“Well, that’s still great news.”
“Thanks.” He cleared his throat.
“How’s, uh, everything else? Everything with your family?”
Karthik sank a bit farther into the couch. “I don’t know. I talked with my mom.”
“How’d it go?”
“She didn’t react at all.”
“I— I don’t…What do you mean?”
He closed his eyes. “She didn’t want to talk about it. I asked if there was anything she needed, anything I could do, but she said no,and I just felt so…so…useless.” He took a deep breath. “I don’t know what else to do.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” he said immediately.
“I know. But I’m still sorry.” She exhaled softly. “I don’t think thereisanything else for you to do. Other than be there for her. And it sounds like you’re doing that.”
“But it doesn’t feel—” A lump rose in his throat. He tried to swallow the uncomfortable sensation down. “It doesn’t feel like enough.”
She didn’t say anything, but her gentle breathing told him she was still on the line. The quiet companionship made him feel a little less alone.
“Thanks,” he said.
“For what?”
“For listening.”
“Anytime.”
He sat there for a moment, looking down at the plate on his lap. His food had gotten cold. He went to stick the plate back in the microwave.
“Hey. Can I ask you something?”
“Of course,” she replied.
“Why does Seth call you ‘Meg’?”
She didn’t respond for a second, so Karthik continued. “Is that what you prefer to be called? Would you want me to call you that?”
“No. I mean…It’s just…Seth’s the only one who calls me that.”
Karthik’s chest tightened. “Oh. Okay.”
She sighed. “It wasn’t my idea. He had a hard time pronouncing my name at first, so he shortened it.”
Karthik paused, then scoffed. “How hard did he try? Your name’s pretty easy.”
“I know.”
“Two syllables. It doesn’t get much easier than that.”
“Yeah.”
“You should tell him to say your name properly.”
