day.”
“Don’t be silly, Shiva,” my mom said as she handed her a cup of tea. “You look absolutely beautiful. Not a day older than the last time we saw you, which must be what? Ten years? Good heavens.”
“You’re sweet, Becky. You look wonderful, too. That gold does lovely things for your complexion.”
“Thanks.” Mom smiled with pleasure as she gazed down at the wavy gold tie-dyed mandala in the center of the apron she’d sewn and dyed by hand.
“I have a dress those very colors and it makes me feel so happy when I wear it.” Shiva’s eyes grew soft. “It’s a gold silk sari I bought in the Punjab. Now, that was an adventure. Someday I’ll share the story with you all.”
“But it’s so weird, Mom,” Robin said, still awestruck by her mother’s sudden appearance. “We were just talking about you.”
“No wonder my ears were burning,” Shiva joked. “Why were you talking about me?”
“It’s a long story,” Robin murmured. She waited until Shiva was seated on one of my mom’s antique lyre-back chairs; then she sat down on the couch. Austin joined her there with a beer in hand.
“Does anyone else need something to drink?” Mom asked, holding a teapot and two cups.