My So-Called Bollywood Life(21)

“Beta?” Her mother entered the front foyer, holding a wooden spoon in one hand. She was wearing the pale pink salwar kameez she usually wore around the house. “What’s wrong?”

    Winnie lost her cool like a Bollywood heroine who was just told that her life was doomed. The only difference was that Winnie couldn’t control her mascara from bleeding all over her face as she ugly-cried.

“Raj got Gurinder Chadha as the guest of honor for the film festival, and I’m so happy for the festival but so mad because it’ll be practically impossible for me to get into NYU, and I’ll end up with this stupid prophecy that won’t come true while working at the theater forever, and I don’t like being a defeatist but I feel like I lost and I’m not even hormonal!”

“Oh, beta,” her mother said soothingly. She opened her arms and Winnie stepped into them, rested her head on her mother’s shoulder, and wailed. She’d cried more in the last week and a half than she had in the last year, but maybe things had been too easy for her, and her luck had run out.

As she was rocked in the softest of arms, Winnie knew that she’d somehow work through this. After all, her mom was there to help now that the only thing left to do with her broken dream was to pick up the pieces.





7





DELHI-6





This film has the stereotypical grandmother: widow, wears white, cries all the time, and sits on a cot while pickling mangos. Come on, B-town! They aren’t all like that. My grandmother is a widow who loves pickled mangos, but she’d prefer a Sealy mattress to a cot, and her clothes are from Macy’s.





Winnie’s mom set a cup of chai on the kitchen table along with a plate of cake rusk to dip in the hot liquid. Winnie huddled over the milky tea infused with cardamom and inhaled deeply, while her grandmother stood at her left, rubbing her arm.

“I’m s-s-sorry I’m a mess just when you g-got here, Nani,” Winnie said. She had spent the last ten minutes venting while her grandmother and mother patiently listened.

“Bechari,” the older woman said. “My poor girl.” Nani’s mint-green pants and mint-green velvet-lined top smelled like incense and India, which was an added comfort. Winnie leaned into the soft velvet and took a breath. It made her feel a little better.

“You know what? I can call Raj’s mother right now,” Winnie’s mom said. “I’ll tell her to straighten her boy out. He should’ve known what this would do to your plans.”

    “Mom, p-please don’t. That would be even more embarrassing. Especially since he’s not doing anything wrong.”

“That cow woman doesn’t know how to raise her own children. I never liked her. And she thinks she is constantly dressed for a Miss India pageant now that she has money. Did you see her at temple last time? So gaudy.”

Winnie tried for a shaky smile. “That won’t do anything. Instead of being the cheating ex, Raj is trying to be the hero, even though he still hasn’t apologized for cheating. How am I supposed to hate him when he did something nice and it’s Mr. Reece who’s messing up my future? Stupid rules.”

Her mother said to Nani, “Maybe if they were together, this wouldn’t have happened. He wants her back, you know.”

“Mom, that’s not—”

Nani let out a soft “oh ho.” “Samajh aaya. I got it. He wants to be your destiny, but you don’t want him to be. He’s doing this nice thing for you, but it’s made things worse for your college application so you still believe he’s not your destiny. My poor bacha. I’m so sorry he’s not the one for you anymore.”

“She doesn’t know that yet,” her mom said over her shoulder as she went to the stove. She picked up a large wooden ladle to stir the contents of her stockpot.

“She knows,” Nani said. “She told us with her own mouth. If my granddaughter cries with sadness when her old boyfriend tries to surprise her, don’t you think he doesn’t know how to make her happy? But, Winnie, your mother is right, too. Pandit Ohmi gave you everything you need to know, and you still manage to make things so confusing.”

    “Well, I don’t expect you to get it, Nani. Your generation is old-fashioned enough to believe that Pandit Ohmi is one hundred percent right.”

“Don’t be calling me old. Next time I’ll be whopping you with my chappal.”

Winnie looked down to see if her grandmother was wearing sandals. Even with cataracts, her grandmother had killer aim. She could hit any target with one of her chappals. Thankfully she was barefoot today.

“Beta,” her mother said. “You have to promise me you’ll be open to having Raj in your life again.”

“Can’t you for once see how he’s not the one for me and take my side?”

Her grandmother stroked her hair. “I can pray that after this is done he becomes a roach in his next life.”

Winnie coughed. “Thanks, Nani, but yeah. Not helpful.”

Nani leaned back in her chair. “Okay, maybe we can come up with another solution that doesn’t involve Raj to get this Mr. Reece to see that you’re important to the club.”

“Ma, don’t get her into any trouble,” Winnie’s mom said. “She already has to work to pay for taking Raj’s movies.”