His mother returned with two plates, placing the one with an absurd amount of rice and curry in front of him. He shook his headgood-naturedly and was about to take a bite when his mother’s voice suddenly pierced the air.
“Dad’s moving back to India,” she said.
Karthik’s gaze snapped to his mother. “What?”
His mother lifted her napkin and dabbed a corner of her mouth. “Dad’s decided to move back to India,” she repeated calmly.
Karthik set his fork on the table. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
When his mother had texted him earlier today and asked him to stop by the house, Karthik hadn’t thought much about it. He had planned on checking in, hearing how she was doing, and maybe poking around for some news about his dad. He hadn’t expected this.
“You’re moving to India?” Karthik asked in disbelief.
“No,” his mother said. She squinted, staring at his plate. “Do you not like the chicken? I tried Renu Aunty’s recipe instead of my normal one, and I think the gravy has too much coconut. I have biryani in the freezer. I could defrost that.”
Karthik’s brain was buzzing. He could hardly make sense of what his mother was saying. Was she moving to India or wasn’t she?
“What do you mean?” he asked.
But instead of helping with his confusion, his mother just looked at him with concern. “I can defrost the biryani,” she said slowly. “If you’d rather have that instead.”
Karthik shook his head. “No, this is fine, I meant…You just said Dad’s decided to move.”
“Yes. But I’m not moving with him.”
Okay. Nothing made sense now. He had thought that the news of his dad would shake her as badly as it had shaken Karthik. But this whole time, she had been calm. Unfazed. Unbothered. Or at least, that was how she had seemed. Now it almost sounded like…
“Amma, are you leaving Dad?”
A spark of surprise lit his mother’s eyes. “Yes. That’s what I was just saying.”
AWhy?almost left his mouth, but he held it in. He knewwhyshe would leave his dad. He supported it, even. Had hoped for it. He’d just never thought that his mother would actually do it. That she would actually walk away from the marriage. That she would end things.
And how was this the first time she was bringing it up? He’d had no idea that she’d even thought about this. Not since he’d mentioned it during their fight all those years ago.
“I didn’t want to burden you with any of this,” his mother said. “But I’ve been thinking about it for a while. You dad wasn’t always like this. Before we moved here, he was different, but then…things changed. It was slow. Gradual. I used to think everything might return to the way it had been, but now I know that’s not going to happen.” His mother paused, then looked at him with an expression Karthik couldn’t quite decipher, almost as if she was checking that he was doing okay. Convinced by whatever she must have seen on his face, she continued.
“You know Chandra Aunty’s a lawyer? I’ve been meeting with her to discuss options, and I think…Well, she thinks I could keep the house. I don’t think your dad would want it anyway, and I could stay here, or sell it and go someplace else, or—”
“If you want the house, we’ll make sure you get it,” Karthik said. “But if you don’t, you can stay with me. For as long as you want.”
His mother shook her head. “You say that now, but once you’re married, things will change.” A small smile crept over her face. “I don’t think Meghna would want me around constantly.”
“Meghna won’t be around.” Karthik flinched. He’d planned to break that news to his mother tomorrow night.Afterthe most important interview of his career.
“Did…did something happen?” his mother asked, concern heavy in her voice.
Karthik held back a sigh. The cat was out of the bag now, so he might as well get it over with. “We broke up,” he said flatly.
“What? Why?”
“We just want different things. And I can’t…” He broke off, his throat suddenly tight. “I can’t be what she wants.”
His mother frowned. “I don’t understand.”
Karthik rubbed his forehead. He wished he’d had more time to prepare. To come up with some explanation. Right now, all he could think of was…the truth. “Meghna wants a partner. Someone who listens to her. And supports her. And encourages her. And loves her. And…”
“And you can’t be that person?”
