Because that’s exactly what he had done. He’d ruined everything. By being here. By knowing exactly what to do. By turning out those stupid perfect churros.
He loves me, Baba.
Boys like that only want one thing. In his case two. And neither one of those has anything to do with loving you.
Wilfrieda walked into the pantry and stopped short when she saw Ashna. “Sorry, boss, didn’t realize you were in here.”
Ashna almost turned away and pretended to look for something.
You’re not eighteen anymore. When does the hiding stop?
I’m not hiding!
She was totally hiding.
God, she hated Frederico Silva.
“I needed a moment,” she said to Wilfrieda, who looked like she had no idea what to do with herself in the face of her always-in-control boss with tears streaking her cheeks.
Ashna leaned over and wiped her cheeks on her smock. All these years she’d channeled Shobi to keep the tears away. She couldn’t let seeing her mother tear up put a crack in that dam. “You’ve been doing great with the rush. Thank you.”
Wilfrieda and Khalid were handling things fabulously, and the four more line chefs and extra waitstaff from DJ’s network were a godsend.
“Your aunt did an amazing job of preempting the staffing situation,” Wilfrieda said with the kind of worshipfulness Ashna was totally used to when it came to Mina Kaki. Her assistant held out her hands to display a pink glittery manicure. “She gave Khalid and me gift cards to her friend’s spa. I can’t remember the last time I got a manicure or a massage. You’ve been working so hard, boss, you should totally get one too.”
Ashna touched a shimmery nail. “That does sound great and I’m totally coveting that color.”
Smiling, they went back into the bustling kitchen. The Curried Dreams kitchen hadn’t bustled in a very long time.
Baba had hated the idea of making people wait for food, so he had built his restaurant to be large enough to avoid that. He had underestimated his own abilities, because under him there had always been a wait despite the hundred tables. Ashna had never experienced the thrill of customers waiting.
At this rate, she would have to open the patio seating again.
“Where have you been hiding?” Mina Kaki said as Ashna put down the bag of flour she was carrying.
Ashna knew her aunt didn’t mean she was actually hiding, it was just a figure of speech, but still she cursed Rico again for filling her head with things she had no time for.
She started measuring out the flour for the naan dough and Mina Kaki stopped her. “Freddie, you can take over the dough. Ashna, I think you need to do the rounds and say hello to the guests. You’re what they’re here for. Well, you and that hot partner of yours. You should ask him to come by.”
Ashna made a face.
“We might need to put in an extension if he came by,” Wilfrieda said, cheerily fanning herself.
“I’m sure Khalid appreciates that sentiment,” Ashna said, throwing a pointed look at Khalid, who was blooming spices in a huge kadhai of ghee for the dal fry, with one eye on Wilfrieda.
“Khalid has a bigger crush on Mr. Silva than even I do, right, Khalie?” Wilfrieda said, her round face shining with humor, and Ashna looked around her kitchen.
Mina Kaki’s magic was everywhere. It was like one happy family working together.
“No kidding,” Khalid said, pouring the hot ghee into the pan of dal and making it hiss and give out the kind of aroma that caused them all to emit appreciative sounds. “The staff have been all over social media getting our friends to vote. In fact, our Facebook group just hit a hundred thousand followers. Bless Mandy for starting it!”
The smile on Ashna’s face froze.
Wilfrieda glared at Khalid, who returned his attention to the dal.
Her aunt tucked a lock of hair behind Ashna’s ear and patted her cheek. “Go out and greet your customers. You’ve got to give the people what they want. While you’re out there, ask them to vote for Yash.” That made Ashna smile, and Mina Kaki added more softly, “Freddie was telling me that Mandy was telling her how hurt she is that you let her go.”
The smile died on Ashna’s lips again. “Really, Mandy said that? I never let her go. She quit.” Mandy had lined up a job and not even mentioned it to Ashna.
“Maybe you misunderstood? Sometimes we believe the thing that is easiest to believe.” And by we she meant Ashna. “It’s easy to push people away before they leave.”
Before the full impact of that could sink in, her aunt patted her cheek. “Now, don’t get all bent out of shape, beta. You have to look for what’s behind what people say. What Mandy said simply means her door is open.” She spun an elegant hand around the kitchen. “If this keeps up, you might need someone with Mandy’s competence and experience. Much as I love this place, all this steam is terrible for my hair.” She patted her perfect hair and took her bag from the hook by the door. “Go on. I think everything is under control here. I’m going to leave for a bit. If you need anything, Shobi has offered to come over.”
Ashna tried not to stiffen. Shobi had not set foot in Curried Dreams since before Baba died. It was really annoying that everyone kept acting like she was here to help Ashna. You couldn’t help someone with a restaurant without being physically present inside the restaurant.
Her aunt opened her mouth, but decided to hold her peace right now. Good, because what she’d said earlier about Ashna pushing people away was ridiculous. People pushed her away.
“Did you know Shobi was going to visit?” More like ambush her. “Why didn’t you warn me?”
Mina sighed. “What you’re really asking is why I didn’t stop her. I can’t stop Shobi from visiting. Are you really angry with me about that?”
“I don’t know.”
“If you can’t say, ‘No, I’m not angry,’ then you are.”
Truth was, Ashna didn’t know how to be angry with her aunt. If she didn’t have Mina Kaki and HRH, all she would have was anger.
Thanks, Shobi.
“No, I’m not angry.” Ashna smiled. “How can I be angry with you? Look at this place. You breathed life into it.”
Her aunt shook her head. “No, you were brave enough to go out and do something that wasn’t easy. That’s what breathed life into this place.”
Ashna hugged her aunt. “Why aren’t you my mom?”
Mina tucked another loose lock of hair behind Ashna’s ear. “Who says you can have only one? You are as much my daughter as Nisha and Trisha, so that means I am your mom too.” She paused, considering her next words carefully, with the kind of tentativeness that she only displayed when it came to Shobi. “Can I tell you something, as a mom?”
Ashna swallowed, which was enough answer for Mina Kaki.
“Talk to Shobi. It might be time to stop believing the thing that’s easiest to believe.”
Someone called to Mina Kaki, and Ashna blessed the gods of timing.
“Go on.” She dropped a kiss on her aunt’s cheek. “I’ll be fine. See, I’m off to ‘do the rounds.’” With that, off she went without acknowledging whatever her aunt was trying to tell her.
Doing the rounds basically involved people telling her how much they loved the show and what a lovely couple she and Rico made. She tried to tell them that they weren’t a couple but gave up when no one had any interest in her take on the matter. Instead, she told them to tune in for Yash’s upcoming rally in Oakland next month and went back to the kitchen.