Sameera flushed. She had forgotten she had shared that story with Bee. Her parents had always been strict about things like curfew and had never let her attend parties. These rules never seemed to bother Nadiya, the dutiful, studious daughter, and for the most part, Sameera had toed the line all throughout high school. Then, the weekend before senior prom, one of her friends arranged a small party at her family cabin and begged Sameera to join the overnight trip. Sameera knew her parents would never agree—boys and girls were invited, and she knew there would be plenty of alcohol as well. But she was tired of always missing out, and soon she and her friends would be scattered across the country when they went to their respective colleges. She made arrangements with a friend to cover for her and went on the trip anyway. One night of high school freedom for four years of mostly dutiful obedience felt like a fair trade-off, she had reasoned at the time.
Of course, she got caught—her friend slipped up, and to Sameera’s complete mortification, her father had shown up at the cabin in the middle of the night. She would never forget the haunted look onNaveed’s face as he walked through a pile of passed-out teenagers, empty cans of beer and pizza boxes littering the floor, to wake her up. Her father hadn’t said a word the entire two-hour car ride home.
Her mother, on the other hand, had ripped into her the moment she’d stepped over the threshold.
It was one of her most painful memories. In addition to Tahsin revoking her driving privileges, her mother had grounded her for the entire summer before college. It had been a relief to leave home for school that fall. Things hadn’t really felt the same since. “I guess I’m hurt they don’t believe me. I thought we were further along in our reconciliation?”
“I don’t think it works like that,” Bee said carefully. “From what you told me, you only recently got back in touch with your family. It isn’t a straight line from no contact to open communication, you know? I kind of get why they would freak out about this whole Tom thing if you never told them about Hunter. Maybe they thought history was repeating again.”
Sameera was quiet, thinking. Bee was right. Her mother was reacting rather than communicating, as usual. The truth was, her family wasn’t very good at talking things out.
Perhaps her mother’s meltdown and purchase of four plane tickets to Alaska was understandable when viewed through a certain light. The one that painted her as the screwup, the black sheep, the villain.
“I can see you’ve already decided this is all your fault,” Bee said. “Do you want me to agree with whatever you say, or do you want me to tell you the truth?”
“Is there a third option?” Sameera asked, taking another morose bite of her chocolate. It wasn’t making her feel better, but at least it had nuts in it.
“There’s always a third option, and it’s always chocolate, so we’ve got that covered. Which one, babe? Lorenzo finally agreed to watch that new Prime rom-com, so I’ve got a small window tonight before he gets sucked into another moody HBO drama tomorrow.”
Sameera considered. “Brutal honesty, please,” she said.
“Go to Alaska. Maybe you’ll find some time, in between staring at icebergs or getting lost in the woods or flirting with Tom, to actually talk to your parents. It’s easier sometimes to have the hard conversations when you’re outside your comfort zone.” Bee smirked. “As an added bonus, once your parents realize there is nothing going on with you and Tom, they will feel so bad, I’ll bet they won’t even question you the next time you agree to fake date a random hot man.” Bee was laughing now, and Sameera threw a pillow at her.
“I hope the movie sucks,” she said, but she was smiling.
Bee was already dancing toward the door. “Who cares, so long as the leads get together in the end!”
The friends embraced. “What about work? This is the worst possible time,” Sameera said, gripped with a sudden panic.
“It’s only four days,” Bee said, serious for once. “I’ll cover for you, if needed. But you know, the office is a ghost town at this time of year. Plus, you’ll have internet, and you can work on the plane.” Bee paused, thinking. “Didn’t Tom mention that Andy would be in Alaska for the holidays, too?”
The women stared at each other, their minds perfectly in sync. Slowly, a smile blossomed on Sameera’s face. This dire situation suddenly had a very large, very wealthy upside. “I’ll work on my pitch before I get to Alaska. With any luck, Santa will bring me a whale for Christmas.”
Bee cheered, raising her arms in the air. “This will be good for you. Plus, you’ll be happy your parents are there if this turns into aGet Outsituation.”
Sameera shook her head. “I’m so glad I called you.”
“Don’t forget to send a picture when you convince Tom to take his shirt off!”
“I will not be doing that,” Sameera said, but her heart felt lighter once her friend left. Maybe this trip wouldn’t be the absolute worst. A girl could dream.
Chapter Seven
The trip to Wolf Run now inevitable, Sameera prepared for it like she would a court case: with precision and deliberation. She picked out her warmest clothes, unearthed her small carry-on suitcase, and refused to respond to Tahsin’s text messages reminding her to buy winter boots and a hostess gift. She was still angry at her mom, even if Bee had made a lot of sense.
Nadiya still wasn’t answering her calls or messages, which was concerning. Sameera and her sister argued and bickered all the time, but this felt different. She composed three different versions of the same long message explaining her situation but couldn’t bring herself to press send. The truth was, her showmance agreement with Tom felt silly. A case of stranger than fiction, one her suspicious sister would assume was made up. No, she needed to have this conversation with Nadiya face-to-FaceTime. In the meantime, Nadiya was right about one thing—Sameera had to fix her shit.
At least Tom was on her side. She had called him the day he landed, though his stepmother, Barb, had already informed him about the plan. He was just as annoyed as Sameera, but he also took full responsibility.
“I promise to make this up to you,” he said on the phone, concern and worry laced in his voice. “There will be chai on tap, and I promise an unlimited supply of homemade samosas and biryani.”
“If you want my family to leave after four days, I suggest you rethink that plan,” Sameera joked.
He was silent on the phone. “I nearly passed out when Barb told me what she had done,” he admitted. “I think she got excited when your mom reached out. You’re not the only one with a complicated relationship with their parents.”
“I figured,” Sameera said dryly. Another thought occurred to her—had Tom told his family that they weren’t actually dating? Maybe they hadn’t believed him, either. She was about to ask when his next words distracted her.
“At least you’ll be able to pitch Andy sooner, and in person,” Tom said. “He’s eager to meet you, Sameera.”
