In the kitchen, Raghu was facing the counter and he was wearing a bandana over his head. He had a wireless headset on and he was dancing weirdly.

I tapped his shoulder lightly. He whirled around in surprise and gave me such a huge smile that my heart lurched painfully. He took off the headset and switched it off, blinking at me.

‘Finally, you’ve come to help. Took you long enough,’ he said mock sternly.

‘Ma had me clean the whole house and then she tells me that the party is outside! I’m so sorry!’ I said, batting my eyelashes in an over-the-top manner, hoping to make him laugh.

He frowned instead and cleared his throat. ‘Fine. Um.’

‘You all right?’ I asked him.

‘Yeah. Yeah, of course. Are you wearing perfume?’ he asked suddenly.

I shrugged. ‘I always do.’

He nodded briskly and then directed me to prepare the shortcrust bases for the savoury tarts he was making as appetizer. Ma had refused to let him cook for everyone and she had ordered food from outside, but Raghu had insisted on making the appetisers and dessert.

We worked in silence and Aunty V came in to check on us a few times. The chocolate ganache tart was her speciality, but Raghu was making it this time.

Over the past few days, with Raghu at home, I found myself spending time more and more in the kitchen, irresistibly drawn to cooking and baking again, but barely tasting anything. I don’t know if Raghu had noticed it but I was making a huge concession for him and I really didn’t want him to make a big deal about me not eating anything he cooked.

I might have to give in today, I thought, as I rolled out the tarts and lined them in the tart cases. The ganache he was stirring smelled heavenly.

I found Raghu looking at me every now and then. I was suddenly worried that maybe he did find it strange that I was in shorts. My heart sank, but I decided to ask him about it. We were friends, right?

I put my hands on my hips.

‘What’s wrong?’ I asked him. ‘Have I got flour on my head?’

He looked a little stricken as he shook his head. ‘No. It’s nothing.’

Shrugging, I went back to my work. It was hot and I was sweating again and would need another shower after this, but it didn’t matter as long as I got to spend more time with him.

I looked up at him to find him looking at me once more. He smiled at me.

21

When Ma’s friends from college started showing up, there was much excited chatter and shrieking.