We walked up the rest of the steps in silence. There were plenty of chairs in the waiting area, and there were three other people sitting there, dozing off. A flat-screen TV on the wall was playing Animal Planet without any sound.

We settled down—Raghu, Papa and I. Aunty V was in the room with Ma.

‘They’re fine. Both of them—Chitra and the baby,’ Papa assured us, but it sounded like he was assuring himself.

When Ma had settled in, Papa went inside to talk to her.

‘Get comfortable,’ Raghu said, leaning back and stretching his arms over his head. He rolled his shoulders, easing off kinks.

‘You should have gone home. You were going to sleep anyway, right?’ I said, trying not to be look at the way his t-shirt was riding up, exposing his stomach.

‘I’m glad I didn’t go to sleep,’ he muttered. ‘Or Uncle might have forgotten that I can drive and he would have driven himself.’

I nodded solemnly, resolving to learn driving too.

We sat in silence for a while—a man in the room was snoring lightly. My fears about Ma and the baby were allayed and I was glad . . . no, happy to have Raghu with me.

As if he’d read my mind, Raghu spoke, eyes on the TV screen. ‘I’m glad I’m here.’

‘I’m glad too,’ I said softly. He turned to me then, his gaze soft. There was that moment again, but this time, we were sitting close to each other. My lips parted. I wanted to say something but my mind had blanked out completely.

Why are you looking at me like that?

He would definitely ask, ‘like what’ and I wouldn’t know what to say. It sucked that I couldn’t articulate what I was feeling.

My heart thundered in my chest when, with a smile, he picked up my hand and squeezed it lightly. It was meant to be reassuring, but I couldn’t help but wonder if Raghu was attracted to me. Did he see me as more than a friend? I wanted to ask him, but didn’t want to sound presumptuous.

I let him hold my hand and I turned away to look at the TV screen. A cheetah was chasing a deer. I sensed him lean in closer.

‘What are you doing?’ I asked him finally, my voice a whisper, even as I continued staring at the TV screen. My stomach seemed to have dropped out of my body because of Raghu’s nearness.

‘Trying to figure out if your perfume smells better than your hair,’ he said.

I turned to face him then, my throat feeling as if it was blocked.

I had to know.

‘Are you flirting with me?’ I asked him.

He looked embarrassed, but then he tightened his hold on my hand before letting it go.

‘I don’t know,’ he said, not looking at me.