Chapter 6

A month later, Anju was operating the house like she had lived there her whole life. Dinner was ready at exactly 6:00, as Laylan had requested, the house was cleaner than it had been in months, and Anju felt quite at home. Latika had already become a little sister, and followed Anju everywhere. The teenager had also started showing her pregnancy, being almost three months.


Jai, however, was a different story. He was pretty aloof to everyone, even Laylan. The teenager would come home from school with Latika and immediately go into his room. Anju guessed it had been this way since his father had died, as it didn't bother his mother or sister. Often times it would be her and Jai home, with Laylan attending Latika's piano lessons or something of that sort. This was one of the few times Jai would emerge from his room. He wouldn't speak though, and rarely even acknowledged Anju. Their interactions consisted of Anju muttering a 'Sorry' if she got in his way or inquiring if Jai was hungry. Regardless, Anju thought the boy had to be kind to be a child of Laylan's.

So when Jai knocked on Anju's door one afternoon when Latika and their mother were at the store, she was a little more than surprised. "Um, come in!" Anju looked up from her letter and quickly closed her notebook.

Jai cleared his throat and glanced at her, obviously nervous. Anju decided she might as well start a conversation. "Did you need something, Jai? I can make you some lunch if you'd like."

"Actually I, uh, wanted to ask you some stuff. If you don't mind that is." Anju nodded and the boy sat on the floor. He cleared his throat again. "What's America like?"

Anju laughed at the simplicity of the question, expecting something far worse. "It's...different. Less structure, I suppose you could say. Family and respect is a lot less important."

"What do you mean?"

Anju thought for a moment. "Most people move away from their parents. Girls most certainly don't go live with their new family when they're married off. Kids mouth off a lot too." She chuckled, remembering an incident at a supermarket where a kid whined for a lollipop. The boy back talked his mother for about ten minutes throughout the store.

"Oh..." Jai shifted awkwardly, glancing around the room.

"That's not really what you want to talk about, is it, Jai?" The teenager cocked her head to the side, causing her bangs to fall over her eyes.

Jai's eyes widened and he blushed with embarrassment. "I-well-sorry."

Anju chuckled at his apparent discomfort. "Sorry." She let one more escape. "Go ahead, ask away."

"Do you regret it? Coming here?"

"I'm guessing you're trying to ask if I regret keeping the baby?" Anju caught his eyes, and the redness once again appeared on his face, confirming her suspicion. "At first I did. I mean, having a kid young is awful in America and here, if you're pregnant without a husband, it's just as bad. Life on the streets is rough anywhere. It's not like I meant for that...whole...thing to happen though, even if my parents think everyone is good." Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, but they didn't fall. "They want what they think is best at the time. I don't regret keeping it, the baby didn't do anything wrong"

"Oh. That makes sense. Don't you miss your parents though?" This conversation with Jai was unexpected at the least, but it was if he was actually interested, which was even more unexpected.

"Yes. I miss Mama, regardless of the circumstances, she would have loved a grandchild. Father was dead-set against it though."

Jai noticed Anju's attitude about the subject and decided to change it quickly. "Do you know what it is yet?"

Laughing, Anju quickly answered. "Nope. It's going to be a surprise. I don't want to know, don't you think it's more fun that way?"

"I wouldn't know, actually. I don't really remember when Latika was born." He thought of another question to follow suit. "What about names?"

"Not really. I still have a while to go though. So if you have any suggestions, I'll gladly take them." Anju placed her hands on the little round bulge protruding from her dress and smiled.

"I'll get back to you on that." The rest of the afternoon was one of the best she had experienced since coming to India. Jai was very easy to talk to, and Anju found that he was actually funny. He told her about school there, and she told stories of America in exchange. When Latika and Laylan returned that evening, everything went about as usual, although Anju couldn't help but wonder if a day like that would occur again.