A Homecoming Mantra by Sapna Srinivasan

Author:Sapna Srinivasan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance
ISBN: 9781958686911
Publisher: Tule Publishing Group, LLC
Published: 2022-12-07T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

It was the only way he could get what he wanted, so Shaan stayed on until every other person at the Sood dinner had left. Misha had decided to spend the weekend with Sahana and Ryan. They’d promised to drop her off on Sunday night. They left, followed by Mira and Andy, and Laila and Hari. Diya remained as she said her goodbyes to his aunt and mother.

“Thanks for having me over,” she said to them, before turning to Shaan. “I hope you’ll stay in touch?”

He managed a smile. “It was nice to meet you.” He was irritated. But this wasn’t her fault, was it?

When Diya had left and the door had closed behind her, Shaan glared at Sharmila and his mother. “All right, what was all that about?” he fumed, gesturing toward the door that closed behind Diya.

“What, Diya?” his aunt asked, defensively.

“Yes, Diya,” Shaan said with a frown. “How could you think I’d want to date another version of Anita?”

“You looked like you needed a companion. We understand, Shaan. We were not born yesterday,” his mother said.

“It is a mother’s job to anticipate her child’s needs,” Sharmila added.

“I’m not a child, Mummyji,” Shaan said curtly. “In fact, you’ll notice I have a child. And right now she’s my number one priority. I’m not looking to get into another relationship…not unless I’m convinced it’s the right woman.”

His mother shook her head. “That’s not the message we received when we visited your home the last time.”

Shaan fluted air through his tired lips, the words staying tangled in his throat. They had a point and they didn’t have a point. He couldn’t bring himself to explain his situation with Claire to Sharmila and his mother—the fact that they’d kissed, the fact that they’d mutually agreed not to take it any further.

“She is a lovely girl,” Sharmila said.

“And so beautiful,” his mother added. “I am sure if I was a man, I would also…as your generation says…want to hit that?”

“God…” Shaan closed his eyes painfully.

“You wanted to get back on the horse,” his mother said.

“Saddle,” his aunt amended.

His mother nodded. “So we tried to help you.”

“Yes, I’ve seen your work in that department.” Shaan shook his head. “It’s not great.”

“And Diya is an outside-the-box thinker, like you,” his mother said, looking confused.

He raised a brow at her. “That’s one word for it.”

“Plus, she was the best we could do in this short time,” Sharmila said. “If we had more time, we could have come up with someone even better.” She turned to his mother. “Hemani, do you remember that girl? Ritu?”

“The divorced cardiologist.” His mother nodded. “But didn’t she get married last year to Ganesh, the divorced rheumatologist?”

“Ah, yes-yes,” his aunt conceded. “Then Pooja Hedar? Divorced pediatrician? Although she’s a bit bossy.”

“Sharmila, tch-tch…” His mother shook her head. “These days you can’t say ‘bossy’ about a woman. You have to say she is a leader or something.” His mother seemed to forage for words. “Leadership skills,” she decided.

“Haan, okay.” His aunt’s head bobbed from side to side.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.