Hope in the Valley by Mitali Perkins

Author:Mitali Perkins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

TWENTY-FIVE

SHE HAS TO LOOK UP at me because she’s about the same height as my sisters in bare feet. Well, at least she’s taken off her shoes; everybody in the living room still has theirs on.

Baba walks out of the small bathroom by the garage door. “I see you’ve met Pandita, my youngest.” My? Why not “our”?

Indy comes into the kitchen carrying empty plates. “Oh, hello. Good thing I put more pakoras in the oven.”

“Looks like they were a hit,” Baba says. “Indira, this is Dr. Shefali Som. Shef, this is my middle daughter.”

“My” again. And why is he calling her “Shef”? He’s given her a nickname already?

“May I?” asks The Intruder—my nickname for her. She’s pointing to a pakora that Indy’s sliding off a cookie sheet.

My sister puts it on a napkin and hands it to her. “Of course. I hope you like it. I used our grandmother’s recipe.”

The Intruder chews and swallows. Then: “It tastes something like our pakora in Calcutta, but … did you fiddle with the recipe?”

Indy’s eyes widen. “Well, I added some—”

The Intruder interrupts to finish the sentence. “Things that make these taste very American. I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you how to fix it. ‘Shef’ is definitely a misnomer of a nickname. I’m no good at cooking, only excellent at eating.”

Our unwanted guest throws back her curly-haired head and laughs loudly at her own joke. When Baba joins in, though, I almost fall over. I can’t remember the last time he laughed like this. I look at Indy; her eyes are wide.

“I’m certain these American guests won’t know the difference,” The Intruder is saying. “Shall we go into the meeting, Anand? It sounds as if they’ve already started.”

They leave the kitchen. I turn to Indy. “Still happy about this?” I ask.

She shrugs. “Not about the cooking critique, but Baba seems to like her, and that’s what matters.”

Indy hands me a plate and a stack of napkins, and I follow her into the room. People reach for pakoras immediately.

“I’m pleased to introduce Dr. Shefali Som,” Baba is saying. “Dr. Som is an economics professor at Jadavpur University in Calcutta and has just completed a year doing research on land use in the Soviet Union. She’s very interested in your plans for the Johnson property.”

“I am indeed,” says The Intruder. “Would it be permissible to stay and listen?”

“Of course,” says the man who’d been leading the meeting. “I’m James Flemming, by the way. Executive Director of the Santa Clara County chapter of Golden State Dwellings.”

“Do you live in Sunny Creek?” asks The Intruder.

“I live in East Meadow, about five miles away,” answers Mr. Flemming. “A lot of Black people can’t afford to buy or rent in Sunny Creek because housing is so expensive.”

I’m a little surprised that I’m not surprised. I’ve known my whole life that East Meadow is a mostly Black town. As Shar likes to point out, most Sunny Creek residents are white, unless you count the apartment building on the far edge of town where Leo and his parents live.

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