There's Something About Sweetie(29)

K be there at 5?

Sounds good. He texted her his address—of course it was in the ritziest part of Atherton—and then she put her phone away, her heart thudding as she looked at the backs of her parents’ heads. All of this sabotage, and they had no idea. It simultaneously thrilled her and made her uneasy. It would be so much easier if she didn’t have to lie. If Amma would just understand her, and if Achchan would just stand up for her more. Oh well. This was what it was, and she had to make the best of it. That was all there was.




Ashish paced the floor of his bedroom. It looked out over the driveway, so he’d see when Sweetie pulled up. God, what must she think of him? Their first meeting and he’d already managed to get busted and had shamelessly spilled his guts to Ma and Pappa. Well, at least that was one career down the tubes: spy. He could just strike that off his list right now.

The weird thing was that he was willing to try their ridiculous plan of going on the four dates they picked (like some kind of weird tourism/dating agency mash-up) if Sweetie was. If it was a choice between not seeing her again and adhering to their plan, well … If he was being honest with himself, Ma and Pappa had done a really good job picking someone who, at least on the surface, had stuff in common with him. He’d felt an instantaneous click, which had thrown him for a loop.

Of course, now the only click he’d hear might be the sound of Sweetie closing the door behind her after she heard what his parents had in store for them.

Her little brown sedan pulled into the circular drive, and Ashish stopped pacing. He watched as she got out, patted her long ponytail, and took a deep breath before beginning the walk up to the house. She was beautiful, even unsure and nervous. Ashish turned and ran down the stairs to meet her.

He yanked the front door open before she could ring the doorbell. “Hi.” Just seeing her on his front porch—those big, soft eyes that reminded him of a doe’s, that thick black hair, that athletic hoodie and pants—made him smile.

He realized he’d taken the smiling past the point of normal only when she frowned a little and said, “Are you okay?”

He put the smile away. “Oh, yeah, totally. Come on in.”

She followed him in silently.

“So … thanks for coming,” he said as he led the way to the study, where Pappa and Ma waited like hungry lions. Well, he was a gladiator. He’d protect Sweetie from them.

“Um, sure. I’m not clear on what they want from me, though. Are they going to yell at me or something?”

Ashish tossed her a sympathetic grimace. “It’s a lot worse than that, unfortunately.” They were at the door to the study. “Just, uh, whatever you want to do, I’ll support you. I really hope you’ll say yes, but I’ll totally get it if you want to say no.”

Her face was a mask of confusion. “Ashish, I’m lost.”

Ashish sighed and pushed open the door. “You’re not the only one.”





CHAPTER 11





Pappa and Ma sat in identical leather armchairs. Pappa gave them a tight-lipped smile, but Ma got up and enveloped Sweetie in a hug.

“It’s so nice to see you, Sweetie. This is my husband, Kartik.” She smiled. “Thank you for coming over.”

“No problem, auntie.”

Ashish gestured to the couch, and he and Sweetie sat. She kept twisting her fingers around, he noticed. He wanted to hold her hand, just to make her feel better.

“Sweetie, I know you must be wondering why we’ve asked you to come over today, so we’ll explain right away.” Ma glanced at Pappa, who nodded. “The thing is, we don’t think it’s right for you and Ashish to sneak around behind your parents’ backs.”

Sweetie straightened a little, but she didn’t say anything. The finger twisting intensified.

“We are your parents,” Pappa put in, staring at Ashish. “And lying to us doesn’t get you anywhere.” He looked over at Sweetie. “You’re an Indian girl. This isn’t how your parents raised you to behave.”

“Pappa,” Ashish said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. “Sweetie wasn’t the only one who lied. And her being a girl has nothing to do with anything.”

Ma held up a hand, probably because she could sense an argument with no winners brewing. “Be that as it may, this behavior is very disappointing.”

“I understand,” Sweetie said. “I don’t necessarily agree with everything you’ve said, but I understand. It won’t happen again. I’m sorry.” She made a motion to stand, and Ashish watched in alarm.

“Wait, beti,” Ma said kindly. “We’re not finished. The thing is, we know you’re a very good girl. And you must have had a reason for doing what you did. We don’t want to know those reasons; I’m sure they’re private. But we also don’t want to lose the opportunity for Ashish to date someone like you. So, Ashish’s Pappa and I have come up with a plan. If you and Ashish agree to it, we’ll keep the secret from your parents, for a little while.”

Sweetie glanced at Ashish, and he raised his eyebrows at her in a Yeah, I know they’re super bizarre way. “What … what plan?” Sweetie asked finally, looking around at them all.

Ma filled her in on the whole four-date thing. There was silence as Sweetie processed it, all three of them trying not to stare at her while totally staring at her. God, she must think they were all so weird. Ashish wouldn’t judge her if she bolted out the door right now. In fact, he might judge her if she didn’t.