“Chill Pops.” Vikram sauntered over. “Don’t give yourself a stroke in your old age.”
“My old age?” Aakash sputtered.
Vikram winked at his father as he walked over to pluck Tani up and crush her in a bear hug.
“That one takes after you,” Aakash muttered to Kanak.
“Yes, he does,” she agreed proudly.
“You’re getting married!” Vikram said now, drawing back to look at her, his perceptive gaze scanning her face and seeing more than she wanted him to. If there was one cousin who saw straight through her bullshit, it was this one.
“I am,” she agreed, smiling brightly. “You’ll get to meet him tomorrow. He’s coming down with some of his friends to spend time with everyone.” She looked beyond him to the car. “Where’s Vedika?”
Vikram’s smile dimmed. “She’s studying for an exam. Can’t take time off apparently,” he said, moving to hug Kimi who launched herself at him like a rogue missile.
“That one,” Kanak said caustically to Aakash, from behind them, “takes after you.”
CHAPTER 7
KABIR
Kabir stayed up all night,sitting in the dark of his room, his eyes shut, head tilted towards the open window to soak up the laughter and chatter that floated in from downstairs. At some point, everyone had left to crash for the night and he’d allowed his mind to slip into sleep too.
He woke the next morning, heavy headed and hungry. Kabir wandered down to the kitchen, praying it would be empty. But as usual, his prayer went unanswered. There was one person who’d woken up before him.
“Oh my GOD!” Kanak gasped, her hands on her chest, right over her heart. “There’s a rockstar in my kitchen.”
Kabir stared at her imperiously. “I don’t do autographs on an empty stomach.”
She slapped the back of her wrist to her forehead. “Oh!” she cried dramatically. “I have the worst luck. How will I ever survive this? May I feed you, Your Famousness?”
He chuckled as he came forward and wrapped her in a hug, allowing her manic yet weirdly maternal energy surround him.
“Scrambled eggs?” she asked, leaning back to look at his face, trying to hide the concern that shone in her eyes at whatever she saw in his.
“Why are you even asking? That’s the only thing you know how to make.” He was careful not to mention that she made it well. Because, well, she didn’t.
“DUDE!” Kanak smacked his arm. “Rude.”
“Dude?” Kabir cracked up, the first real laugh since reaching India bursting out of him. “Really Maasi?”
Kanak laughed, her loud, boisterous laugh filling the kitchen. She reached for the eggs and started cracking them into a bowl. Kabir winced as several eggshells fell into it too.
“I guess it’s safe to say I’m too old for dude.” She chuckled, reaching for the bread to shove a few slices into the toaster.
“I think it’s safe to say we’re both too old for dude,” Kabir said dryly, trying to surreptitiously fish the eggshells out behind her back.
“Oh come now,” she laughed, good-naturedly. The laugh died a quick death when she saw him quickly withdrawing a spoon from her egg and shell mix.
“What are you doing?” she asked, suspiciously.
“Helping?” He gave her his most innocent look, which wasn’t innocent at all.
“You go sit there.” She shuffled him aside, towards the kitchen table and away from her Kanak style disaster egg concoction.
Accepting his fate of crunchy scrambled eggs, Kabir stretched, pulling out his phone and scrolling through the many messagesthat had piled up. The one right on top had him tensing, a million memories tangling together in his mind.
“What’s going on, Rock On?” Kanak asked, her eyes on him as she briskly scrambled the eggs into oblivion. Kabir feared for their safety.
