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Once we were out of the building and heading home, Gemma said with a groan, “I may never be able to show my face around that building again.”
“You were brilliant,” I assured her.
Gemma and Marcia were still rehashing their adventures when we got back to our building, so they didn’t notice the young Indian woman leaning against the wall beside the front steps. She jumped up when she saw us coming. “Surprise!” she said.
Chapter Twelve
It was my best friend from high school, Nita Patel, who had been working at her family’s motel in our hometown the last time I saw her. “Nita!” I blurted before my brain could think of anything more diplomatic to say. “What are you doing here?”
“I got a job at a hotel here in New York! Isn’t that great?” she said.
“Wow, yeah, that is great!” I said, fighting to sound enthusiastic as I stepped forward to hug her, even while I was inwardly groaning at the remarkably bad timing. I was glad to see my friend, but she wasn’t in on the magical secret and that could make things complicated. Then I remembered my manners. “You remember Gemma and Marcia, don’t you?”
“Of course! Hi!”
“Hi!” they chorused.
Nita clapped her hands in glee. “I can’t believe I’m really here!”
“How long have you been here?”
“I got in this afternoon. I guess I should have called you, but I wanted to surprise you. I said I was getting out of that town, and now I have!”
“Why don’t we go inside to talk?” Gemma suggested.
“Yes, of course,” I said, stepping up to unlock the front door. “Come on up.” I led the way up to our apartment and ushered Nita inside.
I could see her trying to keep the dismay off her face. “Wow, it’s, well, um, cozy,” she managed.
“It’s a lot bigger than where we used to live,” Marcia said.
Nita’s eyebrows raised. “This is bigger?”
I patted her on the shoulder. “I told you, it’s not nearly as glamorous as on TV. This is the way real people live.”
“At least we all have actual bedrooms now,” Marcia said, sitting on the sofa. “I used to sleep on a sofa bed in the living room.”
Nita nodded. “The hotel rooms here are half the size as in our motel, and they charge about six times as much for them. If we could move our motel here, we’d make a fortune.”
Gemma sat on the sofa and gestured for Nita to join her. I dragged a dining chair over to join the group. “What did your parents say?” I asked as I sat.
Nita shrugged. “I have no idea. I left them a note. My brother took me to the bus depot, and he gave me a job reference. I’m lucky that the woman who hired me is also Indian, so she knew all about escaping the family business.”
My stomach dropped. “You moved to New York without telling your parents?”
“They’d never have let me come. Better to ask forgiveness than permission, right?”
“That’s always worked for me,” Gemma said with a laugh.
Nita grinned at Gemma and crossed her legs. “I figure they’ll come around when I remind them that I’ve now significantly increased my chances of meeting a nice Indian boy I could marry. You don’t know any Indian men, do you? I hear you’re quite the matchmaker.”
“I’ll see what I can find for you,” Gemma promised.
“Have you found a place to stay?” Marcia asked.
I was pretty sure where Marcia was going, and I knew she thought she was doing me a favor, but I wished I could think of a way to signal her to shut up.
“I haven’t started looking,” Nita answered.
