Keya Das's Second Act by Sopan Deb

Author:Sopan Deb
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2022-07-05T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

There was not much of a lunch rush at the Ivy House on this Saturday, so Shantanu was able to pick the exact same booth he sat in years prior, the night of Mitali’s high school graduation. On his way in, he was pleasantly surprised to see the picture of Mitali’s softball team in the exact same place. The plazas swapped out their shops often, Shantanu thought, but here was one place that still seemed familiar years later.

Shantanu had felt like a renovated home recently. He no longer woke to emptiness. Twice, in fact, he had woken up next to Catherine in her two-bedroom loft in New Brunswick. He didn’t notice his emerging wrinkles as much. He was shaving more. Shantanu had energy he didn’t recognize. Thirty thousand dollars. Where will we ever get that? I don’t have that kind of money. I can’t go to the Bengalis for this. We’re barely part of the community anymore. I stopped going to the pujas. And Ma is too old to be a fundraiser.

A waitress came to pour Shantanu a glass of water.

“Excuse me, can I ask you a question?” Shantanu said. “Is Pamela here?”

“Pamela Moore? Yeah, you a friend?” the waitress asked suspiciously.

“Sort of. Do you mind getting her? I have something that belongs to her. I’ll take a cheeseburger and fries, too,” Shantanu said.

The waitress nodded, still eyeing him with caution. Shantanu was skittish. He wondered if Pamela’s mother told her about their chance encounter a while back. He also wondered whether Pamela would even remember him. They hadn’t spoken since before Keya died. Soon, a petite brunette woman in a ponytail appeared. She had a tattoo of a large dove on her left forearm and a streak of blue hair, accentuated by her all-black uniform.

“Hi, Deidre said you have something of mine?” Pamela said. Her voice was a bit on the thin and squeaky side. As she spoke, her lip and nose rings became more prominent. And then she fully registered Shantanu. Her face went from the mask of a professional waiter to displaying shock, which morphed into revulsion, and then back to shock. There was incomprehension mixed in too. From across the restaurant, Deidre was keeping an eye on the encounter.

“Hi, Pamela.” Shantanu saw the look on her face and found it unsettling. If he was apprehensive about seeing Pamela after all this time, surely she would be that and more. They had both been different people when they last encountered each other in what seemed like a lifetime ago. He should have expected this reaction, Shantanu thought. Once again, he had drastically misread the situation.

“I don’t know if you remember, but I’m Shantanu.”

“I remember who you are, Mr. Das,” Pamela said, her voice cool. “How can I help you?”

Suddenly, Shantanu missed the cheery waitress from his first date with Catherine.

“I was wondering if we could talk,” Shantanu said.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Pamela shifted to an angry whisper. “Can I get you a

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