Page 129 of More For Me

She shrugs and picks up her spatula again. “I felt like baking.” She looks over my shoulder. “No Everly or Leo?”

“Not this time.” I still haven’t told my mom or Nisha about Everly. I need to. I feel like shit keeping something so important from them. And it’s ridiculous to keep trying to separate the parts of my life from each other.I’ll do it soon,I promise myself, trying to force away the stabs of guilt.

I’m still pre-occupied by my mother’s sudden cooking spree. “Are you feeling okay, Ammi?”

She shoos me away from the counter. “Of course. Stop pestering.”

I hold up my hands and back away, still feeling unsettled. “Okay, okay.”

“How are you, beta?” she asks.

“Fine.”

She pauses in lifting a pastry from the tray and looks up, those newly clear eyes sharp as she studies me. “Just fine? How is work?”

I shift under her suddenly appraising gaze, uncomfortable. “Work is good. Same as always.”

“And your friends? Leo is good?”

“He’s fine. Happy.”

Something sad crosses her features and she sighs. “I remember those newlywed days. You think nothing could ever touch your joy.”

A prickle of unease goes through me. “Ammi?”

She shakes her head. “Ignore me. I’m glad Leo is happy with his Rose. You should bring them here soon. I haven’t seen that boy since the wedding.”

Another stab of guilt. She always likes to see Leo. I should have brought him over.

“And Everly? How is she? When does the new television season start filming?”

I shift. This is it. The perfect opportunity to tell her. I know she’ll be thrilled that we’ve gotten together. So why do I still feel so resistant?

“Ammi—”

Before I can say anything else, the front door bangs open, the sounds of my nephews’ shouts filtering down the hall. “Guess the stampede has arrived.”

But she ignores the noise, her eyes locked on me. “What is wrong, Bodhi?”

“Nothing, Ammi.” I’ll just tell her about Everly later. I can do it with Nisha here and get both conversations out of the way at the same time.

“Beta—”

Ravi skids into the kitchen. “Uncle!” he shouts tangling his arms around my legs. “Throw me! Throw me!”

I grab his shoulders and shift him to face Mom. “What kind of manners are those? You say hello to your aji.”

He flings himself at her and any worry on her face melts away as she pulls him into a hug. “Hello my sweet one,” she whispers in his ear, and my chest tightens with some emotion I can’t name.

“Hello, hello,” Dev calls and then the kitchen is filled with people, Nisha bustling in with armfuls of casserole dishes, Dev behind her with Zayne in his arms. There’s so much talking and noise that it’s easy to ignore that tightness in my chest, and push down the worry I felt over sharing my relationship news.

Mom puts me and Dev to work setting the table while Nisha unpacks her casseroles. There’s way more food than this group can possibly eat—and that’s when I realize that Mom only handed me six plates.

“Where’s Baba?” I ask and Mom stills. I have to set the plates down for fear that I might break them. “He’s not on another business trip.”

Mom casts a worried look at the living room, where the boys are loudly playing. “We’ll discuss that later.”

Nisha and I share a glance. She looks as angry as I feel. Unlike me, she’s clearly not willing to drop it.