“Malibu!” Luna brightened. “But I didn’t order any bikinis. I won’t have time to get any before that. All the girls here wear two piece suits.”
“Bikinis?” He cleared his throat to hide his instant horror. He hoped Jia had more insight than his various self-help books on parenting young women. “I mean, oh no. I suppose what you have will do.” His phone buzzed, reminding him that he had a message. He pulled it out of his pocket while Luna scrambled off the bed and dragged out her suitcase.
His dismay as he read Jia’s text must have been apparent, because Luna paused in rummaging around in her drawers. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” he wheezed. No, he was not okay.
He had to meet Jia’s parents? His grandmother was going to meet Jia’s parents?
“Kaka, are you sure?”
He forced a smile. “Everything’s going to be great,” he told Luna. It would be. He was good with older adults, even skeptical ones. Dev may not have his brother’s or cousin’s breezy charm, but he had his own skills.
He texted her back. No problem.
How did Luna take it?
Luna appeared less heartbroken now, at the prospect of seeing her grandmother, but her trauma ran deeper than he’d imagined. She’s a little upset. She fears you won’t want her around.
Aw. ☺ I could never! Perhaps I could spend some time with her over the weekend to get to know her a little better.
That would be nice. Are you okay?
Yes.
“Luna?”
She gave him a questioning glance as she folded her swimsuit.
He thought about his grandfather and Rohan. About his father, fighting his parents and throwing the comfortable life he’d known away for love. “We decide what a Dixit looks like. You and I. No one else. Understand?”
She froze, and gave a single nod. “Yes, Kaka.”
He felt comfortable giving her a hug as he passed her, and exulted when she hugged him back. Between her and his uncle and Jia, soon he’d have no empty spaces left in his heart. No boxes to stuff his feelings into.
He couldn’t wait.
Chapter Nineteen
DEV DROVE down the winding road of the Pacific Coast Highway, the sun shining bright on the ocean on his left. It glittered like a gem, a scene out of a movie, and he couldn’t enjoy it because he was too stressed out about the next couple days.
Thankfully, he was off work until next week, so that was one less thing to worry about. He and Jia hadn’t had much time to talk, though they’d texted quite a bit. Her family was arriving tomorrow; his grandmother was already settled into her new Malibu home. He’d tried to reassure Jia a few more times that she wasn’t in too deep, she could call this off if she wished, but she’d told him that she was committed to the plan. He liked her calling it a plan; that gave the whole scheme a sense of structure it was badly lacking.
The GPS alerted him to a turn, and he pulled off the main highway. “Wow,” Luna whispered, when they finally came to a stop in front of a home.
Dev peered up at the beach house. Wow was right. The beach house wasn’t as big as his grandmother’s estate in Mumbai, but it was built on a prime piece of land towering over the ocean. No peekaboo views here.
“Can we come live here?” Luna asked from the back seat.
“I would also like to live here.” Adil Uncle craned his neck.
“No. We have a perfectly fine home.”
“But this is so much nicer. I bet a lot of Hollywood actors live out here.”
Dev cast his niece a quelling look, but he didn’t really mean it. She’d alternated between perfectly normal and silent and moody for the last few days, and he was happy to see her so chatty. Not happy enough to buy her a Malibu beach house, though. “Please do not create a PowerPoint on this topic. The commute to the set would be far too long. Besides, I’m not a proper Hollywood star yet.”
“You could be, if you wined and dined producers here! And I could get a horse. I’d like to ride a horse on the beach.”
Dev twisted in his seat. “If we move here, you’ll have to switch schools. What about all those friends you’ve made? The orchestra you’re auditioning for?”
He felt bad when Luna visibly deflated, and he hurried to make it up. “We can look into horse riding lessons, though, if you like.”
She perked up. “I saw a flier at school.”
“Something tells me she was only after horse lessons all along,” Adil murmured, as she scrambled out of the car.
Dev had the vague suspicion his uncle was right. Luna was a businesswoman in the making, for sure. “Come. We will get our luggage later.”
Or someone would get it for them. A butler opened the front door before they could reach it. Dev inclined his head at the man and bid him a pleasant good morning, but the servant only held out his hand, silent. Most of Shweta’s servants were quiet.
It was enough to rake across every democratic nerve he had. Dev reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, wrapped a twenty around his car keys, and handed it to the man. The older man’s eyes widened, and he quickly pocketed the cash. There was almost a smile around his lips when he nodded at Dev and skipped down the stairs.
Another woman arrived. Pinky, one of his grandmother’s longtime housekeepers. She did smile at them, and Luna whooped. “Pinky!” His niece ran to the woman to give her a hug. The round maternal maid gave her a fierce hug back. “Hello, beti. Hello, Dev.”
Pinky had been around when Dev and Rohan had come to live at the compound, and if they’d had any soft maternal presence in their lives after their mother had died, it was her. Dev stooped to give Pinky a hug. “You look lovely, Pinky.”
Pinky tittered. “What a nice compliment, coming from such a handsome man.” She smiled at his uncle politely.
“Pinky, this is my uncle, Adil.”
“Hello, sir.”
His uncle shifted. “No need for sirs,” he said gruffly. “Hello. Dev and Luna have spoken of you fondly.”
Pinky’s smile turned genuine. “Your grandmother is in the kitchen, children. Come, I’ll show you.”
“The kitchen?” As far as Dev knew, his grandmother didn’t even know where the kitchen in her home was.
“Oh yes. She’s started taking cooking lessons.”
Dev raised an eyebrow. That was . . . out of character. Shweta had been retired for a while, but she filled her days with leisurely activities, not labor.
Things had changed. They found Shweta at the stove, and Dev did a double take. His grandmother’s long hair was disheveled and loose down her back, instead of in its neat bun or braid. She wore loose linen capris and a T-shirt advertising a mobile company.
He didn’t think he’d seen her in anything but a sari. Ever. How bizarre.
“Aji,” Luna cheered and broke away from them.
Their grandmother turned, and pure delight filled her eyes at Luna’s approach. She pulled her great-granddaughter in for a hug, resting her hand over the girl’s head. “Look how big you’ve gotten,” she crooned, in a tone he’d never heard before. Her gaze was a little more guarded when she turned her attention to him. “Dev. How good to see you. It’s been months.”