“I can see.”
“She did great,” Tanvi said.
Meena grinned wide. “I did.”
“Need help?” Sam asked.
“Is it three steps or five?”
“Four.”
“Oh.”
Meena braced herself. Right leg. Up. Left leg. Right leg. Up. Left leg. She made it. She lifted both arms in victory. “Ta-da.”
Sam laughed. “One more to go.”
“Oh,” Meena said.
Her toe caught the lip of the last step, and she fell into Sam’s arms. His strong arms. She clutched at his biceps. Held on. The muscles were small, but she could trace the ridges.
“You broke her.” Sam glared at the aunties.
“Nonsense.” Uma shook her head. “We brought her out of her shell.”
“Give her to us.” Sabina reached for Meena. “We’ll take her in.”
Meena rested her face against Sam’s chest. His wool coat felt warm and soft against her skin.
“Let Sam take care of her,” Tanvi said. “She wants him.”
Meena nodded. “Yes.”
“She needs water, Sam,” Sabina instructed.
“So do the three of you,” he said. “Careful climbing up the steps.”
“Who do you think you’re talking to?” Uma put her hands on her hips. “I have climbed these stairs since I was a baby. I will climb them when I’m ninety. Don’t think I’m too old to go up the steps. I could run up them if I wanted to.”
“Not old,” Sam said. “Drunk.”
“I can hold more liquor in my left leg than you can in your whole body,” Uma argued. “Let’s go, Sameer: you, me, and a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue. Right now.”
“More like you, Tanvi, me, and a jug of water.” Sabina let the two of them away.
Meena opened her eyes. She was on the couch. Sitting down. Thank goodness. The living room was slightly tilted or spinning. She blinked to clear her vision. Sam sat on the coffee table in front of her.
“Sip this.” He held out a glass.
“If it’s vodka, no thank you.”
“It’s water.” He nudged it into her hand.
Meena cupped it and sipped. “It tastes so good.”
He smiled. “Did you have fun?”
Meena laid her head against the back of the couch. “I can’t feel my face. Is it still there?”
“It is.”
“I need to reapply my lipstick.”
“Maybe later,” Sam said. “Your lips are fine.”
She sat up. “So are yours. They look soft.” She reached up and stroked her fingers over his lips. “They are. You must use lip balm.”
“Carmex.”
“Good for you.” She smiled widely. “You’re so pretty, Sam.”
“Drink a little more water,” he said.
“The aunties,” Meena whispered. “They are so nosy. They asked so many questions. And they’re filthy. The jokes from dinner . . . whew. Not that I’m a prude, but I learned some new words today. Do you know gaand means ass? That’s a weird word to say. Gaand. Apparently I have an accent. The aunties are going to teach me Gujarati and Hindi. They think I should know. And they’re right. I have a secret. I didn’t tell them, but I want to tell you.”