Fruits Forbidden

Chapter 8: She’s Working Late, ’Cause She’s a Nurse

After another hour of nonsensical banter and gushing over crushes (Stacie had many), we heard the door unlock and we knew my mom had come home. I had barely moved my feet before Stacie was already out of her seat and running to take the grocery bags from my mom’s hands.

“Priti! My most favourite girl in the world.” She winked at my mom and as usual, she was flattered. She grinned at her, patting Stacie’s head before passing a glance towards me. “Dekh isse aur seekh! (Watch her, and learn) Such a sweetheart, helping me with the groceries.” Oh right. I did that too when I went over to Stacie's house. Big Deal.

“Ask her mom if she does the same at home, phir pata chalega (then you’ll know).”

“I know I’m still in my early stages of learning Hindi but don’t let her manipulate you, Priti. This girl is a real mind-bender.” Stacie stuck her tongue out at me as I went over to the fridge to get my mom a glass of water. It was customary in Indian families to always give a glass of water, and beverages, to everyone who came home from outside. No matter if it were family members too. I wasn’t in touch with much of my Indian roots, but I tried to learn whatever I could.

My mom had already sprawled on the couch, crushed from her tiring shift at the hospital. She leaned on an elbow, gulping down the cold water in a go. She pulled herself into a sitting position, asking Stacie about her long weekend at her grandma’s. It was amazing how much my mom could push and still pretend to be fine.

After sitting down for a good 10 minutes and chatting with the both of us about school and boys and everything, she began to yawn, and it was sign enough that she needed to rest.

“Mom, go to sleep. If you stay up like this, you’ll turn into a zombie.”

“Good for me if I work at a hospital, right? Lots of brains to eat.”

After pushing her and pushing her to put her sleep first, she got up and went into the guest bedroom to change into her pre-kept set of fresh clothes, throwing her scrubs into the washing machine before she could wear them again. My mom never applied the ‘two sets of the same outfit for convenience’ thing. Though she had a couple extra pairs of her scrubs, she never really used them until absolutely necessary. “Why ruin multiple pairs of clothes when you can ruin just one at a time?” She would say.

When mom re-entered the living room, she was wearing her regular t-shirt and shorts, but she looked so pretty even in those clothes, it was unimaginable that she was a woman in her 40s and not my younger, much prettier, sister.

“Priti, I swear if you were anywhere around my age, I would be following you around like a puppy in love.” Stacie was always flirting with my mom, and my mom was always setting her straight. Which she wasn’t.

“You already are following me around though, aren’t you?” She laughed and started climbing up the stairs.

Stacie grinned.

Halfway up the stairs, she stopped. “Maayu? Baby, can you wake me up around 9:30? I’m gonna set an alarm as well but I don’t know if I will wake up.”

“Why do you want to wake up so early?” That was less than 5 hours of sleep that she had since last night.

“I have another shift at 10.” She shrugged, as if it was nothing.

“Two shifts in a day? Excuse me, are they trying to kill you?” I scolded. “What? Do they not have any more staff?”

My mom looked around, scratching her head. “Well, Jasilda is sick because of her pregnancy, so I thought I’d work her shifts so that she can get the extra money.” She sighed. “You know she needs all the money she could get.”

I could see the pain in her eyes. The pain that she had felt, the same excruciating agony she had gone through when my father had knocked her up and then left—all because he couldn’t handle the responsibility. She didn’t want anyone to go through the same thing she had, and I understood.

I nodded at her, sighing, and she began running upstairs.

“Mom!” I called after her as I remembered.

“Yeah?” she peeked from behind the wall, sleep heavy on her eyes.

“I’m going out partying tonight.” I told her honestly. I was never restricted by her to do anything at all; she only wanted to know the truth about my whereabouts.

“Oh? On a school night? That’s…rebellious.” She laughed, as if remembering her own teenage years. “Is Daniel going to be there with you two?”

“I mean all of us are going, so yeah?” I looked up at her in a questioning gaze.

“Then go have fun!” she giggled and stared climbing the stairs again.

“Mom!”

“Good lord, what?” She peeked again, this time not as fun, the sleep almost closing her eyes.

“There’s pasta in the pot. Eat it before you leave.”

“Alright, alright” She sighed. “I don’t know who the kidis in this house, seriously, aaj kal ke bacche, by God (kids these days, my God).” She grumbled all the way.

“I can hear you!” I sang and she returned my singsong statement. “It’s for you to hear!”

The moment we heard her door shut, Stacie was right beside me.

“See, even Priti loves him.”

“Yeah, yeah, everybody does.” I shrugged at her.

“You know what? Forget all the lets-confess-our-feelings-first-and-then-think-about-dating drama, because I’m sick of the both of you. Let me be your officiant and get you both married right away.” She spoke so seriously, as if she hadn’t just spoken utter hot s**t from her mouth.

“So you want to make him run for the hills and keep me for yourself? I never took you for the jealous type.” I teased her and she scoffed jokingly.

“Just because I swing for all the teams doesn’t mean I’ll settle for trash.” She guffawed in laughter. “Daniel is a charitable person, I am not.”

“It’s okay, you can accept your natural inclinations and fall in love with me. I won’t hold it against you.” By the time I had started to make kissy faces at Stacie, she flicked my forehead and ran upstairs, trying to escape my torture. I ran after, hot on her heels.

“I still have taste, you know. I don’t go for single-braincelled girls like you, please.”

“You’re just trying to hide your jealousy and pain behind these mean words, Stacie. It’s okay, I know.” I patted her head when she set herself on my bed, panting like a dog. “Deep down, I am your soulmate and you know that.”

Stacie made a constipated face and said, “So yuck, but I guess we are.”

Yes, we were.