All eyes turn to me; Ajoba even pauses his chess game to raise a brow. My cheeks flush dark. “I just mean,” I say after a dreadful beat. “I have enough brothers.”
Aai tilts her head at me, bewildered. In a stroke of good fortune, the timer on the rice cooker goes off then, capturing both her and Noori Aunty’s attention. Next to me, Kush’s mouth twitches, and I shoot him a glare.
“Don’t,” I warn.
“For the record,” he says. “I’d make a great brother.”
“Not really looking to add incest to my list of regrets,” I say.
“Long list, huh?”
“Longer by the second,” I say. “I should have crashed the twins’ movie night instead.”
“This close to Rakhi?” he says. “Another Claire’s charm bracelet would be in your future.”
My lips twist in a smile in spite of myself. I’m surprised he remembered—after last year’s Rakhi, I spent Sunday dinner complaining about my very unsatisfactory gift. I’d dropped enoughhints about the necklace I actually wanted that the boys’ ultimate present hit like a true disappointment.
“I do so much for the twins,” I say. “And they can’t even bother to keep in mind that I’m a gold jewelry girl.”
“Shameful,” he agrees. “You should get Mother’s Day in addition to Rakhi as compensation.”
“Father’s Day, while we’re at it,” I say.
“Not a huge celebration in this household,” he says. “But I’m familiar.”
It might be the wrong thing to say, but he’s brought it up, and my curiosity overpowers tact. “Have you spoken to your dad?” I ask. “Since the haircut fiasco, I mean.”
His mouth thins, and he averts his gaze. “Nah,” he says, taking a sip of chai. “Happy to keep it that way.” His tone is light but clipped. “And anyhow, I’ve been way too swamped with working at the hospital to think about much else.”
I feel amusement rise. “Swamped with what, answering phones?” Baba’s interns have always seemed pretty relaxed to me.
His mouth drops in mock outrage. “I do more than that,” he says. “Research, sometimes.”
“Right,” I say.
“The workplace culture is very intense,” he says, and this, I buy. “If they like me this summer, I’ll get called back for the fall. Plus a med school rec letter. I feel like I always need to be performing.”
“Just likeGrey’s Anatomy,” I say, and he furrows his brow.
“Sorry?”
I stare at him. “Like, the show?” He still looks confused, and my eyes widen in shock. “It’s been going on for twenty years now or something, there’s nowayyou haven’t heard of it.”
His eyes crinkle, mirthful, and I realize he’s making fun. “I’ve heard of it,” he says. “Just wanted to let you freak out for a sec.”
“An understandable freak-out,” I say. “You don’t have a great track record with pop culture knowledge.”
“True,” he says. “And to be fair, I’ve never actually watched.”
I shake my head. “Mandatory viewing, especially for someone working at a Seattle hospital.”
“Hm,” he says. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
He sips his chai, and I waver, knowing I probably shouldn’t push it, but I can’t bring myself to abandon the subject. “On your dad,” I say. “I’m sure he’s just busy with work, business trip stress and all. But it might be productive to still reach out, for your own sake.”
He meets my eyes again, and there’s a beat of hesitation, like he’s weighing whether or not to tell me. He decides for it. “My dad’s not actually on a business trip,” he says, the words matter-of-fact. Reading my surprise, he hurries to add, “Your mom definitely knows, so it’s hardly a real secret now. But he’s gone to Jaipur to get some space, not for work. So I’m not too bothered to reach out.”
My eyes widen, taking it all in. “Oh,” I say. It hadn’t occurred to me that Kush and Noori Aunty’s issues with Suresh Uncle had reached such a tipping point. “Did something specific prompt this?”
