“And they’re sticky and gooey and some people never want to venture out of their comfort zones. Plus, I can’t make jilapis myself.”
“Ammu can …” Priti says, before seeing the way I raise my eyebrows at her. She sighs and says, “Okay, I’ll keep thinking about it.”
“Thank—hey!”
“What?”
I perk up until I’m sitting straight and hold out Priti’s phone toward her. There’s a photo that she took of our hands joined together before Sunny Apu’s wedding. We’re both weighed down by rings and bracelets, but the most important feature of the photo is the deep red floral henna weaving up our arms, palms, and fingers.
“That’s a photo I took?” Priti asks hesitantly.
“No, not …” I sigh. “The henna!”
“What about it?”
“It’s good, isn’t it?”
“I mean, it’s okay, it’s definitely not the same caliber as Nanu’s but—”
“That’s what I could do.”
“What?” Priti’s face is blank as ever. For a smart person, it takes her a very long time to catch on.
“The henna!” I exclaim.
“Yes … it’s nice, but Nanu’s is still miles better.”
“Oh my God, Priti,” I groan. “I could start a henna design business.”
“Oh my God.” Her eyes widen as my idea finally dawns on her. “You could do that. The girls at school would kill for that. I mean, did you see the comments that everybody left on my Insta when I put up that photo of my hand?”
“No?” I just remember the comment Flávia left on the photo from the wedding.
“Look!” She shoves the phone in my face. I remember when Priti took this photo, though I don’t remember actually seeing the photo itself. It was right after I finished her left palm. The henna paste hadn’t even hardened properly yet.
I look under the photo. 148 likes. 30 comments.
“Whoa.”
“Read the comments!” Priti says. I scroll down.
Where did you get this done???
Is there a place in Dublin that does henna designs?
How much was it?
Love the design!
Gorgeous!
“Priti!” I can feel a huge grin tugging at my lips. “Why didn’t you show me this?”
“Well, I didn’t want you to get a big head. I mean, the design is only okay.” But she’s grinning too as she puts her phone away.
“Do you really think I could do it though? I mean, I’ve only been practicing for a little bit. And I’ve only practiced on you and me. What if I mess up?”
Priti gets a serious look on her face, which causes creases between her eyebrows and makes her nose get all pinched.
