Eram may not have been at his brightest that day, but he was quick to catch the flaw in Gehna’s plan. It was this flaw that was making him feel sick.

‘Winnings. You keep talking about my winnings,’ he said, raising himself up on his elbows. ‘What about my losings? What happens if I take your big birthday bucks and throw it all away on the very first hand of the tourney? Huh? What happens then? I’ll lose The Big Drop and you, because I’m pretty sure you’d never speak to me again after that.’

‘Tut tut. Such a drama queen. That won’t happen.’ Gehna tried to push him back down to the bed again. ‘Can you stop squirming? I’m about to fall on my butt here.’

Eram resisted her efforts. ‘How do you know? How do you know it won’t happen?’

Gehna sighed. Boys always needed reassurance or some damn thing. The surest way to do that was to stroke their egos. ‘Because, Eram, you’re that good. You’ve been training your whole life for it. You’ve got this. Now, if you’re not going to lie down so I can nap, let’s go feed me some pommes frites at The J.’ She patted her stomach. ‘Baby want eat.’

Ever since Gehna’s morning sickness had passed, baby wanted eat all the time. Gehna ate six, sometimes seven, meals each day without breaking a sweat.

‘Like the Chinese,’ she told her mother through a mouthful of food. ‘The Chinese are the healthiest people in the world.’

‘That’s because the Chinese eat more than just greasy potatoes.’ Nina Rai looked distastefully at the plate in front of Gehna. A rapidly disappearing mound of French fries—gold and crunchy on the outside, soft and floury on the inside, peppered with herbs and sea salt—sat in the middle of it. Everybody likes French fries, but Gehna had developed a fierce love for them since she had been mobbed on her slum relief mission. Left to herself, it was all she would eat. Her daughter’s new dietary habits alarmed the hell out of Nina Rai.

‘Have some fruit instead,’ she urged. ‘Mango? You like mango.’

‘No, thanks.’

‘Soup?’

‘Nope.’

‘Fish, then. I’ll batter-fry it for you. It’s basically the same as those awful things you’re eating, only with omega—’

‘Maybe later,’ Gehna growled. She paused mid-bite. ‘Oh no. Not later. Never. I meant never. I’ve decided I’m a vegetarian now.’

She regretted making that particular confession as soon as she saw the look on Nina Rai’s face. In their home, vegetarianism was considered a sign of moral weakness.

How many blows can one person take? She looks even more disappointed in me now than when I told them I was pregnant. I wonder which Nina will show up now, the wolf or the kitten? Oh god, not the kitten. Please don’t cry, please don’t cry, please don’t cry.

Nina Rai didn’t cry, she exploded. ‘The ob-gyn said you have to put on at least thirteen kilos, but it has to be the right sort of thirteen kilos. Where’s the protein for the baby going to come from? Potatoes? Ketchup? I will not let you jeopardize my grandchild’s health for the sake of a few stupid animals. We’re going out for your birthday lunch tomorrow, and you will order steak. Or a fillet. Your choice.’