The Dating Plan(54)
Too late. He swung off the roof and the branch cracked, dropping him the last five feet to the grass with a sickening thud.
“Liam!” She leaned half out of the window, her throat constricting when he didn’t move. “Are you okay?”
“Daisy?” He pushed himself up, and her knees buckled as relief washed over her.
“Yes?”
“Next time I’m going out the door.”
* * *
? ? ?
AFTER throwing on some decent clothes, Daisy made her way downstairs and opened the door to Salena, Mehar, Lakshmi, and Taara aunties and poor Hari Uncle, his hands filled with coolers, boxes, and bags.
“Look who is finally here!” Salena Auntie brushed past Daisy and into the house, her bright orange salwar kameez brightening up the curtained living room. “We were worried something was wrong with you. Hari Uncle was going to kick down the door for us.”
Hari Uncle shook his head. “No, I wasn’t. I have a bad hip. I suggested using the spare key that they keep under the rock. You were going to kick the door down.”
Salena waved a dismissive hand. “No matter. Mehar told us about poor Max, and you’re all alone without your dad so we thought we’d bring you breakfast before you pick him up.”
Daisy’s skin prickled in warning. Her aunties had always come with dinner when she and Sanjay were young and their dad had been held up at work, but now that she was grown, the unexpected visits usually involved a suitor instead of food.
She peered out the door, trying to find the man they had no doubt brought for her to meet. “Where is he?”
“Who?” Lakshmi Auntie added her shoes to the pile in the hallway.
“Somebody’s friend’s sister’s cousin who just happened to be in town and just happens to be looking for a wife and you just happened to be in the neighborhood and thought you’d drop in.”
“It’s just us.” Taara Auntie held up a Tupperware container. “And my famous Cinnamon Toast Crunch Marguerita Poha.” A wannabe chef with two boys at home, Taara Auntie was infamous for her terrible fusion foods.
“Don’t eat it,” Lakshmi Auntie muttered. “Those are not flavors that go together. I had some this morning and . . .” She held her stomach. “Do you have any antacids?”
“Medicine cabinet in the bathroom.”
Daisy followed Salena Auntie into the kitchen and settled on the stool while Taara Auntie took out container after container from her plastic shopping bag.
“We were having dinner at the Spice Mill last night,” Salena Auntie said in a tone that was clearly meant to be casual, but was anything but. “Jana said that Nira said that Deepa said that she had helped you find a sherwani for your fiancé who still hasn’t met the family. Deepa overheard that you were taking him to the Dosa Palace and she happened to go over there to talk to Amina who said that you had a fight . . .”
Despite being a Patel and growing up in the Patel family, it still amazed Daisy how quickly information got around. You couldn’t keep secrets for long when there were family members everywhere and gossip was everybody’s favorite hobby. “That was three days ago. Everything is fine now.”
“Fighting when engaged is not a good sign,” superstitious Lakshmi Auntie said. “Unless you see a brown goat with a white head, fighting early in a relationship portends difficult trials ahead.”
Desperate for a way to divert the conversation, Daisy gestured to the cooler bag. “I’m starving. Maybe we should eat.”
“Is it just us? Or maybe you have a friend over?” Lakshmi Auntie peered up the stairs.
“Now that you mention it, I do smell something.” Mehar Auntie sniffed.
“Nobody is here, Auntie-ji.”
They were the right words, but Lakshmi Auntie seemed unconvinced. “A black cat with one green eye and one blue crossed my path three days ago outside a yellow house. It means bad luck on the second floor. Mehar, you should probably go and check it out.”
“Be my guest.” Daisy waved Mehar Auntie upstairs. “You may also want to check the roof while you’re there. Sanjay used to sneak out at night. You wouldn’t want to miss anyone who might be hiding there.” She couldn’t resist throwing out a little dig at her perfect big brother.
“Sanjay!” Mehar Auntie sighed as she headed for the stairs. “Such a good boy. How is he doing?”
“I don’t know. We haven’t heard from him in months. And did you miss the part where I told you he used to climb out on the roof to sneak out at night against the rules?”
“Such a rascal.” Mehar shook her head, smiling.
“You wouldn’t say that if it had been me climbing on the roof,” Daisy called out.
“You would never have climbed on the roof.” Salena Auntie pinched Daisy’s cheek. “You’re our good Daisy.”
Good Daisy. She’d always been good because there had never been an opportunity to be bad. When it had just been the three of them at home, she’d taken over the household chores—all of which made it easier for her to justify avoiding school dances, dating, and parties. If not for Layla dragging her out, she would have been content to stay at home with her schoolbooks and her video games and her online computer world.