"Ashwini, Rajiv Uncle is asking if you want to have coffee at their house today at 6. They want to talk to you and Manish. They just want to hang out and have fun," my mom told me, as I mixed the rice in the pathram with some water.

Coffee with Rajiv Uncle and his slightly boisterous personality is something that I would've never traded in for anything. I drained the water out, and said, "Yeah, I don't see why not. I like Manish's parents. I'm just hoping Isha won't ruin anything for me, like she always does."

My mom opened the cooker, took the paathram from me, and placed it inside there. She closed it, and said, "Uncle told me that Isha's going to be at a friend's house today, so she won't be back until night."

I breathed out a sigh of relief. I didn't know how many more times I'm going to have to go to the bitchy intensive care to get treatment for the times she's thrown shit at all of us. I was close to punching her face out if she was to make another snide remark about Manish and I's friendship. "I'm surprised she even has friends. Those 'friends' of hers must have literally no conscience or brain at all to be hanging out with someone like her. I don't know how Jen tolerated her when she was younger."

My mom let out an amused chuckle, as I opened the dishwasher to get a glass of water. I heard Ananth come down the stairs, and say, "What about Jen and being friends with someone and somehow tolerating them?"

I shook my head. I was trying to block the thought of Jen and Isha being together as best friends because I didn't want to lose my appetite for coffee. "It's just about how Jen and Isha were besties when they were younger. I don't know how, I don't know why, and I don't want or need to know. It still amazes me how Jennifer Natasha Samandi, the most chill person I know, was friends with someone whose prick level has attained cactus."

Ananth let out a snicker, and sat down on the couch, possibly to watch another rerun of the thousand favorite shows that he has. "Yeah, I don't get it either. But life is full of mysteries." I grabbed my phone to check it, and to see if Manish has sent something.

Surely enough, there was a text that read, "Your mom told you about today, right?"

I swiped to the right, and replied, "Yes, I can't wait! Skydiving is going to be super fun!" I smiled to myself, because I loved to mess with him. Sometimes I felt bad about doing it, but other times, it was worth it seeing his reaction.

The text read back, "Wait, skydiving? I hate heights. Why didn't my mom tell me about this?" I snickered to myself, as I could almost feel the panic on my side of the screen. Although seeing Manish truly scared made me scared as well, messing with him was even more fun.

I texted back, "I'm kidding, Sunny. Don't worry. I wouldn't make you skydive. I'll see you at your house in a few hours."

"You're so mean for scaring me like that. See you later."

I smiled, put my phone down, and walked back into the kitchen. My mom was sitting on the couch, on the computer, probably looking at the news in India, while Ananth was watching a rerun of "The Amazing Spider Man 2."

I sat down with him, and asked, "Is Jen going to be there, Mom?"

My mom shook her head. "I texted Rania Aunty. Jen and her are helping out with Irfan's wedding reception. She can't make it today. It's just going to be you, Manish, and his parents."

Of course, I was bummed out about the fact that Jen couldn't join us, but that was outweighed by the fact that I could spend more time with one of my best friends, alone. But, a small part of me wondered what would happen if his parents weren't involved.

************

I was getting hot, and it hadn't even been a few minutes. I knew that their house would be air conditioned, with the smell of incense wafting through the air making it a refreshing addition to the hot, muggy summer.

I rang the doorbell, with the anticipation high. I was expecting to be either greeted by Manish's big, warm smile, Sandhya Aunty's sweet, motherly demeanor, or Rajiv Uncle's booming, hearty voice and slightly intimidating aura.

The third expectation was filled, when the door swung open, and Rajiv Uncle was standing there. "Jaya! Come in, come in!" he boomed, which was like someone hung a microphone across his neck.

I gave him a slight smile, and said, "Good to see you too, Uncle." He moved out of the way to let me inside the house. I walked inside, and sat down almost immediately on the couch, as he shut the door behind me.

The faint smell of Rajasthani food wafted throughout the house, making its way to my nose and reminding me of how good food is. The many pictures of Manish proudly hugging his bitch of a sister made it feel like I was looking at a mural. The souvenirs from their many travels idly sat around, completing the museum-like aesthetic. It was like a memorial museum was constructed for the Chauhan family and all their memories.

Rajiv Uncle sat down, and said, "So, how's everything? Getting ready to go to medical school?"

I gave him a nod, as I pushed my hair out of my face. "Yep. Where's Manish?"

Uncle gave me a sly smile, and said, "Ah, I knew you'd ask that. He's out getting a few things. He'll be back in a few-"

Right when he was about to finish his sentence, Manish opened the door, and walked inside, with a grocery bag in his hand. He saw me sitting on the couch, and then gave me his signature warm smile.

He walked over to the couch and handed the bag to his dad. "Thank you, beta. Sandhya Aunty will be down in a few minutes. She's just finishing up a few things." He went upstairs to put the groceries in the kitchen, and I leaned back into the couch.

Manish's arm snaked around me, and he said, "Getting tired, grandma?"

I rolled my eyes. "Sunny, you're older than me."

"I know, but you still act like one."

I kicked him in the shin, as he let out a slight chuckle. His hand went up and pinched my cheek, which he knew I hate, and I smacked it away. I swept my hair out of my face, which was honestly bugging me because I didn't have a hair tie on me at the moment, and I really didn't want to have to extend my arms to do a French braid.

One, because if I do that, I could have skipped arm day at the gym. Two, because if I tried to do that, it would have looked more like a clump of wet seaweed rather than a French braid.

Manish noticed this, and instructed, "Turn around." I turned a little bit, and he swept my hair back. He reached in his pocket, grabbed a hair tie from there, and then split my hair into three sections.

Gently running his fingers through my hair so that he didn't hurt me, he started to pull the hair into the most decent braid that he could. I just sat and let him do the work, as he just did it so effortlessly and painlessly. It was almost relaxing letting him do it, and with him having a lot of fun, it was almost like a perfect match.

"You two are already a married couple, aren't you?" Sandhya Aunty asked, as she strode down the steps. I turned around, as Manish tucked a stray hair behind my ear.

I told Manish thanks, and then smiled. "That's cute. I don't think Manish would ever marry me, though."

Manish leaned in and whispered, "Don't give up yet."

I stomped on his toes a little bit, as we both knew that he's probably joking. He chuckled a little bit, and then Sandhya Aunty said, "Manish, beta, would you go put away the groceries upstairs?" Manish, without hesitation, ran upstairs to go help his mother, and when Sandhya Aunty noticed that he's gone, she leaned in a little bit closer to me.

"Come closer, Ashwini," she instructed, and to that, I obeyed. She lowered her voice a little bit. "Ashwini, in all honesty, I don't mind Manish marrying you. If anything, I would love to have you as a daughter, and it would be amazing if you married him. You would make an amazing daughter in law."

I smiled at Sandhya Aunty's love for me. Even though Manish may have been moving away, I felt like there was a piece of Manish that was always going to be here, and that was in the form of his mother.

I gave Sandhya Aunty a grateful smile, and said, "Thanks, Aunty. But I'm not the perfect girl for Manish. There's someone out there who's definitely better suited for him, and I'm not that girl."

Sandhya Aunty shook her head, and said, "I don't believe that. I still believe that you two are meant to be together. But, other than that, I'm sad. My first child is going to be moving across the country. Not only is he going to be so far away, but that is a punch in the face reminder of how old I'm getting."

I let out a little laugh, and Sandhya Aunty just rubbed her slightly wrinkled cheeks. "Yeah, like when I got into medical school and realized that I'm officially an adult."

Right as I said that, Manish comes walking down the steps. The smile on his face that he had when he saw me in his house never left him. He sat down next to us, and said, "Mom, you look worried. Is everything okay?"

Sandhya Aunty shook her head, and said, "No, no, nothing is wrong. But, either ways, how about I get some of Manish's kalakand that he made? It's super sweet, and I was snacking on it all day. It's addictive."

When she said that last line, I immediately remember the inside joke that Manish and I constantly made. We both make eye contact, and then we burst out laughing. Sandhya Aunty looked confused, but pretty much didn't care, because thankfully, she understood that best friends have their inside jokes.

In between breaths from laughing, I choked out, "Yes, let's have some," because Manish's cooking was like an angel walked out from heaven and made a feast for you.

As I was laughing with Manish, I just thought about what Sandhya Aunty said. It made me happy that she loved me enough for her to want me to marry her son, but I still seriously doubted that I was perfect for him.

However, just the fact that she supported me and loved me enough to want me as a daughter in law was extremely comforting. But it also proved how much of a fangirl she was, even if she refused to admit it.