Chapter 28
"Hey mom. How are you?", I asked, as I dropped my coat and my purse on a chair nearby the dining table.
She was sitting nearby the window. She, like I did, loved to sit near the window and look outside. My parents were lucky enough to have a house that had a nice view on the front. There weren't that many cars passing by and there was a lot of nature.
She craned her head my way and smiled.
"I'm fine Mira. Very glad to be home actually."
"Good. Do you still take your medicine?"
"Yes, I do. Your father and your brother make sure I do."
"Do you want something to drink?", my father asked. He was already halfway to the kitchen.
"No, thanks dad, I just had lunch."
"Who were you with?", he asked.
I exchanged a look with my mother and then she gestured it was okay to tell him. Even though I had not even told her who I was with, as a mom she didn't have to ask and I didn't have to tell her, she already knew.
"I was out shopping with Max", I said.
My father folded his arms in front of him and tilted his head a bit to the side.
"I didn't know you made so much money you could just go out shopping."
"Well, dad, I think you'd be pretty amazed at what Mr. Hensly is paying me", I chuckled. But my dad didn't laugh, his face was dead serious.
"Max paid for everything."
"He really put some kind of spell on you didn't he?", he said.
"No dad, he didn't. If you would actually take the time to get to know him, you would know he's quite okay."
"I don't need to get to know that white privileged boy."
That was it, he unfolded his arms and walked into the kitchen.
I heaved a sigh and looked at my mother.
"He'll come around sweetheart. Just give him some time. In the meanwhile, maybe you can tell me about Max."
My heart started to beat faster and my whole body started to glow with the thought about him and these last days we spent together. Unconsciously I started to smile.
"He must be really something, by the look on your face."
"Mom, he is amazing!", I exclaimed. "He can cook and he is so sweet. Plus he makes the best breakfast pancakes ever!"
My mother's brown eyes had a sparkle in them and she smiled.
"I'm glad he makes you so happy, masuqa", she said.
Masuqa means something like sweetheart.
"He does mom. He's not like any other man I met or dated."
"Your father will come around, I'm sure. We just need to let him adjust to this and give him some time", she said. The look on her face was comforting. I really hoped she was right.
"I just know that when he meets him he will like him. Yes he is white and rich, but we don't know how he grew up, maybe he was really poor and had an unhappy childhood.. All I know is he really worked hard to make his business a success."
"You know all I want is for you to be happy, your father wants to see you happy too, he doesn't mean to be mean like that."
"I know but it is racist, it shouldn't matter what he looks like. I mean he could also be happy that I found a man who is wealthy and makes sure I have everything I wanted. Although that is not the most important thing. He really loves me mom", I said.
"It is just very uncommon in our community for a girl like you to get involved with a white man like Max. Mira you just have to understand that. I have told you many times how it works", she said a bit agitated.
"I know mom but we don't live there and times have changed."
We both stayed silent for a while until I changed the subject. I didn't want to fight over Max right now.
So I started to ask about Julian and how he was doing in college.
It must be hard for him to concentrate on his school work after all that happened with my mother. If he came back before I'd leave I would ask him.
I also asked her if she had heard anything from our family and she told me she got some calls and she showed me some cards she had received. Most of our family still lived in India, but there were some relatives that also lived in America and we had one aunt, a sister of my father, who lived in Canada.
"Mira, can you come help me prepare the chapati?", my father yelled from the kitchen.
"Do you mind being alone for a bit mom?", I asked her.
"No, it's okay, go help your dad. I already prepared naan this morning."
"Good mom. It's good for you to do things again."
I got up and made my way to the kitchen. I really hoped my dad would leave the 'Max' situation for what it was. I mean, we were never going to agree on him.
"You're making punjabi kadhi, I see."
I saw by the ingredients that were all over the countertop. The union pakora's needed to be made too. I saw my dad was way in over his head. Normally my mother would do all of this, but now my dad had to.
"I can help you make everything if you want? Maybe you can keep mom company. I can manage this", I said.
"Thank you, that would be nice", he said. Drops of sweat were already forming on his head. I knew he could make all of it, but it would take him a lot more effort than it would for me.
So, I sent my dad away, closed the kitchen door and started with the pakora's.
While I was busy with all the cooking my brother came home. He stuck his head around the corner of the door and smiled.
"He, sis nice seeing you in the kitchen again."
He then opened the door and walked in, he slid his slim body down on a chair and started to fumble with the stuff that was displayed on the table.
"Dad asked me to help, so I thought it was better to send him away and let me do all the cooking", I said laughing.
Julian laughed too and said; "Dad is not bad in the kitchen, but you should see him struggle sometimes", he shook his head.
"You know, come to think of it, maybe I can cook a few meals, you know so you guys will have something for the next few days."
"Yeah, that'd be nice. Or you know, you could stay for awhile and help us out", he said. His eyes were pointed on the onion bhaji.
While I wiped my hands on my mother's apron I turned around.
"You know I can't. I have work." I crossed my arms.
"You mean you have Max", he shot at me.
Just when I wanted to answer him my phone started to ring.
I walked from the kitchen to the living room where I left my purse.
It was Max. How ironic.
I took my phone and let it ring until it went to voicemail, then I walked to the kitchen while texting Max I'd call him back later.
"It was Max, wasn't it?", Julian asked suspiciously.
I put my phone on the table he was sitting at and took a seat.
"Yes, it was Max."
"I knew it."
"Julian, it is none of your business who I date with."
"You know dad doesn't approve of him, right?", he said, picking what was left of his thumb nail. He always bites his nails, such a nasty habit.
"I know, but it's not his business either."
"What do you think everyone will say if they find out you are with some white man? Have you even spoken to auntie Canada?"
When we were little we found the name of our aunt (Chandrakant) too difficult to say, so we made her auntie Canada.
"No I haven't, but we don't live in the 1900's anymore, Julian. I am not planning to marry and stay at home, cook dinner, do the dishes and only speak when my husband thinks I should speak."
"You're exaggerating now and you know it. Do you think I would treat my wife like that, if I would get married?", his voice sounded very annoyed.
"Maybe, but I grew up here, like you. I mean, mom and dad didn't go all the way here to keep living the life they had in India. They wanted better for us, heck they even gave you a western name! I am not going to let myself be treated like I am nothing more than just a cleaning maid and I don't care if our family disagrees with that. Times are changing."
I could always get so mad at the old fashioned way girls were being treated in the Indian community. We are worth something and we can be someone other than a maid to our husbands. If they even want to get married.
"I might not even marry Max", I snorted.
"Like Max does his own cooking and cleaning."
"FYI no he doesn't. He has enough money to pay people to do it."
"So you're with him for his money?", he said, provoking me.
His eyes were looking at me in a mocking way. Leaning back in his chair, feet on the floor, legs spread and his arms leaning on his knees, he kept looking at me, waiting for a reaction.
"Let's stop this. I am here for mom and to help out dad. Maybe you could help too."
I turned around and went along to prepare our traditional food. Julian then stood up and took place next to me.
"How are you kids doing in here?", my dad stuck his head around the corner.
"Fine dad. You know, if you are okay with it, I wanted to prepare some more meals for you all for the next few days."
My dad now came walking into the kitchen.
"That would be lovely Mira. If it's not too much trouble."
He had a look of relief on his face. He was probably more than happy that he wouldn't have to twist and turn to get this done. Besides, he could cook but he wasn't very good at it. The way he was brought up it just wasn't normal for a man to do all the cooking, but all the times my mom was ill he was forced to learn. I actually always believed it was a good thing, plus I liked to see my father cook when I was little.
"Let me ask mom if I need to go to the store to get some stuff."
Again I wiped my hands on my apron and stepped into the living room. My mother was watching some old Bollywood movie.
"Mom, do we still have barja and atta?", I asked her.
"No, I think you have to go to the store. Maybe you can get some more flour for the naan", she said. She also asked for manjal and some other typical ingredients and herbs that were used in the Indian kitchen.
"Dad, can you and Julian finish this up so I can get the ingredients mom asked for?" I said putting down my apron. After I washed my hands I grabbed my phone and put it into my pocket.
I awaited for them to answer as I stood in the door opening.
"Yeah sure, us men will stay in the kitchen", Julian mocked.
My dad gave him a look and even though Julian was way taller than our dad, he didn't say a word anymore. He just got back to what he was doing.
"Yes, thank you Mira for your help."
I walked away to the living room to get my coat and purse, but as I opened it up to grab my car keys I realized that Max dropped me off.
"Dad, can I borrow your car?", I yelled.
He told me it was fine and to grab the keys that were in the hallway.
Just before I drove back I decided to call Max.
"You're speaking with the world's hottest man."
I chuckled, he could be so weird, but funny sometimes.
"Well, hello handsome man. You're speaking with the most sexy woman on earth." At the last part I lowered my voice a bit in some stupid attempted to sound sexy.
"Are you sure? I mean, do you have that beautiful dark brown skin?", his deep voice spoke.
"Yes, I do sir."
He growled a bit when I said the word 'sir'.
I knew he liked that and I liked teasing him with it.
"Do you have that soft silky shiny long black hair, that curls up after a shower?", he asked.
"Yes, sir."
Again he growled.
"How about those enchanting dark brown almond shaped eyes?"
"Have to say yes again, sir."
Growling and lowering his voice even more he said: "If you don't stop saying sir so seducing, I will pick you up right now and take you in my car."
Unconsciously I licked my lips and moaned a bit while shifting in my car seat.
"Hmmm, Mira you don't know what you do to me. Got me thinking about your beautiful body and soft skin."
"I have to disappoint you Max", I interrupted his dirty mind.
"What do you mean?"
"I am staying at my parents house a little longer. They need my help with cooking, it could be past midnight before I am done", I explained.
He grouched, clearly displeased with this situation. I mean I wasn't happy with it either, but I had to help them.
"Just tell me when you need me to pick you up. Even if it's the middle of the night", he said.
"I will call you tomorrow. I think I will spend the night here."
"Sure, no problem baby girl. I will see you tomorrow."
In the corner of my eye I saw something in my rear view mirror, or someone I should say.
When I took a good look there was no one there. Did I imagine this or?
It was already getting late and dark so it was hard to tell.
"Mira? Hello?"
"Oh, sorry baby. I was distracted."
"Are you okay?", he asked worriedly.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess it was nothing." I said to comfort him, but it felt weird. In the shop I also had the idea someone was watching me, just like when we were at the shopping mall.
"I will see you tomorrow", I continued. "Goodnight Max."
"Goodnight my love."
I tried to tell myself there was nothing or no one there as I drove back to my parents house.
I think my dad or my mom must have spoken to Julian, because the rest of the evening it was actually nice at home. It kinda felt like when I still lived at home on the good days we had. I mostly remember the bad days where my mother would be ill and making things hard for us. She would even sometimes scare me with her behavior. But on the good days, she was the best mother I could wish for. What I loved most about those moments was when she taught me how to drape a saree, when she would paint my hands and feet with henna. I remember all the kids at school would laugh at me or said I had to wash my hands, because they thought they were dirty and didn't know what henna was.
It has been a long time since she has done that and for me to wear a saree. There weren't many occasions to wear one. In the first years that my parents lived here my mom used to wear a saree everyday, but the more people started to talk about it and pointing at her when she was out grocery shopping, the sooner she stopped wearing them.
Now she only wears them occasionally or if she is feeling homesick.
Next time I would be in the shop I would buy henna and ask her if she would want me to decorate her hands and feet with it, maybe she'd like that.
Cooking all this food, being around my parents and thinking about saree's made me realize I really missed this Indian side of myself. I was so used to the western lifestyle, caught up in work and Max, that I pushed this side of me to the background a bit.
It really felt familiar, it felt good to go back to my roots and be connected to this huge part of me.
Even sitting on the floor, on the pillows, eating with my hands and just being with my family was something I had clearly missed. I was really enjoying this moment a lot. I really hoped we could have more of these nights, maybe even with Max joining us. I was actually excited to introduce all of this to him.
Late in the evening while I was busy in the kitchen I received a text. At first I thought it was Max, but when I opened my phone I saw it was from Claire.
After our last encounter I didn't really want to talk to her for a while. Her words stuck with me for a while and even now I feel sad when I think about the things she told me about her and Max.
Hey girl. I went by your house but you weren't there. I have some great news and I wanted to celebrate with you! I have a new job!! I will tell you all about it later when you have time. Luv yaaa xx
I stared at my phone for a few seconds before I put it down. That was weird. I thought she worked for Raymond? Why would she switch jobs all of a sudden? Would it have something to do with Raymond or was she fired?
I shrugged and decided it was not worth my thought right now. I was in my element cooking all these traditional dishes, plus I was very happy to be able to help out my parents.
It was after midnight when I was finally done with everything. I immediately fell asleep when my head hit the pillow.
The next morning when I headed down for breakfast, everyone was already there.
"Good morning sleepy head", my dad said with a smile.
"Good morning everyone. Why didn't anybody wake me?"
I took a seat and stretched my arms, followed by a big yawn.
"You were up so late last night, we wanted to let you sleep in."
"That's so nice, thanks."
My mom poured me some tea and gave me a plate with Idli. My brother shoved the chutney towards me.
"Your mother made it with the spices that were left from last night", my dad said while sipping his coffee.
"I wanted to give you an old fashioned breakfast", she said.
I smiled and dove into the food, it was delicious as always.
"So the weather is good, I thought maybe we could all take a walk later?", said my dad whilst looking out the window.
The weather was good, the sun was peeking through some clouds, no rain in sight. It might just be cold.
Before I could answer my phone rang.
"She can't, her boyfriend needs her", Julian said rolling his eyes.
I decided to ignore him and stood up to check who was calling me.
"Hello?"
The person on the other line started talking right after I picked up.
"Hmm, yes. I see. Okay, I will. Bye."
With my phone still in my hand, I walked back to my parents and brother who were eagerly waiting for me to tell them who called me.
"I'm sorry but I have to work. It was my boss and apparently there's something that needs to be taken care of immediately", I said. "I'm really sorry, I wish I could stay longer."
"It's okay, we understand. Do you need a ride?", my father asked.
"No, I promised Max I would call him when I wanted to go home."
Silence. It felt like saying his name was some kind of curse around here.
As no one was saying anything and my mother started clearing off the table I walked back to the living room and called Max.
"You know dad could have given you a ride, right?", Julian said as he entered the living room.
"I know but it's not necessary. He should be here with mom anyway", I said.
"I'm home too so.."
"Julian, just let it go."
"I wonder if it was your boss. I think, Max called you cause he was horny and wanted you to satisfy his needs."
"I swear Julian, if you don't shut the fuck up right now!", I screamed.
"You're nothing but his whore!", he screamed back.
"You take that back right now!"
My dad came to the living room, wondering what all this noise was about.
"What's going on here? You're upsetting your mother."
His hands were placed on his hips and his face looked annoyed.
"Mira doesn't need to work at all. It was just her boyfriend calling her for sex!"
"What?!"
"You're such a liar!"
My dad kept looking at me and in the corner of my eye I saw Julian laughing very sneaky.
"Mira, is this true?", my dad asked walking up to me.
"No, of course not!"
"Lower your tone towards me!", he now screamed.
"I bet it was that Max", Julian said, adding more fuel to the fire.
"Is he right Mira?!"
"You know what, I can't convince you guys anyway. I'm out of here!"
I grabbed my coat and my purse and was ready to walk to the front door.
"You're not going anywhere young lady! Not until you tell me the truth!", my dad screamed while walking after me.
"You tell her dad! She forgot how she was raised. I tell you, Max is brainwashing her!", Julian screamed from the living room.
Just when I reached the door, my dad grabbed my arm.
"You're staying here until you tell me the truth Mira!"
"Let go!", I screamed trying to break free from his very firm grip.
"Stop dad! You're hurting me!"
"I will not have my daughter to be the whore of this town. You hear me Mira! You listen to me!!"
Before I even realized it, he raised his other hand which forcefully reached my cheek, leaving a burning feeling. Tears welled up in my eyes. I couldn't believe what he just did.
With one swing I opened up the front door and ran outside, my dad and Julian following me. While my mother is watching all of this from behind the window.
Just before my dad could grab my arm again a car made an emergency break. Max jumped out of his car and ran towards me, just in time to stop my dad from hitting me again. He now stood between me and my dad, towering over him as he was a lot taller than my dad.
"Don't you dare touch her!", he said.
"Go away son, this is none of your business."
My dad tried to push him aside, but Max didn't budge.
"Mira, go inside the car and wait for me", he said calmly.
"She's not going anywhere with you, you scumbag!", Julian exclaimed.
Max didn't even respond to him, his focus was on my dad.
I hesitated for a second, still shaking from what's going on and what just happened.
"Mira, now!", Max said.
"You better back away now!", my dad raised his voice towards Max.
"Or what? You'll punch me? I'm not afraid of you. You keep your hands to yourself."
Max wasn't afraid, I could tell he was mad but he wasn't screaming nor raising his voice, but he did sound very agitated.
"This is family business, now move!"
"I won't let you hurt your daughter, so you can hit me or leave."
"Stop it! Please just stop it!"
My mom ran towards my dad, crying and pulling his arm.
"Mom, go inside." Julian tried to pull her away.
"Please just stop. Let her go", she cried.
My dad clenched his jaw and growled; "If I ever see you here again, I will kill you."
He then turned around, told my mother to mind her business and walked inside, followed by Julian.
My mother put her hand on Max's arm, softly pinching it and saying sorry with her eyes filled with tears.
Max didn't say anything, he just turned around and walked up to the car.
He got in and we drove off.
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A/N
I hope this chapter was not to boring for you guys. I really doubted a lot if I should change it all, but I think it's important to show you this part of Mira's life too, to understand her a bit more.
I would really like to know what you guys think and if indeed it was a bit boring.
The part where it's about the Indian culture of course isn't true for everyone. There are indeed a lot of families who still think like that, but there are also a lot who are modern. It's absolutly not my intention to offend anyone from any culture, having read a lot about my own culture (I'm from Sri Lanka) has taught me numerous things about how girls and women often are treated. Again I don't mean to offend anyone, I just want to explore this side of the story and show what it's like for Mira to grow up in a western society but with old fashioned Indian parents.