‘Umm, really? I do recall him, actually. Wasn’t he the school cricket-team captain or something? Anyway, this guy Yudi I was telling you about, his name kind of suits him, you know? I mean he’s this creative type—’

‘Oh beta, you remember Gautam? That’s wonderful! You know, as a matter of fact he happens to be in town this week on a business trip. In fact, I was thinking, it would be a great idea for you to meet him. After all, the two of you are old friends!’

‘Wha-a-a-at?’ I glared at Mom, the rajma—chawal turning to ashes in my mouth. She was trying to set me up again! ‘Mom, I don’t believe this! You’ve been here for just a couple of hours and you’re already trying to set me up with some guy! And he’s not my old friend. I barely knew him back in school! There is no way in hell I am meeting him! Period!’

‘But why, beta?’ To my surprise, Mom didn’t react to my outburst with one of her own, the way she normally would have. She seemed more upset than reproachful. ‘Why not, Megha?’ she went on now, her voice slightly tremulous. ‘It’s not like I’m asking you to commit to this boy. All I’m asking is for you to meet him once. Who knows, you might even hit it off? And if you don’t, it ends there, I promise. Please understand, Megha, I’m not doing this to annoy you. But after Papa left us, it is up to me now to ensure that you are well settled. It is a responsibility I have to fulfil. All I want is to see you happy, beta.’

I sighed. I couldn’t handle this emotional side to Mom. I was used to her temper and her impulsive outbursts, so akin to my own, but not all this soft, reproachful stuff. And I certainly didn’t want to think of her being crushed, all alone, under the burden of ‘my responsibility’, as she put it. ‘Okay, Mom, you win. I’ll meet Gautam or Gomzi or whatever his name is. But I’m not promising anything more than that, okay?’

‘That’s wonderful, beta! I knew you would understand. I’ll speak to Mrs Khanna tomorrow and see if we can arrange something. Would you like to meet him here? We can invite him over for dinner—I’m sure Sameera won’t mind.’

‘No!’ I nearly gagged. Meeting this guy was bad enough by itself. There was no way I was meeting him at home with Mom breathing down both our necks. It would be much better to meet him alone somewhere in a more neutral space. After agreeing with Mom to meet him after work sometime that week I escaped to my room feeling strangely dejected, turning down her offer of the zero-ghee gajar halwa she had made for dessert.

In Sammy and Rishi’s spacious—by Mumbai standards— two-and-a-half bedroom apartment, there wasn’t enough space for all of us to have separate rooms. The ‘half bedroom’—a concept unique to Mumbai, I was sure—had been converted into a little nursery for Aryan even though he still slept in a cot in his parents’ room. In any case, fitting an adult bed into the half bedroom would have left little space in there for anything else. I normally occupied the second bedroom but for the few weeks that Mom was there, I would be sharing it with her.