“I didn’t bring the boys,” I start, “because I’m not staying.”
“Then why are you here?” my father booms.
I resist the natural urge to flinch.
I’m safe. I’m safe. I’m safe.
“To break your mother’s heart even more than you already have?”
“Surinder,” Anjali warns her brother in a clipped tone.
“What? I’m only laying the truth for him to see.”
“It’s fine, Auntie,” I reassure Anjali, carefully resting my hand against hers.
I turn my attention back to my parents and swallow past the knot in my throat. “I came here to fix this.”
“Oh,” Mom sighs, pressing a hand to her chest. “Good. That’s good.”
“Mom, Dad,” I begin, bracing myself and daring tohope, hope, hope.“You’ve always taught me the importance of respecting and honouring your parents. I’ve always upheld those values. And I intend to do everything in my power to continue to do so.”
The hopeful smiles adorned on both my parents’ faces break my heart.
“But Rachel and I are parents, too.” Their smiles falter, brows furrowing. “And we’re raising our boys the best we can. Mom, you have to respect that we’re parents in this equation, too.”
“I know you’re a parent,” Mom says, her voice strained. “But you’ll always be my baby boy, no matter what.”
“That’s the thing, Mom.” I breathe through my nose. “It’s like you do respect us as parents, until we don’t do things your way. And what happened yesterday—it cannot happen again.”
“So what, exactly, would have had me do, Karan? Let Rachel walk all over me after I’ve done both of you a favour by babysitting your children?”
“She wasn’t walking all over you. She was setting a boundary.”
Mom rolls her eyes at the word. “Boundaries. You’re really going to take boundary advice from a woman who has turned her back on her own parents?”
“Abusive parents,” I correct her.
“They never lay a finger on her,” Dad chimes in.
“Oh, my God,” I sigh, rubbing my beard with my hand. “I am not having this discussion with you guys. This has nothing to do with Rachel’s family.”
I stand, unable to stay still like this is a normal conversation. “Mom, I’m going to be crystal clear with you. You’ve got an issue respecting Rachel’s boundaries and respecting her as a mother? Well, then, fix it. Find a therapist. Go on a silent retreat. I don’t give a fuck what you do—fix your shit, or you’re going to lose us for good.”
My words hang in the air, everyone collectively holding their breaths. Mom stares at me. Her eyes are wide open, her jaw hanging on the floor. Dad, on the other hand, is locked tight. A stone fortress.
He’s seething, but he’s letting Mom break the silence.
And she does.
“All I’ve ever done,” Mom cries out, tears beginning to stream from her face as she stands, “was to help you. But apparently, I love you too much, want you to succeed too much. Is my love for you too much, Karan?”
“No.” My own voice trembles as I fight back tears.
I cannot cry in front of them. Especially Dad, who looks down at me with a stony, disappointed glare.
“I told you yesterday; I love you. I love you both.”
That’s the truth, because who wouldn’t?
