“How can I not? She doesn’t want me here.”
“She thinks you do not want to be here,” Tanvi said. “This building is her life. Her whole identity is about who she is in this house. You’ve been careless with this apartment. First you stayed here like it was a place you didn’t want to be. You didn’t even sleep in the bedroom. She thinks you don’t appreciate what you’ve received. She’ll get over it now that you’re making an effort.”
Meena wondered if that was it. That maybe she’d read too much into Sabina’s hostility and that it was more about respecting the history for a building she deeply cared about. “Do I have to get her permission to paint the walls?”
Tanvi laughed. “Your back stiffens just like hers. No, you do not need approval. If you’re painting, however, you might want my opinion. I have an artist’s eye.”
“I’m open to it.” Meena considered the idea. “As long as color is used sparingly.”
“Don’t be afraid,” Tanvi said. “I can see this bedroom in bright green with wallpaper of yellow daises on an accent wall.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Now I know your boundaries.” Tanvi grinned. “I didn’t think you’d be so boring about wall color.”
“We’ll find a way to compromise. Anything I should know about Uma?”
Tanvi shook her head. “She’s prepping for the start of the semester, buried in her books.”
“And you and I are good?”
Tanvi reached over and hugged her. Meena wrapped her arms around the sturdy frame. Tanvi’s long hair brushed her face, and Meena inhaled the floral scent of her perfume.
Tanvi pulled back and let go. “We’re OK. And you need to practice hugging along with other things. You’re really clumsy about it.”
“How did I mess it up?”
“Your arms were too loose,” Tanvi said. “And there was a lot of hesitation.”
Meena laughed. “I guess I have a lot to learn.”
Tanvi patted her shoulder. “Only if you want to. Not everyone likes to hug.”
“Was that a topic in your Do No Harm Club?”
“Uma did it just for me,” Tanvi said. “I’m a tactile person, and she wants to make sure I don’t force myself on everyone. It’s difficult, but I understand why.”
Meena was amazed that these women continued to learn, to improve in ways they believed made them better. It was never too late to fix yourself.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Meena knocked on Sam’s door. When he called out to let herself in, he was on his couch, his legs stretched out on the coffee table, a computer on his lap and earbuds in his ears. In gray sweatpants and a pale-blue long-sleeved shirt, he looked casually cute.
She looked around for Wally and found him napping in the corner. She went to him and sat down to stroke his fur as he nuzzled her, then rested his face on her lap.
“You’re a tired puppy.” Meena kissed the top of his head.
Sam took out the earbuds. “Puppy school is exhausting.”
Meena left Wally to sleep and went to the other side of the sofa. She put a plastic container she’d brought with her on the coffee table. “I baked cookies.”
He raised both eyebrows.
“By myself,” she said.
He continued to stare.
“Fine.” There was no sense pretending with him. “I opened a bag of presectioned cookie dough and followed the instructions.”