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Table of Contents

Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Preface

Several years ago, I came to New York from Mumbai, India to pursue a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering. I was one of the hundreds of thousands of immigrant students who come to United States every year. Just like every other young student, I had a lot of ambition and energy, and I was prepared to work hard in order to succeed and achieve my dreams.

Being from a lower middle class family in India, my lifestyle in the U.S. was not exactly lavish. Before arriving here, most immigrants dream about all the fun they're going to have, but in most cases, these wild ambitions are tempered upon arrival when they realize that fun comes at a price. Students, particularly those from developing countries and first generation immigrants, generally have to settle for vicarious thrills.

This was my experience as well. I began living with a few other needy students from India in Ozone Park, Queens. Without our parents and their constant monitoring, we could have had so much fun at that young age, but given our financial limitations, a lot of that fun was beyond our reach. In fact, most immigrant students tend to hide their true situation and struggles from their parents, who are already uncertain and stressed about sending their children thousands of miles away. We didn't want to add to their worry. In fact, I have seen so many young people who were irresponsible when they were living with their parents become mature and grounded when they were here alone in a new environment.

Like many other students, I cried frequently during my first few months here as I struggled with homesickness and a desire for my mom's tasty food. I quickly came to understand the importance of family in a way that I never appreciated when I was home. Those early days were difficult and I threw myself into my work to keep my mind off my troubles, but no matter what, I did not give up. Just like my friends, I ran after success. Being a 20-year old and knowing first hand the depths of India's poverty, I thought success was measured by the amount of money I acquired. So I did everything possible to earn and save money, just like my friends and roommates did.

Once I completed my education, I found a good job and settled here in New York. But I never stopped thinking about my first few years as a student. During that time in my life, I met many immigrants and lived with so many Indian students, forging life-long friendships with some of them. Perhaps due to my successful academic background (which matters a lot to Indians), I had a reputation for being a trustworthy and empathetic listener. Many of my friends would come to me with their problems, opening their lives to me and sharing their dreams and their fears. Their lives and our conversations are inscribed indelibly in my memory, and the story of three graduate students in New York that you are about to read is an amalgamation of my experiences and those of my friends and classmates as we did our best to navigate this new world. Although the students in this story are Indian, their experiences are representative of all immigrants who share a common ambition, endure a common struggle, and strive to achieve a common goal of creating a better life for themselves and for their families.

Chapter 1

The National Society of Mechanical Engineers was hosting a lavish event for the leading scientists and researchers of 2012 in downtown New York. The scintillating lights of the center, the aroma of the flowers in the table centerpieces, the gourmet food, and the sparkling champagne added to the vibrancy and energy that permeated the air as the event's presenter addressed the crowded hall. Behind the velvet curtains that lined the stage, a tall and slim Indian man in his early thirties paced the floor and raked his slender fingers through a mop of dark hair, a nervous gesture left over from earlier days. An attendant approached him and offered a small plastic cup of water. The man took the cup with a self-deprecating smile.

"Is it that obvious?" he inquired.

The attendant, a young woman in her twenties, shook her head. "It happens. I'm sure you'll be fine once you get out there." She took the empty cup he handed back to her, and left the man alone with his thoughts.

"After graduating from the New York Institute of Engineering and Management in 2007, Dr. Kumar, a research scientist at Brooklyn Fire Safety Laboratories, conducted several prominent studies that have changed the way firefighters attack fires in many parts of this nation and contributed to saving the lives of firefighters and civilians across the globe," the presenter continued. "In the last five years, Dr. Kumar has published more than twenty-five journal articles, fifty conference papers, and has received more than four million dollars in research grants."

The young Indian man took a step forward and pulled back the curtain slightly, his eyes scanning the elaborately adorned circular dining tables for familiar faces. But at the onset of the award ceremony, the lights in the main hall had been dimmed and a spotlight was now centered on the presenter as she continued her lead-up. The man couldn't discern any specific faces in the audience, so he shifted his gaze to the rows of stately men and women who were seated directly behind the host. The National Society of Mechanical Engineers' President, Board of Directors, and Trustees were all patiently listening to their newest inductee's long list of accomplishments, and nodding at each other in a self-congratulatory gesture.

"...And so, it gives me great pleasure to introduce to you tonight our newest recipient of The Rising Star of Mechanical Engineering Award, Dr. Vijay Kumar!"

The audience respectfully stood and began to clap with earnest. "Well," the man said to himself as he stood taller and grasped the bottom of his tux, straightening his jacket. "And so it begins."

Dr. Vijay Kumar took a deep breath and strode to center stage with a confidence he had not felt only moments before. He approached the presenter and greeted her with a gentle hug, accepting the heavy, rectangular glass award embossed with a rising star. The woman handed him a check that was made out in his name in the amount of $100,000. The grant was to be used for furthering his research, and though neither the check itself nor the amount came as a surprise to Dr. Kumar, he still stared at it in wonder, subtly shaking his head, humbled by the moment.

"Dr. Kumar, would you like to share your thoughts?" the woman offered with a smile.

"I...this...it's amazing," he attempted, as he turned towards the front of the stage, his shyness flooding back suddenly as he faced the audience. "This is unbelievable, and I truly mean it. Exactly ten years ago, I was just a graduate student distributing flyers in front of the New York Stock Exchange, two or three block from here. I came to this country all the way from India to get an education, but being from a lower middle class family in Bombay, I didn't even have enough money to pay for my schoolbooks. And now here I am, standing in front of you all this evening, with...this" he said, holding up both hands, his voice choked with emotion.

"I don't want to take up too much of everyone's time, but I would like to thank the National Society of Mechanical Engineers for recognizing my research. And of course, I would like to thank my mother. She took on a heavy burden after my father passed away, and she has always been the biggest inspiration for my work. My mom is here," he noted, gesturing towards one of the tables in the center of the hall. "She's here for this award ceremony and she's also here because I'm getting married tomorrow." He paused, looking at the floor and shaking his head once more.

"I wake up every day, surprised that my fiancée hasn't changed her mind about marrying me," he continued, and the audience erupted in laughter. "I'm not sure I would have been so driven if not for her, and winning this award just confirms my belief that she is, and always has been, my good luck charm," Vijay said, as his fingers rubbed the award like it was a talisman. An appreciative humming noise came from the audience as they turned their attention to the table nearest the stage.

A second spotlight turned its attention to the table where an older Indian woman in a red silk sari was sitting and dabbing at her eyes with a white, embroidered handkerchief. Her head was covered with the fall of the sari, and she was holding on to a young, blonde woman whose face was also glowing with pride.

"So I want to thank all of you, most humbly, for this gift and this opportunity. Without the support I received from my parents, my teachers, my friends and my colleagues, and my future wife, tonight would not have been possible. I promise to make the most of this gift by honoring those who came before me and whose work paved the way for my own research, and by striving to light the path for others who will come after me. That's all I can really say, except thank you again."

Once again, the sound of applause filled the hall, and most of Vijay's colleagues stood up from their chairs in respect. The presenter had to move her microphone closer to her mouth so that she could be heard over the crowd's enthusiasm. "Thank you, Dr. Kumar, and congratulations on the award and your wedding! We all wish you much happiness as you begin this new journey together," the presenter concluded, and she placed her hand on his arm to escort him off the stage.

Vijay walked to the nearest table and embraced his mother as she laid her head against his chest. He handed her the award while keeping one arm protectively around her, and he could feel the pride radiating off her in waves as she wept. The woman looked at her son's name engraved in the golden star. "Your father would have been very proud of you today," whispered Shobha Kumar, almost to herself, as she reached up with her kerchief to blot her eyes again.

"I am sure he is watching us from heaven," Vijay replied as he drew her close for another warm embrace. "Hey Carrie," he said, turning to look at the girl beside his mother. "Can you please take mom home? I need to get to the airport."

Carrie Jacobs was trying not to become emotional, but failing miserably. "I am so proud of you, Vijay! You've worked so hard and you deserved this," she said as she produced a large bouquet of red roses from a bag beside her chair. Shobha had insisted that they pick up the flowers on the way to the event.

"Thank you," said Vijay, taking the flowers from her and giving her a quick hug and brushing his lips against her cheek. "I have to run. The flight must be landing now. Maa, can you cook mutter paneer and roti for dinner? He likes it," Vijay said while digging through his jacket pockets in search of his car keys.

"Of course, Vijay. Drive safely. We will see you for dinner," Shobha replied. Carrie put her hand on Shobha's shoulder as Vijay ran towards the exit sign, the outer doors closing behind him and muffling the sounds of the audience's clapping that was still echoing throughout the hall.

Vijay reached Church Street, and immediately noticed the paper under the windshield wiper of the car. He grabbed the parking ticket and opened the door of the black Lexus, throwing the flowers on the seat beside him. Even a ticket couldn't put a damper on his mood this evening. He started the car and gunned the engine, maneuvering out of the tight parking space, and after a few turns, he was heading in the direction of the Brooklyn Bridge. It was mid-August, but the last few days had been unseasonably mild, suggesting an early arrival of fall. Traffic was light, and when Vijay reached the bridge, he opened the sunroof and rolled down the windows, enjoying the cool evening breeze and the familiar, briny smell of the East River wafting into the car.

It was quiet except for the rhythmic sound of his tires gliding over the asphalt, and the lights on the bridge cast a soft, undulating glow that lit the interior of the car. As Vijay began to relax, his mind gently drifted back to his childhood and to the memories he had of his father, his school friends, and his family still in India. He remembered the moment he decided to study in America, and how his mother had reacted, both excited and nervous for her only child. The applications, the waiting, the acceptance letters, and finally the trip that took him so far from home. Those had been difficult years, filled with self-doubt and sacrifice, but they had finally paid off. And now he was on his way to the airport to meet a man who had shared those years with him and knew him like few others did. Vijay had been looking forward to this moment for weeks, and couldn't help but chuckle softly to himself when he thought about the man with the ironically unfortunate name.

After crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, Vijay turned left onto Atlantic Avenue and the sound of a car horn immediately jolted him out of his reverie. The streets were more congested here as people milled about, enjoying the break in the summer heat and taking advantage of the opportunity to casually wander through downtown Brooklyn. Vijay's excitement about seeing his old friend was growing exponentially the closer he got to JFK. He mentally implored the traffic to move out of his way, convinced that they would cooperate if they knew how important it was for him to reach the airport on-time, unlike the first time he'd gone to meet this man. Ten years ago he had made this same trip, but it had involved a subway and a bus instead of a Lexus. The mode of transportation was not all that had changed over the years, though. A small pocket opened up in the traffic and the Lexus responded to the smooth pressure of Vijay's foot as he lowered it towards the floor, the car effortlessly propelling him forward into his destined future and simultaneously taking him backwards into his past.

***

It was the fall of 2002 when Vijay Kumar arrived at the New York Institute of Engineering and Management to study for his PhD. He had been in New York for a few weeks already, having come a little early to talk to his adviser about a research assistantship. He'd found a small studio apartment on Rockaway Boulevard in Ozone Park, Queens, but his five hundred dollar monthly stipend wouldn't begin to cover the four hundred dollar rent and his other expenses, so he'd inquired with the school's chapter of the Graduate Indian Student Association (GISA) about a roommate. The young Indian girl at the front desk had mentioned that she knew of a South Indian student who was arriving at the university the following week, and he, too, was looking to share housing. She gave Vijay his contact information, and Vijay quickly sent him an email. The next day, he'd received the young man's reply. Yes, he was very eager to share an apartment with Vijay, and he'd included a copy of his resume. Vijay had found this a bit odd, but charming in its own way. His potential roommate had earned his B.B.M. degree and was coming to the U.S. to study for an MBA. He'd also worked for six months under the tutelage of a famous South Indian chef. Vijay couldn't believe his luck, as he'd never been very good in the kitchen and was sure that he wouldn't have time to learn now while studying for his PhD. After only a slight moment of indecision, Vijay had sent a reply, and asked his new roommate to let him know when he would be arriving in New York.

The sun was low in the sky when Vijay glanced out of the high, narrow window of the apartment, debating about how to get to the airport. He could take the subway to Howard Beach and then hop on the AirTrain to the airport, or he could take the subway and switch to a bus for the final leg of the trip. The AirTrain was a faster and considerably nicer option, but it would cost him more money. If he took the bus, he could ride for free with his monthly subway pass. Even the $1.50 for the subway ride wasn't cheap for a graduate student on a stipend, so Vijay decided on the second option. His new friend might be unimpressed, but it would be good preparation for the disappointment that awaited him in Vijay's stark, basement apartment.

After taking the A Train and exiting at Lefferts Boulevard, Vijay took up a position in the line of passengers already forming for the Q10. The bus was late, and by the time the passengers had shuffled onboard and paid their fares, Vijay was already running fifteen minutes behind schedule. When he finally reached JFK's Terminal 4, the crowd had already thinned considerably, and Vijay's eyes immediately fell upon the frail, dark-skinned Indian boy standing near the long assembly line of yellow cabs that were pulling up to the curb and loading passengers. Despite the fact that it was August, he was wearing an oversized, faded winter coat that only exaggerated his spindly legs sticking out below, and he stood at alert, his spine straight and his head moving left to right as he kept his hands on two large luggage bags and a backpack that seemed to be bursting at its seams.

Vijay smiled when he saw the man shivering and occasionally releasing his grip on his bags to rub his hands together. Instinctively he knew it had to be him, as only a south Indian could be cold in the middle of a New York City summer heat wave. The man shifted his weight from one foot to the other, and seemed nervous as he scanned the area. Vijay wondered if the look was out of concern for what he would do if no one showed up to claim him, or if he was nervous that someone would try to steal his bags, which he was guarding as though they contained the last of his worldly possessions, perhaps, Vijay realized, because they actually did. Vijay looked down at the picture on the resume he held in his hand. The man shivering in the cold was definitely his new roommate.

"Next! Where to, sir?" An attendant grabbed the man's bags to load them into the waiting cab, and the Indian man panicked. "No! No, leave it," he said, yanking at his bag. "Sorry, sorry! I do not need cab."

The attendant gave him a dirty look. "What are you doing in line then, huh? Get out of everyone's way!"

Vijay held up his hand and waived, quickly running towards the commotion. "Hey! Hi! Lakshminarayanan Durgalakshminath?" he shouted, impressing himself by not fumbling the name too badly.

Lakshminarayanan immediately looked up at the sound of his name, and broke into a huge smile when he saw Vijay running towards him. "Hello! Mr. Vijay Kumar?" he responded with a South-Indian accent. He approached Vijay and extended his right hand, which was covered in a thick, woolen glove. Vijay hesitated, and a shadow briefly flickered across Lakshminarayanan's face. Vijay caught his expression and quickly gestured at the glove. Looking down, the man laughed, bobbing and weaving his head in a back and forth motion that was both typical and uniquely Indian. He ripped the glove off and shook Vijay's outstretched hand vigorously.

"How was your trip?" Vijay asked while grabbing one of the bags.

"Very long," the man continued, "Hey! Thank you for coming."

Vijay turned back in the direction of the bus stop. "Don't worry about it. We're roommates now, so we'll be helping each other out for a long time."

Vijay's words immediately put Lakshminarayanan at ease, and he nodded in agreement. "You are right," he said as he fell in step behind Vijay, swinging the backpack over his shoulder and yanking at the collapsible handle of the remaining bag. "Where are we going?"

"We'll take the bus home," Vijay replied. "I think it's coming now, so we have to walk fast," he said while increasing his pace. Lakshminarayanan struggled to keep up as best as he could. As Vijay hauled the bags up the narrow steps of the bus, Lakshminarayanan stood at the door and looked around with surprise. He had never seen such a clean bus, and there wasn't a single person sitting on the roof or hanging out its windows. The interior lights glowed steadily, casting a yellowish-green tint on tired faces. Vijay swiped a card twice through some kind of machine, and swiveled his head over his shoulder.

"Come on. Get in," he shouted over the noise of the bus's engine.

Lakshminarayanan stepped up into the bus and stopped abruptly when he saw that the driver was a woman. His face registered his shock, and the driver smiled. Already, America was different than what he'd expected. The bus was crowded, but Vijay had managed to find an empty seat and offered it to him.

"Have a seat. You must be tired," Vijay motioned.

Lakshminarayanan sat and placed the backpack on his lap. An older white woman was seated beside him, and shifted in her seat to give him more room. "Thank you," he said, looking at the lady and then back up at Vijay, who stood beside his seat.

"How are you feeling? Are you hungry?" Vijay asked politely.

"No. They gave us food on the plane. It was pretty good."

"How was the flight?"

"It was okay. But I could not sleep."

"You came via Air India...right?" Vijay asked.

Lakshminarayanan nodded. "Yeah! There was not any leg space. You know, this was the first time I was flying, so I was excited about getting to see the beautiful air hostesses." He blushed suddenly, thinking perhaps he had been too forward in front of his new friend, but Vijay just laughed.

"I think they prefer to be called 'Flight attendants' these days. So? How were they?"

"Oh, man! I was so disappointed with those old Indian aunties. I feel like I am being monitored by teachers in school," Lakshminarayanan confided.

Vijay chuckled and grabbed the overhead bar to steady himself as the bus made a turn. "So. You are from Tamilnadu, right?" He was trying to maintain the conversation to make his new friend feel at ease. The bus's air conditioning unit labored to cool the overcrowded bus, but the South Indian man was unfazed by the heat, even in his heavy down coat.

"Yes," Lakshminarayanan replied as the bus made its first stop.

"Where in Tamilnadu?"

"Sivakasi, Virudhunagar District," he answered, while gazing out the window.

"What? Sivakasi in Tamilnadu?" Vijay asked curiously.

"Yes. Why?"

"No. Nothing," Vijay replied hesitantly.

"I know you are from Bombay...I mean Mumbai. My town is not as big as your city. I am from very small place," Lakshminarayanan's voice trailed off as he again turned his attention to the world outside the bus's window.

"Oh! No, I didn't mean it that way," Vijay countered, upset that he had offended his friend. "I know Sivaksi. Almost every firecracker and match box in India is made in Sivakasi."

"Yeah. I worked in one of those factories since I was six years. I know how to make almost every type of firecracker."

Vijay noticed the tears that had suddenly pooled in Lakshminarayanan's lower eyelids. Vijay knew of the poverty in Sivakasi, and silently chided himself for not being more thoughtful with Lakshminarayanan. It was not a conversation you had with someone you had just met, and certainly not one to have on a bus full of strangers.

"Our stop is next, so let's get ready," Vijay said, offering Lakshminarayanan his best apologetic smile and pulling his bags towards the front of the bus. Lakshminarayanan stood up and nodded briefly at the old woman next to him. The brakes screeched as the bus lurched to a halt, and he awkwardly sidestepped down the aisle, trying not to hit anyone with his suitcases.

"Excuse me, sorry. So sorry," he apologized, again gently bobbing his head back and forth.

"Now we have to take the subway," Vijay said. As usual, the elevator at the station was broken, so they had to lift each bag and carry it up the stairs. Vijay again swiped the yellow card twice and opened the emergency exit door, which startled Lakshminarayanan with its disapproving siren. He had always thought American trains were underground, but ahead of him he saw an elevated track and yet another staircase. Once more, they made their way up a flight of stairs, dragging the heavy bags.

When they got to the platform, Lakshminarayanan was completely out of breath. He stood without talking for several minutes, watching the people waiting on the platform, before turning to Vijay again. "Hey," he said, breaking their silence. "What is the yellow ticket you use?"

"It's a Metrocard for the subway and the bus," Vijay replied.

"Oh! So how much I owe you?" Lakshminarayanan said while reaching into his pocket.

"Don't worry about it. We will take care of it later," Vijay said, gesturing with a nod of his head towards the approaching lights. "The train is here."

It was a long train, with many individual cabs, and once again, Lakshminarayanan couldn't help but stare as it approached. The train's brakes hissed as it pulled alongside the platform's edge, and with a ringing sound, its doors opened and he was hit in the face with a blast of cold air. Just like the bus, no one was shoving anyone or hanging out the window, but this time, there were a lot of available seats. He grabbed two of them and motioned to Vijay to sit down. "Nice!" Lakshminarayanan grinned.

"Yeah, I suppose it is," Vijay sighed. "But I am a pure Bombayite, so I actually miss the crowded Bombay trains. I used to love running alongside them and grabbing on and climbing up the sides when I was a kid," he continued. The train pulled forward, and Lakshminarayanan eagerly looked out the windows on both sides of the car, hoping to catch a glimpse of the city.

"You don't get a real view of New York from here, " Vijay cautioned. "We live a little far out from the city, in Ozone Park. It's not bad. Just thirty, maybe forty minutes from the city by the A train. We can go to the city tomorrow if you don't have jet lag."

"Good, I am sure I will be good. No problems. And how far we live from University?" Lakshminarayanan asked.

"The university is also in Manhattan, so it takes almost as long," Vijay answered. Lakshminarayanan looked disappointed. "But don't worry, we have lots of Indian grocery stores around our area, where you can find any ingredient you would need for your famous dishes!" Vijay added, hoping that this information would please him.

Lakshminarayanan frowned, and looked away from Vijay. Vijay was confused. Was Lakshminarayanan already regretting his decision to stay with him? Had Vijay again said something improper that had offended his new friend? Vijay quickly replayed the conversation in his head, but he couldn't think of any reason why Lakshminarayanan should have been upset, unless...

Lakshminarayanan turned back towards Vijay and looked at him sheepishly. Vijay cocked his head and broke into a huge grin. "Well," said Vijay, "I guess all we need to do now is learn to cook!"

Lakshminarayanan let out a deep and genuine laugh. His secret was out, and Vijay wasn't angry. Maybe this was going to work out after all.
Chapter 2

The train was moving slowly, delayed due to what the conductor described as "train traffic ahead." Lakshminarayanan didn't mind, and he passed the time looking out the windows of the train car. The view he was afforded at this speed was so different from what he'd expected, but not because there was anything particularly unique about Queens, NY. In fact, it was more its similarities than its differences that struck him as peculiar. Lakshminarayanan felt a mixture of relief and disappointment, since a part of him had always believed, however unrealistically, that America was a magical place filled with extraordinary sights and sounds that couldn't be experienced anywhere else in the world. So far, Queens New York didn't look much different than the city streets of India.

A mechanical voice came over the intercom announcement system. "This is Rockaway Boulevard." The doors opened, and the boys gathered their luggage and stepped off the train. Vijay waived his hand to the conductor and the train began its slow departure from the station. Lakshminarayanan was not used to such kind treatment. "People are nice here," he remarked, thinking that perhaps the airport attendant had been the exception.

"Yeah. Give respect and get respect is the formula here." Vijay replied. "The apartment is four or five blocks from here, so let's get going," he continued.

The train platform at Rockaway Boulevard was also elevated, and Lakshminarayanan's bags made a loud racket against the metal rungs of the steep stairwell that led to the street. The wheels protested loudly as they were bounced over broken and uneven sidewalks for several blocks until finally Vijay and Lakshminarayanan reached the old, two-story brick house.

"We have to use the back entrance," Vijay motioned with a wave of his hand. He took the keys out his pocket and started walking down the sloped driveway towards the rear side of the house.

Vijay opened the door of the basement, flipped the light switch, and stepped inside. Lakshminarayanan followed behind and set his bags down.

"Well," Vijay began, "It won't take much time to show you the apartment. It starts and ends right here," he laughed. He'd hardly taken five steps when he made a grand, sweeping motion with his arms. "This is the kitchen." Without moving, he pointed with his right index finger: "That's the bathroom. And the place where you are standing right now is our living room-bedroom-study room-and everything else room."

There was no furniture in the apartment except for a small refrigerator, a microwave, and a few chairs the owner had left for Vijay's use. For the most part, the walls were bare, and looked as though they had not been painted in some time. A small Bollywood calendar hung on the wall opposite the door, and the scuffed hardwood floors had seen better days. The ceiling was high enough for a person of average height to stand upright, but Vijay could touch it with his outstretched arms, and there was a single, unadorned light bulb hanging in the middle of the room. The lone window was covered with grime, and Lakshminarayanan noticed the pieces of luggage, presumably Vijay's, that were lined up neatly in the far corner.

Vijay felt a momentary pang of guilt when he thought about how he'd initially described the apartment to Lakshminarayanan as a spacious 1 BHK, but the feeling passed when he remembered how his roommate had described himself as a gourmet chef.

Lakshminarayanan shrugged. "This is still better than my house in India." He rolled his bags over to where Vijay kept his, and positioned them carefully, but he kept his backpack with him.

"Do you speak Hindi?" Vijay questioned.

"No. But I can understand Hindi little bit. They do not teach or use much Hindi in South," Lakshminarayanan answered and added, "I will learn it."

"No, no. That's fine. No problem. I just wanted to make sure."

Vijay filled a plastic 7-11 cup with water and offered it to Lakshminarayanan. He grabbed one of the plain, wooden chairs and sat down, reclining his body and interlacing his slim fingers as he raised them over his head and felt a deep stretch in his upper back. It felt good after the long commute to the airport and hauling Lakshminarayanan's luggage, and Vijay realized that he hadn't practiced yoga since he left Mumbai. One more thing that got pushed aside by his new responsibilities. Motioning to the other chair, he offered it to Lakshminarayanan.

"Have a seat. You must be tired."

"Ah, thank you, but no. I have been in plane for more than twenty hours, so I would like to take a shower if it is okay."

Vijay jumped up from his seat. "Oh! Definitely. I'm sorry I didn't offer. But...um...the bathroom is a little different here than what you're probably used to, so let me show you," he said.

Lakshminarayanan opened the black backpack he still held in his arms and pulled out a thin, orange towel with white stripes. "I am not used to having dedicated space for bathroom and toilet," he said as he followed Vijay.

Vijay pointed to the shower knob. "You can have both hot and cold water, just turn left or right. It's t  
he same for the washbasin." He turned his head to look at Lakshminarayanan and noticed he wasn't paying any attention to Vijay's instructions, but instead had fixed his gaze on the toilet paper roll on the wall. Vijay sighed. "Yeah, they use toilet paper here. I know we don't like it, but there is no another option," he shrugged. The look on Lakshminarayanan's face was somewhere between horror and disgust, but Vijay knew his roommate would just have to sort it out for himself. He squeezed past Lakshminarayanan and stepped out of the bathroom, pulling the door shut behind him. The doorframe was swollen with the summer humidity, and the door didn't want to close all the way.

"Push from that side," he instructed. He heard a dull thud as Lakshminarayanan put his weight against the door, but still it would not close. Then thump-thump-thump as Lakshminarayanan threw his hip against the door, until suddenly it slammed shut and Vijay heard the metallic click of the lock.

Vijay walked into the kitchenette and opened the lower cupboard next to the sink. He took out a large pot for the rice, and noticed the two dead moths in it. Vijay unceremoniously dumped the moths into the sink, turned on the hot water, and reached for a sponge.

"Aaaaaaaahhh!"

The bloodcurdling scream came from the bathroom and Vijay immediately shut off the tap.

"Kya hua? Are you okay?" Vijay shouted. Stupid. He hadn't had to worry about running the water before, but now that he had a roommate, he'd have to be more careful and take note of when he was in the shower. "Sorry! Are you okay?"

Lakshminarayanan shouted back through the bathroom door. "Very cold, very cold!"

Vijay stood outside the door and knocked.

"No worries, no worries, I am fine!" Lakshminarayanan reassured his friend, and satisfied, Vijay returned to the kitchenette.

Twenty minutes later, Lakshminarayanan emerged from the bathroom, warm tentacles of steam uncurling behind him and floating into the living room. Vijay had been cooking, and he could smell the pungent odor of tomato, garlic, and onion. A sudden loneliness descended over Lakshminarayanan, his heart heavy with thoughts of home. Growing up in Sivakasi, he knew from an early age that he would probably have to work in the match making factories like the other kids. It was a matter of survival, as most families desperately needed the income, and the factories needed small, quick hands that would work for little pay. Lakshminarayanan's family was no different, and for a while, they all worked in the factory. But his parents had aspirations for him before he was even born, and by naming him after the Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity, they'd hoped that fate would acquiesce to their will and determination, and look favorably upon their son. Eventually Lakshminarayanan was able to attend school, and his parents worked hard and saved whatever they could so that he could focus on his studies. Every day on his way home from school, Lakshminarayanan would hope that his family had been able to buy some food that his mother could cook. Some days they ate only the leftover scraps his mother had obtained by begging, but on good days, his parents were able to bring home a little bit of food that his mother could cook. Out of necessity, she had become a talented chef who knew how to embellish the staples they did have. Perhaps more than anything else, it was the aroma of his mother's cooking that always reminded Lakshminarayanan of the sacrifices his family had made for him. Now that he was in America, thousands of miles from home and smelling the meal that his roommate had prepared, he could only hope that he could prove himself worthy of his family's efforts.

Lakshminarayanan reached into his backpack and took out a nondescript container with a tight lid and a small statue of the goddess Lakshmi. He sat down cross-legged on the floor, closed his eyes, and began to pray. After a few minutes, he opened the container and dipped a finger inside, then smudged the dark, sooty ashes on his forehead. Wiping his hands, he returned the container and the statue to his bag and then stood up to see Vijay turning off the burner on the stove.

"Do you need help?" Lakshminarayanan offered.

"No. I'm done. I was just waiting for you. Can you please grab dishes from the drawers?" Vijay requested.

Vijay spread a set of newspapers on the floor, and Lakshminarayanan placed the dishes on the perimeter of their makeshift dining area. Vijay then brought out the two small pots from the stove and set them down in the center.

"I didn't have much time. So I just made rice and dal," Vijay said apologetically as both men lowered themselves to the floor into a typical cross-legged Indian position.

"Oh, that is my favorite!" Lakshminarayanan said.

"Do you eat meat?" Vijay asked as he scooped out some dal and rice and piled it on his plate.

"No," Lakshminarayanan replied, but quickly added, "I am okay if you want to eat."

"I only eat it on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays...because the gods of Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays don't like meat!" Vijay laughed.

Lakshminarayanan nodded his head in understanding. "Do you drink or smoke?" he countered, as he concentrated on mixing the dal and rice with his fork.

"No. Do you?" Vijay replied.

A small snort escaped from Lakshminarayanan's nose, a couple grains of rice shooting out of his mouth. "We did not have money to eat. Where would I get money for all that?" Lucky continued, "My family was so poor that sometimes we used to take turns for eating."

Vijay was shocked, but he quickly recovered and adopted what he hoped was a neutral expression before Lakshminarayanan noticed. "Hmm. Do you have brothers and sisters?"

"I have one younger sister, Padma. In two, three years, she will be eighteen! I need to make lot of money for her marriage."

Vijay's countenance darkened. He needed to change the topic of conversation. "You can use your hands for eating, if you want," Vijay said as Lakshminarayanan struggled with the utensils.

"Oh, thank you!" Lakshminarayanan sighed, visibly relieved that Vijay didn't find his usual way of eating with his hands to be crude or ill mannered. "I am hungry and I do not get the taste of food with fork and spoon," he replied as he placed a handful of rice and dal into his mouth. "Tell me about your family?"

"Well, I am the only child," Vijay answered. "My mother is a teacher and lives in Bombay."

"And your dad?"

"Hmm...He died in 1993's Hindu-Muslim riots in Bombay." Vijay cleared his throat, and his thick, dark lashes partially hid the tears whose presence still surprised him after all these years.

"Really?" Lakshminarayanan hesitated momentarily before continuing. "I heard about the riots. It was very bad. But...can I ask, how did you lose your father?"

Vijay looked up at Lakshminarayanan. There was no pity on his face, only a look of concern. Reassured, Vijay continued. "After the demolition of Babri Masjid, Bombay was burning in flames of hatred between Hindus and Muslims. Muslims were decapitating the statues of Hindu gods, demolishing temples, and in return, Hindus were setting mosques on fire. People were stabbing each other, slitting each other's throats, and setting people on fire, just because they belonged to another religion. Communal rioting and violence were at their peak. Police couldn't control the mobs on either side of the conflict, and the police were being attacked by both communities.

"We used to live in Jogeshwari, a western suburb of Bombay. My father was a fire lieutenant in the same area. That whole month of January was very busy for him. Almost every minute, they would get called to another fire. For him, the differences between Hindus and Muslims did not matter. He just wanted to save lives. On the second Friday in January 1993, my father's firehouse got an urgent call about a fire at a Hindu chawl. Some of the residences had been locked from the outside and set on fire by a mob. When the fire truck arrived on scene, the mob created roadblocks to prevent the firefighters from reaching the fire.

"My father's crew came to know that there were around ten people trapped in the fire, including one physically disabled girl. My father left his crew to deal with the mob and somehow made his way to the fire location. But he never came back. In the morning, several bodies were found. They were burned so badly that no one could distinguish which body was which. My mother was able to identify my father's body from the remnants of his fire gear. They didn't even let me see my father for the last time, it was so brutal. I was twelve when I cremated my father. He always wanted me to become a scientist. My mom worked really hard to raise me, to educate me...just to fulfill my dad's dreams," Vijay concluded.

Lakshminarayanan hadn't taken a bite of his food since Vijay began his story. He had wanted to know about Vijay's family, but he now he felt terrible for making him relive such painful memories. "I am sorry for your loss," Lakshminarayanan offered, regretting how insignificant and hollow his words sounded the minute he had spoken them. Vijay nodded his head, and in unspoken agreement, the two stopped talking for a long while and concentrated on their dinners that were getting cold.

When they finished, Lakshminarayanan took the plates to the kitchen and began to wash them.

"Hey! Don't worry about it. I'll do it. You must be very tired," Vijay said.

"No. You cooked, so I will clean everything. Do not worry. I am very tough guy."

Vijay wadded up the newspapers and threw them in the garbage. He then went to the kitchen, grabbed an old rag from under the sink, and waited until Lakshminarayanan had finished rinsing the dal pot before running the rag under the faucet. Vijay wiped their dining area with the rag, making sure none of their spilled food had soaked through the paper. He picked up the thick blanket he kept neatly folded on top of his suitcase and spread it out on the floor. Grabbing a pillow and a thin bed sheet from his bags with one hand and his laptop with the other, he sat down with his back against the wall. By this time, Lakshminarayanan had finished the dishes.

"Where should I sleep?" Lakshminarayanan looked around the small room.

"We don't have many choices," Vijay smiled. Lakshminarayanan also pulled a blanket, pillow, and sheet from his bags. Vijay noticed that his blanket was basically a thick, handmade pile of discarded cloths, but he pretended not to notice.

"Which laptop is that?" Lakshminarayanan asked while he was arranging his bed just a few feet from Vijay.

"It's a Dell Latitude. My professor gave it to me for research purposes," Vijay answered.

"Nice! You know...I never saw a laptop in my life," Lakshminarayanan admitted as he sat down on the blanket.

"Do you want to see it?" Vijay offered.

"Are you sure? I do not want to disturb you," Lucky said.

"No. It's fine. I'm sleepy anyways. Take it," Vijay said as he held out the computer.

Lakshminarayanan placed the machine in his lap and ran his hands over the smooth plastic case, noticing the shiny silver Dell logo on the lid. He touched the screen and saw the oily mark his finger left, and then opened the combo drive. He pushed it back in and tentatively tapped a few keys on the keyboard. Everything felt solid, and yet Lakshminarayanan couldn't believe how light the computer was.

"Are you coming to the University tomorrow? Or you are going to rest at home?" Vijay asked.

"Of course I will come to University tomorrow. I did not travel so far for resting," Lakshminarayanan replied.

Vijay turned on his side and propped himself up on his elbow. "Okay. Do you mind sharing the Metrocard with me?"

"What do you mean?"

"If we buy an unlimited monthly Metrocard and arrange our time for going to school, we can share the cost. You can swipe the same Metrocard every ten or fifteen minutes, and get in at no additional cost," Vijay explained.

"Oh, sure! That is great idea! Every penny means a lot to me, Vijay," Lakshminarayanan admitted.

"Okay. Let's sleep then. I have to be in the lab at 9 am," Vijay said.

Lakshminarayanan set the laptop down and got up to turn off the overhead light. Feeling his way back to the blanket in the semi-darkness, he sat down and took a long, deep breath. He'd been so nervous about coming to the U.S., and on the long flight from India, he'd had plenty of time to imagine worst-case scenarios about everything – the country, the school, his new roommate. He hadn't been to the school yet, and he hadn't seen much of the U.S. aside from the train and the bus that took him from JFK to his new home, so it was too soon to tell whether all of his worries were unfounded. He looked over at Vijay's silhouette, and thought about the story he had shared about his father over dinner - a dinner that Vijay had made for him without any complaint, despite the fact that Lakshminarayanan had lied to him about being a great cook who would take over all the cooking duties. After only a few hours in this new country, he already knew that if nothing else good came from his time here, surely the gods had looked favorably upon him when they placed his new friend in his path. Lakshminarayanan smiled in the dark, fluffed his flat pillow as much as he could, and pulled his sheet up to his chin.

"Good night, Vijay. And thank you for everything."

"No thanks necessary. Good night," Vijay replied, his voice already slow and thick with impending sleep.

Chapter 3

Lost in his reverie, Vijay hadn't realized that he was already on the JFK expressway and very close to the airport. He followed the signs towards Terminal 4, the same place he had come to so many years before to pick up his new roommate. Just like before, he was running late, although this time it was due to the award ceremony. He knew that Lucky - as he now referred to Lakshminarayanan, though he couldn't immediately recall the details of how the nickname came about - was bringing his fiancé to the wedding, and Vijay was very curious about the woman that had won Lucky's heart. Suddenly his phone rang, and he hit a button on the steering wheel to take the call. A familiar voice resonated through the car's speaker system.

"Are you trying to find me?" the person on the line said.

"Lucky, where are you, man?" Vijay asked.

"The same Terminal 4 bus stop," Lucky answered. Vijay quickly turned towards the bus stop, and there he was.

A thin, dark-skinned Indian man in a leather jacket stood at the curbside next to a young Indian woman. Even from a distance, Vijay could tell that she was attractive. Her skin was a beautiful, creamy light brown, and the blue sari she wore, though tasteful and demure, draped her slim figure in a flattering way. Vijay eased the car close to the curb, and rolling down the tinted window, flashed a huge smile at his old friend.

"Lucky, my friend, how are you?" Throwing the transmission into park, Vijay pushed his door open and jumped over the car's hood, sliding on the seat of his pants right into Lucky's arms and hugging him tightly. Lucky laughed heartily.

"I am good! How are you?" Lucky replied.

"I'm good now! It's been such a long time. I missed you, yaaar."

"I missed you to too," Lucky replied, his arms still around Vijay.

The woman in the blue sari watched the exchange with amusement. "I hate to break up this love affair, but I think we need to move the car. The bus is coming," she motioned.

Lucky took a step back. "Oh! Vijay, sorry. This is Kaveri, my fiancé."

"Namaste, Bhabhi. How are you?" Vijay said while offering her a typical Indian namaste gesture.

Kaveri responded in turn. "I am good, thank you, and I am very happy to finally meet you."

Lucky gestured at the car. "Hey dude, open the trunk. We have to move, or you are going to get the ticket." They loaded the luggage quickly and climbed in the car, with Lucky in front and Kaveri in the back seat.

"Nice car!" Lucky remarked as he ran his hand over the leather seat. "People might think you were successful guy or something...you are engineer, yes? Are you good engineer?" Lucky joked.

Vijay playfully jabbed Lucky in the ribs. "Ha ha, very funny. I do okay; thanks for asking. So, how is India?" he said, uncomfortable with Lucky's indirect praise and wanting to change the topic. "How are your parents? How is your sister? Do you still live in Sivakasi?" Vijay asked.

"Yes. Parents are getting old, but they are doing fine. Padma studies in London and she is finishing her residency," Lucky replied.

"Wow! Padma is becoming a doctor. Amazing! You should have brought her for the wedding."

"Eh, she is in Ethiopia doing a summer internship for UNICEF. She is helping kids with malnutrition, so she could not come, but she told me to tell you congratulations," Lucky explained.

Vijay turned his attention to Lucky's fiancée. "Kaveri, aren't you also running a school in Sivakasi?" he asked, trying to engage her in the conversation.

"Yes, I am!" The excitement in her voice was clear.

Vijay glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Kaveri smile broadly. "We have around a thousand kids in the school," she continued. "We give them education, food, and shelter, if needed. A few of our students even competed in a national-level talent competition, which is why we could not come early," Kaveri said, an obvious look of pride on her face as she thought about her young students.

"That's okay. Just as long as you didn't miss the wedding!" Vijay replied.

Kaveri continued, "You must be aware of the poverty, the horrible child labor problems, and the lack of education for children of Sivakasi. I believe that if we provide them with a solid education, these young girls and boys can have a good career, independence, and a chance for a good life."

"You are absolutely right. Look at Lucky!" Vijay exclaimed.

"I don't know how he managed to get so much education. You can't imagine how hard it is to get these kids out of those poisonous firecracker and match factories and into school where they get free education and food," Kaveri said, shaking her head.

"Where do you get the funds to do your work?" Vijay asked.

"Well, you know all about politics and corruption in India. Even if the government allocates funds for education, food, health care, and rehabilitation of the children, it never reaches the people who really deserve it. Fortunately, Lakshminarayanan's business is doing very well and he helps a lot financially" Kaveri said, smiling at her future husband.

"Good! I am proud of both of you," Vijay said.

Lucky had been quiet during the exchange, knowing how passionate his fiancé was about the children in his village, but he wanted to lighten the mood. "He is getting married, Kaveri. Can we move away from these serious topics?" he said to her, giving her a gentle smile and reaching into the back seat to squeeze her hand. He turned back in his seat and looked at Vijay. "Kaveri is very committed to helping these kids, and if you do not stop her, she will keep talking about it 24/7," Lucky warned.

"And I think that's probably why you are in love with her," Vijay laughed.

"Enough talk about us. Let us talk about your love. How is the bride?" Lucky asked.

"Oh, she's fine. She's at Raj's house for tonight, you know, typical Indian tradition," Vijay explained.

"And Raj, how is he these days?"

"Busy! Since he opened that restaurant in the city last year, he has become a very busy man."

Kaveri spoke up again. "I am sorry, but can I ask one question? How did you, Lakshminarayanan, and Raj meet? Lakshminarayanan never talks about the time you guys spent together," Kaveri asked.

"Oh, Kaveri, it is very long story, and we do not want to bore Vijay with retelling it," Lucky said, attempting to avoid the topic as usual.

Vijay cast a sideways glance at Lucky, and furrowed his brow in a what's-wrong-with-you expression. "It's fine," Vijay said cheerily, chuckling at Lucky's discomfort. "We have to go Fort Lee in New Jersey, anyway. It's a long drive from here, so we can talk about how we met just as easily as anything else. As a matter of fact, when I was driving to the airport this evening, I was remembering the time when I picked up Lucky ten years before."

They were driving on the Van Wyck Expressway, and Vijay suddenly had an idea. "Hey, Lucky! Do you want to show Kaveri the place where we stayed the first time? It's just five minutes from here," he said.

Lucky seemed to have resigned himself to the topic of conversation, so he didn't see much sense in arguing this point, particularly because he knew Kaveri wouldn't take no for an answer. "Sure. I did not see that place for so many years. We can go," Lucky nodded.

Kaveri clapped her hands together and bounced on the seat like a little girl. "I think that's a very good start!" she grinned.

Vijay made a right hand turn onto Rockaway Boulevard and drove in silence for another five minutes until he saw the house. He slowed the car, pulled up in front of the old home, and parked. He and Kaveri got out of the car first, with Lucky following behind them as they made their way up the front walkway. The house seemed to be occupied by new tenants, but it didn't appear that anyone was home at the moment. Not wanting to walk on the lawn, Vijay turned and headed back towards the street until he could hop over the flowerbed and onto the driveway that sloped downward towards the basement apartment. Lucky and Kaveri hesitated before following him, glancing around to see if any neighbors were watching them. Vijay shook the handle on the basement door, but it was locked. He bent down to peer through the lone window, and it was as though the window was a direct portal into his past: Nothing in the apartment had changed. Vijay imagined for a moment that perhaps he and Raj and Lucky were the last people to have lived in this space, and the thought was strangely comforting.

Kaveri came up beside him, lowering her head close to his as she looked through the cloudy glass that afforded her a view of almost the entire apartment. "Are you serious?" she said with a look of surprise on her face.

"Yep. That is where we spent first few months," Lucky explained as he walked up behind her and peered through the window.

"He's right," Vijay said. "That's the kitchen. Beside that, there is small bathroom and the middle space is where we slept, ate, studied, and did everything else."

"I can't believe it! Can we go inside?" Kaveri took out her iPhone and began taking pictures.

"Not unless we want to get arrested for breaking and entering! I don't think the old tenants are still here," Vijay replied.

"It is okay, Kaveri," Lucky said, attempting to damper her enthusiasm. "You can see the entire apartment from here. There is nothing else to see. We are getting late anyways. We should leave now."

"Okay," Kaveri sighed, obviously disappointed, but not sure there was anything else she could do. She snapped a few more pictures as Lucky and Vijay started towards the car.

"Kaveri...come on," Lucky repeated. Kaveri turned and ran up the driveway, and within a few minutes they had left the side streets and the old house – if not its memories - behind.

Kaveri seemed lost in thought, and said nothing for some time. Finally, when she thought she'd found the right words, she addressed Lucky and Vijay. "I always knew that you guys had to work really hard to get your education and become successful. But, after seeing that place...I really had no idea what kind of struggles you faced. And you were so young, in this completely foreign place, with no family and friends! My respect for you is touching the sky," Kaveri said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Kaveri, do not get all emotional," Lucky replied. "It is just an apartment, and it was not a bad apartment. We were lucky to have the roof over our heads. You did not even hear the whole story..." Lucky cut his sentence short when he realized his error. He did not want to encourage her to dig even deeper into his past.

Vijay shrugged in agreement with Lucky. "It's true that we didn't have family or friends when we came here, Kaveri. But I found my lifetime friends in this country. Without each other, we couldn't have achieved anything."

"So tell me everything from the beginning!" Kaveri insisted.

Lucky sighed. He hadn't shut his mouth soon enough. "How much longer to get to this 'Fort Lee'?" he asked, rolling his eyes at Vijay.

Vijay smiled at Lucky and glanced back at Kaveri in the mirror. "Awhile, Lucky. Awhile."

"So Kaveri, I think it was at the end of August, exactly ten years before," Vijay continued. "We had decided to become roommates, so I went to JFK to pick up Lucky. Of course, I didn't have a car at that time, so it was an experience carrying all that luggage," Vijay smiled at Lucky, who returned the smile. "Then I took him to that basement apartment. Surprisingly, Lucky was happy with the place. So many students ran away the moment they saw the space. But he seemed okay with it, and even though he was tired from his long trip, he cooked the most amazing meal for me, better than I ever had at home..."

Kaveri's excitement to hear the story immediately turned to anger, and a deep scowl settled onto her face as she reached over the front seat and slapped Lucky repeatedly on the head and punched his shoulder. "You can cook? All this time I have been cooking for us, and you have hidden this talent from me, you lazy man!"

Vijay tried to keep a straight face, but one look at Lucky's horrified expression as he was being pummeled by his fiancée was all it took to lose control, and Vijay let out a deep, throaty laugh. Kaveri was not letting up, and Vijay started to get tears in his eyes from laughing so hard.

"Stop, stop! He is lying! I cannot cook! Vijay, tell her!" Lucky cried as he attempted to fend off Kaveri's small, but effectual, fists.

Vijay smiled, and conceded. "Please stop, Kaveri. He's right. I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist! Lucky tricked me into becoming my roommate by telling me he was a great cook, but the truth is that Lucky couldn't boil a pot of water. By the looks of things, I assume he still can't," Vijay said, laughing again. "I cooked that night, and just about every night until we met Raj, but it didn't matter. That night, I cooked and he cleaned. We talked, we ate, and then we slept beside each other on the floor."

Lucky smoothed his hair back into place and rubbed his sore shoulder. "Both of us had almost same family background...similar challenges...similar responsibilities...and most importantly, ambition to succeed."

"So what happened the next day?" Kaveri asked, satisfied that she'd heard the truth about Lucky's culinary skills and wanting the story to continue.

"The next day?" Vijay said while taking a right turn onto Woodhaven Boulevard for Union Turnpike. Vijay could picture everything in so much detail, as though it was all happening right in front of his eyes, almost as if the right turn had taken them through a wormhole, straight back into their past, ten years before.

***

The shrill sound of the alarm clock rose Vijay out of a light sleep, and he reached quickly to turn it off. He glanced at Lakshminarayanan, who was curled into a ball and sleeping soundly, undisturbed by the alarm's racket. Vijay sat up slowly, stretched, and headed to the bathroom. When he had finished nearly half an hour later, Lakshminarayanan was still asleep. Vijay thought he must have jet lag, and decided to let him rest awhile longer. As quietly as he could, he folded his blanket and put it back on top of his bags, then went to the kitchen and started making tea.

The sound of running water as Vijay was washing out the teapot finally roused Lakshminarayanan. He saw that Vijay had already put his bed away and was dressed, and his heart skipped a beat.

"Am I late? I am so sorry!" he said, jumping up from his makeshift bed and stumbling, his feet caught in the blanket.

"No, no. Calm down. You're not late. We still have half an hour to go. I am just making tea for us," Vijay answered.

"Oh, great! Just give me ten minutes. I will be ready," Lakshminarayanan said while hurrying towards the bathroom.

Lakshminarayanan took a quick shower, and when he came out of the bathroom, he saw that Vijay had already folded his blanket and placed it on top of his bags.

"Hey! Thank you very much, Vijay. I really appreciate it."

"No problems. Tea is ready," Vijay replied.

"Just give me two minutes for praying," Lakshminarayanan said as he took the goddess Lakshmi's statue from his bag, sat on the floor in front of the window, and began his morning prayers.

Vijay picked up his laptop and put it in his backpack. Once he was sure that Lakshminarayanan was done with his prayers, he turned to him. "Do you like Parle-G?" Vijay asked.

"Who does not? It is my favorite!" Lakshminarayanan answered while placing the statue on the window platform.

"Okay, great. Then here is your tea and some Parle-G," Vijay said, as he offered a cup of green tea and a small, yellow-red packet of biscuits to Lakshminarayanan.

"Where do you get Parle-G here?"

"There are a lot of Indian grocery stores around this area. You know, the same places where you'll shop for all of your fancy ingredients for our meals," Vijay playfully chided. Lakshminarayanan blushed, and Vijay continued. "And Parle-G biscuits are really cheap and they're good for breakfast. So I buy plenty of those." When they finished their tea and biscuits, they placed their cups in the sink. Lakshminarayanan was about to start washing but Vijay stopped him.

"We'll wash them later. We have to go now, or we'll be late."

Lakshminarayanan threw some clothes on, grabbed his backpack, and stepped outside the house with Vijay. They locked the door and started walking towards the subway.

"Did you bring your passport, visa, and stuff?" Vijay asked.

"Yeah! Yeah! It is in my backpack," Lakshminarayanan answered.

"Good. Today, your first stop should be the Office of International Students. They'll take care of all your immigration procedures," Vijay told his roommate.

"Okay, but where is that?"

"I'll take you there," Vijay answered. "They'll also give you a tour of the school."

"Oh! Good," Lakshminarayanan smiled. They walked few more blocks before turning onto the street where a sign identified the location of the subway stop.

"My Metrocard is out of money, so we're going to need to buy an unlimited one. We'll share it, and we'll split the cost later. It will be cheaper for both of us," Vijay said.

"Sure," Lakshminarayanan nodded. Vijay approached what appeared to be a vending machine, punched some keys on the keypad, swiped his debit card, and received a new yellow Metrocard.

"Okay. Today, you go ahead and swipe it first," Vijay said, while keeping the receipt in his pocket.

Lakshminarayanan took the card and swiped it in the turnstile. The metal bar locked, and a message was displayed on the screen: "Please swipe again."

"The other way," Vijay told him.

"Oh, sorry," Lakshminarayanan said. He flipped the card, swiped again, and this time the metal wheel rotated easily, clicking as he walked through. For some reason, the fact that the card worked made him happy.

"Now give me the card without showing it to anyone. Always make sure that there are no cops around," Vijay said.

Lakshminarayanan looked around, and seeing no one, handed the card to Vijay quickly. Vijay swiped it and directed Lakshminarayanan's attention to the turnstile's display. "See. What does it say?" he asked.

"Just used," Lucky replied.

"After 10 minutes or so, it will work again. So we wait," Vijay said.

"Okay. No problem."

"If we need to go to school at different times, then we can come together to the subway. One person will swipe, give the Metrocard to other person, and then leave. When you are coming back from the school, email me or come to my lab. I will come with you to the subway. You swipe, and then give me the card back. I will do the same if you need to stay at school longer," Vijay explained.

"Okay," Lucky nodded.

"Now don't just stand here waiting on me, it will look suspicious," Vijay said.

Lucky wandered off, looking at the posters on the walls that advertised movies and stores and men's cologne. There were garbage bins that were chained to concrete columns, and one of them was overflowing, but in general, Lakshminarayanan was surprised that the subway was as clean as it was. And he hadn't seen any rats yet, so that was a good sign. After a few minutes, he headed back to the turnstiles, where Vijay was pretending not to loiter.

"I think it will work now," Vijay said, swiping the card. It did, and they both started walking towards the subway platform. "There are always lots of signs everywhere. So make sure you read them carefully and then catch the right trains."

They waited in silence for a few minutes, and then heard the sound of an approaching train. The car was somewhat crowded, but they found seats, and thirty minutes later, they reached the university. When they came out of the subway, Lakshminarayanan stopped abruptly at the sight of so many tall, shiny buildings. A low whistle escaped from his lips.

"Do you see that blue flag? That's our building," Vijay said, gesturing with his hand.

"Wow! It is quite tall," Lakshminarayanan said, his eyes still focused on the tops of the buildings. There were more than a few students hanging around outside. Some of them were in groups, smoking or enjoying coffee from the nearby Starbucks, while others sat apart from the others, deeply engrossed in large textbooks. Lakshminarayanan would have been happy to stand there for an hour, just observing everyone, but Vijay wasted no time. He pulled at Lakshminarayanan's elbow, leading him up the steps and to the security desk just inside the front doors. Vijay swiped a blue identification card, and addressed the security guard, motioning at Lakshminarayanan. "He's a new student," Vijay explained.

"Do you have your admit letter, sir?" the guard asked.

Lakshminarayanan took out a letter from a thick folder of documents in his backpack. "Yes, sir. Here it is, sir." The guard looked at the letter, and began to write Lakshminarayanan's name, letter by letter, on an entry pass.

"How do you pronounce your name, sir?" the guard inquired.

"My name is Lakshminarayanan Durgalakshminath," Lakshminarayanan replied with a confident smile.

The guard paused, his blue eyes looking up through furry eyebrows, first at Lakshminarayanan, then at Vijay, then back to Lakshminarayanan, and finally back to the badge he was writing on. He sighed, and Vijay shrugged apologetically.

"Uh huh. Okay, Mr. Lackshmee-er-, um, sorry, Luckshminner...huh." The guard sighed again, deeper this time. It was going to be a long day, but he smiled affably. "Look, young man. Please don't take any offense, but that's one heck of a name you got yourself there. I don't mean any disrespect, because I know a man's name means everything, but the fact is, people here need to be able to call you something other than 'Lackshminerary Yanni Durka Something-or-Other.'

Vijay chuckled involuntarily, and quickly tried to cover his indiscretion with a pretend cough.

"Oh, no offense taken, sir," Lakshminarayanan replied. "You mean like a nickname? But I would not know what to call myself if not Lakshminarayanan Durgalakshminath. Do you have suggestion?"

"Well, a lot of our Chinese students give themselves American names when they come here. What's your friend's name?" replied the guard, pointing at Vijay.

"Vijay," Lakshminarayanan replied, looking at his friend and back to the guard.

"Nice. Two syllables. Just like the alphabet: V and J. You should pick something that's short and simple like that. Does your name have any significance in your language?"

"Oh, of course!" Lakshminarayanan replied. "Lakshmi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity and fortune, and I have come to this great country to study and work hard so that I can bring great prosperity back to my family in India."

"Well, then! It sounds like you are the talisman of your family, the rabbit's foot, the four-leaf clover, the lucky charm, so to speak," the guard beamed. He paused, wrinkling his brow. "Are you magically delicious?"

Confused, Lakshminarayanan looked at Vijay, who now had his back turned, trying without success to stifle his laughter. Even in his short time in the U.S., Vijay had seen enough American commercials on the TVs in the university lounges to understand the reference the guard was making. Lakshminarayanan was on the short side, and Vijay couldn't help but to picture his Indian face on the body of the Lucky Charm's little redheaded leprechaun while the catchy tune played in his head: "Frosted Lucky Charms, they're magically delicious!"

Lakshminarayanan had no idea what his friend found so funny, so he turned back to the guard. "I am sorry, sir, but I do not understand the question. I am magically what?"

Vijay laughed even harder.

"Wait, that's it!" the guard said, snapping his fingers. "Mr. Lackshminerary Yanni Durka Something-or-Other, you are your family's lucky charm, so why don't we call you 'Lucky' for short?"

Lakshminarayanan turned the name over in his mind for a few seconds. "Lucky," he said, observing how the syllables felt as they rolled over his tongue. "Lucky." He looked at Vijay, who through his tears was still able to nod in approval. "It's a lot easier, and it takes much less time to say. Think of all the extra time we'll have to study if I don't have to say your name all the time," Vijay said, cracking up again.

The security guard tore up the pass he'd been writing on. "Your name didn't fit anyway," he grinned, as he began to write on a new card in bold characters. "'Lucky' it is. After registering for classes, you should go to the facilities department, and they'll give you a permanent ID card. They'll have to use your real name, but that's okay. We know what to call you now, don't we? Have a good day, and all the best to you, son." The guard winked at him and handed back his admission letter.

"I will help 'Lucky' with all that," Vijay said, smiling at his friend. Lucky nodded his head, put the letter back in the folder that he was still carrying, and extended his hand to the guard in thanks.

As they walked off, Lucky turned to Vijay. "Are you sure Lucky is a good name? You are not making fun of me?"

"No, I'm not making fun of you. Okay, I'm making fun a little bit, but it's not really about you. I'll explain it someday. But I think Lucky is a great name," Vijay replied.

They continued down the winding hallways towards the Office of International Students. Along the way, Vijay pointed out the cafeteria, the student lounge, and the gym. Lucky felt like he had entered a completely different reality. Compared to his government school in India, this American university was a blatant and glorious display of affluence. But as much admiration as he had for his new school, it paled in comparison to his admiration for all of the white girls in shorts, unabashedly flaunting so much of their skin.

"Hey! Vijay. How are you?" one of the blonde girls in shorts said loudly.

"Hey, Anna!" Vijay replied and waived at her.

Vijay looked at Lucky. "Hey, my magically delicious friend, stop staring."

"She is pretty," Lucky replied, oblivious to Vijay's reference of the guard's joke, and unable to take his eyes off her.

Vijay smiled. "I will introduce you to her later."

Lucky shook his head vigorously, trying to clear his mind. "No! I mean, no thank you. I want to study hard. I do not want any distractions."

"Uh huh. Okay," Vijay smiled.

"But," Lucky contemplated, "if she is your friend...I do not want to appear rude. So I suppose I should offer to be her friend as well," Lucky said, while turning back to look at Anna.

"Of course. It's the gentlemanly thing to do," Vijay replied with a smirk. Lucky blushed hard.

"That's the Office of International Students," Vijay pointed. "Go there and tell them that you are a new student, and they'll explain all the procedures to you. I have to go to the lab now."

"No problem. I will manage," Lucky replied.

"Ask your new friend Anna for help if you get lost," Vijay said as he winked at Lucky. Lucky glared at him. "Just kidding! If you run into any problems, come and see me in my lab...it's RH515." Vijay checked his watch and ran towards the elevator.

"Okay," Lucky said, waiving at Vijay before turning and walking into the International Student Office.

Thirty minutes later, Lucky had completed the required immigration paperwork, and he spent some time wandering the halls, trying to familiarize himself with the building's layout. He then attended the New Graduate Student Orientation, which was held in one the building's main auditoriums. The presentation was fairly generic, covering topics such as health insurance, student clubs, and counseling services. The last speaker was the graduate academic dean, who discussed the regulations for registration and grading, and outlined the academic progress expectations for graduate students. Nothing was complicated, but Lucky thought there were a lot of rules, and he was concerned about remembering everything.

After the orientation ended, Lucky went to see Vijay's lab. He stood outside the room marked RH515, but the doors had a combination lock and he couldn't enter. There were glass windows in the thick wooden doors, and Lucky could see the board inside that read "Thermal Laboratory." He stood outside for a few minutes, staring through the glass at all the equipment. He was impressed that his friend knew how to work all of this complicated machinery. Finally he caught sight of Vijay, and waived to get his attention. Vijay came towards him and opened the heavy doors.

"Hey! How did it go?" Vijay asked.

"I did everything with my immigration paperwork, but I should go see my adviser for registration," Lucky replied. "I went to his office, but he is having the lunch."

"Okay. Then we should also go for lunch," Vijay told Lucky.

"No. I am not hungry," Lucky said.

"Lucky, I can hear your stomach growling from here. Let's go," Vijay smiled and patted Lucky on the back. Vijay and Lucky left the building and headed towards town, a few blocks away from the university. They entered a restaurant that advertised ninety-nine cent pizza, and Vijay ordered two slices. Lucky tried to take money out of his pocket to pay for it, but Vijay held up his hand.

"Let me pay now. Next time, you pay. This is the cheapest food you can get around here," he said, handing a slice to Lucky. "It may not be enough. But when you're hungry, something is better than nothing."

"Well, I am used to being hungry and not eating for days," Lucky replied as he tore into the pizza.

"Do you need soda?" Vijay asked.

"No. I will drink water at university," Lucky replied.

Vijay had taken a couple of bites of the pizza before pausing to study it. "Let's add some pepper and garlic powder," he suggested. "That should add some calories to the food."

Lucky laughed. They were so hungry that they quickly finished the thin slices and started walking back towards the university, their stomachs still growling.

"Have you seen these many tall buildings before?" Vijay asked, hoping that Lucky was sufficiently excited about being in the city. He wasn't sure why he wanted Lucky to feel that way; perhaps he still felt guilty about misleading him about the apartment, and now he felt personally responsible for ensuring that Lucky was impressed by something in America.

"No, I have not. The city is very clean and beautiful. The air is so fresh! But none of these things matter to me. I did not leave my family for tall buildings and clean air. I am away from my family only so that I can make a lot of fortune for them," Lucky replied. Thoughts of his family and the pressure he was under to succeed made him anxious, and his stomach rolled. "How should I approach my adviser?" Lucky asked Vijay, changing the subject.

"Nothing special. Just tell him that you're a new student and show him your admit letter. He'll tell you which classes you should take in the first semester. If you agree to his choices, then he'll complete the registration procedures for you so you don't have to run to the registrar's office," Vijay replied. "He'll also print your class schedule for you. Just take that to the facilities department, and they'll give you your new ID card. And then you're all set. People are nice and helpful here, and everything has a nice process."

"What about an on-campus job?" Lucky asked.

"Hmm...you can definitely ask him. He'll guide you," Vijay answered, but with a strange hesitancy in his voice that Lucky couldn't help but to notice.

"Thanks for your help, Vijay," Lucky said as they reached the campus and went in two different directions.

Lucky headed towards the administrative offices of the Department of Management to meet his adviser, Dr. Arnold Kerber. When he opened the door to the office suite, he noticed that the place was quite busy. An older Caucasian woman sat behind a reception desk, typing on a desktop computer. There didn't seem to be any discernible line of waiting students, so Lucky walked straight up to her desk. After standing in front of her for several minutes without being acknowledged, he gathered his courage and cleared his throat.

"Excuse me, madam. My name is Lakshminarayanan Durgalakshminath. I am a new student and I would like to meet with Dr. Kerber," Lucky said.

"Do you have your admit letter?" the woman asked without looking up from her monitor.

"Yes, ma'am. Here it is," Lucky replied as he handed her the letter.

"Take a seat in the waiting area. I'll call you in five minutes," she said, placing his letter on her desk without even glancing at it. Lucky nodded and sat down in a chair, squeezing both hands together as if he was freezing.

Lucky wasn't cold, but he was anxious, particularly after the way the receptionist had treated him, as though his presence was distasteful, bothersome, and distracting, even though he was pretty sure that greeting students was the main point of her employment. His legs bounced up and down in nervous anxiety as he thought about how to represent himself.

In a few moments, the dismissive receptionist received a call. She picked up the phone and looked at the letter on her desk, trying in vain to pronounce Lucky's name to the person on the other end of the line. Lucky jumped up, and trying to be helpful, replied in too loud of a voice. "Please, you can call me Lucky!"

The woman frowned, looked back at the letter, and then hung up the phone. For several long minutes, she focused her attention on her computer while Lucky stood awkwardly, not knowing what to do. Finally he decided to sit back down, and just as he did, the receptionist shouted at him.

"Hey, whatever your name is. You can go to room number two," she snapped, as she held his letter out to him. Lucky jumped up, grabbed the letter, and bobbed his head left to right, muttering to himself about "give respect, get respect." Apparently this woman was not aware of the rule.

Lucky knocked on the door to Room 2. "Come on in!" the voice from the other side called out. Lucky opened the door, and was greeted by the sight of an older man in his late fifties, sitting in an expensive looking leather chair behind a large, mahogany brown desk that reflected the sunlight coming through the large windows that dominated one side of the office.

"How can I help you?" Dr. Arnold Kerber asked.

"I am a new student and I want to register for the classes," Lucky replied.

"Have a seat. Can I see your admit letter?"

"Yes. Here it is." Lucky said, still standing.

"Sit down, son. And how do you pronounce your name?" Dr. Kerber asked while reading the letter.

"Lakshminarayanan Durgalakshminath" Lucky replied as he sat at the edge of the seat in front of Dr. Kerber's desk.

"Good! Short and simple," Dr. Kerber laughed. "Do you go by any other name?"

"No, I...uh, actually yes, sir, yes I do!" Lucky suddenly remembered. He was happy that the security guard had been so helpful, so that maybe now he could please his adviser. "It's Lucky, sir."

"Hmm, Lucky. So, Lucky, we gave you full tuition remission. Can I see your transcripts?" Dr. Kerber asked.

Lucky took his transcripts out of a folder and handed them to Dr. Kerber. After a long and silent five minutes, Dr. Kerber looked up. "It seems that you did very well in your undergraduate studies."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," Lucky nodded.

"Good. So do you have any preferences for classes?"

"No, sir. I will take whatever you recommend, sir," Lucky replied with confidence.

"Okay, good then. No special requests, no complaints. You're making my job very easy," Dr. Kerber said as he typed some information into his computer.

"I will do well in any subject, sir. I just want to finish my studies as soon as possible and get a good job, sir," Lucky replied.

"Okay. Then I will recommend that you take these three core classes this semester," Kerber replied. "They are mandatory for your program, and the professors teaching these classes this semester are very well-known in the field."

Lucky nodded, and his adviser continued. "These classes are little bit difficult, but if you do well, it will look good on your transcript and help you get a good summer internship."

Lucky sat up straighter in his chair at the mention of internships. "Okay, absolutely, no problem, sir. Thank you, sir," Lucky replied.

"What does your schedule look like? Do you have any preferences for morning or evening classes?" Dr. Kerber asked.

"No. Sir. My family is in India. I do not have anything to do, sir."

Dr. Kerber hit a few buttons on his keyboard and Lucky heard the printer start up. "All right!" Dr. Kerber replied, grabbing two warm sheets of paper from the printer and handing one of them to Lucky. "This is your schedule. You have all evening classes, and they begin next week. You don't have to worry about your tuition, because it's all covered by the university."

"Yes sir, okay, sir," Lucky replied.

"So if you're satisfied with this schedule, just sign here and you're good to go," Dr. Kerber said. Lucky signed, and his adviser kept that copy while handing the other sheet to Lucky for his reference. "Do you have any other questions for me?"

"Just one small request, sir," Lucky replied. "Can I get an on-campus job, sir? I will do anything, sir. I do not have money to cover my expenses, sir," Lucky blurted out in rapid succession before Kerber could say no.

"Well, Lucky, I am sure that you're a very hardworking, sincere, intelligent, and deserving student. But it's against our departmental policy to allow international students without a master's degree to work on-campus until at least their second semester," Dr. Kerber replied. "This is a highly competitive and difficult graduate program. We want our students to focus on their studies, at least during the first semester, until they acclimate to the new culture and education system."

"But sir, I do not have money to support myself. And my family is very poor. Sir, please, I beg of you. Sir, if you give me this chance, I will not forget your help ever in my life. Sir, please sir. My family depends on me. I respect the policy, but if you could please just give me exception, I would not let you down, sir." Lucky hated to beg like this, but he was desperate. Even if he could survive off the paper-thin dough covered with greasy cheese that Americans called pizza, he had no money to pay for it, or for anything else for that matter. Certainly he'd have no money to send home to his family.

"I am sorry, Lucky, but I can't help you in this matter," Dr. Kerber said. He hesitated as he saw the pained expression on Lucky's face, and tried to offer him some hope. "I assure you that if you do well this semester, I will guarantee that you get an on-campus job next semester."

Lucky nodded. "Yes, sir, thank you, sir. But if I could just..."

"I'm sorry, but I have a meeting," Dr. Kerber said, cutting him off. "You will have to leave now." He stood up from his chair and grabbed his suit jacket off the hook on the coatrack.

Reluctantly, Lucky stood to leave. "Thank you for your time, sir."

"You are very welcome," Dr. Kerber replied, extending his hand to Lucky. Lucky shook his hand with both of his own, thanking him again for his assistance. Exiting Dr. Kerber's office, Lucky made a point of saying goodbye to the surly receptionist, and quickly headed down the hall to the nearest restroom. He chose a stall farthest from the door, flipped the lock, and sat down on the toilet seat. Tears erupted and flowed down his reddened face, but he made no sound as he held his head in his hands. What was he going to do now? How could he possibly survive in this country without any money? He didn't know anyone except Vijay, and he'd only met him the day before. Lucky sat for some time, unable to stop control his tears. He'd come so far, and he couldn't give up so easily. He looked at the registration paper in his hand and remembered that he was supposed to go to the facilities department to get an ID card. Lucky stood up, opened the stall door and walked up to the sink. What would his mother think of this behavior? He was supposed to be the man in the family, and here he was, crying like a little girl. Turning on the faucet, he cupped his hands and splashed water on his face repeatedly, rubbing vigorously and slicking back his hair with water. He grabbed some paper towels and wiped his face, tucked his shirt neatly into his pants, and looked into the mirror. A tired and dejected face stared back at him, but Lucky took a few deep breaths, turned on his heel, and left the bathroom. There was still business to take care of, so he went to facilities and received his ID card, and then decided to meet Vijay.

Getting back on the elevator, he pressed "5" to get to Vijay's lab. He looked through the glass windows, but didn't see anyone, so he knocked. Nothing. He knocked again, louder this time, and suddenly a girl with blonde hair appeared and opened the door. It was Anna.

Lucky stuttered in surprise. "I...I...I am looking for Vijay."

Anna smiled. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Lakshminarayanan," Lucky answered.

"What?" she asked again.

"It's okay, he's my friend," Vijay said as he approached the door. Anna smiled again at Lucky and walked away. Lucky titled his head and stretched his neck like a turtle poking its head out of its shell as he watched Anna disappear into a smaller room off the main lab.

"Helloooo," Vijay laughed, sticking his head in Lucky's line of sight and trying to get his attention.

"Oh! Oh! I wanted to talk to you," Lucky said.

Vijay stepped out of the lab with Lucky, letting the door close behind him. "What happened?"

"I talked to my adviser," Lucky answered.

"Good. So how did it go?" Vijay asked.

"I finished registration," Lucky said, showing Vijay his new ID card.

"Nice. I'm getting ready to go home," Vijay said. "Are you done with everything you need to do?"

"Yes," Lucky nodded his head.

"Okay, give me a minute. Let me grab my bag," Vijay said as he keyed the combination into the lock and went back into the lab. After few minutes, the door opened again. "Bye, Anna. See you tomorrow," Vijay called out over his shoulder.

"Bye," Lucky said in a soft voice, thinking Vijay didn't notice. Vijay pretended not to, but grinned at Lucky when he wasn't looking. They headed towards the subway, Lucky walking slowly, his head bowed. He seemed upset, and Vijay wanted to lift his spirits. "It's a beautiful day," Vijay offered.

"Not for me," Lucky replied.

"Why? You talked to Anna today. You should be happy," Vijay replied, trying to get Lucky to smile. But even the mention of Anna's name didn't change the dour expression on Lucky's face.

"My adviser said that I cannot work on campus," Lucky answered.

"Why not?" Vijay asked.

"My department does not allow international students to work on campus in the first semester. They think foreign students should focus on studies only because of the new culture and new education system," Lucky explained, paraphrasing his conversation with Dr. Kerber.

"Hmm..." Vijay replied, listening to Lucky's troubles. They reached the subway station and Vijay swiped his card, telling Lucky to enter first. Lucky went through the turnstile, and Vijay waited. Lucky looked around, and then gave the card to Vijay. "Can I ask one question?"

"Sure," Vijay replied.

"How did they allow you to work on-campus?" Lucky asked.

"Well, I'm a PhD student here. So I am working towards my thesis. Technically, it's not considered a job," Vijay answered. "Before I pass my qualifier, they pay me a small stipend for my research work to cover my living expenses. So my situation is completely different than yours."

"Ahh! Okay, I understand," Lucky nodded. "So now what can I do? I do not have money at all to survive. I need to work. Otherwise, I will have to go back." Lucky looked at Vijay dejectedly. "Actually, I do not even have money enough for that," Lucky shook his head.

Vijay hummed, which was his habit when he was thinking but didn't have anything to say, or wasn't yet ready to speak.

After a few more minutes, Vijay swiped the card and entered the subway. The first train to arrive was the C train. "This train is local and doesn't go to Rockaway Boulevard. We should always take the A train for home," Vijay explained.

"Okay, but what can I do about the job, Vijay?" Lucky asked again, unable to focus on anything but his current financial crisis.

"I don't know. Let's discuss it at home," Vijay answered, craning his head down the track to look for the train.

"Do you know why my name is Lakshminarayanan Durgalakshminath?" Lucky asked.

"Just what you told the guard," Vijay replied.

"Oh, yes, I forgot. That was most of my story. When I was born, my parents thought that I would bring lot of lakshmi and bring to end the never-ending poverty of my family. They thought if they included 'Lakshmi' in my name, not just once, but twice, I would bring them lot of fortune. But that never happened. So, when my younger sister was born, they named her Padmalakshmi. But they were always worried about paying dowry for her marriage. Now, they are hoping that I will make enough money to pay for it," Lucky concluded, depression falling over his features again like a dark rain cloud.

"It's okay. Everything will be fine," Vijay said. The A train arrived and they boarded, capturing the window seats.

"I pray to Goddess Lakshmi every morning. Most days I would not eat, but I never forget to pray to the goddess," Lucky said while Vijay stared at the tunnel walls streaking by. "But so far, my life is full of struggles and no money. You know, the memories of my life begin with working in the firecracker factories. Instead of toys, I played with sulfur powder. My father, my mother, and I...we used to get up and go to work in the factory. After spending every day working there for whole month, we used to make enough money to pay the rent for the small hut. We would sit outside the temple, waiting for free food or leftover food," Lucky confessed, his eyes beginning to fill with tears as he talked about his past.

Vijay kept listening, humming during Lucky's pauses. He didn't try to stop him from talking, because he knew that Lucky's confessions were not about feeling sorry for himself, but about his belief that he was failing his family. It was about not living up to expectations that were set for him before he was even born, and that was a terrible burden to have to bear alone. Vijay wanted him to reveal everything, and he just kept listening carefully to everything Lucky shared.

"You know," Lucky continued, "We used to have so many fires in those factories. So many people would die, or get injured, and most of them became disabled if they worked long enough. Just imagine...you are covered with sulfur powder and you are caught in the fire. What would happen to your body? I have seen people with literally no skin on their body. And those bastard rich people never helped any of those workers. In fact, most of the fires were not reported. My father has asthma, but he still works in factory. Most of my friends died from tuberculosis, malnutrition, lung disease and other terrible things. Young girls work there from childhood to save money for their own dowry. My little sister was actually born in factory, in the middle of the black powder, because my mom could not afford to quit working, even when she was pregnant."

"Seriously?" Vijay was surprised by Lucky's story.

"I do not know where I was born," Lucky commented.

"So how did you reach here?" Vijay asked.

"Because of my sister. She was born with respiratory disorder. She could not survive in that factory, and she used to cry a lot when she was there, so I took care of her. Instead of taking her to factory, I used to go with her to the free education program that gave us free food. That is how I started my school," Lucky explained.

"Great!" Vijay exclaimed. "Well, not great that your sister was sick when she was born, but great that you and she were able to escape the factory because of it." Vijay gave Lucky a little nod of encouragement to continue.

"Whoever used to do well in the class, that person used to get barf gola or cotton candy every time, everyday. It is so hot in the south, so my sister used to love that gola. Have you had it? It is like shaved ice. Anyway, I had a deal with my sister. If she keeps quiet and does not cry, I will get her the gola," Lucky said, a wistful smile on his face as he remembered one of the few bright spots in his childhood.

"Every time, I used to pay so much attention to the teacher, only for that gola. Very quickly, the head of that education program realized my potential. So he used to send me to various interstate-interschool competitions. I used to win most of those competitions, and the school would get trophies and I used to get the prize money. Can you imagine? Money, without getting that poisonous powder in your body... I loved it," Lucky said.

"So I continued to study...mainly for money and free food. Finally, I received some big state and national scholarships to complete my bachelor's degree. Then, one day, I met the representative of this university. He was there to recruit students and promote the university. He was very impressed with my achievements, and told me that I could make a lot of money in the U.S. He also offered me full scholarship, so I came here," Lucky said.

"So you didn't ask the recruiter about an on-campus job before you applied?" Vijay asked.

"No. I did not know anything about immigration rules, regulations, and all these restrictions. There was no one in my family or in my town to guide me. I was just excited about making lot of money and getting full scholarship. I also got the scholarship that covered the cost of my air ticket. So, I just applied. I got admitted and then I came here," Lucky explained.

"Hmm. The next stop is ours," Vijay replied, looking out the window. They got off the train and began walking towards home.

"So what can I do about a job, Vijay?" Lucky implored his friend again.

"Let's go home, make some tea, relax, refresh ourselves, and then think about it," Vijay suggested. Lucky kept walking with his head down.

"So, you talked to Anna? How is she? What did you talk about?" Vijay tried to distract Lucky.

"She could not pronounce my name. She is very beautiful. She wears very short clothes, though. Do you think she gets cold?" Lucky asked, and both of them laughed.

"I don't know, but I'll tell her tomorrow that you are very worried about her getting cold," Vijay offered.

"No, no. Kidding, kidding! Do not say anything," Lucky said. They continued to walk, but the Anna distraction seemed to be working. "Does she have boyfriends?" Lucky asked, hoping the question sounded casual and conversation-like, and not too inquisitive.

"How do I know? I just met her a week before. But I can get that information if you want me to," Vijay said.

"Oh! No. It is not that important," Lucky said, waiving his hand dismissively.

"Maybe you should ask her," Vijay suggested.

"Oh, yeah. Definitely!!" Lucky said sarcastically, "She cannot even say my name."

Once they reached home, Lucky offered to make chai. "Okay, sure," Vijay replied. "But I don't think we have milk."

"It is okay with me. What about you?" Lucky asked.

"Yeah. That's fine. I'll get milk tomorrow," Vijay answered. Lucky boiled the chai powder and added some sugar while Vijay took out another two packets of Parle-G biscuits. Lucky poured the chai into cups and both of them sat down on the bare floor. "When are your classes starting?" Vijay asked.

"Next week. Yours?" Lucky answered.

"Mine, too," Vijay replied. "So...about the job," Vijay began.

"Yes, tell me, please Vijay!" Lucky was eager to hear his advice.

"The Office of International Students must have told you that we are only allowed to work on-campus and only for twenty hours a week," Vijay said.

"Right," Lucky replied.

"Well, my professor only pays me five hundred dollars a month, which is really nothing in New York City. Even after sharing the rent and utilities with you and paying for the Metrocard, I hardly have any money for food or anything else," Vijay said.

"Oh! You cannot make it on five hundred dollars? Then what will happen to me, Vijay?" So far, this conversation was only adding to Lucky's anxiety.

"Well, I also work for an Indian person in Manhattan," Vijay continued.

"That is illegal?" Lucky asked.

"Yes, definitely. But if you do your job quietly without causing any problems, no one will give you any trouble, including the cops. Just don't get caught doing anything wrong," Vijay explained.

"I understand. What do you do?" Lucky asked.

"I distribute flyers in front of the New York Stock Exchange," Vijay answered.

"Oh, you must be standing in the cold for almost whole day. Your hands must freeze, right?" Lucky asked.

"Yeah, but I'm used to it now, and I only work two or three days a week to make some extra money," Vijay explained.

"And you also have to spend time in the lab," Lucky mentioned.

"Yes! I always keep that as my top priority," Vijay added.

"Good, Vijay. You are working really hard. Your mother should be extremely proud of you," Lucky patted his friend on the arm.

Vijay shook his head at Lucky. "She doesn't know anything about this. I told her that the university gave me nice accommodations, pays me nicely, and everything. Otherwise she'll get worried and she would never allow me to be here," Vijay explained.

"Yes, I am sure that you are right," Lucky agreed.

"Tomorrow, I have to go for work there anyway. So, if you want to do the same kind of job, I can talk to my Indian boss and maybe he will have something for you. Maybe he'll ask you to do the same job on the days I don't work."

"Oh! Definitely! I have done dirtier jobs than that, and if you are doing it, why not me?" Lucky said. "I really appreciate it, Vijay. Thank you very much for everything you are doing for me. I will never forget your help." Lucky had tears in his eyes for the second time today.

"No problems. We will go there tomorrow." Vijay put his hand on Lucky's shoulder, and then they both went back to finishing their chai.

***

The next day, Vijay and Lucky woke early and took the subway to Fulton Street in downtown Manhattan to meet Vijay's boss. Lucky wore dress pants and a white, starched shirt as though he was interviewing for a legitimate, full-time job. He was already nervous, and Vijay didn't want to add to his anxiety by commenting on his clothing choice.

"Do you think I will get the job?" Lucky asked.

"I'm sure you will. Anyways, you're in New York. If you want to work, you'll definitely find something," Vijay answered.

"Oh, Goddess Lakshmi! Please help me. If I get a job today, I will fast for eleven Fridays. Please help me," Lucky prayed.

"Don't be scared. Everything will be fine. By the way, why Fridays?" Vijay asked.

"That is the day of Lakshmi goddess."

"Oh, really?" Vijay smirked.

"Do not laugh," Lucky admonished. "She will get mad at me and then I will not get the job," Lucky said.

They walked to the small shop where Vijay went to pick up his flyers for distribution. "Namaste, Gupta Sirji," Vijay greeted his boss.

The old man was short and stooped, with a wrinkled face and a shock of white hair. "Namaste," he muttered. Pulling out ten stacks of flyers from a desk drawer, he turned to Vijay. "You need to distribute all these today," the man instructed.

"Okay, Sirji. This is my friend, Lakshminarayanan," Vijay introduced Lucky.

"What?" Gupta replied, unable to understand Lucky's name.

"Lakshminarayanan Durgalakshminath," Lucky repeated.

"You are from the South...right?" Gupta asked. Lucky nodded his head.

"Sirji, he is looking for a job," said Vijay.

"No...No...I don't have any jobs for gulties. Who will take flyers from your hand? Go away," Gupta said sharply, waving a bony hand at Lucky. The old man's behavior was typical of the way northern and southern Indians treated one another, and his derogatory comments had nothing to do with Lucky's abilities, but rather his looks and appearance. But Lucky was not so easily dissuaded.

"I will do anything, sir," Lucky begged.

"No...no...I don't want you to do anything for me," Gupta replied. "Vijay, go do your job. You will associate with anyone, won't you? That's why you are doing this. Stupid," Gupta muttered and started walking away.

Vijay grabbed the packets of flyers, took Lucky by the hand and dragged him back outside, heading towards Wall Street. "Thank God he is old. Otherwise, I would have punched his ugly face!" Vijay said to no one in particular. He was seething at his boss' treatment of his friend. But Lucky had different concerns, and didn't care what Gupta had said about him.

"What will I do now?" Lucky asked. "I am extremely worried. Goddess Lakshmi is not happy with me today. Actually, she is not happy with me from the day I was born," Lucky said with his head down. "Oh! Lakshmi Goddess! I will fast for twenty-one Fridays. Please get me a job," Lucky said, turning beseeching eyes to the sky.

"Don't be too upset. I am sure there is something better waiting for you than working for this bastard," Vijay said, trying to comfort Lucky. "There are lots of shops here, especially on Broadway. You should go around and ask for work. That's how I found this job," Vijay explained.

"Do you think anyone will give me the job?" Lucky asked.

"I'm sure you'll find something. Just make sure that you tell them that you can only take cash and that you do not have an SSN number," Vijay explained.

"What is that?"

"It's a unique number for every working person in this country. You don't have one, but you'll get one when you start working on-campus legally," Vijay said.

"Okay. What if I get lost?"

"If you get lost, ask for directions to Wall Street or the New York Stock Exchange. Anyone can tell you. We're standing right in front of it," Vijay answered, pointing to an old building with a number of pillars and a big American flag.

"Okay," Lucky said.

"Best of luck!" Vijay shook hands with Lucky and turned to the nearest passerby and offered her a flyer. Lucky started walking towards Broadway, stopping a number of times to look back at Vijay. Every time he looked, he saw that Vijay also had an eye on him. Lucky knew he had found a good friend in Vijay, and that he'd always have someone looking out for him.

Lucky continued on and stopped at every shop he could on Broadway. He tried almost every type of business – clothing stores, 99-cent stores, restaurants, laundromats, shoe shops, perfume stores, electronics stores, and even a few beauty parlors. But at every establishment, people either asked for an SSN number, or they wouldn't agree to pay cash, or they couldn't understand his accent. Then there were the people who looked at him like he was a terrorist, and demanded that he leave the premises before he "scared the customers." Each time Lucky entered a shop to ask for a job, he pledged another day of fasting to Goddess Lakshmi, but apparently she wasn't pleased with his offerings.

Lucky had walked for hours, and lost track of time. His depression and anxiety were threatening to render him immobile, and several times he had to will himself not to just sit down where he was in the middle of a sidewalk full of people and start crying again. He was willing to work harder than anyone and accept less money than he knew most Americans would expect, so he couldn't understand why people wouldn't give him a chance.

He hadn't eaten anything the whole day, and it was already 4 pm. He decided that Vijay was probably done handing out his flyers, so he headed back to find his friend and maybe get a slice of pizza. He knew he was supposed to go to Wall Street, but he was not familiar with the block system in New York and how the streets and avenues lined up in a grid pattern. Immediately he realized he was lost, so he began to look for Indian people he could approach to ask for directions. But before he spotted any promising individuals, he noticed a small gas station on the corner, and for some reason, even though he'd failed miserably all day, Lucky decided to try his luck one more time. He glanced at his reflection in the window of the building he was standing in front of, straightened his collar and ran his hands through his hair. He took a few deep breaths as he waited for the walk sign, and then he strode across the street with an air of confidence he truly didn't feel.

The bell jingled on the door as he opened it, and Lucky saw a middle-aged north-Indian Sikh sitting behind the counter. Immediately his hopes deflated, knowing that he was just going to encounter the same attitude as he had this morning. Lost in thought and replaying those unfortunate incidents in his head, Lucky didn't even realize that he had been standing by the door for over a minute, staring at the man and saying nothing.

"How can I help you?" the Sardar asked in his typical accent. Lucky had already decided not to ask about the job. "Could you tell me where the Wall Street is?" Lucky asked hesitantly.

"Ah, go straight. Walk ten to twelve blocks and take a right. And then you will see it, or ask anyone there. It is far. Take a subway, my friend," the Sikh suggested while fixing his turban in a mirror.

"No...no. I will walk," Lucky replied.

The Sikh looked at Lucky and his dress clothes, which seemed somehow wrong on him, though the man wasn't sure why he got that impression. On a hunch, he asked, "Are you a student?"

"Yes, sir, I am," Lucky replied.

"Where are you studying?"

"I am studying at the New York Institute of Engineering and Management," Lucky replied.

"Ah, that is a good school. Are you an engineer?" the man asked.

"No, sir. I am studying for MBA."

"Good for you. When did you come here?" the Sikh asked.

"Day before yesterday," Lucky replied.

"Hmm. So are you just seeing around?" the Sikh continued to talk to Lucky while he fiddled with the cash register. Lucky started to break out in a cold sweat. The man was making him nervous with all of his questions, and Lucky wanted to get out of the place as quickly as possible. "Yeah, you know, just looking," Lucky replied as he turned and headed back towards the door.

Still playing a hunch, the man called out after him. "If you know any student looking for a job, send them here." Lucky froze in mid-stride, uncertain of what he had heard. He turned around slowly, and caught a glimpse of a "Help Wanted" sign pinned to a board behind the counter that he hadn't noticed when he first came in.

"Do you have job?" Lucky said, hoping his cracking voice wouldn't betray his desperation.

"Yes. But cash only. Do you know anyone?" the Sikh answered.

Lucky couldn't believe his own ears. Surely the Goddess Lakshmi had finally been pleased by his efforts and had decided to start showering him with blessings.

"I am looking for job, sir" Lucky said.

The Sikh grinned, and slapped his hand on the counter. "Ah, yes, the moment I saw you, I knew it!" he replied.

"Yes, sir," Lucky nodded.

"What is your name?" the Sikh asked. Lucky thought if he told him his real name, he might not like it. But he didn't want to lie about his name, because it was the only thing he had with him forever. So, he replied, "Lakshminarayanan is my name." The Sikh could guess that Lucky was from southern India based on his complexion and accent, and he immediately took a liking to Lucky's honesty.

"Okay, Lakshminarayanan, I will pay you five dollars per hour," the Sikh said, as if he could not care less where Lucky was from. "Oh, yes sir," Lucky replied. Lucky didn't concern himself with the pay rate. He just focused on the fact that his prospects were far better than they were just ten minutes ago, and he didn't want to push his luck, either with the Sikh, or with the Goddess Lakshmi.

"First week will be your training week, so you will not be paid for the first week, and you have to work all seven nights for ten hours every night. If I ask you to come in the middle of the day, you have to come. Okay?" the Sikh continued.

"Yes, sir. Not a problem, sir. When can I start, sir?" Lucky asked.

"My name is Aakash Singh. Call me Aakash. This gas station belongs to my brother, but usually he does not come and I manage the business," the Sardar said. "You meet me on this Saturday morning. I will teach you everything."

"Yes, Aakash, sir," Lucky nodded.

"Do you have a mobile?"

"No, sir...uh, Aakash," Lucky replied.

"Okay, well this is my card. Keep it." Aakash handed a business card to Lucky, and Lucky tucked it into his back pocket. Aakash looked Lucky over again from head to foot. "Did you eat?" he asked.

"I am fine, sir. I am not hungry," Lucky lied.

Aakash knew that it was a lie, but didn't want to make an issue of it. He took a small pack of mini muffins from a display on the counter and handed it to Lucky. "Go now. I have customers to take care of."

Lucky could hardly contain his joy at this change of fortune. "Thank you...thank you very much," he said as he bent down on his knees to touch Aakash's feet in a traditional gesture of respect. Aakash stopped him. "No, Lakshminarayanan, it's okay. Do not worry about it."

Lucky controlled himself until he reached the street and was out of sight of the station, at which point he jumped into the air, pumping his fists in victory. He had to find Vijay and tell him the great news. Remembering the Sikh's directions, he started running towards Wall Street, nearly tripping several times when he kept looking to the sky to thank Goddess Lakshmi for her generosity. When he saw Vijay sitting in front of the New York Stock Exchange, he shouted, "Vijay, Vijay! I got it!"

Vijay scanned the crowd to locate his friend, and saw Lucky running towards him with a big, loopy smile on his face. Lucky knocked the wind out of Vijay's lungs as he barreled into him and hugged him tightly. "Finally, finally dude...I got the job!"

"Awesome! I told you that you'd find one," Vijay said, laughing with his friend and amused by his enthusiasm. Lucky told Vijay about everything that had happened to him while they sat on a bench and enjoyed the muffins.

"So how much is he paying you?" Vijay asked.

"Five dollar per hour, ten hours a day, all seven nights. So that is fifty dollars per day, three hundred fifty dollars per week, and fourteen hundred dollars per month!" Lucky exclaimed.

Vijay whistled through his teeth. "That's a lot of money. Now you may decide you don't want to be stuck with me!"

"Oh no....no...You are my friend for life now! I will not forget what you did for me and I will never leave you. In fact, now I can save some money for my family. I can send the money for medication for my father and sister. The best part is I have to work in the nights, so it does not affect my course schedule at all," Lucky said.

"I am so happy for you! I told you something better was waiting for you," Vijay said.

"I just hope that this is the end of the struggles for me and my family," Lucky said, again looking to the sky. "It is the blessing of Goddess Lakshmi. I have promised her that I will fast for forty-four Fridays."

Vijay choked on a bite of muffin. "What? That's like every Friday for the next whole year!"

"Yeah. Every time I entered the shop or store, I would add one Friday, hoping to get the job in that shop. But it is okay. I will keep my word. Otherwise the goddess will get angry. I do not want any complaints," Lucky said, his mouth full of muffin.

"You're crazy!" But Vijay knew there was no point arguing with him, so instead he slapped Lucky on the back. "Let's go home, watch some movies, and eat some good food today to celebrate. How about rajma and roti?"

"Sure! I will cook," Lucky said. Vijay looked at him, and Lucky laughed. "Okay, I will help you to cook!"

"Are you working tomorrow?" Vijay asked.

"No. He asked me to come on Saturday," Lucky replied.

"Good. So we can go to a party tomorrow."

"Party?" Lucky asked.

"Tomorrow there's a party for all new graduate students. We should go and get to know other students and faculty members. They have free food, and maybe you can dance with Anna," Vijay grinned.

"She is coming?" Lucky couldn't believe after how bad this day had started, just how good it was turning out.

"Yes, I invited her," Vijay replied.

"Awesome!" Lucky said, then quickly added, "I mean...party sounds awesome." They both laughed, and Lucky threw the muffin wrapper in the trash bin before they bounded down the steps to the subway.

Chapter 4

The next evening, Vijay and Lucky stood in their small apartment, digging through their suitcases and pulling out articles of clothing. Nothing seemed to be appropriate for the party they were going to, and eventually they just gave up and put on their everyday clothes. When they arrived at the event, some of the students noticed their attire and made a few comments, but Vijay and Lucky didn't care. They were too busy enjoying their first party in America. The hall was decorated with tiny, glowing white lights, and the room was filled with well-dressed students chatting with each other, eating fancy hors d'oeuvres off small trays, and drinking.

Lucky looked around the hall at all of the beautiful women, but particularly those who were wearing tight, short skirts and low-cut tops. His behavior was less about being lewd and gawking at women and more about not knowing how to handle the culture shock. Coming from a rural part of India, he was not used to seeing so much female skin, and the sight of it mesmerized him. Vijay stood beside him, a cup of pineapple juice in his hands, imitating Lucky's facial expressions.

"Hi Vijay!" Anna waived and came over to them. She was wearing a short black dress, and her long blonde hair was curled over her shoulders. Lucky watched her hips sway as she moved, and his heartbeat fell into rhythm with the clicking sound her stilettos heels made against the tile as she approached. "She is looking so hot!" he whispered to Vijay.

"Hi Anna," Vijay said, embracing her warmly. Anna closed her eyes and kissed Vijay on both cheeks. When her eyes fluttered open, she couldn't help but notice that Lucky was looking at her like a kid looks at candy. Anna and Vijay talked for a few minutes about their classes and the professors in their program, while Lucky stood silently and focused on Anna's cleavage. She pretended not to notice, but was actually enjoying his attention. Her instincts told her that he meant no harm, and it was important that he was attracted to her.

"You know my friend, right?" Vijay asked.

"Oh, yes. He's the gentleman who came to the lab. Lak...Lak.....," Anna again tried to pronounce Lucky's name.

"Lakshminarayanan," Vijay said. Lucky wasn't even listening to their conversation and didn't realize they were talking about him. Vijay pinched Lucky hard on the arm.

"Ah! What!" Lucky looked as though he had been rudely awakened from a dream.

"You remember Anna? She works in my lab," Vijay said.

"Of course I know her," Lucky mumbled, overcome with shyness.

"Which program are you in?" Anna asked, trying to put Lucky at ease.

"Hmm, what? What program am I in?" Lucky looked at Vijay with panic in his eyes, as though Vijay was his only hope for answering such a difficult question.

"He is doing an MBA," Vijay laughed, answering for Lucky.

"Oh, yes. I am doing MBA, and..." Lucky replied, but before he could complete his sentence, an Indian man strode up to the group and grabbed Anna's wrist, pulling her away from Vijay and Lucky. He gave them both a look of disgust. "Anna, why are you wasting your time with these pigs?"

"Dan, stop it!" Anna retorted. The man still had her wrist in his and was pulling her deeper into a crowd of students. Anna turned back to look at Vijay and Lucky. "Sorry!" she shouted. "I'll catch up with you guys later."

"Who was that guy?" Lucky asked Vijay, staring across the room at the back of Anna's blonde head as it bobbed and weaved in a sea of students and faculty. She seemed to be having an argument with the man.

"Dan," Vijay answered, his distaste evident in his voice.

"But he looks Indian."

"He is Indian. His name is Dhansukh Patel. He's ABCD. He's also a management student, but he's been failing in almost every class for years," Vijay explained with a derisive chuckle.

"What is this ABCD?"

"'American Born Confused Desi.' They're Indians who are born here by Indian parents. So they look desi and pretend to follow Indian tradition, but they're very confused and don't know anything about it," Vijay replied.

"Why did he call us pigs?" Lucky asked.

"PIGS means 'Poor Indian Graduate Students.' ABCDs laugh at our poverty and our appearance, but they forget that their parents were also PIGS. And we forget that someday our kids are going to be called ABCDs, and they will call someone else PIGS."

"Hmm. I must be honest. He looked very rich, and we do look dirty like pigs," Lucky replied.

"Well, he is rich, but he didn't earn that money. His dad is a vice president of BCC bank. Dan is spending money earned by his Indian parents who worked hard like you," Vijay replied.

Their conversation was cut short by the sudden sounds of music being pumped through several huge speakers and a subwoofer. Vijay and Lucky backed up towards the wall and watched as other students migrated towards the center of the hall and began dancing. Lucky looked at them with envy. More than anything else in that moment, he wanted to have the courage to go out there and dance with a hot girl. But so far, all he could manage was to his shimmy his legs back and forth while staying firmly rooted in the one square foot of space he had claimed on the sidelines.

Without warning, Anna appeared right in front of Lucky's face. "Are you having fun?" Anna shouted over the driving, hypnotic bass.

"You came back to dance with a pig?" Lucky blurted out. He blinked a few times, surprising himself with his sudden boldness with this woman. Ten minutes earlier he couldn't manage to remember what program he was in when she asked, and now here he was, actually joking with her.

Anna was briefly shocked, but recovered quickly and rewarded him with a sly smile. "Why not? I just love bacon," she whispered into Lucky's ear. "Dan is an a-hole. Don't pay any attention to him," she said as she grabbed Lucky's hands and pulled him onto the dance floor.

Dan and his friends saw Anna's interaction with Lucky, and Anna knew it. She looked over at Dan and moved her body closer to Lucky's, grinding her hips against him in time with the music. This was the first time any girl had been this close to Lucky, and he quickly became uncomfortable. He never expected that his first experience would be with someone who looked and behaved like Anna, and she excited him in a way that made him uneasy. He looked to Vijay for support, but Vijay seemed unconcerned. He smiled at Lucky, raised his cup, and shouted over the music, "Welcome to America!"

Dan glared at the couple, disgusted with the spectacle Anna was making of herself. Anna watched Dan's reaction closely, toying with him like a cat toys with a mouse before the kill, raising her perfectly arched and powdered brow and smiling at him over Lucky's shoulder. Vijay knew Anna, but he didn't know that she had been in a relationship with Dan several months ago, until he'd slept with her roommate. When she confronted him about his indiscretion, he had shown no remorse, but had become even more arrogant, accusing her of not servicing him with enough frequency and enthusiasm, and blaming her for his cheating.

Anna knew how much Dan hated Indian graduate students, so her plan for the evening had been to find the ugliest Indian student at the party and use him to make Dan furious. Lucky turned out to be her weapon of choice, and in her pathological self-absorption, she convinced herself that as long as Lucky was attracted to her, she wouldn't feel guilty for using him. The poor indian boy should be grateful for her attention.

Her plan was working: Dan was furious. He wanted to forcefully pull Anna out of Lucky's arms, but he knew everyone was watching to see what he would do, and he didn't want to embarrass himself. Anna was already doing a fine job of that. He was also concerned about the faculty members present at the party, and he knew that neither he nor his friends could do anything to Anna or Lucky. Not here and not now. Dan tried to soothe his anger with copious amounts of alcohol, but he continued to brood in the corner while watching his ex fawn all over the poor Indian kid. Despite all attempts at willpower, he couldn't take his eyes off the two of them for more than a few minutes at a time.

Anna knew she was getting inside Dan's head, but she decided to switch tactics anyway. Instead of goading him on with her eyes, she began to ignore him and focused all of her attention and affection on Lucky. She whispered repeatedly into his ear and ran her fingers through his hair, all the while rubbing her breasts against his chest. Finally Dan's patience reached a breaking point, and he threw his drink to the ground, determined to end this charade here and now. He'd only made it a few steps before his friends realized what was happening and blocked his way, a couple of the bigger men grabbing his arms and forcefully leading him out of the hall.

Lucky, fortunately or unfortunately, was completely oblivious to Anna's ulterior motives. He was too lost in fantasies about the sexy American angel who had fallen for him to notice what had transpired between Dan and Anna over the past hour. As the song they were dancing to came to an end, Anna took Lucky's face in her hands. "Listen, sweetie, I'm having such a great time with you," she purred. "But you don't mind if I call it a night, do you? A girl's gotta get her beauty sleep if she's going to look pretty for her man." Lucky nodded, and Anna, mission accomplished, disappeared into the crowd.

Vijay hadn't been paying any attention to Dan, but he was happy to see that Lucky was finally having some fun in his life. Vijay had watched everyone dance for awhile, but the low and persistent growl from his stomach became distracting, and knowing there was no food at home, he set off in search of something to fill his belly before the party ended. Maybe he could also find some cookies he could slip into his pocket for Lucky, if he ever stopped dancing with Anna.

The party was full of half-naked girls and drunken boys, their presence so ubiquitous that Vijay had stopped finding them remarkable in any way. Perhaps that was why the girl's presence startled him, simply because she was so different from anyone else at the party. Every inch of her skin was covered, and she wore no makeup as far as Vijay could tell. Her south-asian face needed no enhancement. She had deep set, dark brown eyes, a small, sloped nose, and her full lips parted to reveal a beautiful smile. She had covered her head with an intricately detailed scarf, and every few minutes, she would use her fingers to gently tuck wayward strands of dark brown hair back under the hijab. She was obviously from a very conservative Muslim family, and she was standing alone in the corner of the room, observing everyone else at the party. To Vijay's delight, she was even holding a glass of what appeared to be pineapple juice.

Vijay couldn't stop staring. He was Hindu, but there was something unique about the girl that Vijay found himself inexplicably drawn to. He was a very simple person, and he believed that a woman's beauty lies in her simplicity. The girl in the hijab was the perfect example of that kind of beauty. Vijay mustered the courage to introduce himself, and he began to walk towards the girl when a young woman suddenly rushed past him and approached the girl in the hijab, speaking to her excitedly, though Vijay couldn't understand the conversation. The two girls walked quickly towards the exit, and Vijay felt a physical pain in his chest as he stood rooted to the spot, unable to do anything but watch the girl in the hijab disappear. He had no idea who she was or if he would ever see her again, though he hoped that since she had come to the party, that she might be a student.

"Hey! What are you doing here? I was looking for you everywhere!" Lucky had appeared out of nowhere.

"Nothing. I was just...I was just grabbing some cookies for both of us. Where is Anna?" Vijay replied.

"She left."

"Where did she go?" Vijay asked.

"The dorm."

Vijay shifted his weight and stared at his roommate. "So why are you here?"

Lucky was momentarily confused, but suddenly the implication of Vijay's question was clear. "Are you crazy? I am not doing those things before marriage!" Lucky said.

"As if you're going to marry her!" Vijay chuckled, shocked that Lucky was thinking about marriage after the first meeting.

Lucky bobbed his head back and forth. "Maybe."

Vijay looked at his roommate like he'd lost his mind, and Lucky laughed.

"But I am not marrying her tonight, so we can go now," Lucky said. Vijay smacked the back of Lucky's head, and they both grabbed some cookies before leaving the party hall and stepping into the cool night air.

It was a beautiful September evening, and they walked casually, taking an indirect route to the subway as they enjoyed each other's company and shared stories about the party. As they cut through the main part of campus, Lucky was deeply immersed in a conversation about what he kept referring to as Anna's "assets." He was excited and gesticulating wildly with his hands, completely focused on his storytelling and paying little attention to anything else. Vijay was listening attentively, but unlike Lucky, he was always observant of his surroundings. It was Vijay who first noticed the Indian boy asleep on the bench outside the university library and stopped in front of him, while Lucky kept right on walking for several yards before noticing he no longer had an audience. He turned around and saw Vijay pointing to the man on the bench. Vijay shot him a questioning look, and Lucky shrugged. Lucky walked over to stand beside Vijay, and they both stared down at the sleeping young man. He had long, lean limbs and a muscular build, and given the light color of his skin, they thought he was probably north Indian. He looked to be a little older than Lucky and Vijay.

The man's eyes opened suddenly, and Vijay and Lucky jumped back.

"Hi!" Vijay said, composing himself. The man stood up and rubbed his eyes, but said nothing. "Are you a student here at the university?" Vijay asked.

The man looked at Vijay and then at Lucky, as if he was trying to determine whether they were worth the effort of replying. "Yes. I just came in today evening."

"Why are you sleeping on the bench? Do you need help?" Lucky asked.

The man hesitated, and then his shoulders drooped. "I reached here after 5 o'clock, and everyone in the International Student's Office had left already," the man replied. "I don't know anyone in this country and truthfully, I have nowhere to go. That's why I'm sleeping here. I won't cause any trouble. I'll just wait here till they come back tomorrow."

"Oh, the police won't allow you to sleep here, especially with all of your luggage," Vijay warned, glancing at his bags. "And it's going to be very cold tonight."

"Well, the guards threw me out and said I couldn't stay inside the university," the man replied.

"Hmm..." Vijay hummed as usual. He looked at Lucky, and Lucky nodded.

"Do you want to come home with us? You can stay with us for tonight, and then tomorrow you can come back to the university and straighten everything out," Vijay offered.

"No, it's okay. I don't want to bother you. You don't even know me," the man said.

"Well we can solve that easily!" Lucky smiled at the man. "I am Lakshminarayanan, he is Vijay, and you are Raj Khanna. Now we can go!"

The blood drained from the man's face and he froze, stricken with confusion and paranoia, desperately fighting the urge to flee. Lucky saw his discomfort and realized he needed to diffuse the situation quickly. He pointed to the man's luggage. The bag closest to Lucky had two large, white sheets of paper with the name "Raj Khanna" written on them in bold black letters, and they had been secured with several pieces of clear packing tape.

He grabbed one of Raj's bags and Vijay grabbed the other. "Come on, Raj! It is a long way to the palace," Lucky said jovially.

"Thanks a lot, guys," Raj said, following both of them with the third large bag and his backpack. When they reached the subway, Vijay swiped his card and they pushed Raj's bags through the emergency exit and snuck through themselves when the station manager wasn't looking. They didn't have to wait long for the train, and the car was fairly empty when they boarded. They grabbed several seats and stacked the luggage close to them.

"You must be hungry. Do you want some cookies?" Vijay asked, offering the cookies that he had taken from the party.

"Thank you. You guys are so nice," Raj said, grabbing a cookie. Lucky also took a cookie, as he was tired and hungry from all of the sexy dancing.

"Don't worry about it. We also didn't know anyone in this country until we met each other. We were in the same situation as you. So where are you from?" Vijay asked.

"Srinagar," Raj replied.

"Really! You are from Kashmir? I heard it is very beautiful, but very cold, like here," Lucky said as he moved to sit by Raj.

"Yeah, it is. Where are you guys from?" Raj asked.

"He is from Bombay and I am from Tamilnadu," Lucky explained.

"Did you just come this semester?"

"Yes," Vijay answered.

"Which program are you in?" Raj asked, turning to look at Lucky. Lucky started to answer, but Vijay cut him off.

"Aren't you going to ask me?" Vijay inquired.

"Ask you what?" Lucky replied.

"Ask me what program you're in."

"Why would I ask you?" Lucky said, perplexed and slightly perturbed. Raj said nothing, but was confused by this unexpected diversion.

"Oh, I don't know...maybe because when Anna asked you the same question three hours ago, you could barely remember your own name and had to check with me first," Vijay teased. "What's changed? Don't you think Raj's "assets" are as nice as Anna's?"

"Shut up, Vijay!" Lucky said, a look of insult on his face. "As I was saying before my friend so rudely interrupted me, I am studying for MBA, and Vijay is working on the PhD in Mechanical Engineering. How about you?"

"Fine Arts," Raj answered.

Lucky gave Vijay a curious look. "Fine Arts? Do we have such program? I thought the university has only engineering and management programs."

Vijay shrugged. "Well, they admitted him, so for his sake, I hope it exists." Vijay meant his comment as a joke, but he also seemed unsure about Raj's claim.

"They just started the program last year," Raj replied, and then offered nothing more about the subject. "Where do you guys live?" he asked, changing the topic.

"Rockaway Boulevard. It's a small basement apartment," Vijay said.

"So how far is it from the World Trade Center?" Raj inquired.

It was not a question that Vijay or Lucky anticipated, and Raj saw the look they exchanged. "I mean, you know, how far is it from the city?" Raj asked.

"Thirty or forty minutes. Living in the city is very expensive," Vijay replied. Lucky didn't say anything, but he started to get an uneasy feeling in his stomach. Maybe it was just hunger pains, or his other problem.

"What was going on today? When I was sitting on the bench, I saw a lot of students around," Raj asked, planting a smile on his face that he hoped look casual and not forced. He hoped it wasn't too late to undo his mistake.

"Oh, there was a party for new graduate students. It was fun! You should have come," Vijay said, trying to rid the conversation of its sudden awkwardness. "Lucky certainly had a good time, didn't you?" Vijay reached over and playfully slapped Lucky on the knee. Raj, appreciative of Vijay's efforts, laughed and smiled at Lucky, but Lucky didn't return the courtesy. He didn't speak to either Vijay or Raj the rest of the way home.

It was late when they finally reached the apartment, and everyone was exhausted. Vijay shared his blankets with Raj so that he didn't need to unpack his bags, but Lucky began to set up his bed as far from them as possible in the small room. Lucky had always slept close to Vijay since the very first night, so Vijay had no idea what he was doing and gave him a puzzled look. But Lucky offered no explanation, and Vijay was too tired to pursue the issue further. Within minutes, he heard Lucky begin to snore, and then Vijay fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

Raj had noticed Vijay's reaction to Lucky when he set up his bed, and assumed this was not their normal sleeping arrangement. He silently cursed himself for being so careless with his question about the World Trade Center. There was nothing he could do about it now. He just needed to stick to his plan and make sure he didn't make any more stupid mistakes. Raj put an arm under his head and stared at the shadows the tree branches had cast on the ceiling. He flipped on his side and looked out the small window bathed in moonlight, and then back at the ceiling. It was going to be a long night.

***

When Vijay woke at 7 am, Lucky was still asleep, but Raj was no longer in bed. Vijay looked over at the kitchen and saw that Raj was standing over the stove, stirring something in a pot. Raj looked up and saw Vijay staring at him.

"Good morning!" Raj said cheerfully.

"Good morning. Did you sleep?" Vijay asked as he stood and began to fold his blanket.

"No, I couldn't. It must be jet lag," Raj reasoned.

"So what are you cooking?"

"Khichadi. I used the ingredients in the cabinet...I hope it's okay," Raj replied.

"Oh! Definitely, as long as you share," Vijay smiled, enjoying the tantalizing smell wafting from the kitchen. He put his blankets away and went to take a shower. By this time Lucky had woken up, and already there seemed to be a dark cloud over his head. He didn't look at Raj or make any attempt at conversation while he folded his bed and waited for Vijay to be done in the bathroom.

When Vijay was done, Lucky stomped into the bathroom with barely a greeting, but Vijay wasn't concerned. Today, instead of Parle-G biscuits and tea, Vijay was going to have a delicious breakfast, and he decided he wasn't going to wait for Lucky to finish his shower. He hurriedly spread out newspaper, sat down cross-legged on the floor, and began to eat what Raj had served up in earnest. Raj debated whether to wait on Lucky, but decided he would just offer him breakfast as soon as he got out of the bathroom. He took a seat across from Vijay, and the two enjoyed their meal in friendly silence. They had nearly finished by the time Lucky came out of the bathroom. Raj jumped up immediately and offered him some khichadi, but Lucky declined.

"What's wrong with you? Last night you set up your bed in Brooklyn, and then this morning you're turning down a tasty breakfast," Vijay said while finishing off the last of his portion. Something was obviously bothering Lucky. He wasn't being himself – not last night on the subway ride home, or when he made his bed, and definitely not this morning. Raj shifted uncomfortably, and slowly sat back down. He really didn't want Vijay to push Lucky about his behavior, but he'd only known them for twelve hours, and he wasn't comfortable intervening in this conversation. The less attention he brought to himself, the better.

"Nothing is wrong," Lucky snapped at Vijay. Raj kept his eyes on his plate and continued to eat in silence.

Lucky pulled out one shirt after another, sniffed them, and disgustedly threw them back on the pile. His frustration was growing by the minute, and finally he stood up and kicked the suitcase hard.

Vijay finally spoke. "Lucky, this behavior is not like you. We're your friends, so you need to tell us what your problem is. Maybe we can help, but you can't just go around turning down delicious food and kicking innocent luggage."

Raj remained quiet, his stomach twisting with anxiety as he anticipated the questions he was sure Lucky was about to ask. It was quite possible that he wouldn't be allowed to stay another night in the apartment, though that was the least of Raj's worries. Raj slowly raised his head and met Lucky's gaze, prepared for the worst.

"You want to know what is wrong, Vijay?" Lucky said, looking at Raj.

"Yes, Lucky, I do."

Lucky slapped both hands down on his crossed legs, and looked at Vijay. "Dude...I hate this western style of toilet," Lucky said, gesturing and glaring at the bathroom door. Vijay and Raj were wide-eyed and speechless, as neither of them had anticipated the direction this conversation was going. They looked at each other with confusion, and then suddenly Vijay started laughing. It took Raj an extra few seconds, but Lucky's problem became clear to both of them.

"Do not laugh! I am congested for last three, four days...since I came here. If I eat one more thing, my body will explode like rotten fruit! You are mad at me for setting up my bed in Brooklyn? The next time I need to fart, I will not hold it in, and you will wish I had set up my bed in New Jersey!" Lucky shouted. With this last comment, Vijay and Raj became hysterical, rolling over on their sides and clutching their stomachs as tears rolled down their faces.

"Come on guys," Lucky pleaded. "Help me! In Indian style you can bend your knees and get good pressure. With American style, you cannot. I think that is the problem."

Vijay tried to calm down long enough to offer advice. "If you can't bend your lower body, you can bend your upper body or...or maybe sit like a chicken."

That image sent Raj into hysterics again, but Lucky was considering it carefully. "Not a bad idea," Lucky said, and he got up and went back to the bathroom. Twenty minutes later, Lucky emerged with his hands on his waist and a look of triumph on his face.

"Raj, any chance there is any khichadi left for me?" Lucky asked. Raj brought him a bowl from the kitchen, and Vijay and Raj sat with Lucky while he ate his breakfast. The look of pride on Lucky's face was so evident that Vijay would have thought that Lucky had single-handedly vanquished the British from India.

***

When they reached the university, Lucky offered to help Raj to complete all of his immigration procedures and registration, and Vijay went to his laboratory. As Lucky and Raj walked from one office to another throughout the morning, Lucky shared his personal story, and Raj was genuinely touched to hear all about Lucky's struggles.

At noon, they met up with Vijay and decided to go their familiar pizza place for lunch. They bought a few slices, loaded them up with as many spices as they could, and found a bench in a nearby garden where they could eat.

"So how was your day? Did you finish registration and everything?" Vijay asked Raj.

"Yes. Lucky helped me a lot. Now I just have to find the money to pay my tuition," Raj said between bites.

"You do not have a scholarship?" Lucky asked. "Otherwise, it is going to be very expensive."

"No, I don't have a good record like you guys, so I'm not going to get any scholarships or on-campus jobs," Raj explained.

"Then how are you going to manage so much money? Your parents are helping you?" Lucky asked.

"No. I heard that some students work outside the university to make money. Is that true?" Raj asked.

Vijay looked at Lucky before replying. "Hmm...I don't know...I've heard some students do it, but it's illegal." Vijay and Lucky had just met Raj, and they were reluctant to tell him about their illegal outside jobs. "What about housing?" Vijay asked, trying to change the subject.

"I don't know yet. We talked to the Indian Students Association like you suggested, but they were not very helpful. They made fun of my program," Raj replied. "They were saying things like, what kind of Indian would go for a degree in the arts, especially with his own money?"

"Well...I am sorry," Lucky said. "But, actually, I was also wondering same. We are Indians! We can be doctors or engineers. No one comes here for degree in fine arts!" Lucky laughed.

"Come on, stop it," Vijay gently chided Lucky. "It's not right that we should be only engineers or doctors, or to presume that doctors and engineers are better than artists. But my question is why you came to this particular university," he said, addressing Raj. "This school is not known for its program in the arts. You could have gone somewhere else and gotten a degree from some other well-known arts school, and paid less than what you're going to have to pay to be here. You must come from a filthy rich family!" Vijay said.

Raj looked as though he were going to reply, but changed his mind. "Are we done? Let's go then," he said, wiping his mouth with a paper napkin. "I need to talk to few more people about accommodations." Raj stood without further explanation.

"So, is your family..." Lucky began, but Vijay looked at him, and shook his head to discourage Lucky from pursuing the matter further. Vijay was concerned that somehow they had hurt Raj's feelings, and he wanted to drop the issue.

"I have a lot of work to do today, so you guys go home after you're done. I'll come home late today," Vijay said.

"What about Anna? Is she there? Did she ask for me? I can stay there with you if you want. Maybe I should come with you to the lab?" Lucky asked, as he quickly gathered his plate and napkins from the bench and threw them away.

"She did ask about you, but she couldn't remember your name," Vijay replied.

"Really! What did she say about me?" Lucky was excited.

"That she couldn't remember your name," Vijay said with a straight face.

Lucky punched Vijay's shoulder. "Come on, dude, I mean what else!"

"You are really in love with that girl, aren't you?" Vijay smiled, shaking his head. Raj patted Lucky's back.

"Oh, no. Nothing like that. She is just my friend. I want to concentrate on my studies," Lucky replied.

"Let's see what happens, Mr. Lucky. Time will tell," Vijay teased as they started walking back to the university.

***

When Vijay got home that evening, he found Lucky and Raj in the kitchen cooking dinner.

"What are you cooking? It smells good," he asked from the doorstep.

"Oh! You are here. I am just helping Raj. He is cooking kashmiri pulao," Lucky answered.

"Man, I am very hungry," Vijay said while removing shoes.

"It's almost ready." Raj turned off the gas, and Lucky grabbed a bunch of the free newspapers that they picked up every week and set their dinner table on the floor. Raj carried all the dishes and cooking pots from the kitchen to the middle of the room, and they all took a seat around the newspapers.

Vijay took plenty of pulao on his plate and immediately started eating. "Hmm, this is way better than my mom's pulao or any restaurant's pulao," Vijay said while chewing a mouthful of rice.

"It is really awesome," Lucky said.

"Thanks. I wanted to treat you guys for all the help you've given me. I'm glad that you like it," Raj replied.

Between the three of them, they ate the entire dish while discussing their day. When they finished, Vijay stood up first. "You guys cooked, so relax. I'll wash the dishes," he said, grabbing the pots and heading towards the kitchen. "Hey, Raj. Did you find an apartment?" Vijay called out over the sound of running water.

"No, but I am trying," Raj said.

"It's okay. You can stay here as long as you want," Vijay said. "As long as you keep cooking food like today's breakfast and dinner!"

"Sure, no problems," Raj replied, and then looked at Lucky as if he was waiting for Lucky to say something.

Lucky looked at Raj for a few seconds, and then got up and walked towards the kitchen. "Um, Vijay? Can Raj stay here with us?" Lucky asked. "It will reduce the rent share for us."

"Hmm...if he wants to," Vijay replied as he scrubbed a pot.

"Oh, yes. He wants to stay with us. We talked about it while cooking," Lucky replied with a smile.

"Good. I'm okay with it," Vijay agreed, and turned the water back on to rinse the dishes.

Lucky looked at Raj and gave him the thumbs-up signal. Raj smiled and began cleaning the floor and throwing the newspapers in the garbage. Meanwhile, Lucky made the beds for all of them, once again positioning his blankets close to the other two, now that his little problem had been solved with some engineering ingenuity. Vijay told Raj that it was garbage day, and asked him to take the bag out to the curb. When Raj stepped outside the apartment, Vijay spoke to Lucky in a hushed voice, and ended the conversation before Raj returned.

Thirty minutes later, Vijay was lying awake in his bed. Like the previous night, Raj slept beside him, and Vijay turned to face him. "Raj, now that you're going to stay with us, I should tell you something," Vijay said.

Raj rolled over and waited for Vijay to continue.

"Well...you know that Lucky and I, we're both from needy families. We don't have much money," Vijay explained, and after a slight pause, he confessed. "So we both have off-campus jobs."

"Oh, okay. Why didn't you tell me before?" Raj asked.

"Because it is illegal, and because we just met you yesterday," Lucky explained as he sat up in bed. "We could not take the risk. But now, since we are going to live together, you will come to know anyways."

"Understood. Thanks for telling me the truth," Raj replied as he rolled onto his back. "So, what do you guys do?"

"He hands out flyers and I am going to work at the gas station from this weekend," Lucky explained.

"Can you guys help me find a job?" Raj asked.

"I think you should try to find a job in an Indian restaurant. Anyone would hire you," Vijay offered.

"When I was looking for the job, there was one north-Indian restaurant that was advertising for kitchen help," Lucky offered. "But I am dark-skinned and from south, and I am vegetarian. I never touched meat or anything. So they did not hire me."

Vijay couldn't control his laughter. "Well, there's that, and, you know, the fact that you can't cook."

Lucky snorted. "Well, whatever, I am sure they would hire you, Raj."

"Really? Can you please take me there tomorrow?" Raj requested.

"Sure," Lucky said.

"Thanks. I don't know how I can ever thank you guys enough," Raj replied.

"Well here's the thing, Raj. We don't have any family in this country. There's no one else here to help us. So we have to take care of each other. We have to help each other. I'm sure that we're going to be friends for life," Vijay said, extending his hand to Raj.

Raj was touched by the generosity of his new friends, men he'd only known for a day. Instead of a handshake, Raj took Vijay's hand in his own and held it. Lucky leaned over and placed his hand on top of Raj's, and Vijay completed the pile with his other hand. "You guys are my family," Raj said, his voice gravely with emotion.

"Talking about family...Raj, tell us about your family" Vijay inquired. Raj withdrew his hand, roughly wiped his eyes, and lied back down. "Hmm...maa and baba," he replied.

"Sending their only child here alone must be tough for them," Vijay replied. "And what do they do?"

Raj rolled away from Vijay and pulled the sheet up around him. He took some time before answering. "Hmm....haan? Nothing special...Local, small-small jobs."

"Have you told them that you reached here safely?" Vijay asked.

"Um, sure. Sure, yes, I told them." Raj stumbled with the question. Lucky was surprised to hear this, as he had spent almost every moment with Raj since they'd met, and he'd never noticed Raj speaking to anyone.

"When did you get the chance? Even I did not call my family yet," Lucky said.

"Oh, from the airport..." Raj replied. "I'm really tired, guys. Can we talk about this some other time?"

Vijay knew something was wrong, but he didn't know what. Maybe Raj was just a private person, and uncomfortable talking about himself or his family. He decided to let it go. "Raj is right, it's late. We all need to get some sleep. We have a lot of things to do tomorrow," Vijay said. He thought he heard Raj let out a long, deep breath as Lucky got up to turn out the light.

Chapter 5

The following day while Vijay went to school, Raj and Lucky took the subway to downtown Manhattan for Raj's job hunt. Since Lucky didn't know the city, they got off at Fulton Street and followed the exact same path Lucky had followed two days before. They walked north five or six blocks on Broadway until they found the Indian restaurant they were looking for on Chambers Street. Lucky told Raj he was going to stay outside so that the restaurant owner didn't see him; he didn't want to be responsible for Raj losing out on a job just because the owner took one look at Lucky and decided he didn't like the color of his skin.

When Raj went inside, he saw a young Indian girl arranging chairs around the tables. He waited at the door until he got her attention, and within a few moments, she looked up. "I'm sorry sir, but the buffet does not start until 11 am. You'll have to come back later," she said curtly.

"I am looking for a job," Raj said without hesitation.

"Oh! Well I'm sorry, but we do not need anyone," the girl replied.

Raj thought she was probably a student, and might be thinking of him as her competition. And besides, Lucky had told Raj that the restaurant needed kitchen help. Raj eyed her suspiciously. "Can I meet the owner?" he asked.

"He is not here," the girl replied as she turned back to her work.

"When will he come? I'll wait," Raj replied.

"He won't come today," she snipped. Raj was finding her very uncooperative, but at this point, he didn't have many options but to leave. He wasn't going to give up, though, especially not on account of her. He turned and opened the door, but stopped when he heard a different female voice call out.

"Nitu, Who is at the door?"

"Madam, no one," the girl replied.

An Indian woman in her mid-thirties walked out of the kitchen, her eyes immediately drawn to Raj. "Yes, how can I help you?" the woman asked, smiling like a Cheshire cat.

"I am looking for a job," Raj said politely.

"A job. Hmm..." The woman murmured to herself as she looked Raj over from top to bottom. His clothes were cheap, but he was certainly a handsome man. Light skin, dark hair, deep brown eyes, tall, with nice muscular body. Definitely a fine Indian specimen.

"So, what can you do for me?" the woman teased.

"I can cook," Raj answered, ignoring the double-entendre.

"Cook? What can you cook?" she laughed.

"Indian food. Mostly north-Indian food," Raj replied, unfazed by her lascivious gaze. He'd noticed that the girl – the woman had called her Nitu - was trying to listen to the conversation while pretending to work.

"Really? Have you worked at a restaurant before?" the woman asked. Judging from his looks, she believed that Raj was probably talented at many things, but she wasn't sure cooking was one of them.

Raj thought that the woman was either Pakistani or north Indian. "Haanji," he replied. "In India," he answered, in his best north-Indian accent.

The woman pulled up a chair and sat down, motioning to Raj to do the same. "Where are you from in India? Are you a student?"

"Haanji. Delhi se," Raj replied, still standing. For some reason, he didn't want to tell her the truth. Perhaps it was because Kashmir was a sensitive topic for both Indians and Pakistanis.

"Where do you go to school here?" she questioned, again motioning for him to take a seat.

"New York Institute of Engineering and Management. I just came a day before," Raj answered, pulling up a chair.

"Vaah! Are you an engineer?" she asked.

"Haanji," Raj lied again to impress her.

Although she was wearing a typical salwar-kurta, Raj noticed the red bangles on her wrist, so he guessed that she must be Hindu, and thus north Indian. It didn't matter to him. He didn't like the way she was looking at him, but he needed a job and he'd bear anything for it.

"Who told you to come here?" the woman asked.

Raj didn't want to mention Lucky's name, so he lied one more time. This whole encounter had been one long string of lies, but Raj knew how to cook, and he thought that was the only piece of information she was entitled to. "No one," he replied. "I am just going from one shop to another, looking for a job."

"How many days can you work?" she asked.

"I have classes only three days a week – Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. So I can work the rest of the days," Raj answered.

"Okay. But we will only pay six dollars per hour. The tip is divided among all the waiters and cooks, so you will also get part of that," the woman explained.

It was better money than Lucky was getting, so Raj agreed. "Haanji. Okay."

"Can you start tomorrow? I will need to talk to my husband today," the woman mentioned in an offhand way.

"Haanji," Raj nodded.

She extended her hand to Raj, and he started to give her a firm handshake, as he would if she were a man. But the woman stopped him, and put her other hand on top of his, stroking it gently. Raj could read everything in her eyes, but he didn't care. This job meant survival. It would give him the opportunity to do what he came here to do, so the woman's inappropriate behavior was of no consequence to him. He retracted his hand, and smiled. "Thank you, madamji."

"Come tomorrow, same time," the woman said.

"Haanji," Raj said, flashing a smile at Nitu as he turned to leave.

When Raj stepped outside, he noticed that Lucky was talking on the public phone, and that he was crying. Raj assumed that he was talking to his family, and he walked over to him. Lucky was speaking in his south-Indian language, and Raj couldn't understand a word of the conversation, so he just waited at a respectful distance. When Lucky noticed Raj's presence, he tried to hide his tears. He talked for few more minutes and then hung up the phone.

"I am sorry. I miss my family," Lucky said while wiping his face.

"It's okay," Raj replied.

"How did it go? Did you get it?" Lucky asked.

"Yes. But..." Raj wanted to talk to Lucky about the woman, but decided to wait.

"Great! But what?" Lucky asked.

"No, nothing. I have to start tomorrow, which is okay," Raj answered.

"Good. Tomorrow is Saturday, so I also have to come here for the job tomorrow," Lucky said. "The amazing thing is that we are working very close to each other, so we can still share the Metrocard and save money. I think we all are very fortunate to get jobs so quickly. Many thanks to Goddess Lakshmi!" Lucky looked up at the sky. Raj smiled but did not comment.

"What shall we do now? Shall we go to the school?" Lucky asked.

"How far are we from the World Trade Center?" Raj asked.

"I am not sure. But we can ask. Do you want to go there?"

"Yes," Raj replied. Lucky approached an older man who was sitting nearby, reading a newspaper and drinking a cup of coffee. Raj watched Lucky as he conversed with the man, who was pointing and periodically nodding. Lucky ran back to his friend.

"Good news! It is not too far, and we can walk from here," Lucky said. Leading the way, he and Raj started walking south on Broadway, back towards the Fulton Street subway, and then headed west towards the river. When they approached the site, there were several groups of people standing at the viewing platform, and Raj motioned to Lucky to follow him as he walked over to the platform. The debris from the towers had been removed, and he and Lucky could see almost the entire construction site. They looked at pictures of the 9/11 attack, and eavesdropped on some of the visitors' conversations. Some of the people were obviously tourists, while Raj guessed that many of the others who were holding hands and weeping probably had a closer connection. The place was haunting, even in the daylight. As Lucky stood quietly, observing everything around him, he thought he could actually feel the loss and the pain of the families, and he was awed by the sacrifices made by all New Yorkers in the aftermath of that terrible event.

"Dude, this is unbelievable," Lucky whispered, turning to look at Raj. But Raj had disappeared. Lucky scanned the crowd, but did not see him anywhere. He began retracing his steps, searching for his friend, but Raj was nowhere to be found. After several unproductive minutes, Lucky crossed the road and headed towards Church Street. Suddenly he spotted Raj, who was acting as though he was looking for something. Lucky ran up to him, grabbed his arm, and swung him around.

"What are you doing?" Lucky asked, relieved, but also irritated now that he had found Raj.

"Nothing. I went to the restroom," Raj answered. "I...I lost my way."

"Why did you not tell me?" Lucky pushed.

"It was an emergency," Raj replied, refusing to make eye contact with Lucky. Lucky stared at Raj, waiting for him to offer more, but Raj was silent. Lucky didn't believe Raj's excuse, and the sense of unease that he felt when Raj first asked about the World Trade Center returned. But it wasn't as though Lucky had discovered Raj actually doing something suspicious or wrong, so he didn't really know what to do about the feeling. He shrugged his shoulders as though he was trying to shrug off a bad feeling, and said simply, "We should go home now."

***

When Raj and Lucky reached the house, there was an old Hispanic man slumped against the porch railing, a half-empty bottle of bourbon in his hand. He was passed out and snoring loudly, but his presence made Lucky nervous. He didn't think the home's owner knew that Vijay had two roommates in his basement apartment, and Lucky didn't want to him to find out. Raj and Lucky snuck around to the basement door quietly, and they stayed inside the apartment the rest of the day.

That evening, when Vijay returned from work, Lucky made tea and they all sat down to talk. "So what happened?" Vijay asked Raj.

"They hired me," Raj replied.

"Very nice! You didn't even struggle that much to get a job. We should celebrate!" Vijay said.

"After my first paycheck," Raj replied. Vijay went to the kitchen to grab some Parle-G biscuit packets, and noticed that they were running out of them. He handed a pack to Raj and one to Lucky. "We should go to the grocery tonight. Otherwise we won't have anything to eat for next week," Vijay said, ripping open the wrapper.

"Okay. Where do we go for it?" Lucky asked.

"Apna Bazar, which is close to Lefferts Boulevard. It's only fifteen minutes from here," Vijay answered.

"But I don't have any money," Raj said, pausing before shoving a biscuit in his mouth.

"Don't worry. I'll pay for it now. You guys can pay me after you receive your first checks," Vijay said.

"Thanks, Vijay!" Lucky replied.

"Today, when we were coming back, we saw a drunk person on the porch," Raj mentioned.

"Oh, that's our owner, Hector Hernandez. He's always drunk, but he's a very kind person. Who else would allow us to stay here for four hundred dollar...which includes all utilities and internet service?" Vijay remarked.

"Does he know that we are staying here?" Lucky asked.

"No. But don't worry. I'm sure he can't tell the difference between you, me, and Raj. He's so drunk all the time that he probably wouldn't even be able to count up to three," Vijay laughed. "We just need to make sure that we pay the rent on time so that he can keep buying his alcohol and stay drunk."

"There is no one in his family?" Raj asked, almost sounding sad.

"No. At least I haven't seen anyone. I think everyone left him," Vijay explained. "The best thing is that we didn't even sign any agreement, so we can leave this place anytime. We just need to give him thirty-days notice."

After finishing their tea and biscuits, they left the house to go grocery shopping. It wasn't very cold outside, so they decided to walk, and after about fifteen minutes they reached Apna Bazar. The shop was full of Indians, and Vijay grabbed one of the carts.

"Raj, you are the chef of the house, so you should take the lead. My job is to push the cart," Vijay said. Raj nodded in agreement. He started down the produce aisle and picked out a few green vegetables. Lucky was extremely price conscious, since the dollar to rupee conversion scared him. Every time Raj picked up another tomato or pepper, Lucky would look at the price and raise his eyebrows as he kept a running total in his head.

Vijay knew Lucky's background and understood the reasons for his behavior. On one occasion, stricken with what Vijay referred to as "dollarphobia," Lucky had tried to bargain with the owner of the shop until Vijay had grabbed his friend in embarrassment and asked him to keep quiet, explaining that people in America didn't bargain like they did in India. Finally, Vijay, Lucky, and Raj approached the checkout counter with a bag of rice, a bag of wheat flour, garlic, ginger, coriander, tomato, onions, an economy package of chicken, and some Indian spices. Vijay counted out his money and handed it to the cashier, grabbing some soda and chips when Lucky wasn't looking and adding it to their purchase. Vijay knew Lucky wouldn't approve of spending money on unnecessary items.

They had more than ten plastic bags of groceries, but they didn't want to waste money on a cab, so they walked the fifteen blocks back to the apartment. When they got home, Vijay opened the soda bottle and poured a cup for everyone.

"When did you buy that?" Lucky asked.

"Oh! It was free for shopping so much," Vijay answered.

"Thank God! We cannot afford to spend money on this junk food," Lucky said. Raj smiled at Vijay, a ring of foam around his mouth from the fizzy soda.

"We got jobs today, but you look happier than both of us," Raj remarked to Vijay.

"Well, today my professor asked me to be his teaching assistant. So I may not have to do that stupid off-campus job much longer," Vijay explained.

"Congrats!" Lucky and Raj shouted in unison.

Vijay turned on his laptop and the apartment filled with the sound of Bollywood music. "So, who has a girlfriend here? Raise your hands," Vijay asked. Nobody put any hands in the air.

"What! Really? What is wrong with us?" Raj said.

"Nothing. We just have lot of responsibilities. So we do not have time for all this stupid nonsense," Lucky replied.

"Hmm...then what's with Anna?" Raj asked.

"Anna?" Lucky replied, trying to sound innocent. "Nothing. She is Vijay's friend."

"What? I'm not the one who was dancing with her at the party. I'm pretty sure that was you," Vijay said.

"That is because she is your friend. I could not say no to her," Lucky tried to explain.

"Hmm, so how is she?" Raj asked Lucky.

"Oh! White, blonde, and very hot!" Lucky's high-pitched voice betrayed the calm, nonchalant attitude he was trying to convey. "She is very naughty also," Lucky said, unable to stop himself once he started talking about her.

"What do you mean?" Raj asked.

"No...no...nothing," Lucky replied, regretting that he couldn't keep his mouth shut about Anna. Raj and Vijay were sure that he was hiding something, so they tackled him and tickled him forcefully until he couldn't stand the pain any longer.

"Okay, okay!" Lucky gasped, sitting up and holding his sides, his face beet red. He took a few breaths. "When I asked her why you are dancing with me, you are white and so beautiful, and I am so dark, do you know what did she say?" Lucky said.

"What?" Vijay replied as he picked up his cup and took another gulp of soda.

"She said it is because she loves dark chocolate in her mouth, and she knows that I have one," Lucky said.

Vijay choked and soda shot from his nose, spraying all over the floor. Raj erupted in uncontrollable laughter, not sure which was funnier – Vijay's Coca-Cola snot or the idea of Lucky's dark chocolate.

Vijay wiped his nose with the sleeve of his shirt and got up to get a rag from the kitchen. "I think we should stop this discussion right here. I work with her, man!" Vijay said, but he could not stop laughing.

"What about you, Raj? You are elder to us. You have nice looks. You must have had girlfriends," Lucky asked.

"I was working hard to make enough money to come here, so I didn't have much time for girlfriends," Raj answered.

"Does that mean we're all virgins?" Vijay asked tentatively.

"It seems that Lucky may not be a virgin much longer," Raj laughed.

"Oh! No. I want to study. And besides, I cannot do all that stuff without marriage," Lucky answered.

"Yeah, we'll see," Raj said as he walked to the kitchen to start preparing dinner.

While Raj was organizing everything in their little kitchen, Vijay and Lucky sat on the floor in the common area and spread out newspapers. Raj handed them some onions, tomatoes, and garlic, and as they began chopping and dicing, the conversation flowed smoothly from Indian movies to Bollywood actresses to Indian politics. There was an advantage to their small room with no walls: They could speak to each other from one corner of the room to the other. There was no way anyone could hide, and the forced, close proximity made for a quick bond between the three men. It also soothed their homesickness, as they began to become each other's second family.

***

The next morning they left the house together for their off-campus jobs. After taking the subway to Fulton Street, the three men split off in different directions.

Lucky's job was straightforward. His main responsibilities were running the counter, taking care of the money, and managing purchasing and billing. Being an excellent MBA student, his responsibilities were easily managed. The owner was also a good person and fed him lunch, so Lucky was extremely happy at his job.

When Raj reached the restaurant, he saw Nitu getting ready for the buffet. She watched him come in, and then looked at a man standing by the register. "He's the guy," she said flatly, pointing at Raj. The man at the register was broad-shouldered and overweight, with a potbelly that hung over his belt. It looked as though he hadn't shaved in several days, which gave his face a slightly sinister look, and he didn't seem to be someone who enjoyed people. He approached Raj and said, "Yes?"

"Madamji asked me to come for the job," Raj said politely.

"Which job?" the man asked.

"Cooking," Raj answered.

"Kid, like you can cook?" the man laughed loudly, and Nitu snickered while she filled the napkin dispensers. Suddenly the kitchen door opened and madamji came out.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Namaste, Madamji," Raj said.

"Did you hire this kid?" the man bellowed.

The woman's features sharpened, and she didn't even look at the man when she replied in a low hiss. "This is my father's restaurant. You don't tell me what to do." Straightening her shoulders, the woman stood taller and pushed her hair off her face. She closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath in, and then slowly exhaled, as though she were trying to cleanse the bad air that hung over them. When she opened her eyes, her countenance had softened and she smiled at Raj.

"You can go downstairs and put on an apron," the woman said. Raj put his head down and started walking as she directed.

"Hey! Wait. Where are you going?" the man shouted.

"Let him go," the woman said through clenched teeth.

Poor Raj kept walking down into the basement. He could hear their fighting, and although he couldn't make out everything clearly, he learned that the man was the manager of the restaurant and the woman's husband. It was obvious that their relationship wasn't exactly cordial, but Raj didn't know what to do. Yesterday he was celebrating his good fortune at finding a job, and today he was already in jeopardy of losing the job despite the fact that he hadn't done a single day's work. He put on the cooking gown that hung on a hook, and just stood at the bottom of the stairs for a while, debating his options, not that he had many. The shouting went on for some time, and then Raj heard a loud bang, as though someone had opened the main door and slammed it shut with great force. Raj's stomach lurched, and he decided that he was probably better off leaving immediately.

He took off the apron, threw it back on its hook and started up the stairs, only to be intercepted halfway up by madamji.

"What are you doing down there? Do you want a special invitation?" she said. Raj shook his head and followed her up the stairs, trying not to notice the exaggerated way she swayed her hips. Once in the kitchen, madamji began explaining everything. Raj tried to focus on her instructions, but was distracted by his overwhelming relief that he still had a job. Regardless of what he thought of her inappropriate flirtations, Raj couldn't deny that she had gone out of her way to protect him, and he owed her a debt of gratitude.

Madamji introduced Raj to the other kitchen staff. He was supposed to work under a senior Punjabi man named Dalbir. As a test of his culinary skills, madamji asked Raj to cook paneer makhani, and then she stepped out of the kitchen to check on Nitu's progress on setting up for the buffet.

"Where are you from?" Dalbir asked.

"Delhi," Raj answered. It wasn't exactly a lie; Raj had worked in Delhi for some time, and he thought that he stood a better chance with a Punjabi if he said he was from Delhi and not Kashmir.

"Student?" Dalbir inquired as he passed Raj the ingredients for the dish.

"Haanji," Raj answered and started cooking. Dalbir watched his technique closely. Quickly Raj cooked the dish, added coriander dressing, and asked Dalbir to taste it.

"Mast," Dalbir said, licking his fingers. "I'm impressed!" He patted Raj on the back, and then told him to take the dish out to the women. Madamji sat at a table, and asked Raj to take the chair beside her. Taking a spoonful of the paneer makhani, she looked at Dalbir through the window on the kitchen door before bringing the food to her lips. Dalbir gave her a thumbs-up sign.

"Hmm...perfect. Very good," she said, running her tongue over her lips in an exaggerated fashion. "You are officially hired."

"Haanji, Madamji," Raj nodded. Madamji turned in her chair and asked Nitu to get some flour from the basement, then turned her attention back to Raj.

"You don't have to call me madamji. You can call me by my name – Manpreet," she said, and she placed her hand on Raj's hand, which was resting in his lap.

"Haanji, Madamji... sorry. Manpreetji," Raj said. Manpreet laughed.

"Don't be scared. I am your new friend," she said, still holding his hand in hers.

"Haanji," Raj nodded.

Manpreet heard Nitu coming up the basement stairs, and quickly withdrew her hand. "Go help Dalbir in making the buffet, Raj," she said as she got up from the table.

Raj went back to the kitchen and followed Dalbir's instructions for the buffet food. He immediately took a liking to Dalbir, and found him to be a very kind, patient, and helpful manager. As Raj cooked, he kept looking through the kitchen door, trying to observe the patrons' reactions to the food they kept piling onto their plates.

At around 3 pm, the buffet was over, and it was a quiet time for the restaurant. Manpreet encouraged Raj to eat from the leftovers at the buffet, and since he hadn't had breakfast and had worked hard the whole day on an empty stomach, he gladly took her up on the offer. The buffet had a wide variety of Indian food, including vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Raj made up a plate with a little of everything, and took it to the basement to eat. The best part was the gulab jamuns, a sweet dish that was Raj's favorite. Raj kept shoveling food into his mouth because soon he would have to start preparing for the dinner crowd. Dalbir, who was also eating with Raj, understood Raj's situation well and didn't disturb him.

Manpreet had left the restaurant, but not before telling Dalbir that her husband Pankaj would come for the evening shift and manage the restaurant. Raj was not happy to hear that Manpreet would not be there all evening, and that he might have to deal with Mr. Singh without her protection. He was careful to follow Dalbir's instructions perfectly so that there wouldn't be any problems with the food, hoping this would be enough to keep Mr. Singh happy, or at least satisfied enough to leave Raj alone. Raj even tried to be pleasant to Nitu, although she didn't treat him very well. The happier he could keep these people, the easier his life would be, so he smiled at Nitu whenever he saw her.

At around 6 o'clock, Pankaj pulled up to the back entrance of the restaurant in a big pickup truck. He entered through the kitchen's rear exterior door and found Raj.

"Hey you! Go unload the truck," he barked.

Raj nodded and quickly went outside, and Dalbir tried to follow him to help unload, but Pankaj stopped him. The restaurant had no equipment for the task, and Raj had to carry 100-pound bags of flour and rice on his back to the basement. But Raj had the build for the job, and after a heavy lunch, he actually looked forward to some physical exertion, so he unloaded the truck without complaint.

Pankaj sat on the concrete steps next to the loading dock, chewing his paan and spitting out half-chewed betel nuts mixed with saliva near Raj whenever he came to pick up another load. Raj ignored him, and when he'd finished unloading the truck, he went back into the kitchen. Dalbir had been watching Pankaj from the doorway, and was disgusted by his behavior. But he wasn't surprised by it, and he knew that this was just the beginning of the harassment. Raj would not have an easy time with Mr. Singh, but as long as he kept Manpreet happy, he'd be okay. Dalbir reassured Raj of this fact as he handed him a cool lassi from the refrigerator and told him to take a break for a few minutes.

Soon customers started arriving for dinner, and Nitu took their orders and gave them to Dalbir. Raj and Dalbir worked well together, quickly learning each other's methods and preferences, Raj knowing which jar of spice to hand to Dalbir and when, and Dalbir passing him chopped onion and garlic just as the coriander seeds began to sizzle in the oil. Their communication was silent but completely effective, and the evening passed quickly as Raj enjoyed his time with Dalbir. For his part, Pankaj knew better than to berate Raj in front of his customers, so the hours Raj spent in the kitchen with Dalbir were all the more pleasant for the fact that Pankaj made himself scarce. Raj did notice one person that Pankaj was not making himself scarce around, however, and that was Nitu. He'd actually spent an inordinate amount of time with her, following her around like a puppy and looking for even the smallest reason to lay his fat hands on her, which she seemed to enjoy. Raj didn't think Manpreet would approve of her husband's behavior, but it was none of his business. The more time the old man spent flirting with Nitu, the less time he spent harassing Raj.

By 10 o'clock, most of the customers had cleared out, which meant one thing: It was drinking time for Pankaj. He sauntered into the kitchen, pleased with himself after an evening of flirting with Nitu, and took a big bottle of beer from the refrigerator while grabbing a mug. After downing half the mug in a few large and loud gulps, he offered it to Raj. Raj respectfully declined, telling Pankaj that he didn't drink alcohol. Pankaj laughed derisively and belched. He then turned to Nitu, who had joined them in the kitchen, and began flirting with her again, this time right in front of Raj and Dalbir. Nitu flirted back, occasionally taking a drink of his beer.

A few beers later and Pankaj was flat out drunk. He got up from his chair, but lost his balance and dropped his mug, shattering the glass and splashing beer all over the kitchen floor. Dalbir asked Raj to pick up the pieces of broken glass and mop the floor, and told Pankaj to just stand where he was until Raj had finished. Raj dropped down to his knees and began to carefully collect the broken pieces of glass, but Pankaj was not a patient man on a good day, let alone this evening after his earlier emasculating argument with Manpreet. He tried to walk out of the kitchen, but the combination of his inebriation and a floor slippery with beer was too much for him, and he fell down hard on his hands and knees. Raj moved quickly to help him up.

"Mr. Singh, are you okay?" Raj asked, grabbing him under his arm. Pankaj stood up with Raj's support, and then looked at the floor, which was now covered in beer, broken glass, and his own blood. The sight of the blood made him livid, and with unexpected speed, he yanked his arm away from Raj and slapped him across the face.

"You bastard! Why did you not clean the floor quickly?"

The slap was the last thing Raj had expected, though perhaps he should have been more prepared. His face turned bright red, and his body trembled with barely controlled rage.

"Don't show me your anger, boy!" Pankaj bellowed. "I want to see how long you survive here! I will smash you like a cockroach every day!" Blood was dripping from Pankaj's hands where he had cut them on the glass.

"Stop!" Dalbir shouted as he inserted himself between the two men before Pankaj slapped Raj again. Dalbir was older than Pankaj, and he was from Manpreet's family. Combined with the fact that he was also the restaurant's main chef, Pankaj had no choice but to respect him.

Dalbir told Raj to go to the basement, while he kept one hand on Pankaj's chest. Tears stung Raj's eyes, but he listened to Dalbir and turned to walk down the stairway. Once he was safely in the basement, Dalbir ran Pankaj's hands under the faucet and wrapped them with two clean dishtowels. The entire time, Pankaj kept cursing Raj with unrelenting venom. Dalbir let him rant, and then he then walked Pankaj outside, called for a taxi, and sent him home.

After the taxi pulled away, Dalbir went down to the basement and found Raj in the corner, shaking and crying. Dalbir went to Raj, and like a father, took him into his arms. Dalbir was an old soul. He knew that Raj wasn't crying because of one slap, and he suspected that Raj had a lot in his heart that he never shared with anyone. While he admired the kid for wanting to keep his struggles private, Dalbir knew that a man who carried such a burden often condemned himself to a sad and solitary existence. Dalbir stroked the back of Raj's head, and assured him that he would talk to Manpreet and that Pankaj would never dare to touch him again.

When Raj had calmed down, he and Dalbir went back to the kitchen, where they discovered that Nitu had already cleaned up before leaving. Dalbir smiled to himself, surprised at Nitu's uncharacteristic display of consideration.

He asked Raj if he would eat before he left, even offering to cook okra for him. It was fairly late, and Raj knew that Vijay and Lucky would be waiting for him to come home for dinner. He asked Dalbir if he could take the food home, and Dalbir made sure he took extra rice and roti. Raj accepted the bags of food, and turned to face Dalbir.

"I'm sorry about...well, you know. I shouldn't have gotten so upset. Thank you for your kindness."

"No need to thank me, son. But if you do feel the need, I will tell you what you can do for me. You can promise me that you will come back here tomorrow, understand?" Dalbir said.

"Yes, sir. Thank you for the food, and thank you again...for everything," Raj replied, offering Dalbir a weak smile. Dalbir walked him outside, and watched Raj as he disappeared down the street, heading for the subway.

When Raj reached home, Vijay and Lucky were waiting for him for dinner, just as Raj had anticipated. They had cooked for Raj, but they were excited when they discovered that he had brought food from the restaurant. Their dal and rice wasn't nearly as appetizing as the food Raj had cooked all night, and they shared the meal happily. Raj was glad that he could provide food for his friends, particularly since he still didn't have any money. He promised that on the days he worked in the restaurant, he would bring food home for all of them. Raj didn't want to spoil his roommates' happiness with any talk about his day, so he didn't mention what had happened with Pankaj. He was extremely tired, both from physical exertion and emotional exhaustion, and when they made up their beds that night, Raj was the first to fall asleep.

***

Raj arrived at the restaurant the following day a few minutes early, and Manpreet was already waiting to greet him. She walked up to him, her arms outstretched, and hugged him tightly.

"Oh, Raj. I heard from Dalbir what happened last night, and I must apologize for my husband's behavior. Please, sit," she said, pulling out a chair for him. Raj sat down reluctantly.

"Dalbir and I had a long, long talk," Manpreet said, scooting her chair near Raj and placing her hands on his knees. "I want to assure you that Pankaj will never do that to you again, and if you have any problems with him, you will come directly to me and I will handle it." She reached up and smoothed back Raj's hair, then ran her finger down his cheek. Raj shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but he didn't move away, because he thought it best not to insult her. He was grateful that he could turn to Manpreet if Pankaj got out of control again, but he was beginning to wonder who he could turn to when Manpreet got out of control. Raj knew that having a husband like Pankaj couldn't be easy for any woman, and he did sympathize with Manpreet, but her intentions weren't right. But for now, Raj knew he was just going to have to put up with her behavior, because until he could find another option, he needed this job.

At lunchtime, Manpreet went down to the basement to eat with Raj. "Do you have girlfriend?" she inquired over a dish of butter chicken. Raj was not surprised by the question.

"Yes," he lied.

"Where is she?" Manpreet asked. Raj knew he had to be careful with his lies so that they didn't seem unbelievable. He had told so many lies since he arrived in America, and not just to Manpreet.

"My girlfriend is in India," Raj replied, figuring that the existence of a girlfriend wouldn't matter to Manpreet. He was right.

"It must be very hard for a young, handsome guy like you to be alone, all by yourself," Manpreet said as she took Raj's hand in hers. Raj thought it would be best to keep quiet, but unfortunately Manpreet interpreted his silence as encouragement to continue.

"I understand your pain. My husband is always drunk and I am so tired of him. Do you understand?" Manpreet asked, her long eyelashes fluttering as she blinked back tears that Raj guessed were only for effect. She brought Raj's hand up to her chest, placing it over her heart. His fingers grazed her breast, and Raj's pulse raced. There was no doubt that Manpreet was a beautiful woman, and Raj was a virgin. These sensations were new to him, and too much to handle. Although emotionally he didn't like her behavior, his body's physical reaction to her was a different story.

"I need water," he managed, and removed his hand from hers to grab his water glass. Manpreet laughed, her tears suddenly gone. She knew there was no girlfriend, and judging from his reaction, she guessed that Raj wasn't very experienced. That was fine with her; it made the game so much more enjoyable.

Raj quickly finished his lunch and excused himself to go upstairs. Dalbir was in the kitchen, and Raj thought briefly about talking to him, but he was almost twice as old as Raj, and he was Manpreet's relative, so Raj decided against bringing up the issue with him.

When Pankaj came for the dinner shift, his attitude towards Raj had improved slightly. He didn't shout at Raj, but he didn't stop harassing him completely. Pankaj ordered him to do lot of the heavy, physical work, and even thought it was Nitu's job, Raj had to clean the tables. Whenever Pankaj didn't think Raj was working hard enough, he would insult him in front of the other staff, but Raj seemed to be accustomed to such abuse, and it didn't bother him all that much. He just kept quiet and continued to go about his work, and at the end of the night, just like the previous night, Dalbir made sure he took home a lot of leftover food that Raj shared with Vijay and Lucky. As Raj ate dinner that night, he thought a lot about Pankaj, and promised himself that he wouldn't let a man like Pankaj ruin his plans.
Chapter 6

On the Tuesday after Labor Day, classes began at the university. Vijay started his day by going to work and handing out flyers. It was unseasonably cold that morning, and people were staying off the streets and out of the bitter wind. It took him much longer than usual to finish the distribution, and he was almost half an hour late to class.

Vijay took the subway steps two at a time and ran flat out until he reached the university, and when he got to the classroom he was completely out of breath. He stood outside for a minute until his breathing slowed, and then he opened the door as slowly and quietly as he could, not wanting to disturb his professor or his classmates. Vijay pressed himself against the wall and walked to the back of the room, eyeing an open seat in the last row. He sat down and placed his backpack on the floor, slowly unzipping it so as not to make a sound, and pulled out his notebook and a pen. When he was finally settled and looked up, he saw a girl in the front row of the classroom wearing a hijab.

The scarf looked familiar, and Vijay's heart skipped a beat. Could it possibly be the same scarf, the one that belonged to the beautiful girl he'd seen at the party? The girl sitting next to her also seemed vaguely familiar, and Vijay thought it might be her friend who had pulled her away before he'd had a chance to introduce himself that night. This was a Fluid Dynamics class for mechanical engineering students, and Professor Walker was teaching the basics of laminar flow, but as hard as Vijay tried to concentrate on the lecture, he just couldn't stop staring at the girl wearing the hijab.

He had to find out if it was the same girl, so he tried to move his seat a little to afford him a better view, but there were about eight other student heads in front of him, blocking his line of vision. He needed a better plan. Professor Walker had stopped lecturing and started to ask some questions, and Vijay's hand shot up before he had a chance to think through his plan. He hadn't even heard the professor's question, but fortunately or unfortunately, no one else had raised a hand.

Professor Walker called on Vijay, and Vijay stood up beside his desk. "Haaan...what was the question?" Vijay asked, and a few of the students snickered. It was an embarrassing situation, particularly for a student like Vijay, but at this moment he didn't care. He just needed the girl in the hijab to turn around and look at him. Of course, everyone but the girl was staring at him by now.

"Silence!" Professor Walker said in a British accent. He looked at Vijay, and repeated his question. "What is the physical significance of a Reynold's number?"

With everyone but the girl continuing to stare at Vijay in anticipation, he gave his answer with ease, having studied these basic concepts for his PhD entrance interview, which he had aced. Professor Walker hadn't expected much when he saw how Vijay stumbled at first, but now he was pleasantly surprised. "Absolutely right, young man! However, you do not have to stand while answering." Although it was typical in Indian culture for students to stand while answering a question or otherwise addressing a professor, the truth was that Vijay had stood up in the hope of getting a better look at the girl.

Vijay was pleased that he had made a good first impression on his professor, but he was disappointed that the girl had not turned around even once to look at him. He began to sit down when the girl cast a shy glance at him over her shoulder, and Vijay immediately stood back up so that he could see her clearly. The professor looked up from his notes. "Young man, you may sit." The girl turned back to face the white board, and Vijay lowered himself to his seat, a look of satisfaction on his face.

It was her. It was the same, beautiful girl he'd seen at the party, and now, for the first time, she had seen him. Now he had to come up with a reason to talk to her, and it had to be legitimate, and not some lame excuse that other guys used on girls. Vijay spent the rest of the class deep in thoughts that had nothing to do with laminar flow. He fantasized about the various conversations he could have with her, trying to imagine how she might respond and how impressed she would be with his answers.

Forty minutes later, Vijay was still lost in his daydreams and hadn't noticed that the class had ended and that everyone had begun clearing out of the room. He jumped up from his seat and frantically scanned the room, but he didn't see her. Vijay ran up to the front of the room towards the desk where she had been seated, and saw that her notebook was still there. He spun around again, and his eyes finally found her by the board, talking to the professor behind the lectern. He had no idea how he was going to initiate a conversation with her, but he went and stood behind her anyway.

As he listened to her conversation with the professor, Vijay was transfixed by the soft, melodious voice that emanated from those exquisite lips, and it reminded him of the beautiful Indian classical music that his mother used to play for him when he was a child.

"Yes, sir, how can I help you?" Professor Walker asked Vijay, his strident voice snapping him out of his trance. Vijay again stumbled with the question. "Haaan?" he said, his attention divided between the professor and the girl who was walking back to her desk to collect her books. He didn't know what he was going to ask the professor, but he did know that he couldn't let her leave again without finding a way to introduce himself. Then an idea came to him. It was a long shot, but Vijay had nothing to lose.

"Sir, I...I'm sorry, but I missed the beginning of the class due to an unavoidable emergency," Vijay replied, talking much louder than necessary for the girl's benefit.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Mister...?" the professor prompted.

"Kumar. But please call me Vijay."

"Ok, Vijay. I trust that everything is okay now?" Professor Walker inquired.

"Oh, yes sir. Everything is fine," Vijay replied, hoping the girl was listening. "But I was wondering if you have any notes that I might refer to." Vijay was pleased with his quick thinking, and he was pretty sure that the girl was listening, as she seemed to be taking her time gathering her belongings.

"No, I don't follow any certain notes or books as such," Professor Walker replied. "But maybe you can ask Hina for her notes. She was sitting in the first row and taking nice notes."

At the sound of her name, Hina stopped stuffing her books into her bag and looked up. Vijay turned to her, barely controlling his excitement and trying not to grin like an idiot. He couldn't believe how well Professor Walker had unknowingly played right along with his impromptu plan, providing him with a perfectly justified reason to talk to this girl named Hina.

"Hi," Vijay said as he approached her desk.

"Hi," she replied.

"I don't know if you heard all of that," he said, gesturing at the lectern. "But I missed part of the class, and Professor Walker suggested that maybe I could ask you if I could make a copy of your notes?"

Hina waited several moments before replying, but she didn't want to seem impolite. "Ok," Hina responded, pulling a notebook out of her bag and handing it to him. Vijay noticed that she had a beauty spot over her top lip, and he thought it made her even more attractive. He wanted to have long conversation with her, but didn't know how to get started. The classroom was now completely empty, and even Hina's friend had left.

"Did I miss anything important?" Vijay tried again.

"I'm sure if you read the notes, you will get everything," she answered. Hina appeared to be concerned about her scarf, and kept fidgeting with it while Vijay stood and stared at her.

"By the way, I am Vijay," Vijay said, offering her a handshake. Hina instinctively backed away from his hand, and Vijay silently cursed himself as he realized his mistake. He cleared his throat, and shoved his hand into his pocket.

"Shall we go to the library to copy your notes?" Vijay said, hoping to distract her from his transgression.

"Okay." Hina picked up her bag and walked toward the exit. Vijay followed closely, and almost bumped into her when she stopped.

"Did you want to keep your bag here?" She nodded her head towards the back row of desks where Vijay had left his bag.

"Oh, yeah! Sorry, give me a minute!" Vijay ran to the back of the room and with one huge swipe of his arm, dumped all of his stuff into his bag. Hina had already left the classroom and was walking down the hallway, and Vijay had to run to catch up with her. She was walking with her head down, and her books were tightly clutched to her chest. She would barely look at Vijay, let alone smile at him or participate in a conversation. Vijay's thoughts were churning, his mind struggling to find a way to engage her.

"What is your name?" Vijay asked.

"Hina."

"Are you a Mechanical Engineering student?"

"Yes."

"Are you new student?"

Hina nodded.

"Masters?" Vijay asked, and she nodded again.

This is painful, he thought. "I am doing a PhD in MechE," Vijay volunteered, hoping to impress her.

"Hmm..." Hina hummed, and Vijay's face brightened. After what seemed an eternity of one-word responses, Vijay took her humming to be a sign that he'd made an impression, and he allowed himself a small smile. He was concerned, though, that she might be uncomfortable walking around campus with a man, especially a Hindu man. He certainly didn't want to make her uneasy or cause her any distress, but he was surprised by the intensity of his feelings for her, and felt compelled to be around her as long as she would allow it.

Upon reaching the library, Vijay headed towards a copy machine and opened Hina's notebook. The pages were neat, with no eraser marks or cross-outs, and her handwriting was delicate, which is just the way Vijay imagined it would be.

"You have very beautiful handwriting," Vijay said.

"Thank you."

"Do you live in the city?" Vijay asked as he swiped his ID card against the scanner on the copy machine.

"No."

Stupid question. He should have asked where she lived.

"What is the homework for the class?" Vijay asked, hoping she couldn't find a way to abbreviate her reply.

"Professor Walker will post it today on Blackboard," Hina answered, referring to the school's classroom web portal.

"What other classes are you taking?" Vijay wanted to know her entire schedule for the week.

"Transport Phenomena and Solid Mechanics," she replied.

"Awesome!" Vijay shouted in an undeniably inappropriate volume for a library. Hina looked around nervously. "I am in the same classes," Vijay said in a whisper.

Hina was a little surprised by Vijay's reaction to her answer. Why was it "awesome" that they shared the same classes? Hina didn't know, but she chose not to say anything, and after Vijay finished with the copies, they left the library.

They were walking across the campus when Vijay turned to her suddenly, hoping to postpone their inevitable parting. "Do you want to have coffee?" he asked.

"No. It is very late. My friend must be waiting for me," Hina replied, her voice edged with concern.

Vijay hoped that she wasn't angry at him for taking up so much of her time. "Okay. Well, thank you very much for your help."

"You're welcome." Hina turned and walked away without another word.

"Bye. I'll see you soon," Vijay called out as he watched her walk away. Come on, he thought. Just look at me, just once. Please.

Hina was walking swiftly, but just as Vijay was about to give up hope, her gait slowed and she turned around. When she saw him standing in the same place as she'd left him, just looking at her with a soft expression on his face, she quickly turned back again and picked up her pace.

"Yes!!" Vijay exclaimed as he half-twirled and half-jumped into the air. His acrobatic maneuver was a little overly enthusiastic, and he missed his landing, crashing into an older man who was unfortunate enough to have been walking behind him. The man had been clasping a briefcase and a stack of papers under his arm until he suddenly found himself splayed out under Vijay.

"Oh! I am so sorry, sir!" Vijay cried, scrambling to get up and then extending his hand to the man. Vijay pulled him to his feet, and the man chuckled as he brushed off his pants and tweed jacket, and smoothed back his comb-over.

"Are you okay?" Vijay shouted as he ran around in circles, trying to gather all of the man's papers that were scattering in the wind.

"Not a big deal, young man, not a big deal," the man said amicably, picking up his briefcase and taking the papers from Vijay. "Sometimes a pretty girl just makes a man lose his balance," he said, giving Vijay a wink and a smile before walking off.

"Dude! Who was that?" Lucky said as he and Raj ran up to Vijay. They had been waiting for him outside the library, and had seen the whole encounter. Vijay was embarrassed to discover that he'd had an audience, and he tried to play stupid.

"I...I don't know. I've never seen him before. I felt so bad, tripping and falling into him like that. I hope he's okay," Vijay replied.

Lucky slapped him. "Dude, not the baldy! We want to know about your laaady friend!" Lucky said in a singsong voice.

"Oh, her? She's no one. She's just a girl in my class," Vijay said dismissively.

"Classmates, huh? It looked like a lot more than that," Raj teased, hoping to pry more information out of Vijay.

"No, not at all. Actually, I just met her today."

"What were you talking to her about?" Lucky asked.

"Fluid Dynamics," Vijay answered. Lucky and Raj looked at each other and giggled like school girls.

"Fluids? Which fluids?" Lucky asked.

"Not the ones that you and Anna share," Vijay replied sarcastically. "You guys are too much."

"Yeah, well the look on your face when you talk about her says everything. Let's go home now," Raj laughed, and the three of them walked to the subway together, Lucky and Raj giving Vijay a hard time all the way to Queens and up until they finally fell asleep that night.

***

Hina was a very studious and intelligent girl with a huge independent streak that often created conflicts with her conservative, religious family. Her insistence on studying at a well-known engineering school after obtaining a fellowship from a New York-based HVAC company was a source of contention with her father and brother, who had argued with her over the decision, convinced that such pursuits were not proper for a young Muslim girl. Hina stood her ground, though, and finally, with support from her mother, her father and brother relented and agreed to allow her to attend. She knew it was a significant concession, and she vowed to make the most of the opportunity. She would prove to them that she was capable of excelling academically in what they thought was a man's world, while still being true to her beliefs and to her family. Hina spent long hours in the library, learning as much as possible and striving to be better than anyone else in her class. It was during one of her regular study sessions that Lucky saw her, and he emailed Vijay immediately from a library's computer.

Initially, Vijay thought Lucky was just teasing him, but Lucky was adamant about what he saw, and Vijay's desperation to befriend Hina quickly overrode any concern he had about falling for the trick Lucky might be playing. He left the lab and double-timed it to the library, finding Lucky at one of the computer terminals.

"She is sitting in the corner beside the copying room," Lucky said, pointing in her direction.

Vijay quickly swatted at his hand. "Don't point! But what should I say?" Vijay whispered.

"Tell her that you could not sleep whole night," Lucky laughed. Vijay pinched him on the arm.

"Aaah! Dude, just go!" Lucky cried out, and the librarian gave them a stern look and placed her index finger in front of her lips. "Otherwise she will leave," Lucky said quietly, rubbing his arm.

Vijay didn't want to lose another opportunity. He grabbed one of Lucky's books and tucked it under his arm as he forced himself to walk casually towards her and then right on by her. He pretended not to notice her presence until he had already passed her, and then he stopped and turned around. "Oh, hey! It's Hina...right?" Vijay asked, acting as though he was struggling to remember her name. Hina was busy writing her assignment. She looked up at Vijay briefly, said "Hi", and turned back to her work.

Vijay was not surprised by her behavior, but this time he was prepared to be shameless. He sat down right next to her. "Are you doing Professor Walker's assignment?"

"Yes," Hina replied without even looking at him.

Vijay kept silent for a minute, trying to think of something that would get her talking. But he knew how conservative she was, and figured that he was limited to talking about their classes. "Hmm. Do you know how to solve problem number 4?" Vijay asked. Hina nodded.

"I'm struggling with the boundary conditions of that problem," Vijay continued. "Can you please help me? I was late yesterday."

Unknowingly, Vijay had found Hina's Achilles heel. Though she was very reserved, she never refused to help anyone who asked for her assistance. She stopped writing and looked up at Vijay. His expression seemed genuine, so Hina began explaining the solution to the problem.

Vijay was so happy that Hina was finally stringing words together in full sentences that he paid no attention to what she was saying. Instead he focused on her face, the movement of her lips and the beauty spot above them, her deep brown eyes, the flush in her cheeks, and the small pieces of curly chestnut-colored hair that kept escaping her hijab, which she would subconsciously tuck back in every few minutes.

"Do you understand now?" Hina asked.

Vijay was still staring at her, and had to force his eyes towards the paper on the desk. "Yeah, yeah. That's perfect!" Vijay replied, looking at her solution.

Hina was not oblivious to his odd behavior, but she didn't think anyone would be attracted to a girl who had covered every inch of her skin. Still, she couldn't take any chances. "Okay, I have to go now," Hina said as she started to pack her bag.

Vijay's heart began pounding. He had to figure out a way to stop her from leaving again, because these short conversations with her were becoming frustrating and tortuous. After each goodbye, he found himself counting the hours and days before he would see her again, and although he looked forward to every encounter, he felt like each time was like starting over with her from the beginning, just as though they were total strangers. He wasn't making any progress towards become her friend. Vijay frantically wracked his brain for anything that might be useful in getting her to stay for a few more minutes when he suddenly noticed a mistake in her solution.

"Wait!" Vijay said, startling Hina. The librarian shot him another displeased look. Vijay ignored her and looked at Hina. "Don't you think normal viscous stress should be zero at the fluid – air interface?" he asked.

Hina put down her bag, and picked up her notebook. She spent several interminable minutes reviewing her solution, and then finally looked directly at Vijay. He hadn't noticed how dark and thick her lashes were before, but now he couldn't miss them.

"Hmm, you're right. I don't know how I missed it," Hina replied. She sat back down in her chair and began correcting her solutions.

Vijay was still standing. "Do you mind if we compare our solutions for all of the problems?" he asked her softly.

"I guess that would be alright. Do you have your solutions?"

Vijay looked over at Lucky's management book, which he had set down on the table beside him. He quickly flipped it face down and put his arm over the cover. "I don't have my work here, but I memorized everything. Can I borrow your book and a piece of paper? If you give me a few minutes, I'll just redo the problems here."

Hina ripped a page from her notebook and pulled the book out of her bag, sliding both to Vijay. As she did, she gave him a small, shy smile.

Vijay was ecstatic. "Thank you. May I borrow a pencil?"

Hina passed him her pencil, and Vijay went to work on the problems, solving all five in a matter of minutes. Hina realized that as a PhD student, Vijay knew far more than she did, and she assumed that he was just faking stupidity as an excuse to talk to her. But he still had an air of innocence about him that she liked, and for some reason she found his pretend-stupidity flattering.

From that day forward, Hina and Vijay started to do their homework together. Hina would even bring some extra food in her lunchbox every day to share with Vijay. Vijay was relieved not to have to eat any more cheap pizza for lunch, but he also felt that if a girl like Hina was willing to share her food, it must mean that she cared about him. Her generosity also gave him an excuse to take her out for coffee every day after they finished their studies, as payback for her delicious lunches. Over time, Vijay's friendship with Hina began to blossom.

Hina's strong religious beliefs and her appearance had made it difficult for her to make many friends. Particularly after the 9/11 attack the year before, most students avoided her. Vijay, on the other hand, being from India, had a very good understanding of her religious obligations. He also appreciated how much courage it took Hina to walk around campus wearing a hijab, even when so many students pointed and stared, and made derogatory comments. Vijay respected her strength and her commitment to her beliefs. He slowly began sharing his past, present and future with Hina, and she eventually became comfortable enough with him to reciprocate. Hina became Vijay's main source of emotional support, and there was not a single moment when he didn't think of her. He would always do his best to arrive to class early so that he could sit by her, and on the days when he was delayed and found someone else in his seat, he was devastated. They spent countless hours studying together, and both of them were excelling academically.

After some time, Hina began to sense that Vijay's feelings for her went beyond friendship, but she second-guessed herself frequently and told herself she was imagining things. Despite their close friendship, there had never been any physical contact between the two: not a hug, not even a single handshake or pat on the arm. Maybe that's why Hina felt so safe with him. She chided herself for her silly thoughts, reassuring herself that Vijay was just trying to be a good friend. After all, he was from India, and he was Hindu. Although she had been born in America, Hina came from a very conservative family of Pakistani Muslims, and while their two communities shared a similar culture, similar food, and similar dress, the tension between Indian Hindus and Pakistani Muslims was extreme, and deeply rooted in centuries-old conflicts. Hina valued Vijay's friendship immensely and trusted him completely, and despite the occasional voice in her head that said otherwise, she convinced herself that Vijay didn't actually love her. He couldn't, Hina told herself, because nothing good could come of that.

Hina did have one other close friend, Nadira Akhtar. Nadira had accompanied Hina to the university party where Vijay first laid eyes on Hina, and Nadira was the girl who had pulled her out of the party, ruining Vijay's chances of introducing himself. Nadira was also from a Pakistani family, but she was very much westernized. She didn't wear a hijab or follow any Islamic traditions. In fact, she was a rebel, a feminist, and a big fan of Bollywood.

Nadira was also a mechanical engineering student at the university, and she would sometimes accompany Vijay and Hina to the library. The three of them would often sit together while Vijay and Hina worked the problems and Nadira pretended to study while waiting for Hina and Vijay to give her their homework to copy. When she wasn't half-heartedly flipping through her books, Nadira would amuse herself by observing Hina's behavior with Vijay. Her friends might have thought they were doing a good job of hiding their feelings from one another and from the outside world, but Nadira noticed the flirtatious glances and shy smiles, and she thought a person would have to be blind not to see the love between Vijay and Hina. It made Nadira's heart happy to see the two of them together, but she also worried for their future, because she knew that their relationship was dangerous and that it would eventually end, probably badly. But for now, she decided to keep her concerns to herself, wanting Vijay and Hina to enjoy their love while it lasted.

Nadira's family was close with Hina's family, and sometimes, unbeknownst to Hina, Nadira would indirectly cover for her and Vijay. Hina often lost track of time when the three of them were in the library, and she would jump up in a panic, frantic that her family would be furious when she got home. On those nights, Nadira would always make a point of casually mentioning to her family how helpful Hina had been, agreeing to spend the whole evening in the library tutoring her. Obviously Nadira left Vijay out of the story, and she knew that the conversation would eventually find its way to Hina's family. Hina's father and brother would berate Hina for being inconsiderate on the nights she came home late, but they never seemed suspicious of her behavior. Hina was sometimes surprised that she was able to get away with being late so many times, but she just thought she had been extremely lucky and counted her blessings. She never considered the thought that Nadira had been lying for her, and Hina never would have asked her to do so.

One afternoon, Vijay and Hina were having lunch in the cafeteria as usual. She had brought chicken kabab and roti, and was sharing the meal with Vijay.

"These kababs taste like what we eat in Bombay," Vijay said after he took his first bite.

"Oh! My mom is a fan of Indian style food and spices, so I'm not surprised," Hina replied. "She speaks fluent Hindi and Punjabi, and she loves the Bollywood movies, songs, and dances. At home, we eat more Indian food than anything. Sometimes I wonder if she's really Indian!" Hina smiled.

"Well, I don't think there's much difference between Indian and Pakistani food anyways. But you have to admit that our movies are more interesting and more popular than yours," Vijay laughed.

Hina tried to fake indignation and started to defend her Urdu movies when she noticed that Nadira had entered the cafeteria.

"Salaam!" Nadira said to Hina and then smiled at Vijay.

"Wa 'alaykum al-salaam," Hina replied.

"I was looking for you in the library, Hina." Nadira was not surprised to see Vijay and Hina together, but she decided to give Hina a hard time, just to amuse herself.

"Oh, we were just having lunch," Hina explained, trying to discretely move her chair further from Vijay's.

"I can see that. Interesting...you never shared your lunches with me," Nadira teased.

"Oh, sorry! You can also have some." Hina offered the kababs in her dish to Nadira. Meanwhile, Vijay kept eating his kababs and kept quiet.

"It's okay, I already had my lunch," Nadira replied. After a pause, she added: "Your Ammi called. She was asking for you."

"Really? What did you say?" Hina hurriedly grabbed her phone and looked at the display. She'd had a few missed calls from her mother. She must have forgotten to turn the ringer back on after class.

"Are you going to at least share your homework with me, if not your lunch?" Nadira asked.

"Sure," Hina said as she reached for her bag, her heart racing. "What did you say?"

"About what?"

"To my mother, what did you say?"

"Nothing. I told her that you were in the library and that's why you couldn't pick up the calls," Nadira replied.

"Shukran, thank God," Hina replied with visible relief.

"I told her that you are studying very hard," Nadira said, glancing at Vijay and laughing.

"What do you mean? I do study hard," Hina replied, handing Nadira her homework. "I am giving this to you because you are my friend, okay?" Hina was trying hard to pretend that there was nothing going on between her and Vijay, but she was beginning to get the impression that Nadira thought otherwise, and she wondered if she believed that the homework was some kind of bribe to keep her quiet. Hina barely wanted to admit her feelings about Vijay to herself, let alone anyone else. And she certainly did not want to feel beholden to anyone.

"I know. Don't worry about it," Nadira replied sarcastically. She had picked up on a tone in Hina's voice or perhaps it was the look on her face, and it irritated her. Nadira had no problem lying to Hina's family to cover for her and Vijay, but the least Hina could do was show some gratitude and confide in her about their relationship. Instead, Hina treated her like she was stupid and couldn't see that there was something going on between her and Vijay. Nadira thought she'd earned the right to be accepted into their little inner circle, but apparently Hina thought otherwise. Nadira grabbed the homework and began to walk away from the table.

Two tables over, Dan Patel had been watching the exchange between Nadira, Vijay and his friends. Dan had been angry at Vijay and Lucky ever since the graduate student party, when Anna had humiliated him in front of his friends by associating with those PIGS. Dan came from a traditional Indian family who held traditional Indian beliefs about all things, but particularly education. His parents had insisted that he go to graduate school, and Dan was not in any position to argue. He had to show them respect, and he couldn't oppose their wishes directly, but his resentment ran deep, and often played out on the poor Indian students who, to Dan, represented everything he detested in his parents and their generation. The fact that the PIGS generally did better in school than he did, even though they had no money or family support, and spent much of their time doing dirty, illegal jobs just to survive in this country, only served to add more fuel to the fire burning deep in Dan's belly. Though he hated all PIGS in general, he had a particular bone to pick with Vijay and Lucky because they had befriended Anna. While he knew he'd never be able to control her, he certainly wasn't going to just sit by and watch these PIGS enjoy themselves in his cafeteria. Dan turned to his friends at the table and motioned for them to follow his lead.

Just as Nadira turned away from Hina, she walked straight into Dan's chest. She looked up at his face in disgust, and then noticed his other friends had gathered around the table. This could be bad.

"Hmm, so that is how you get full points, haaan?" Dan said, snatching the homework paper out of Nadira's hands.

"Hey! Stop it!" Vijay stood up to face Dan, but one of his friends shoved Vijay back into his chair.

Dan turned his attention to Hina. "And what do we have here?" Dan said, dragging out his words. "Look who is friends with the PIG...a terrorist!" Dan proclaimed loudly as he and his friends laughed at Hina. Hina was scared and averted her eyes. She fumbled to fix her scarf and make sure that her body was properly covered.

Dan walked closer to Hina and leaned down until his face was inches from hers. Vijay was furious, but he couldn't move because his arms were pinned behind his back by one of Dan's friends. Hina still would not look at Dan, so he reached out and put a finger underneath her chin. She turned her face away, which irritated Dan further. Stupid raghead. This time he grabbed her forcefully, wrapping his fingers around her delicate jaw and holding her face tightly so that she couldn't look away. "I don't think Islam allows you to be friends with a PIG, am I right?"

Vijay had never been so angry in his life, and he thought if he could free himself, he might kill Dan right here, right in this cafeteria. He didn't care about the pain in his shoulders or the humiliation he was feeling. He cared only about Hina, and couldn't bear to see her suffer like this at the hands of these idiots. "Why are you troubling us?" Vijay shouted.

Dan stood up and shifted his focus to Vijay. "We are not troubling you! You are troubling us," Dan said, pointing his finger in Vijay's face. "You come to our country, you take our jobs, steal our money, and then..." he turned back to look at Hina. "And then you hijack our planes and fly them into our buildings!" Hina had put her head down, and Vijay could tell that she was crying.

"You guys are assholes!" Nadira screamed at Dan and his friends. "Losers! Don't you have anything better to do with your life? You're all a bunch of pathetic, jealous, idiots who couldn't get laid in a whorehouse," she continued. During Nadira's tirade, Hina stole a glance at Vijay, hoping that she could reassure him and calm him down. She didn't want him to try to fight Dan or his friends.

A group of students had started to gather after hearing Nadira's shouting, and Anna was in the crowd. She pushed her way through the students and went straight for Dan.

"What the hell is your problem?" Anna shouted, shoving Dan backwards with both hands against his chest. "What did they do to you?"

"Anna, stay out of this," Dan ordered.

"Why should I? You're a coward who picks on innocent people because you don't have the balls to face me!" Anna shouted in Dan's face. "Sleeping with my roommate wasn't enough for you?" Dan tried to control Anna by grabbing her arms, but she slipped out of his grasp and slapped him hard across the face.

By now an even larger crowd had gathered, and many students were booing Dan and his friends, some even throwing food at them. Dan's friends had had enough, and signaled to him, knowing they were better off leaving before the campus police showed up. Anna and Nadira followed them out of the cafeteria and down the hallway, their screams and curses echoing in the corridor as the doors closed behind them. Small groups of students followed them, and the remainder of the crowd in the cafeteria began to disperse, not wanting to be anywhere near Vijay's table when campus security showed up.

Vijay went over to Hina and bent down beside her chair. "I am so sorry," he said, wanting to touch her and comfort her, but not wanting to upset her further.

"It's not your fault. I'm used to it," Hina replied, wiping her tears. "We should just stay away from such people."

"I thought that's what we were doing..." Vijay replied.

"I know...it's okay. Let's go to the library," Hina suggested. They packed their bags and left for the library without finishing their lunch. Vijay had lost his appetite anyway.

Once again, Anna had humiliated Dan in front of everyone. As Dan stood in front of the mirror in the men's room, doing his best to clean the tomato sauce out of his hair and off his shirt, he vowed to end his relationship with her once and for all, which was exactly what Anna had wanted all along.

***

Several weeks passed, and Vijay and Hina had put the cafeteria incident behind them. Vijay was excelling in his research, and no matter how much he tried to control himself, his feelings for Hina kept growing. Lucky was making enough working at the gas station that he was able to send money home to his family, and when he wasn't working or studying, he was enjoying his newfound friendship with Anna. She had seemed to develop a renewed interest in him after Vijay and Hina's cafeteria encounter.

Vijay and Lucky were still reluctant to share their financial situation with Hina and Anna, so they kept quiet about their family backgrounds and their off-campus jobs. But despite the fact that they didn't have a lot of discretionary cash, it was important to them that they act like gentleman, and they always paid for the girls when they went out as a group.

Raj, on the other hand, was having a harder time settling in than his roommates. He was still being verbally abused by Pankaj, and physically abused by Manpreet. Manpreet never missed a single opportunity to touch him inappropriately or rub her body against his. She was always wearing clothing that showed off her cleavage, and she was constantly bending over in front of him or grabbing his ass when no one was looking. Raj was getting sick of Pankaj and Manpreet, though he wasn't sure who was more unbearable. Still, he didn't give up the job. Manpreet paid him a nice salary and made sure he got his share of the tips, and Raj needed all the money he could get for his tuition. Plus, all of the extra food he got to take home regularly was a bonus.

But even more important to him than the money or the food was the restaurant's close proximity to the World Trade Center. Every morning before he went to the restaurant, Raj would get off at Fulton Street near the World Trade Center and wander around Manhattan as though he were looking for something. He tried not to arouse any suspicion with his behavior, but the fact of the matter was that he was looking for something, something very specific, and Raj Khanna was determined not to leave New York until he finished what he came here to do.
Chapter 7

Since no one could afford a TV or cable, Vijay downloaded all the previous seasons of Friends from torrent websites, and watching the show on Vijay's laptop became a favorite pastime for Vijay and Lucky. Raj usually came home late from the restaurant, and he would always bring food, so Vijay and Lucky would often watch an episode of Friends while waiting on Raj and dinner.

One night, Vijay and Lucky were watching an episode from Season 8, "The One with the Videotape." Lucky had a huge crush on Jennifer Aniston, the actress who played Rachel. When they finished the episode, Vijay turned to Lucky. "What do you like the most about her?"

"Hmm...Everything. She is like the angel from heaven for me," Lucky replied.

"An angel? Really?" Vijay said, raising an eyebrow and smiling at Lucky.

"Yeah! An angel with beautiful boobs, tight ass..." Lucky's voice trailed off as he imagined her materializing in front of him. "Did you notice her shape? She is the perfect 36-24-36. There is not the single fat on her sexy body. I can do anything for her one smile. Her teeth are like small diamonds," Lucky said.

Vijay laughed. "Hmm...I never heard an angel described quite like that."

Lucky crossed his arms and snorted. "Well, that is because your angel will be covered from her head to her toe, and no one can see anything but you. It is like the hidden treasure - you do not know what will you find," Lucky said teasingly.

"Stop it! Don't bring Hina into this conversation," Vijay said, slightly annoyed. He felt that talking about her in this way, even as a joke, was somehow disrespectful.

"Okay, okay. You are very selfish type of guy who does not like to share," Lucky replied, and then began doing a mocking, singsong impression of Vijay. "My candy is my candy, no one else can see it."

Vijay threw his hands in the air. "I'm an idiot. I don't even know why I bothered asking you that question."

"Okay...okay. Wait! Sorry. I will not talk about her. You know I found something yesterday on the Internet," Lucky said, trying to change the subject.

"What?" Vijay asked.

"Jennifer's nude picture. Oh, mannn! She is so hot!"

"No way. Whatever you saw had to be a fake," Vijay replied.

"No, it was real!" Lucky said. "Wait, I can show you. It will be in your history."

"Man, you used my laptop to look for Jennifer Aniston porn?" Vijay asked incredulously.

"Just few times. It is legal. You worry too much. Trust me, if you see it, you will also like it," Lucky said, picking up Vijay's laptop and opening the browser history.

Lucky squinted. "Wait, what is this?" he said softly, bending closer to the screen. The screen's light cast an eerie glow on his face as his eyes scanned the history, his index finger on the down-arrow key. Page after page after page. "Something is wrong."

"What?" Vijay asked. "What do you mean, something's wrong? Did someone take down your illegal Jennifer Aniston porn? I swear, if the police come looking for me..."

"No," Lucky replied. "Not porn."

Vijay was losing his patience, and grabbed the laptop away from Lucky. Lucky didn't protest, but instead let out a slow whistle as he leaned back against the wall.

Vijay looked at the browser's history. It contained hundreds, maybe thousands, of searches, beginning weeks ago, and aside from the occasional entries for "Bernoulli's principle" and "Jennifer Aniston bikini," the searches were all related to the same topic: 9/11. There were addresses for hundreds of websites, links for databases and pictures, timelines, and – most concerning- maps of New York City.

"Who was searching for all this?"

"It is not me," Lucky said, shaking his head slowly. "Look at the dates and times."

"All of these searches and visits are between midnight and early morning," Vijay said while looking carefully at the screen.

"Raj told me once that he occasionally uses the laptop if he cannot sleep," Lucky replied.

"Now that you say that, I remember waking up for a few minutes last night and seeing him on the computer. I didn't think anything of it. But look at yesterday's history," Vijay said, without offering the laptop to Lucky. Lucky didn't need to see it to know what Vijay had found. "But why is he looking at all of this stuff?"

"I do not know, Vijay. But he looked suspicious to me from the first day," Lucky replied.

"What do you mean?" Vijay asked, looking up from the computer for the first time in minutes.

"I never told you. You know, after he got the job in that restaurant, he asked me to take him to World Trade Center site. And then, when we reached there, he just disappeared for some time and when I found him, he lied to me that he was in the restroom. I had checked the restroom several times. He was not there," Lucky explained.

"Maybe you just missed him," Vijay reasoned.

"No, he was lying. I am sure of it. He was looking at that place as if he was planning something."

Vijay hummed. There were so many little things about Raj that didn't add up, but individually they didn't seem to matter. After seeing this, though, Vijay's thoughts grew dark as he tried to put everything together in his head.

"What kind of stupid Indian would come here and spend so much money to do Masters in Fine Arts?" Lucky said, speaking Vijay's thoughts out loud. "And I never see him go to school. I am sure that he visits those collapsed towers more than the school," Lucky continued.

"Did you ever see him talking to his family?" Vijay asked.

"No. He lied to me about that also! He never calls anyone. He never chats with anyone. He always changes the topics whenever we talk about his family. I never see him studying. I am sure he is not here to study!" Lucky's nerves were beginning to fray.

Vijay hummed again. "I just hope he's not a terrorist."

"Dude! He is from Kashmir. What do you think? Look at his muscles. They must have trained him for something big. I think we should contact the police."

"Calm down, Lucky. I'll talk to him," Vijay said, trying to placate his friend.

"Oh, and what do you think? He is going to say, 'Yes, Vijay, matter of fact, I am a terrorist, and thank you very much for asking'?"

Something about Lucky's question struck them both as funny, and it broke the tension in the room. Lucky chuckled. "Dude, it is your laptop, so it is up to you. You should decide. It is you who will be in major trouble if something goes wrong. He will just run away or kill himself for the virgin angels," Lucky said, taking the laptop back from Vijay. "Oh! Talking about angels! Here is the picture I told you about," Lucky said, finding his search from the day before. "Look how hot she is. I feel like she wants me."

"You're disgusting," Vijay replied, getting up and walking to the kitchen for a drink of water. As Lucky enjoyed Jennifer's nude picture, Vijay thought about Raj's actions and contemplated how he was going to confront him. He was still in the kitchen with the glass in his hand when Raj opened the front door. Vijay looked at Lucky, and Lucky closed the laptop. He looked at Vijay expectantly, but Vijay just shook his head slightly, and then put on a smile as he greeted Raj. "Hey, Raj, we're starving! What did you bring us tonight?" Vijay asked. Lucky understood that Vijay had decided this wasn't the time to bring up the topic. He trusted that Vijay would find the right time, and until then, Lucky decided to keep a closer eye on Raj and vowed to try to sleep a little less soundly.

***

Everyone was tired of studying by the time midterms were over, and Raj's birthday gave them an excuse to go out and celebrate. Raj suggested that they go to his restaurant because he could get a discount on the bill, and Vijay and Lucky quickly agreed. Raj cleared his plan with Manpreet, and when she discovered that it was his birthday, she insisted on paying for everyone. She also reassured him that she would be there personally so that Pankaj wouldn't cause any trouble.

Raj didn't work that day, and in the evening, all three men took their time getting ready. They showered and put on their nicest clothes, and they were about to leave the apartment when the scent of roses and baby powder filled the room. Raj and Vijay looked around for the source, and determined that it was coming from Lucky.

"Man, what did you do?" Vijay asked as his eyes started to water.

"What? It is very good cologne," Lucky replied proudly.

"Really? Where did you get cologne?" Vijay coughed into his sleeve.

Lucky's hand shot behind his back. "It is of no concern to you, my friend."

Raj stealthily circled behind Lucky while he was preoccupied with answering Vijay's questions and grabbed the piece of paper Lucky was holding behind his back. Raj put his nose to the paper and gagged. "Oh, man! What is this?" Raj choked, handing it to Vijay.

"Give it back!" Lucky cried indignantly.

Vijay looked at the glossy paper and laughed. "Lucky, this isn't cologne; it's women's perfume, and you ripped it out of a magazine."

Lucky's face turned red. "We should go or we will be late for dinner."

"I am not going anywhere with you smelling like that," Vijay laughed. "Go wash up," he said, pointing towards the bathroom. Lucky stormed off and slammed the bathroom door shut, and Vijay heard him turn on the sink's faucet. Vijay leaned against the wall with a look of amusement on his face, and Raj was laughing softly to himself. Vijay observed Raj pensively for a moment, and then spoke. "So, happy birthday, man. Many, many happy returns of the day."

"Thank you, Vijay."

"So did you talk to your family last night? Your family does the whole Indian, call-you-at-midnight-on-your-birthday thing, right?" Vijay inquired.

Raj fidgeted uncomfortably. "Um, yeah, I talked to them."

Vijay considered his reply. "Good. It's always nice to hear from your family on your birthday. It's times like this when I miss my family the most, because they would always make a big deal about birthdays," he said, searching Raj's face for clues. Raj revealed nothing.

"When did you talk to them?" Vijay continued, effecting what he hoped was a genuinely perplexed look, while at the same time trying to keep the conversation casual, and not like an inquisition. "I don't remember you leaving the apartment last night after you got home."

Raj looked at his watch. "Lucky has to hurry up, or we'll be late," he replied curtly.

"Lucky, let's go!" Vijay banged on the bathroom door. Turning his attention back to Raj, he asked him again, "So when did you get a chance to speak to your family?"

"I called them from the restaurant," Raj replied, a little too forcefully. He knew he was being challenged, and didn't like it.

"Oh, okay," Vijay replied, unconvinced. He didn't want to ruin the evening, though, so he decided to drop the subject.

When the bathroom door opened and Lucky stepped out, Vijay immediately noticed that his shirt and pants were soaking wet. "Man, what happened to you? You look like you fell in the toilet!"

"No more questions! You said we need to go, so excuse me, but why are we still standing here?" Lucky replied, holding his head high and striding with determination towards the door. Vijay and Raj exchanged a look, shrugged at each other, and followed behind him.

They were fifteen minutes late to the restaurant, but Manpreet greeted Vijay and Lucky graciously, displaying no indication that she'd noticed either their tardiness or the condition of Lucky's clothing and his strange odor. But she did notice that Raj was wearing a Kashmiri suit, and she couldn't take her eyes off the way it draped his body. She wanted to touch him, but Pankaj was lurking in the back of the restaurant, keeping an eye on everything.

The restaurant was fairly crowded already, but Manpreet led them to a large table by the bay window, the best location in the house. She invited them to take a seat, and called Nitu over to take their order. After Nitu had filled their water glasses, she went to the kitchen while Manpreet lingered another few minutes, putting on her most charming smile and shamelessly flirting with Raj's friends. When she finally stepped away from the table to attend to other customers, Vijay and Lucky told Raj how impressed they were with the restaurant, and how lucky he was to work with Manpreet. Raj had never told Lucky or Vijay the truth about Manpreet and Pankaj, so he just nodded and took a big gulp from his water glass.

Pankaj stared at Raj and his friends, and then went to the kitchen, muttering to himself. He began pacing back and forth, as images of his wife with Raj filled his head. It made his blood boil to see her being so kind to Raj. The woman hadn't had an ounce of affection to spare for him in years - the cold bitch - and yet here she was, making a fool of herself over this boy and his friends. Pankaj went to the refrigerator and yanked at the handle. He pulled out a bottle of beer, hoping that the alcohol would take the edge off and help him forget his whore of a wife, at least for a little while.

Raj and his friends ordered plenty of food, and Dalbir took his time to cook the dishes to perfection. Nitu went to pick them up, but Manpreet dismissed her with a small waive of her hand and gathered the dishes herself so that she could take them to Raj's table personally. As they ate, Manpreet flitted around the table, inquiring about the temperature and spiciness of the food, and making sure they never ran out of their favorite dishes. Raj was extremely grateful to Manpreet for ingratiating herself with Vijay and Lucky. Maybe everything he had put up with from her had been worth it, even if the result was just this one wonderful night with his friends. Seeing Vijay and Lucky eating and having a great time, and knowing that he had played a part in making this happen, pleased Raj immensely, and made him forget his troubles. At least for this evening.

They finished off the appetizers and the main course, and Manpreet took their dessert orders. Everything was going far more smoothly than Raj had ever imagined it could, and Manpreet had only been slightly inappropriate with him tonight, with a few too many touches and glances. But she had kept her word about Pankaj, who hadn't shown his face all evening, and Raj hoped that her flirtations would be mistaken by his friends as just normal behavior by an owner whose flattery was designed to ensure happy, returning customers.

Manpreet walked into the kitchen and nearly tripped over Pankaj, who had finished off several beers and was now leaning against the wall, snoring loudly. Manpreet looked at him with utter contempt. What kind of woman would be attracted to that? She hadn't touched her husband in years, and the idiot actually had the audacity to still get angry with her about her rejections. These past few years had been incredibly lonely for her, as the thought of her husband's hands anywhere on her body disgusted her, and yet she couldn't quite bring herself to break her vows and give in to her desire for anyone else. She had been faithful – well, technically, anyway – for so long, but she had needs, and fulfilling them on her own just wasn't sufficing anymore. Raj was young, virile, and handsome – the exact opposite of her husband – and when she looked down at Pankaj, and then out the kitchen door at Raj, something snapped. She was like a pressure cooker whose lid was going to have to come off at some point, and she couldn't think of a better time than now. Her lust for Raj had exceeded her ability to control herself, and self-deprivation was no longer on the menu.

Manpreet walked directly up to Raj and interrupted a joke he was telling to his friends. "Raj, darling, would you be a gentleman and help me with something in the basement?"

Raj looked up at her and hesitated when he saw the look in her eyes. He knew where this was going; he'd always known that someday it would come to this. But he didn't want to deal with her now, not like this, not tonight. Not when his friends were here and everything was going so well. But he didn't know how he could say no to her in front of Vijay and Lucky, particularly after she had gone out of her way to impress them tonight.

Nitu, who was delivering food to a table, caught the exchange out of the corner of her eye. Manpreet's attraction to Raj was no secret, and when Raj got up from the table to follow Manpreet, Nitu was pretty sure what was about to happen. Manpreet walked over to Nitu and told her to take over the floor for a few minutes while she and Raj attended to some business, and Nitu merely smiled and nodded. Contrary to what Raj had always believed, Nitu had never held a grudge against him. She actually thought he was pretty nice. But Nitu had always hated Manpreet. She was the reason Pankaj drank, and Nitu took pity on him. Pankaj wasn't a bad man. He was a man who was bound by contract and by financial necessity to a frigid wife who humiliated and emasculated him daily for her own pleasure. Nitu thought Manpreet was well overdue for payback, and she was just waiting for the right opportunity. But now it looked like Nitu was going to be able to just sit back and watch.

Manpreet motioned for Raj to go down the stairs first, and she followed, closing the basement door behind her, which she never did. Raj was already nervous because he knew Pankaj was around, but didn't know if he'd seen them go downstairs. Manpreet turned the lock on the door, and Raj could feel the sweat beginning to bead up on his forehead.

She wasted no time with pretense, and shoved Raj up against the wall. "You look so good in that suit. Did you really think I would let you leave tonight without giving you my birthday gift?" Manpreet smiled a thin, dangerous smile. She ripped the buttons off his shirt and began to suck ravenously on his neck and his now-bare chest. Her pupils were dilated, and she was acting like a possessed woman who was clearly unconcerned about the fact that Raj was not reciprocating her attention, or that her husband was only a few feet above them and might easily hear them. Raj stood rigidly and grabbed her upper arms, trying to restrain her, but Manpreet fought him, escaping his grasp and cupping the back of his head with her hand as she kissed him hard on the mouth.

"Pankaj has the key to the basement," Raj managed to gasp as he pulled away from her mouth.

"He is drunk, as usual," Manpreet laughed, taking Raj's hand and pulling it to her chest. "Feel me," she ordered, looking into his eyes and squeezing his hand tightly around her breast.

"My friends are waiting. I should go," Raj nearly begged, yanking his hand away.

"They are having their desert and you should have yours." Manpreet unzipped her salwar, revealing her bare breasts. Raj couldn't help but stare, as this was the first time he'd seen a woman's breasts. She moved closer to him and rubbed her erect nipples against his chest. Raj had never been so frightened before, but he also couldn't control his response to her. Manpreet felt his hardness, and pressed herself into him.

"Please stop! I have a girlfriend!" Raj's voice was strangled as he tried to be forceful but quiet, afraid that Pankaj would hear them. Manpreet only laughed.

"You are young and sweet, my dear," she said before she ran her tongue over Raj's lips, trying to part them. She stopped briefly and stepped back, looking him in the eyes as if she was trying to read him and gauge the amount of effort she was going to have to put into this before he complied. She leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "But you are also a liar. There is no girlfriend." She kissed Raj's lips again, harder this time. Her hand slid down the small dip in his lower back to grab his firm ass, and she pulled him close. Raj's lower body was responding, and he couldn't control that. But he could control the rest of his body, and he jerked his head away sharply, refusing to respond to her lips.

"But you're married!" Raj said, his face still turned away from her.

Manpreet made a strange dismissive sound, and tugged at his belt, unbuckling it. "Don't worry about him. Nitu keeps him happy. I am the one who is suffering," she pouted, threading the belt through his trousers and throwing it on the floor. She lowered herself to the hard concrete and yanked with all of her strength, pulling Raj down on top of her when he lost his balance. She spread her legs and felt his throbbing, and she smiled as she coiled her legs around his body, pinning him tightly. Raj felt her nails dig deeply into his back.

Manpreet had spent so many of her sleepless nights dreaming of Raj's young, muscular body, but now that he was on top of her, she found that reality was far better than the dream. The weight of his body and the smell of him drove her mad and she wanted to scream with pleasure, but she knew she couldn't make a sound, if not because of her husband, then because of the customers. So instead of moaning, she bit Raj's chest and shoulders, and licked his lips and face.

Raj was panicking, not only because he was afraid of being discovered, but also because he did not want to lose his virginity to Manpreet. What he had told Lucky and Vijay about being too busy working and saving money in India to have any time for a girlfriend was the truth. But there was another reason he hadn't been involved with women that he hadn't shared with his friends. Since he was old enough to understand what girlfriends were for, he'd dreamt of meeting the perfect girl and falling in love. Then and only then would he share this precious, unforgettable moment of his life with the woman he loved. Manpreet was definitely not that woman, and the basement floor of an Indian restaurant was not the picture he'd held in his mind all these years.

"Please stop! I don't want to do it," Raj pleaded.

"Really?" Manpreet laughed, and then put her hand inside his pant and felt him. "Oh, honey, I think you're lying."

At her touch, Raj lost the last shred of his composure. "Please...please don't do this!" he shouted, pushing her off of him.

"Why?" Manpreet replied with anger. "You owe it to me. I always fought for you," she hissed while climbing back on top of him before he could stand up. Raj couldn't bear any more. He wanted to get paid for honest work, not for being Manpreet's prostitute. With a sudden surge of anger, he grabbed her arms and flipped her over, pinning her against the floor. "Listen! Enough!" he shouted.

Manpreet saw the look on his face and realized that she had lost the upper hand in this battle of wills. She'd pushed him too far, and now she had to find a way out of this situation. She closed her eyes and went limp in his arms. Raj sat up and loosened his grip on her arms, afraid that he had hurt her. "Manpreet? Manpreet, are you okay?" Raj asked with fear and concern in his voice.

Manpreet lied still, her breathing shallow. All these months she had been trying to seduce Raj with her feminine wiles, and when that didn't work, she had played on his insecurities, subtly and sometimes not so subtly implying that she was the only reason he still had a job. It wasn't because he was a hard worker or a great cook. She'd made it clear how hard she'd had to work to placate her husband and keep his temper under control for Raj's benefit, and surely Raj could show her a little appreciation for all her effort? But no matter what she said or did, Raj had refused to reciprocate her affection, and her frustration and irritation with his attitude had continued to grow over the past couple of months. She was a beautiful, successful woman, and he was nothing but an arrogant, poor, dirty boy who refused to show any gratitude for what was handed to him on a silver platter. Manpreet was tired of throwing herself at him like a little schoolgirl, only to be repeatedly humiliated as he rejected her advances time and time again. And now, to be found in such a compromising position by her husband? She couldn't bear the thought of the scandal it would cause. Irrespective of how much she might have lusted after Raj, her image within the family was far more important to her than any stupid crush she had on the kitchen help. Manpreet knew this was her best, and only, option.

Her breathing deepened and she slowly opened her eyes, but instead of pulling Raj towards her again as he was anticipating, she began to push against him violently.

"Please stop!" Manpreet screamed at the top of her lungs. "I'm a married woman! For God's sake, please don't do this to me!" Manpreet struggled against his hold and once free, delivered a stinging slap across his cheek and then shoved him hard against his chest.

Raj stumbled backwards, stunned by the change in Manpreet's demeanor. A moment before, she was all over him, and now she was screaming as though he was forcing himself on her. He'd hardly regained his balance when he sensed someone else's presence, and his eyes shot up to find Pankaj standing over him. Raj quickly crawled even further away from Manpreet, and stood up to face Pankaj, whose face was full of rage and disbelief.

"Sir, wait, sir..." Raj began frantically, retreating from Pankaj with his hands in the air. Pankaj reached down to grab a piece of broken water pipe he'd seen on the basement floor and with surprising speed for a drunk man, struck a blow across Raj's back and shoulders. Raj screamed in pain and fell to the floor next to Manpreet.

Manpreet scuttled like a crab away from Raj, a look of terror on her tear-streaked face. "Oh, please save me Pankaj! Thank God you came, he was...he was..." she choked. "He was going to rape me," Manpreet sobbed, her body convulsing as she placed her hands over her face. That bastard, she thought as she continued to hide her face from her husband. Serves him right for rejecting her.

"Pankaj, my love, I don't know what would have happened had you not come down here when you did," Manpreet continued, looking up at her husband again. "I knew Raj was always fond of me, but all this time I thought it was my fault, that perhaps I'd been too good to him and too lenient, and that I was to blame for him taking advantage. I told him many, many times that I loved only you, and wanted no other man, but he would only laugh and harass me more. Tonight he tricked me, telling me he needed to go over the restaurant's inventory with me, and asked me to come to the basement with him. Oh, Pankaj, I know I shouldn't have gone alone, but I didn't want to bother you. He made me go first down the stairway, and he locked the door behind us, and then he attacked me, and..." Manpreet broke out in renewed sobs. "Well, you saw the rest. I am so ashamed, Pankaj!" she cried as she got to her feet and threw herself against her husband's chest. Pankaj awkwardly embraced his half-naked wife, the pipe still in his hand.

"You fucker...My wife took pity on you and hired you, and you repay her kindness by forcing yourself on her?" Pankaj yelled. He pushed his wife behind him, and lunged forward again with the pipe, this time striking Raj in the stomach. Raj gritted his teeth and tried to cover his stomach, but the blows kept coming, and he let out another blood curdling scream. Manpreet quickly grabbed her salwar from the floor and put it back on, then retreated into the corner of the room. She was still crying, although now she wasn't sure why.

Raj had his arms raised, trying his best to endure Pankaj's blows. He knew that there was nothing he could say to Pankaj to stop the beating, and although he understood that Manpreet was trying to protect her image as a respectable married women, he was still in shock over her betrayal. He noticed that Dalbir and Nitu were now in the basement too, having heard his screaming. He assumed most of the customers had heard him as well, including his friends.

"What happened?" Dalbir shouted, stepping between Pankaj and Raj.

"Bhenchod, he is trying to fuck my wife!" Pankaj bellowed, shoving Dalbir away and kicking Raj in the stomach. Raj folded himself in half, trying to curl into a tiny ball. He wanted to speak, but he was not sure what he could say that would change anything, and he had no strength left. His face contorted in pain, and he chanced a look at Manpreet, although he knew that doing so could invite an even worse beating from Pankaj if he noticed. Despite this unanticipated betrayal, Raj was grateful to Manpreet for her past kindness, and he did feel indebted, which is why he had tolerated her abuse - and now, her husband's beatings. He knew that he'd lost his job, and with nothing left to fight for, Raj bore Pankaj's fists and feet as the punishment he felt he deserved for allowing himself to be touched by a married woman. He should have stopped Manpreet long ago, insisted that they only be friends, but he had been a coward, too afraid to lose his job and to stand up for his beliefs about love. He knew that no one would believe him now if he tried to explain how a married woman had taken advantage of a strong, grown man, but Raj decided not to even plant a seed of doubt in her husband's mind. Defending her honor by keeping her secret was the only way Raj felt he could repay her for the kindness she had shown, and so he kept quiet, finally turning his eyes away from Manpreet.

Dalbir had followed Raj's gaze and now he looked curiously at Manpreet. She was an utterly destroyed woman. Her face was red and puffy, and tears were flowing steadily down her face, creating ugly rivers of mascara that smeared across her cheeks and under her eyes. Dalbir was wise enough to understand that her behavior had both nothing and everything to do with Raj. He wasn't blind; he had witnessed Manpreet's constant harassment and flirtation, and understood what truly must have transpired in this basement. But he was torn about how to intercede, as Manpreet was family, and he felt compelled to defend her honor, despite the fact that he knew Raj was not capable of the actions she accused him of.

By this time, Vijay and Lucky had scrambled out of their seats upstairs and had run down the basement steps, drawn by their friend's screams and Pankaj's shouting. Upon reaching the landing, they saw Raj lying prone on the ground, bleeding profusely from a cut to the head. His shirt was torn and his pants were twisted around his legs, and Lucky saw that his belt had been discarded a few feet away. Vijay took in the scene quickly and then looked at Dalbir, who was trying to shield Manpreet from the sight of her husband attempting to beat Raj nearly to death. Nitu was halfway down the stairwell, watching the show and trying to control her laughter. She wasn't happy to see Raj hurt, but the sight of Manpreet blubbering in the corner gave her immense satisfaction. She didn't really even care what had happened, though she was pretty certain that she knew. The whore was finally getting what she deserved, even if it did come at Raj's expense.

Vijay and Lucky didn't know Manpreet the way Nitu did, and they didn't know how to interpret the situation before their eyes. They only knew that somehow they had to stop Pankaj and get Raj out of that basement. The two men piled on top of Raj to absorb Pankaj's continued assault, but their intervention didn't even slow him down.

"Please...please don't beat him! Please, just leave it!" Vijay shouted.

Pankaj was even more incensed. "You fucking beggars. You can't hide your fucking real castes. You belong to those shitty slums where you came from!" Pankaj said, his fists and the pipe continuing to rain down punishment on Lucky and Vijay.

Lucky began begging. "Please, sir...please just let us go," he said with both hands up to protect his face. Pankaj was so livid with rage that he couldn't even hear their pleas. "Madarchod harami...I bet you fuck your mother...." Pankaj howled, but before he could complete his sentence, a guttural and inhuman cry escaped from Raj's throat, and Vijay and Lucky rolled off him as Raj emerged from the pile, gathering his last ounce of strength and landing a vicious punch to the area between Pankaj's legs.

Pankaj emitted a shrill, piercing cry, and fell to the ground, writhing in pain. Vijay looked at his friend in shock, but quickly shrugged off his inertia. He wasn't going to waste this opportunity, so he grabbed Raj under one arm and signaled to Lucky to grab his other arm. They lifted Raj off his knees and onto his feet and steadied him.

More than pain, Vijay was struck by the anger that consumed and distorted Raj's normally handsome features. Raj wrenched himself away from his friends and stumbled as he reached down to grab the metal pipe Pankaj had dropped by his side when he fell. Vijay and Lucky didn't know the source of Raj's newfound strength, and couldn't understand what had suddenly set him off, when up until Pankaj's last outburst, Raj had been suffering the beating without making any move to fight back. Vijay leapt at Raj and tried to wrestle the pipe out of his hand, but Raj's fury and the adrenaline coursing through his bloodstream had transformed him. Standing over Pankaj, he raised the pipe above his head and was about to bring it crashing down when Manpreet screamed.

Something about her primal cry stopped Raj cold, the pipe quivering in his clenched fist as he struggled to control himself. His lip was split open, and he spat out a mouthful of blood at Pankaj's feet. Vijay and Lucky looked at Raj, but they no longer recognized this angry, dark, brooding man standing over Pankaj. For the first time since the beating began, Raj spoke, his voice low and ominous as he punctuated every word. "If...If...you...say...one...more...word...about...my... mother...I will kill you..." he warned, every muscle in his body tensed and quivering as homicidal rage boiled deep within his blood.

Dalbir took Raj at his word and immediately covered Pankaj with his body. "Go!" he screamed at Raj. "Go, and don't ever come back here!"

Because of his respect for Dalbir, Raj released his grip on the pipe and it clattered as it hit the ground. Vijay turned to Lucky and told him to grab Raj's shirt and belt, and he pushed Raj towards the rear basement door. Dalbir followed them out to make sure that Raj didn't change his mind and come back for Pankaj. Nitu ran over to Pankaj and put her small arms underneath his to try to help him stand, but he was too drunk and too heavy for her, and after a few failed attempts, Pankaj sank back to the ground. Nitu looked over at Manpreet, who was still in the corner with her head down, weeping uncontrollably. Nitu didn't know whether her tears were for herself, for her husband, or for Raj, and she didn't really care. She was just angry that Manpreet had made such of mess of everything, all because she couldn't keep her hands to herself. Nitu looked up at the basement door, and saw that a few curious customers had gathered around the upper landing, pointing and whispering as they looked down on the scene of mayhem below.

Outside the restaurant, Vijay was supporting Raj, who now looked like a deflated, bloodied balloon. The adrenaline rush was gone, and he could barely stand due to his injuries. "Lucky, get a cab!" Vijay shouted.

Lucky looked at Raj and then at Vijay. "Vijay, we need to take him to the hospital. We should call the ambulance."

"No! Just do as I say," Vijay shouted at him. "Go get a cab."

Lucky ran down the block to the corner and waited for the light to turn green. Several cars passed and then Lucky saw a yellow cab making a right hand turn onto the main street, and he stepped in front of it, nearly getting hit. "Please, stop!" Lucky yelled to the driver as he pounded on the cab's hood with his open palms. He dove into the front seat with the driver, and pointed to Vijay and Raj, half a block away. As the car approached and the driver got a good look at Raj, he shook his head at Lucky and pushed the accelerator towards the floor.

"No, I don't want no part of whatever is going on with your friends," the driver said as he sped past Raj and Vijay.

Lucky grabbed him by the arm. "Please sir, my friend needs help! We will not cause you any trouble, I promise, sir. Mom swear! We will pay you double. Triple. Please!" Lucky pleaded.

The driver slammed on his brakes and the car backed up to an irate Vijay who was standing at the curb, one arm around Raj and one arm in the air in a gesture of disbelief. Lucky jumped out to help Vijay with Raj. They were able to maneuver him into the back seat, and when they were all back inside the car, Vijay asked the driver to take them to Ozone Park.

"He is bleeding a lot, man. We should take him to the hospital," Lucky suggested again. The driver looked at them in the rearview mirror, and Vijay stared back at him. The driver averted his eyes and concentrated on the road.

Vijay turned his attention to Lucky, his voice stern but calm. "No. How do you think we could explain the bleeding? The doctors will call the cops and if the cops find out that he was working illegally, they'll deport him." Lucky hadn't considered that outcome, and he nodded in understanding. Raj managed to lift his head long enough to look at Vijay and Lucky, his eyes echoing Vijay's concerns.

Vijay and Lucky were both eager to know what had happened in the basement, but they'd already talked about Raj's legal problems in front of the driver, and although the cabbie had no idea who they were, Vijay didn't want to take any more chances by discussing anything further until they were out of the car. He asked Lucky for Raj's shirt, and pressed it to Raj's forehead to try to staunch the bleeding.

When they reached home, Vijay and Lucky pooled their money together and paid the cab driver triple his normal rate. Vijay couldn't worry about the money right now. Lucky hurriedly grabbed his and Raj's blankets and put them together to make a softer bed for Raj on the floor, and they laid him down.

"Thanks, Lucky. I'll watch him for a few minutes. I need you to go to the pharmacy and pick up some Band-Aids – make sure you get some that look like butterflies, you know, for his forehead – and what else? Some gauze, tape, and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. And some pain pills, whatever they have," Vijay said, handing him the last of the money from his wallet. Lucky took the cash and quickly left for the pharmacy.

Angry, purple and black bruises were already forming all over Raj's back, chest, and stomach, but at least Vijay had been able to stop the bleeding from his head laceration. Most of Pankaj's blows with the pipe had been to Raj's back and chest, so Vijay was hoping that he didn't have many broken bones, though he couldn't rule out a few broken ribs. Those would be extremely painful, but they would heal on their own without medical intervention. As for his forehead, Vijay knew he'd be better off with stiches, but the butterfly bandages would have to do; they couldn't take the risk. Vijay went to the freezer and took out some ice cubes, wrapping them in a clean rag and applying them to the worst of Raj's injuries. Raj had had a good dinner at the restaurant, which was probably the only reason he was still conscious.

Lucky returned in less than fifteen minutes and helped Vijay clean Raj's cuts and apply bandages. Vijay read the dosage instructions on the ibuprofen, doubled the recommended amount, and made Raj drink a whole glass of water to wash down the pills. No one talked much, and though they all laid down, with Lucky and Vijay sharing Vijay's bed, sleep didn't come to anyone. Raj was restless, and moaned as he shifted positions trying to get comfortable. Eventually he gave up and pushed himself up until he was leaning against the wall. He winced in pain, cradling his rib cage. Vijay lay still for another minute, staring at Lucky across the small gap between them, and then sat up. Lucky followed Vijay's lead, and sat up cross-legged.

Raj turned his head to look at his friends. "Sorry, guys. I sure spoiled your night," Raj apologized.

"You do not need to apologize to us," Lucky said gently. "Today is your birthday and look at you. You could be in big trouble today..." Lucky's voice was breaking.

"What happened in the basement?" Vijay asked, his voice sharp and without a single note of sympathy.

"Nothing," Raj replied.

"Nothing? Are you fucking kidding me?" Vijay exploded. Lucky was surprised to hear such language coming from Vijay, but Raj just bowed his head and stared at his bruised hands. "You have to tell us what happened at that restaurant, Raj. We could also be in big trouble because of you," Vijay shouted, standing up. "Did you do something to that woman?"

Raj didn't reply or look at Vijay.

"I asked you a question!" Vijay snapped as he stepped over Lucky and bent down in front of Raj, putting a finger under his chin. "Did you do anything to that woman? Either tell us everything right now, or get out of this house."

Lucky interceded, gently pulling Vijay's hand away from Raj's face, but Vijay had reached his limit. "No!" he shouted at Lucky. "Today he speaks. I'm tired of all of his secrets, and I don't want to be in trouble because of him. You and I are sacrificing time with our families so that we can study and be successful...not so that we can get involved in his crap and end up deported!"

"No," Raj replied quietly.

"No, what?" Vijay snapped, looking back at Raj.

"No, I did not do anything to her."

"And why should we believe you?" Vijay stood up and paced the small room. "Because you were half-naked and she was screaming and crying? Do you really think we're that stupid?" Vijay said incredulously.

"She was the one who was touching me from the first day I started working there," Raj continued quietly, his head still down.

"Why did you not tell us?" Lucky asked Raj before Vijay could shout at him again.

"And what would you have done? Haan?" Raj replied, finally raising his head and looking into Lucky's eyes. Lucky understood what Raj was saying. He knew that as immigrant students, they were helpless in this country. Lucky moved closer to Raj and put a hand on his shoulder.

"We would have told you to leave that job!" Vijay continued to berate him. "You lost it anyway, but now everything is far worse than if you had just quit like you should have."

"I needed that job, Vijay. Who was going to pay my tuition, my rent, my food?"

"That's your problem, but now you've made it ours, too. I hope you enjoyed her," Vijay said bitterly. Lucky gave him a look, wishing that Vijay wouldn't be so hard on Raj, but Vijay was still suspicious, angry, and scared.

"No! I didn't want it," Raj protested. "I really didn't want it. I stopped her so many times," he said, his voice trailing off. Raj placed his head down in his hands.

"So what happened today, Raj?" Lucky asked softly, his hand still on his shoulder.

Raj shook his head. "Her husband didn't understand what he saw, and she blamed it all on me."

"So why didn't you explain everything to him?" Vijay demanded to know as he walked back over to Raj.

"And you think that would have made him stop? He was harassing me from day one. He was always looking for an excuse to yell at me and insult me. I'm sure he would have beat me no matter what I said today," Raj replied.

Vijay backed off slightly and considered the fact that Raj just might be telling the truth. But there was still so much he and Lucky didn't know about Raj, so much that Raj was still hiding. Vijay felt he had no choice but to continue to pressure Raj into revealing the truth about himself. He gathered his thoughts and then sat down directly in front of Raj. "You think we'll just believe your stories?"

Raj shrugged. "I don't have any proof, Vijay. You just have to believe me. I'm not lying," Raj's eyes were filled with sadness.

"Okay. Let's say for a second that I believe you. Tell me one more thing...He was beating you all this time...so why did you get so angry when he called you a 'mother-fucking bastard'? You were ready to kill him, right? I didn't make that up. You seem to have some experience with that kind of thing."

Raj's eyes hardened and a cold chill ran down Vijay's spine. "What do you mean," Raj asked. "Would you like it if someone said that to you?" The desperation and sadness that had filled his eyes seconds before was suddenly replaced with something much harder and far colder.

"No, I wouldn't. But I also wouldn't kill someone for saying it. He was beating you and cursing you in every way he possibly could, and you didn't say a single word or even once try to defend yourself. Then he calls you a mother-fucker, and you.."

"Shut up!" Raj shouted, cutting Vijay off in mid-sentence and jumping to his feet. He pulled Vijay to his feet by his collar and Vijay could see the fire in his eyes. "Don't say another word or I don't know what I might do!" Raj was shaking with a deep-seated fury.

"Hey! Don't show me your anger!" Vijay yelled, getting in Raj's face. Vijay's reaction was all bluster; he was actually terrified. He'd never been frightened of his roommate before, even with all of his quirks and odd, unexplained behavior, but he'd also never seen him like he was in the basement today, and Raj had never before laid a hand on Vijay in anger. Until now. This was the second time today that Vijay had watched Raj morph into a completely different man right before his eyes, and he realized that he had been far too cavalier about Raj's propensity for secrets and lies. He knew nothing about this man, and Vijay was afraid that he had arrived at this unfortunate conclusion too late for it to matter.

Lucky knew he had to diffuse the situation fast and he pushed himself between Raj and Vijay. "Raj, please...we are not trying to hurt you. We care about you. That is why, on that first night, Vijay invited you into our home when you had no one and nowhere to go. We want to help you. But we need to know everything about you," Lucky explained, putting his hands on Raj's shoulders.

"I know you mean well. But I can't stand to hear anything bad about my mother and father," Raj explained, addressing Lucky while avoiding eye contact with Vijay.

"Okay, we can understand that," Lucky said, looking over his shoulder at Vijay. Vijay took a deep breath and nodded his head slightly in agreement. Lucky continued, satisfied with Vijay's acknowledgment. "So if you love them so much, then why do we not see you talking to any of your family? I know everything about Vijay's family. You know everything about my family. But we know nothing about your past. We never see you studying. So it is obvious that you are not here for studies. You do not seem crazy for money like me. So why you are here...away from your family...going through this abuse every day?"

Vijay was a good actor, and Lucky didn't realize that he was afraid of Raj. Lucky just assumed he was furious, and he knew that Vijay's patience had its limits. He needed to get Raj talking, and he needed to do it quickly. Lucky decided the best plan was to just be straightforward. He looked into Raj's eyes and gathered as much courage as he could to ask him the question he and Vijay had been wondering about for months.

"Are you a terrorist?" Lucky asked.

Raj's eyebrows furrowed and his mouth opened, but nothing came out. He slowly pushed Lucky's hands off his shoulders, but not before Lucky saw Raj's whole body go rigid. Raj's eyes clouded over, and the look that passed over his face was unreadable. Vijay and Lucky instinctively backed away from him.

Lucky felt he had to continue, despite his overwhelming fear of being anywhere near this man. This man who had been ready and willing – and seemingly able - to kill another human being this evening over a common, and rather banal, insult. Lucky took a deep breath and then spoke in a fever pitch of jumbled sentence fragments. "Because if you were...I mean, if you are...a terrorist...and if you are planning something bad...if that is why you are here...then you are going to put us in lot of trouble, lot of trouble, and you need to...tell the truth because you owe us...for saving your life today." Lucky ran out of breath and hoped Raj couldn't see that he was trembling and slowly backing away from him as he waited for a response that could change all of their lives.

Raj stood in stony silence, staring at Lucky. Vijay didn't move. He was surprised that Lucky had the courage to say the things he did, but he was glad. Whatever happened now was beyond Vijay's control. He could feel his heart beating and the blood rushing in his ears. Lucky didn't dare to breathe, and when Raj finally spoke, after what seemed like an interminable amount of time, Lucky and Vijay nearly jumped out of their skin.

"Are you serious?" Raj's voice was low and quiet. "Am I a terrorist? Why, just because I'm from Kashmir, that's what you think of me?"

"No...not because you're from Kashmir," Vijay hastily responded. "But why do you go to the World Trade Center site almost every morning?"

Raj jumped as though he'd been hit. How did they know where he went in the mornings? Vijay answered his unspoken question. "Lucky followed you many times."

Lucky's head snapped towards Vijay, his eyes widened in fear, but Vijay ignored him and kept pressing forward. "And instead of studying, why do you pull all-nighters searching for 9/11 information on my laptop? Do you have any idea how much trouble that could cause me?"

Vijay was still uncertain about whether Raj presented a threat to them, but something about Raj's demeanor had changed, and the knots in Vijay's stomach started to loosen.

Lucky took a chance. "That day, when we went there first time, you were not lost...you did not go to the restroom. Because I had checked it. You lied to me...why? What are you hiding from us? Please tell us...please, Raj."

Raj walked over to the wall and Lucky and Vijay quickly moved out of his way. Raj slid his body down to the floor and drew his knees up to his chest, shaking his head repeatedly without saying a word. Cautiously Vijay and Lucky approached Raj and sat down on the floor across from him. Raj put his hands over his face, and they all remained seated in silence for some time. Just as Vijay was about to speak up again, Raj let out a choking gasp, and Lucky saw a rivulet of tears flowing between Raj's fingers. Lucky looked at Vijay, but Vijay couldn't take his eyes off Raj. Raj wrapped his arms around his knees tightly and rocked back and forth, his throaty, guttural sobs echoing in the nearly empty apartment as his body shook violently. Vijay didn't know how he knew, but it was suddenly clear to him that Raj was a bigger danger to himself than he was to anyone else. Whatever Raj's secret was, it had spread like a cancer, insidiously infecting his life with a poisonous darkness that Raj couldn't shake. It had taken him over completely, body and soul, eating away at him and leaving behind only this beaten and broken man who sat before them. Vijay inched closer to Raj and Lucky did, too. Lucky wasn't afraid anymore either; he was only concerned about his friend who was obviously in an incredible amount of pain, a pain so visceral that Lucky felt it like it was his own. Vijay shook his head and moved to Raj's side, putting both of his arms around him and pulling him close. Lucky then wrapped his arms around Vijay.

Feeling his friends' love and concern unleashed a torrent of emotions in Raj that had been pent up for far too long, and years of suffering and uncertainty overtook him, leaving Raj's body wracked with grief as he cried inconsolably in his friends' arms. Vijay and Lucky rocked back and forth with Raj, their silent compassion speaking to him in a way that their words never could. Raj knew he could trust them. He had no choice, because he could no longer bear this burden alone.

"I am looking for my mother," Raj whispered. Vijay and Lucky looked up at each other in shock, their mouths agape, but neither could muster any sound. Instinctively they both tightened their grip around their friend as Raj buried his bruised head deeper in the protective canopy of arms and bodies and hearts that they had built around him.

***

When Raj was finally able to breathe again and Vijay and Lucky had regained their voices, Vijay asked Lucky to get him some water. Lucky went to the kitchen and brought back a glass for Raj.

"It's okay, calm down," Vijay said in soft voice as Raj drank. When Raj finished, he wiped his eyes with his hands and looked at both of his friends. How should he begin?

"I don't know who my mother and father are. I don't know anything about where I came from," Raj said bluntly.

"But why did you come here? Are they here in the U.S.?" Vijay asked.

"I'm not sure. I really don't know anything about them. I don't know who are they... nothing," Raj replied, getting choked up again. Lucky jumped up to get Raj another glass of water, and he grabbed a handful of toilet paper from the bathroom.

"I do not understand," Lucky said as he handed Raj the paper. "How do you not know anything?"

Raj blotted his face and blew his nose before continuing his story. "I was raised by Gita maa. She was an old widow who used to wash dishes in rich people's homes. As far back as I can remember, I always believed that she was my mom. She loved me a lot. I was everything to her," Raj said, a sad smile crossing his face as his eyes focused on a past that Lucky and Vijay couldn't see. "She worked really hard for me, and when I was fifteen years old, she died from tuberculosis." Raj stopped and took a moment to wipe away fresh tears.

"Before maa died, she told me that she'd found me on the side of the street when she was returning from work late one night. As soon as I was born, someone left me on the street to die. Maa had lost her husband at a very young age, and they hadn't had any children, so she had no one. So when she found me, she didn't hesitate to take me home. I remember that her favorite Indian actor was Rajesh Khanna, and she told me once that's why she named me Raj." Raj reached for his wallet in his back pocket and took something out of it. "I had this with me when she found me," Raj said, showing Vijay and Lucky a gold locket.

Vijay took it from Raj's hand. It was a woman's locket, and big for a small boy. Vijay opened it and saw two pictures, one on either side, of a woman and a man. He passed the locket to Lucky. "Raj," Vijay said, "you look exactly like the man in that locket. That has to be your father." Lucky was also surprised by the resemblance.

"I think so, too. And I also think that it was my mother who left me on that street with nothing but that locket," Raj replied. "I don't know why my parents dumped me like garbage. I don't know if they were married. I don't know if I was just an unplanned mistake. I don't know if they're alive. I am not even sure if the people in that locket are my parents. I don't know anything."

"It will be okay," Lucky said, squeezing Raj's arm. He handed the locket back to Raj. "But then why did you come here to America?"

"After maa died, I was working in a restaurant to support myself. I always kept that locket with me. I believed that the only people who knew where I came from were the people in that locket, so whenever I had time and money, I traveled all over Kashmir searching for them. I never found them. I checked with the police, but no one recognized the pictures. But I never lost my hope, and I just kept searching," Raj replied. Vijay and Lucky listened carefully, nodding occasionally in sympathy.

"Then one day last September, I was working in the restaurant when I noticed that people were running towards the TV. I didn't know what had happened. There was no India-Pakistan cricket match that day, so I was surprised by all the excitement. I followed the crowd to the TV, which had been turned to a news channel. The women standing there were crying, and many of the men had their hands over their mouths, like they couldn't believe what they were seeing. I tried to ask someone what was going on, but no one answered me, so I looked back at the TV. I turned back just in time to see a very tall building collapse. Something terrible was happening in New York, and people on the streets were shouting and running away from this huge storm of dust that had taken over the space where the building used to be. I stood there in shock, watching these people on TV coughing and bleeding and wiping dust from their faces. They were covered in white ash. The whole place was covered in ash, and all the people walking around looked like ghosts. And that's when I noticed her. There was a woman wearing a hijab that caught my eye. She was coming out of that storm of dust, and a news reporter ran up to her and tried to interview her.

"After all of these years, I was finally looking at the woman in my locket. At first I didn't believe my eyes, because her face was covered with white dust. But then she wiped her face with her sleeve before she answered the reporter's question, and I think I must have also wiped my eyes with my sleeve, thinking I was imagining her. But I took the locket out of my pocket and saw that I wasn't wrong. It was the same woman, and I was certain that the woman was my mother.

"The reporter asked for her name first, and she was crying and traumatized, but I could understand her when she said her name was Aisha. Then the news reporter asked her about where she was when the plane hit, but the woman was too distraught to answer, and she just kept crying. A cop came and moved the reporter and this woman, Aisha, out of the way, off camera. And that was the last time I saw her.

"For hours I kept watching the news carefully, but I never saw her again. It was as if she had been swallowed up by that dusty storm. I didn't work the rest of that day, or the next, or the next. I just kept watching the news all day, reading every newspaper I could get my hands on, but I never spotted her again. I'd looked at her photo every day for almost ten years. I couldn't have made a mistake about it. I didn't know the woman, but I prayed a lot for her safety. She couldn't die without telling me the truth about my life. But I didn't know what to do next. I had no idea how to find her.

"So one day I started collecting all this information about the 9/11 event. It was so tragic, and it hurt me to see all of the images, and to read all of these stories about the lives that were lost, but I had to find that woman. I was being totally selfish. I left my job and went to Delhi to the headquarters of the news station that aired that interview. They weren't helpful, so I had to bribe someone to get a copy. I watched that news segment again and again until I knew without a doubt that it was the same woman. Can you imagine? For ten years I had searched for her in India, and she was here in New York. I knew what I had to do, but I also knew how difficult it was going to be. I worked hard, I did everything possible... legal and sometimes illegal...and I collected a lot of money and got my passport. I never went to university like you guys, so I had to make fake transcripts. I paid a lot of people to get admission to a university in New York, and I spent all my money for a visa and my ticket, and I came here with nothing left in my pocket. And then I met you guys the same day I arrived."

Raj took a deep breath and then looked at Vijay first, then at Lucky. "I don't call anyone because I don't have anyone. I go to downtown Manhattan almost every day, because I'm hoping to find that woman. Vijay, I used your computer to search for 9/11 victims, praying every time I searched that I wouldn't find her picture. I..." Raj choked on his words. "I am not a terrorist," Raj said, bursting into tears.

Vijay and Lucky had been silent throughout Raj's entire story, partially because they were in shock, and partially because they feared that uttering a single word might break the spell and Raj might shut down emotionally. They knew he couldn't keep this secret inside any longer, and that he needed to finally tell his story and be heard by people who cared.

"We are so sorry for doubting you," Lucky said, and Vijay nodded.

"It's not your fault. I understand why you didn't trust me, and even though you had your doubts, you still helped me a lot. You're the only people I have now in my life who care about me," Raj replied.

"We will always be your second family, Raj. But we will find that woman," Lucky promised.

"Do you have the news clip?" Vijay asked. Raj nodded.

"Can we see it?" Lucky asked.

"Yeah, sure," Raj replied. He got up and walked over to his backpack, pulling a CD from the front pocket of the bag. He handed it to Vijay, who opened his laptop and inserted the CD in the slot. Raj had burned a lot of files onto the CD, but he showed Vijay the main news clip and Lucky and Vijay watched it carefully.

"Now the building will collapse. Watch carefully at the people running," Raj instructed. In a few moments, the first tower collapsed, and people were screaming and running away from the falling debris.

"There! Stop!" Raj said, and Vijay paused the video.

"Look at that woman in the hijab." Raj pointed at the screen.

Vijay and Lucky looked at the woman in the video and then at the picture in Raj's locket. They rewound the clip, played it again, and paused it at different times, trying to see different angles of the woman's face. Finally Vijay looked at Raj.

"You're right. The facial features are the same, but..." Vijay didn't finish his thought.

"But what?" Raj asked.

"The woman in the picture has Sindoor on her forehead. That means she's Hindu. But the woman in the video is wearing a hijab, which means she's Muslim. How is that possible? It doesn't make any sense," Vijay replied.

"You are right," Lucky nodded, agreeing with Vijay.

"I know...but the woman in the video looks exactly like her. I can't make a mistake about that, believe me," Raj implored, trying to convince his friends.

Vijay started humming, looking at the computer screen and then at the locket in his hand. He flipped it over and over in his hand with a smooth motion, and then suddenly he his fingers fumbled it and the locket dropped to the floor. "Oh man, sorry, sorry!" Vijay said, quickly picking up the locket. It had only fallen a few inches to the floor and was not damaged, except that the picture of the man that had been wedged into the left side had popped out. Vijay held the locket close so that he could replace the picture, but his hand hovered above the locket and he just stared at it.

"Vijay, what is it? What is wrong?" Lucky asked.

Vijay didn't look up. "Hey, Raj, she said her name was Aisha, right?"

Raj nodded.

"Well, there's an inscription in Hindi under the man's picture, and it says "For My Love, Aisha." Vijay grinned, and handed the locket to Raj for him to see.

Raj didn't realize that he'd been holding his breath, and he let out a long sigh of relief. "See? I know I'm right, Vijay. I have to be."

Lucky took the locket from Vijay and looked at the inscription. "Raj... I don't know what is going to happen in the future. But you have impressed me. I always thought that no one struggled as much as I did in my life. But at least I have my family with me. But you, my friend, you have it the worst. You suffered financially and emotionally with no one to stand beside you in your life. And still you came here, thousands of miles away, to find the answers. You have lot of courage," Lucky said, feeling pride in his friend. He placed his hand on top of Raj's shoulder affectionately.

"Thanks, Lucky. But this is the only hope I have left. I had to come here to find out the truth. Otherwise, I'm not sure how to live my life, not knowing. "

"So what's the plan now? What's our next step?" Vijay asked.

"Well, first of all I need to find a new job so I can survive in this city," Raj answered.

"Don't worry about that. I'm making enough money from my teaching assistantship that I don't need to distribute flyers anymore. I'm sure they'll hire you in my place," Vijay said.

"But what about the owner?" Lucky asked.

"Oh! Gupta will be happy. Raj is from the north and has fair skin."

"Thanks, Vijay," Raj replied.

Vijay nodded. "But my question was about your parents, especially your mother, Aisha. How can we find her?"

Lucky looked at Raj. "Can we take the help from police?"

"I already tried," Raj answered. "They said they couldn't help me since I couldn't prove my relationship with her. They also said that she's not a missing person."

Vijay cocked his head. "Really? They have no idea!" he chuckled.

Raj thought about what he'd just said, and for the first time in several hours, he laughed. "Yeah, right? I'd say she's been missing for about thirty years."

"Okay, then. Our only option is to search for her everywhere...every street, every masjid, every Muslim community, everywhere," Vijay said.

Lucky shook his head. "That is hell lot of work with no guarantee of outcome. We should talk to the news channel."

"No," Raj replied. "First, I don't know that they could identify her, and second, no one is going to listen us. And what if she's not the one? We would be disturbing her life...I can't do that."

"Well then, let's start our search on the internet," Vijay suggested. There are lots of websites related to the 9/11 attack. I'm sure she should be in at least one of them since she was on the national news."

"Very good idea," Lucky agreed.

Raj shook his head. "I already tried, many times. Aisha is a very common name. It was hard to find anything on the internet. But you guys are engineers, so maybe you'll be better at it than I was."

Vijay yawned loudly. "Ah, sorry. What time is it?" He looked at his watch and saw that it was nearly 2 am. "Let's get some sleep. It's been a long day, and we should get some rest before we start our big search," Vijay said, smiling at Raj.

"Vijay...I...I just want to say I'm sorry. About everything. Lying to you about my job, about where I go, using your computer...and then the way I treated you tonight, threatening you like that...there is no excuse. You guys have been so good to me, and I've disrespected you with my behavior. It won't happen again," Raj said.

Lucky slapped Raj on the back, and Raj cringed in pain. "Oh, sorry, sorry!"

"It's okay, Lucky," Raj replied, putting his arm around Lucky. "Vijay, seriously man. I'm really sorry," Raj said, extending his other hand to Vijay.

Vijay took Raj's offered hand, and grasped it with both of his. "No worries. Any day that ends with your tall, muscular, brooding roommate not being a homicidal terrorist is a good day!" Vijay laughed.

***

Beginning the following day, Vijay and Lucky joined Raj in his search for his parents. They went to masjids and Muslim schools and events all over the city, showing people a picture they'd taken from the video clip and asking them if they recognized the woman. Raj, who had taken over Vijay's job of distributing flyers, looked carefully at every woman's face during his brief interaction with them, and would chase after those with similar bodies and facial features, especially the ones who wore a hijab. Some women were frightened, some were flattered, and more than a few asked him for a date. New York was a sea of female faces, old and young, black, white, and brown, beautiful and ugly and everything in between. But none of the faces were hers. The three boys quickly realized that finding one person out of eight million people in New York City was not going to be an easy job.

A few days later, the results of the midterms were posted. Vijay, of course, had excellent scores in all subjects, and Raj was happy to receive passing grades, which he thought was a particularly fine achievement given that he missed so much class and didn't even have an undergraduate degree. But to everyone's surprise, Lucky had scored below average in almost every course. Lucky was despondent over his grades, and thought that Goddess Lakshmi must be angry with him. Vijay tried to reassure him that his performance was probably just because he was homesick, or because he hadn't yet adjusted to the American education system, or maybe even because of his off-campus job. But Lucky had always worked hard at his studies, and he could not believe how poorly he had done in the midterms. He would have to do extraordinary well in the final exams to get decent grades for the semester. He couldn't quit the job, but he decided to end his friendship with Anna. Lucky thought that his poor marks were a sign from Goddess Lakshmi that Anna was not the perfect girl for him, and that his closeness with her was inappropriate. Lucky immediately stopped going to Vijay's lab and did everything he could to avoid running into Anna on campus.

Anna was upset about Lucky's sudden and unexplained disappearance from her life, and she tried talking to Vijay about it, but she didn't get very far. Vijay didn't think it was his place to discuss Lucky's decisions. Switching tactics, Anna changed her daily routine for a few weeks so that she could "accidently" be standing outside a specific classroom when she thought Lucky might be switching from one class to the next, but she never saw him.

During Diwali, the Indian Student Association at the university hosted an event for students, and Raj and Vijay invited Lucky to come with them to celebrate. He didn't want to go, as he considered partying a waste of time and thought he'd be better off staying at home and studying, but his friends insisted. Everyone at the party was wearing traditional Indian dress, and the Indian Student Association had organized a great event, inviting junior and senior Indian students and even a semi-famous Bollywood deejay. Of course Dan and his friends were there, making fun of the PIGS and their traditional Indian clothing, but Raj, Vijay and Lucky did their best to stay away from him. They were at the party for one reason and one reason only: to enjoy the festive Diwali atmosphere after a couple of long and difficult months.

Lucky was crowd-watching when he saw Anna entering the hall. She was wearing a backless churidar, and as usual, she looked beautiful. The contrast of the black silk against her pale white skin was stunning, and she attracted a lot of attention upon her arrival. Lucky knew that she would probably want to talk to him, and he wanted to avoid her, so he excused himself and wandered off towards the food table. Anna watched as he piled his plate with idli, pani puri and dosa before heading outside to the garden, and she followed him, approaching the small table where he was seated.

"Hey! Hi, Lakshminarayanan," Anna said, giving him her best smile.

Lucky wasn't surprised that she had come to talk to him, but he was impressed by her pronunciation of his full name. It was the first time she'd said it without any hesitation or mistakes. Still, he didn't think it was a good idea to talk to her.

"How are you?" Anna asked.

"I am good. How are you?" Lucky answered in a soft voice without looking at her.

"Fine. How are your studies going?"

"Everything is fine," Lucky answered while continuing to avoid eye contact.

Anna pulled up the other chair and sat beside him, taking his hand in hers. Lucky pulled his hand away. "What happened, Lucky? Why don't you want to talk to me?"

"I cannot do this," Lucky finally replied after a long silence.

"Do what? We're just having fun," Anna replied.

"No. I am not allowed to have fun in my life," Lucky said, getting up to leave. Anna grabbed his arm. "Let me go, please."

"I am just trying to be your friend. Don't you like me?"

"I really cannot...I have too much responsibilities," Lucky replied. "I cannot be distracted from my studies."

Anna let go of his arm. "So what? Are you saying that you're wasting your time with me?"

"You will not understand," Lucky said, sitting back down and putting down his plate of barely-touched food. Anna said nothing, but waited for him to continue. "I am from very poor family. They have put lot of their hope on me. I cannot fail them," Lucky explained, a pained expression on his face. He seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"Did you fail your exams?" Anna asked.

"No. But I cannot take the risk. I have sacrificed so much, just to succeed. There is no other option for me. I hardly get any time from work and study, and I cannot waste this time in having fun. Please try to understand," Lucky pleaded.

Anna was surprised to find Lucky so upset. In the beginning, she had used him to make Dan jealous, but she had assumed all this time that Lucky was just physically attracted to her like most men, and enjoyed her company. She had no idea that he had taken their friendship so seriously, enough that it might be affecting his studies. Although she had eventually developed true feelings for Lucky, they were not romantic in nature. She had just realized that he was actually a good guy, and deserved more from her than to be used as a tool for revenge. Anna knew that Lucky was smart and ambitious, and she didn't want to be the reason for his failure, or even for his stress about the possibility of failure. And while she didn't completely agree with his reasons for cooling off their friendship, and really didn't appreciate how he'd handled the situation, she respected his wishes.

She stood up and took his hands in hers. "It's okay, Lakshminarayanan. I've enjoyed our time together, and I only have good wishes for you." She leaned over and kissed Lucky's cheek, then turned to go back inside.

"Anna..."

She paused and glanced over her shoulder, giving him one last, exquisite smile. "Have a wonderful life, Lucky."

Lucky looked at Anna wistfully as she walked back through the door and disappeared.
Chapter 8

"That's it?" Kaveri asked. "Did you ever meet her again?"

"No," Lucky replied. "I saw her many times on campus, but we never talked again."

Lucky, Vijay, and Kaveri drove in silence for several more miles. When they got to the George Washington Bridge, they ran into some traffic, but it gave Kaveri the opportunity to enjoy the view of the city as it twinkled and glowed in the car's rear window. Kaveri loved the way cities always looked so beautiful and peaceful at night, when all the dirt and the grime and the struggle and disappointment faded into the darkness for a few hours, hidden from view.

A few minutes later, Vijay broke the silence. "Well, here we are!" He pulled the car into a circular, paved driveway and Kaveri looked out the window at the large, two-story house.

"Your house is so big for just the two of you," Kaveri remarked, a little overwhelmed by the scale of the home.

"Well, Maa is also going to stay with us, so we needed something fairly large," Vijay replied, tapping the automatic door opener and pulling into the spacious two-car garage. Vijay helped Lucky and Kaveri with their bags and they entered the house, which was decorated with fresh flowers and filled with the delicious smell of simmering Indian food. Vijay's mother had heard them arrive, and rushed to greet them. Vijay had always talked a lot about his mother and the sacrifices she had made for him, but this was the first time Lucky was meeting her. Both Lucky and Kaveri touched Shobha's feet and took her blessings.

Vijay ushered them into the living room, where they all sat and talked while dinner was cooking. Vijay inquired about Carrie, and Shobha told him that she'd gone to Raj's house, and would meet them in the morning for the ceremony. Kaveri excused herself and went to help Shobha prepare for dinner. She had cooked mutter paneer for Lucky, just as Vijay had requested, and everyone enjoyed the meal, sharing stories and laughter.

Afterwards, Kaveri cleaned up and washed the dishes, insisting that Vijay's mother rest. Meanwhile, Vijay and Lucky discussed the wedding ceremony, making sure that everything was ready for the next morning.

When Kaveri finished, the three of them moved back to the living room, where they sunk into deep couches and began eating pints of Haagen-Dazs. The Dulce de leche flavor was another of Lucky's favorites.

"You must be very tired from travelling. Do you guys want to sleep?" Vijay asked.

"No, not really. We slept almost the whole trip, so I am not sleepy," Lucky replied.

"Yeah. It's daytime in India, so I am not sleepy either," Kaveri said, taking another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. "I think you should tell me what happened next."

"Oh, come on, Kaveri. It will take whole night. Vijay needs to sleep and take some rest. He has the most important event of his life tomorrow," Lucky said.

"Which is why I won't be able to sleep, either," Vijay said with a nervous laugh.

"Good!" Kaveri replied, smirking at Lucky. "Maaji talked about Carrie when I was helping her in the kitchen. Where did you guys meet her?"

"Hmm...Carrie...Carrie Jacobs. She's a fashion journalist. Raj met her first," Vijay explained as he opened up another pint of Haagen Dazs and passed it to Lucky. It was going to be a long night, so Lucky shrugged, took the ice cream, and settled in.

***

Whenever Raj wasn't in school or working, he would walk all over Manhattan looking for his mother. He almost never made it back to the apartment before midnight or later on the nights he wandered the city. It was on one of those typical nights that Raj found himself sitting on the A train with his head against the subway car's window. He was tired, as usual, but this day had been particularly disheartening. He'd spent hours walking up to strangers, showing them his mother's picture and hoping for even a single lead, but with each negative response, he felt further and further from the truth. He'd given up early tonight, though it was still after ten o'clock when he'd boarded the train and slumped into a seat at the end of the car. The train was almost empty, and the car's rocking motion lulled Raj to sleep. He dreamt of dark things - fires, people falling through the sky. Buildings collapsing, women and children wandering through clouds of white dust, their screams silent but never-ending. Molten, twisted steel.

Suddenly a loud male voice jarred Raj awake, and he looked up to see two boys sitting in front of a girl with blonde hair. They were obviously drunk, and they were making lewd jokes about the girl's appearance. She was wearing a short, tight party dress that was cut low, and she was trying her best to ignore the boys, but they seemed determined to be noticed.

The kid wearing his hat backwards turned himself sideways in the plastic chair so that he was half facing the girl and half looking at his friend. "Whadda you think, bro? Cuz I think any girl who looks like that and wears that shit is just putting it out there, ya know? Like, 'look at me, look at my tits. You know you want some of this shit.'" His friend offered an exaggerated nod of agreement and then turned his head and belched in the girl's face.

Raj didn't want to get involved. He would only be inviting trouble, and the girl seemed to be holding her own and hadn't asked for help. When the train stopped at Nostrand Avenue, she got up from her seat without looking at the boys and started walking towards the exit when hat boy jumped up and blocked her path.

"Excuse me," the girl said firmly. "I want to get off."

The boy smiled. "Well, would you look at that? I just knew we had something in common, sweetheart." He looked at his friend and laughed. "My friend and me, we want to get off, too, honey, and I think you should be a good girl and help us out." His friend, still seated, snickered and then belched again loudly. The girl gave them both a look of disgust and walked towards the other exit, but hat boy ran in front of her, again blocking her way. "What's the matter, bitch? Can't take a compliment?"

"I'll call the cops," she warned. She was standing her ground, but this time her voice was more uncertain as fear coiled itself around her insides.

"Sure, sweet thing, you can call the cops," the boy said, taking a step towards her. "But you gotta wait until we're done, cuz I don't like nothin' bigger than a threesome." He was less than a foot away from her when his friend sprung up from his seat and grabbed her from behind. She screamed, and Raj's jaw tensed. Shit.

Raj leapt up and had already closed half the distance between himself and the girl when hat boy shouted. "Hey, towel head! There's nothing here for you, asshole. We saw her first." The other boy held her tightly with one arm and began to grope her with his other hand.

Raj was concerned that they might have a weapon, but he had to put an end to this quickly. He kept advancing and the train passed Utica Avenue.

"You understanda-da-Iinnglish?" Hat boy spit at Raj and then turned to look at his friend. He laughed when he saw him squeezing her breasts, and he nodded in approval. "Way to go, bro." The girl was trying to free herself, but the boy outweighed her by at least sixty pounds of sinewy muscle.

"Let her go," Raj replied evenly.

Hat boy turned back to Raj and took a few steps towards him. "Yeah? You want us to let her go? Maybe you wanna have your way with her first, huh? Show a rich, white bitch a good time? Yeah, well tough shit, raghead, she's mine." The boy turned around and grabbed the girl's face, slowly running his tongue up her cheek, and that's when Raj charged.

Hat boy was drunk and hadn't anticipated Raj's speed. Raj threw his arm around the kid's throat and pulled him away from the girl, then shoved him towards the other end of the car. The boy stumbled backwards briefly and then regained his balance, but before he could go on offense, Raj rushed him, throwing his one hundred and seventy-five pounds into the kid's midsection and driving him backwards into a metal grab pole. The boy crumpled to the floor and Raj whipped around to face hat boy's friend, who had released the girl to come at Raj. Raj easily deflected the kid's attempt at a punch and grabbed his wrist tightly, twisting his arm behind his back and kicking him in the ass so that the boy went sprawling across the floor and sliding into his friend. The train lurched as it entered Broadway Junction, and the boys struggled to regain their footing, grabbing on to the plastic seats to steady themselves. The girl ran towards the front of the car, putting Raj between her and her assailants.

Raj waited for the train to stop completely, and then he turned and shouted at the girl. "Go! Get off the train." He intended to keep the boys in the car until she got off safely and the doors closed. He hadn't thought too far beyond that, or considered what he was going to do until he could try to escape at the next stop.

The boys had managed to get up and were now advancing towards Raj. The girl hadn't made a move towards the open doors yet, and Raj shouted at her. "Are you crazy?" She said nothing, but removed her high heels and ran towards Raj. She grabbed his wrist and tried to pull him towards the metal doors. "No, no, you go!" Raj yelled, trying to break free of her grip, but the girl was stubborn. The automated voice played over the train's intercom system.

Stand clear of the closing doors, please.

Raj heard the dinging that signaled that the train was about to depart the station. He looked at the girl again with an exasperated expression, and pushed her through the doors just as they were closing, following closely behind her. Hat boy reached the doors and stuck his foot between them to prevent them from closing all the way, then began prying them back open with his hands. This time it was a live conductor's voice that boomed over the intercom.

"Release the doors in the back! The train cannot leave the station until the doors are closed. Release the doors!"

Raj and the girl ran up the stairway and burst out of the subway exit, the teens close on their heels for a couple of blocks. But the teenagers were drunk, and hat boy began to slow down. His friend was running slightly ahead of him, and he looked back without breaking his pace. "Man, come on, let's go! What's your problem?"

Hat boy stopped completely and bent over at the waist, hands on his knees. His friend looked back again and agonized for a few seconds about continuing the chase before finally deciding to give up. "Fuck this bullshit," he cursed as he turned around and walked back to where his friend was standing. "Bitch ain't worth it," he said, putting his hand on his friend's heaving back.

Hat boy raised his head slightly to look at him, inhaled sharply, and vomited all over his friend's shoes.

Raj and the girl kept running for blocks until they were sure that they weren't being followed. "I think we're good now," the girl said as she slowed to a jog, breathing heavily. Raj thought she sounded British.

"Okay," Raj agreed, also winded.

"What's your name?"

"Raj," Raj replied. He looked around to see where they were.

"Raj...nice to meet you. I'm Carrie," the girl said, extending her hand. Raj looked into two deep blue eyes and shook her hand.

"Thanks for helping me."

"No problem. Can I go now?" Raj asked.

"Can you go now?" Carrie wasn't expecting that. "No, you can't go now. What if they find me again?"

"Hmm...so?" Raj didn't know what else she wanted from him.

"So?" Carrie laughed at the strangeness of the conversation. "So you should offer to drop me off at my home," she replied, surprised that she'd had to state the obvious. "Do you always leave women alone in the city this late at night?"

"Yes. I mean, no. I guess not?" It sounded more like a question, but Raj was exhausted and just wanted to go home. At the same time, he didn't want to be rude, and it was pretty late. "Okay," he sighed. "Where do you live?"

Carrie looked around to get her bearings. "I think it's just a ten minute walk from here," she answered. Raj gestured for her to lead the way. Carrie slipped her shoes back on, and then headed off down the sidewalk.

"So what do you do for a living?" Carrie smiled at Raj and tried to start a conversation while they walked.

"I'm a student at the New York Institute of Engineering and Management."

"Oh, what are you studying?"

"Fine arts. What about you?"

"I'm a fashion journalist," Carrie replied. She'd left her jacket behind in the subway, and she involuntarily shivered in the late night air. Raj noticed, and offered her his long Kashmiri jacket. She appreciated the gesture. "Where are you from?" Carrie asked as she slipped her arms into the coat.

"India," Raj answered.

"Lovely!" Carrie replied with excitement in her voice. "I've heard it's a very beautiful place. I would love to travel there someday."

"I'm from Kashmir, in the northern part of India. It's even more beautiful there than probably anywhere else in India."

"Is that where this jacket is from?" Raj nodded.

Carrie didn't believe in coincidences. As they waked in silence for the next few minutes, she thought about the way Raj had stood up to those boys, and she believed that there was a reason he'd been on that train this evening – the right train at the right time - and she was determined to get to know him better.

Raj was also thinking about the experience, but mostly he was surprised that she didn't seem too upset by it. And as much as it shamed him to admit it, he was also thinking that with her job as a journalist, she might be able to help him in his search for his parents. She was a fashion journalist, but he was sure that she probably had some good connections.

"Raj, I'm sorry for all the trouble. Those guys were asshole. I usually don't come home at this hour, but I had to cover a party that ran late."

"Women need to be careful traveling this late," Raj replied. "There usually aren't very many people on the train this time of night."

Carrie wasn't sure how to interpret the comment, and whether to feel flattered or chastised. "Well, this kind of thing never happened to me before. But that's okay. You were there. I met you, and I am happy about that." Carrie smiled and took him by the arm. Raj wasn't sure how to respond, or even if he was supposed to respond. Maybe this was just considered normal in western cultures. He pretended not to notice and kept walking, letting Carrie keep her arm laced through his. A few minutes later, Carrie stopped outside a four-story residential building covered with ivy.

"Would you like to come inside?" Carrie turned her eyes up to meet Raj's.

"No, I'm late. I need to go home," Raj replied.

"Okay. Well, can we meet again sometime?" Raj was confused by the question, because he didn't understand why she would want to see him again. He must have looked puzzled, because Carrie continued without waiting for his answer. "Don't you want your jacket back? I'll get it dry cleaned and return it to you. I can come to your place if you want," she offered.

"You don't need to wash it. It's fine, don't worry about it," Raj replied. He truly wasn't concerned about the jacket, but he was mostly resistant to her offer because he didn't want her to see the cheap basement apartment he shared with Lucky and Vijay. Before Carrie could respond, Raj quickly said goodnight and ran off in the opposite direction.

Carrie stood for a moment and watched him run. "Well, nice meeting you, too," she said softly to herself. She wrapped Raj's coat around her tightly, and a smile slowly began to form on her lips.

***

A week went by, and Carrie could not stop thinking about Raj. She'd felt so safe with him, and his shyness and obvious lack of experience with women had endeared him to her. She had yet to return his coat, so in the middle of her workday, she decided to head over to the university. She had worn his coat every day, and she grabbed it off the door hook before heading out.

Carrie was a very attractive girl, and she had a killer instinct for fashion. The combination served her well, and she turned more than a few heads while she walked around campus. She didn't have a plan, because she was sure that she couldn't just march into the Registrar's office and ask if they had a student by the name of Raj Somebody. Schools usually didn't volunteer that kind of information, and she wasn't even sure that Raj was his full first name. So she just kept walking, hoping she would spot him, but the university was larger than she had anticipated. Finally she decided to take a break, and she bought a cup of coffee and sat down on a bench outside the school's library. It was a brisk day, and the warmth of the coffee in her hands felt good. She brought the Styrofoam cup to her lips and glanced up as she was taking a sip. There he is again, she thought. For the past two hours, Carrie kept seeing a young, dark-skinned man following her. She couldn't help but notice that he was terribly inept at stalking, as she'd always catch him standing out in the open and staring directly at her. As soon as she'd spot him, he'd make some horribly awkward attempt to pretend he was interested in something else – another girl, a water fountain, and this latest time, a garbage can. Carrie laughed. She was sure that he was completely harmless, and there was something oddly charming about his oafishness. He did seem to be Indian, though. Carrie shook her head. Just like Grannie, she thought. Carrie's sweet grandmother had never met a stranger in her life, but she had the odd quirk of thinking that the world was a much smaller place than it really was. She'd meet a lovely Irish man in line at the grocery store and she'd say, "Oh, you're Irish? My lovely granddaughter dated an Irishman. Perhaps you know him, his name is Sean McCarthy?" Or she'd meet the nice Chinese couple new at church, and without hesitation, she'd say, "Oh, you're Chinese! That's wonderful! Perhaps you know my friend, Mr. Chen? He's from Shanghai, too." It had always made Carrie laugh, but now she'd just caught herself doing the same thing. He's Indian, so he must know Raj. Well, whatever. She wasn't getting anywhere with her plan, which was essentially wandering aimlessly around campus, so maybe her grandmother was onto something.

Carrie put her coffee down and ran towards the boy studying the recycling bin. "Excuse me!"

The boy turned towards her in surprise, a deer-in-headlights look on his face. He quickly took off running.

"Excuse me, wait! I was wondering if you know anybody named Raj," she shouted at the boy. At the sound of the name, the boy stopped in his tracks. He turned back and blinked quickly a few times as Carrie approached him.

"Hi, thank you for not running," Carrie said sarcastically, gasping for air. "I'm looking for a man named Raj. He's an arts major, I believe," she said.

Lucky suddenly recognized the coat she was wearing, and his heart broke when he realized that this beautiful girl was, in fact, looking for Raj. He sighed deeply. Apparently Goddess Lakshmi didn't approve of this one, either.

"Raj...Indian...from Kashmir?" Lucky asked. Carrie's face lit up and she nodded enthusiastically.

"He is my roommate," Lucky replied, kicking at a stone on the ground like a petulant child.

"Really? Where is he? Can you take me to him?"

"He has class now," Lucky answered.

"Can you take me there? I'll wait outside until he's done," Carrie promised.

Lucky thought about it for a few seconds, and though he was disappointed that she wasn't interested in him, he figured he could still use the situation to his advantage. Lucky was a businessman, and his mind always thought in terms of risk and reward. Walking around campus and being seen with a girl like her couldn't do any harm. In fact, it would be downright irresponsible of him to pass up such a valuable opportunity. Zero risk, all reward.

Lucky agreed, and introduced himself as they walked. He purposefully passed right by the building where he knew Raj was attending class just so that he could spend time with Carrie and ensure that he was seen with her by as many students as possible. Carrie related the story about how she'd met Raj and how he'd saved her from a couple of thugs, and she pelted Lucky with questions in an attempt to glean as much information about Raj as she could. Lucky listened intently and made small talk, doling out a few tidbits about Raj without sharing any real information. He could tell that she was crazy about Raj, and when he got over himself and his selfishness for a minute, he was actually happy for his friend. A beautiful girl like Carrie just might be the medicine Raj needed.

Just before Raj's class ended, Lucky showed Carrie to his classroom and left. She waited outside until the mass exodus began, and then suddenly there was Raj, right in front of her. He stood motionless, and the flow of students was forced to divert around him while he stared at Carrie in disbelief. Several of the boys slowed down to take a closer look at Carrie.

Raj finally found his voice. "Hi! How are you?"

"I'm fine!" Carrie smiled broadly. He was better looking than she remembered. "I, um, just wanted to return your jacket."

Raj nodded and Carrie stared at him.

Raj looked at her strangely. "Well?" he finally said when the silence grew too big between them.

"Well?" Carrie murmured, still staring at Raj as though she were in a trance.

"Well, can I have it then?"

"Oh!" Carrie blushed. "Sorry!" She quickly removed the coat and handed it to Raj.

"Thanks. How did you find me?"

"I'm a journalist. I know how to find people," Carrie replied. Smooth, Carrie, real smooth. Dork!

"Okay. Well, thank you," Raj replied awkwardly, then glanced around the hallway.

Carrie sensed his discomfort and tried to recover. "Hey," she said with a smile. "Do you want to grab some coffee or show me around the place?" she asked, hoping that he wouldn't come up with another excuse to disappear.

"I don't know. I have some things..." Raj stumbled.

"Oh, come on! I cleaned your coat and came all this way to return it and to say thank you, and you can't even buy a lady a cup of coffee?"

Raj didn't want to appear impolite or ungrateful. "Okay, I guess I have some time."

"Great!" Carrie exhaled, relieved that Raj was willing to give her a second chance. Carrie didn't know what was wrong with her. Raj was hot, but she'd dated plenty of hot guys and never found herself speechless before. There was just something about Raj that rendered her uncharacteristically tongue-tied, and she was intrigued.

Carrie again locked her arm through Raj's as they walked towards the building's exit. When they stepped outside, Raj saw that Vijay and Lucky were waiting for them, and he pulled away from Carrie's grip, widening the distance between them as he approached his friends.

"Hi guys," Raj said nonchalantly. "This is Carrie."

"Oh, we have met!" Lucky grinned. Raj raised his eyebrow in surprise and looked at Carrie, but she kept her eyes on Lucky.

"Yes," she said with a smile. "Lucky was quite the gentleman today, and gave me a tour of the campus while we were waiting for your class to let out," Carrie replied.

"Oh he did, did he? How thoughtful of him," Raj said, giving Lucky a look and fidgeting anxiously. Lucky just grinned.

"What are you cooking tonight?" Vijay asked. He was also amused by Raj's behavior, but he tried to give his friend something else to focus on besides his awkwardness around the girl.

"You cook?" Carrie was surprised by this information.

"He is very good cook. He is chef of the house," Lucky said, hoping that Carrie would be impressed.

"So when are you cooking for me?" Carrie asked, turning to face Raj.

"I cook Indian food. It's spicy. You may not like it," Raj replied.

"Says who? Believe me...I love spicy stuff," Carrie said. Raj visibly flinched. Oh, real nice, Carrie. She wasn't sure if he understood double-entendres or whether he'd interpreted what she'd just said as one, but Vijay and Lucky must have, because they tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle their laughter. Raj didn't laugh, but he did seem to be somewhat embarrassed.

"Why don't you come with us and have dinner?" Vijay asked.

Raj looked at Vijay sharply. "No!"

Vijay, Lucky, and Carrie all looked at Raj strangely, and he took a deep breath before continuing. "I mean, no...I'll take you out for an Indian dinner," he suggested to Carrie in a softer voice.

"Are you asking me out on a date?" Carrie asked. Vijay and Lucky gave Raj a questioning look, four eyebrows raised in amusement.

"No, I just...I need to know how much spice you can handle before I invite you to my apartment," Raj tried to explain. This time Vijay and Lucky couldn't control themselves, and even Carrie joined in their giggling outburst, which only made Raj turn a brighter shade of red.

"Before I cook for you, I mean," Raj said in an exasperated tone, desperately trying to dig himself out of the hole he'd dug.

"Okay, no problem," Carrie said, wiping the tears from her eyes. Apparently he did understand double-entendres. "Let's meet this Saturday, is that okay?" Raj nodded.

"Great," Lucky said. "You guys planned your dinner for Saturday, but I am hungry now. What about us? I am starving."

Raj asked Lucky and Vijay to head home and start preparing the ingredients for dinner while he accompanied Carrie to her car, which she had parked near the university. After bungling the hug she offered while standing beside her car door, Raj said goodbye and went home.

***

That Saturday, Raj and Carrie met at an Indian restaurant on Lexington Avenue in midtown Manhattan. Carrie had chosen a red salwar suit and red sparkling bangles, and she'd decided to wear her wavy hair down and loose. A small nose ring adorned her nostril, and the staff and several customers watched her as she walked to the table. Raj had worked that day, but as Carrie stood radiant before him at the table, he no longer felt tired. He stood up quickly, and pulled the chair out for her. Carrie smiled at Raj, and then at the young Indian boy who greeted them. She took the menu the boy offered before he ran to get the water carafe for the table. Raj took another long look at Carrie. "You are going to put me in trouble."

"Why?" Carrie asked with some concern. "What did I do?" She had just sat down, but she thought that perhaps she'd already broken some Indian tradition.

"You look so beautiful. Everyone in the restaurant is staring at you," Raj said shyly before turning his attention to the menu.

"Oh, ha! I thought I did something wrong," Carrie replied.

"No. But I think they're not used to seeing a white girl with an Indian boy in an Indian restaurant." Carrie glanced around the restaurant, not at all self-conscious. "You surprised me with the Indian dress," Raj remarked.

"Do you like it?"

"Very much. You look like an angel that the British forgot and left behind in India," Raj replied. Now it was Carrie's turn to feel shy. "I like that nose ring on you," Raj said. "It seems that you did your research."

"I tried. But I couldn't find matching earrings, so I decided to keep my hair down," Carrie explained.

"I didn't even notice," Raj lied.

The waiter brought water to the table, and as he was filling their glasses, Raj looked at him carefully. He thought that he was probably a student pursuing graduate studies somewhere in New York, just like Raj, but Raj didn't say anything. Instead he began to study the menu after the waiter left. "So, madam, what would you like to eat?"

"Hmm, I don't know. Everything on the menu has the word 'curry' in it. It all sounds the same to me," Carrie said, shaking her head.

"Yeah, I know. Indians can make curry out of anything. But I don't think they make the food that spicy here, so you don't have to worry about it," Raj said, trying to reassure her.

"Okay, I believe you. I'll try whatever you order. You decide."

"Good! Then I'm thinking...one seafood dish, one chicken dish, and one vegetarian dish with naan and rice. That should give you a good taste of a wide variety of Indian food," Raj replied.

"That's a lot of food!" Carrie raised her eyebrows in mock horror.

"Don't worry about it. I can eat a lot of Indian food."

"Okay, then seafood and chicken and...vegetarian naan?" Carrie laughed. She'd already forgotten the order.

When the waiter returned, Raj ordered one shrimp curry, chicken kadai, vegetable jaifrezi, naan, and rice. He requested that the chef not use any chili, and to make sure that all of the dishes were mild spicy. He also ordered a mango lassi for Carrie, just in case she needed the cool yogurt drink to handle the food that Indians considered "mild."

"You know, in London, we have a very big Indian community," Carrie said, taking a drink of water. "Lots of Indian restaurants, shops and stuff. I was always attracted to all of those colorful saris! But I didn't know how to wear them." Raj hummed, a habit he'd picked up from Vijay. "You know those people who wear turbans and have long beards...what do you call them?" Carrie asked.

"Punjabis," Raj replied.

"Yes! We see a lot of those people in London. I love the festival of lights. Whenever they used to play with the colors, I always wanted to be a part of it," Carrie said, her voice and expressions reflecting her excitement about her experiences with Indian traditions.

"So why didn't you participate?" Raj asked.

"My dad. He thought the colors weren't good for my skin and eyes, so he didn't let me get involved," Carrie answered.

"Hmm...and did your mother think that as well?

"My mom died from breast cancer when I was ten."

"Oh, I'm very sorry," Raj said, offering his condolences.

"It's okay. I'm over it now."

"So how did you end up in New York?" Raj wanted to change the topic to anything but mothers.

"Mostly because of a job," Carrie answered.

Just then the waiter arrived at the table with multiple plates balanced on his arms and hands.

"Huh! Food is here. The smell of the spices is making me hungry," Raj said, rubbing his hands together. Before serving the food to Carrie, Raj took a small taste of each dish to make sure that it wasn't too spicy for Carrie. Although Carrie was flattered by his attention and concern, she'd noticed that other customers were laughing and whispering about them.

"Don't be over-protective, Raj. I'm a grown woman; I can handle food."

"Okay. But if you think it's too spicy, take a sip of the lassi. It should help," Raj suggested.

"Don't worry about it! I'll be fine. So you can really cook all of this?"

"Of course."

"Did your mom teach you?" Carrie started to scoop food onto her plate.

As usual, Raj fumbled with the question. "Um, yeah. Yeah, my mother taught me," he replied. He really didn't want to ruin the evening with his sad story.

"Really! And you learned everything?" Carrie asked.

"Sure. Otherwise she wouldn't have let me come here. After I got my visa, she kept me in the kitchen with her for almost two months." Raj regretting the lie, but he wasn't ready to share the truth.

"She must be so proud of you now," Carrie said, taking a bite of shrimp curry. She picked up her water glass and took a long drink.

Raj let out an ironic laugh. "Oh, yeah. Mom's always telling me how proud she is of me," he replied sarcastically. Carrie didn't seem to notice. "So, do you like the food?" Raj watched her take a few bites of vegetable jaifrezi.

"Yes. It's very good. I told you I like spicy food." Carrie's face had already developed a noticeable flush, but she was determined not to admit that the food was far too spicy for her. Raj flagged the waiter over and asked for sugar.

"Here," Raj offered. "Take a bit of sugar on your finger when you need to."

Carrie gave an embarrassed laugh. "Well, so much for my famous poker face," she replied, dipping her finger into the sugar bowl. "So, Vijay and Lucky were your friends in India?" Carrie began doing sugar chasers with nearly every bite of her food.

"No. I met them here at the university and we decided to live together," Raj answered.

"They're very funny," Carrie said.

"Yeah, we have a lot of fun together. We're like a small family."

Carrie tried to eat some more of her food, but the spices were too much, and she finally gave up in defeat. Raj asked the waiter to pack the food in a takeout container and then he ordered gulab jamuns for dessert. The syrupy sweetness of the gulab jamuns counteracted the burning in Carrie's mouth, and she began to relax again. Raj paid the bill, leaving a big tip for the student waiter, and they left the restaurant.

"Thank you so much for dinner, Raj. I'd love to spend some more time together. I like being with you," Carrie confessed as she hugged him. Raj awkwardly put his arms around her and patted her back. Carrie took his hand and put it around her waist, and they walked towards the subway.

When they got to her apartment, Carrie took a pen out of her purse and wrote her number on Raj's palm. It was a clichéd move, but Raj didn't seem like the kind of guy who would know that. Carrie kissed his cheek, thanked him again, and said goodnight.

Raj waited until she was safe inside the double doors before he turned to leave. Carrie had caught him off-guard. He'd never believed that a girl that beautiful would be interested in him. Raj looked down at his palm and smiled, and then headed off to the subway, careful to keep his hands out of his pockets so that he didn't smudge her writing.

Uncharacteristically, but with Vijay and Lucky's prodding, Raj decided to call her the next evening, and after their first phone call, Carrie began to spend a lot of her free time with the boys. She took them all over the city to museums and restaurants and concerts, almost all of which they attended for free because of her professional contacts. They celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas together, and on New Year's Eve, they all went skating at Rockefeller Center and huddled together and drank hot chocolate while they watched the ball drop in Times Square. Carrie's energy and enthusiasm were infectious, and Lucky, Vijay, and Raj were thrilled to see and experience New York in a way they never could have without Carrie. She, in turn, enjoyed the friendships she was building. Carrie had finally grown comfortable enough with Raj that she no longer felt like a bumbling idiot around him, but the butterflies in her stomach hadn't gone away. Her feelings for him were growing, despite her efforts to control herself. If she kept this up much longer, she was afraid that she just might end up falling in love.

***

By the first week in January, the university posted the grades for the fall semester, and as expected, Vijay had excelled and Raj's performance was fairly average. Lucky, on the other hand, had achieved perfect scores in all of his subjects, making up for his below-average midterm performance. He gave all the credit to Goddess Lakshmi, and not wanting to tempt fate, he decided to continue to stay away from Anna and all other girls. He had to do everything in his power to keep Goddess Lakshmi happy.

As with any other university, there were few secrets within the student body, and Vijay and Lucky quickly cemented their reputation among their peers as the new academic hotshots. Their sudden fame polarized their class, as some students vied to become friends with them, while others kept their distance, seething with competitive jealousy. Dan was in the latter group, though he was not so much competitive as just plain jealous and pissed. He had barely made passing grades in his subjects, despite the fact that his dad's money had paid for several tutors. He knew he was in real danger of being dismissed from the institute, and his family would never stand for that. They would disown him or kill him; he wasn't sure which. Dan's grades in the spring term would have to be outstanding if he was going to avoid disqualification, but the tutors weren't doing the trick. They were good, but they could only work with what they had, which in Dan's case, wasn't much.

Dan stewed about his problems for several days, until one afternoon he was sitting outside in the commons, smoking a cigarette, when he happened to see Lucky and his new group of friends enter the library. Dan watched the scene with a look of contempt, slowly blowing rings of smoke out of his mouth. Stupid PIGS. So what if they were smart, Dan thought. Look at the way they dress. Where did they find their clothes, a dumpster? Nothing ever fit. Their pants were always too short, their sleeves too long, their sweaters unraveling, pilling, and sometimes threadbare. And their haircuts. Did their mommies cut it for them? Ridiculous. Dan stared at Lucky and decided he was either too oblivious or too poor to take any pride in his appearance. Maybe his groupies could start a donation jar to help Lucky get a decent haircut or some new clothes, or some laser skin lightening for his dirty looking face.

"Stupid kid doesn't even have enough money in his pocket for a subway ride, yet here he is, strutting his ass around like he's somebody important," Dan mumbled to himself. "Can't even afford a pair of pants that are longer than his ankles, or a coat that doesn't look like he stole it from the bum he passed on the street. Can't even afford..." Dan stopped in mid-sentence. He quickly snubbed out his cigarette and ran up the steps to the library.

Students were surprised to see Dan in the library, but he just waived amicably to everyone as he strode through the lobby, looking for Lucky. He spotted him, and walked towards him purposefully.

Lucky saw Dan's quick stride in his peripheral vision and he looked around frantically for the best escape route. He jumped out his chair, abandoning his books, but Dan grabbed him by his sweater. "Hey, dude, not so fast! Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"What happened? What did I do?" Lucky said, the fear obvious in his voice.

"Nothing, man. I just want to talk to you," Dan replied. "Relax."

"What do you want?"

"Dude, seriously. Chill. Do you want something to drink?" Dan asked, his hand on Lucky's shoulder.

"In the library? No. It is not allowed," Lucky replied, giving in to the pressure Dan was putting on his shoulder and plopping down into a chair.

"Hmm, right. So you must be wondering why I want to talk to you, am I right?" Dan laughed. Lucky glanced around the library and noticed that everyone was looking at them.

"So let's not waste any more time." Dan sat in the chair opposite Lucky. "I heard that you could use a job." Lucky tried not to react. Dan leaned in closer. "Listen, I know you're from a poor area of India. My dad is also from India, so I have a lot of sympathy for you, man. I think I misjudged you before, and I wanted to apologize. We have a lot in common, you and me. I think we could be very good friends."

Lucky knew that Dan was a liar and that he was obviously up to something, but he couldn't imagine what it could be, so he kept quiet.

"Look, man, we had problems because of that bitch Anna. But she's gone! She doesn't belong to you or to me. So we're cool, right?" Dan asked, slapping Lucky on the back and laughing.

Lucky wasn't happy about the way Dan spoke about Anna. "What do you want, Dan?" he snapped.

The librarian gave Dan a stern look.

"Hey, hey!" Dan said, lowering his voice to a whisper, his hands mockingly held in the air. "Don't get angry, little man! I'm trying to be your friend. Listen, I just want you to help me out with my studies, that's all. You know...do my homework and papers. I'll pay you for it. How about a thousand dollars, how does that sound?"

Lucky glared at Dan. His advisor had assured Lucky an on-campus job if he did well, and he couldn't have done better than the 4.0 he'd earned in the fall. But a thousand dollars was a lot of money, and Dan was also a management major, so his assignments would be very easy for Lucky, and he could certain use the extra cash...

No. Working for Dan would be too humiliating, and Lucky knew that Dan wasn't going to stop harassing him. In fact, he was pretty sure that the bullying would only get worse if he started working for Dan. He was also afraid of getting caught, since he knew that cheating in the American education system could carry severe consequences. Most importantly, Dan had called Anna a bitch. Lucky might have decided to stay away from Anna, but he still had good feelings for her. His anger rose into his cheeks, and he briefly thought of punching Dan in the face, but he looked at Dan's arms and then at his own and decided against that plan. Instead, Lucky stood up, flipped Dan the middle finger, and walked away.

Dan jumped up from his chair. "Two thousand!" Lucky didn't break his stride. "Three thousand dollars," Dan said in a voice too loud for the library and much too loud for the unsavory bargain he was trying to strike with Lucky. Lucky whipped around, and Dan smiled. Lucky held up both middle fingers, thrust them at Dan, and ran into the elevator, frantically pushing the button to close the doors before Dan could catch up.

Lucky breathed a sigh of relief when the doors finally shut. It felt good to stand up to an asshole like Dan. He closed his eyes and took a moment to bask in the glow of superiority, but unfortunately, the feeling would be short-lived. Lucky had no idea what destiny had planned for him in the days and weeks to come.
Chapter 9

Lucky was alone at the gas station the night that two men wearing masks ran up to the counter and demanded that he hand over all of the cash in the register. Lucky had never seen a gun before, and now one was being pointed at his head.

Lucky froze in fear while the men kept screaming at him to open the register. He knew there was nothing he could do; even without the gun, he was outnumbered and physically no match for the thugs. His hands trembled as he opened the register and gathered the cash, handing it over as warm urine began soaking the front of his pants and dripping down his pant leg, creating a small pool on the floor. The men left as quickly as they'd come, and Lucky stood motionless for several minutes, hyperventilating and praying that the men didn't return. He wasn't sure if the terror he felt was because of the robbery or because he knew that if the police got involved, he'd be arrested and deported for working illegally. Lucky decided to call the station owner, and after hanging up with him, he grabbed a roll of paper towels and bleach and tried to clean the floor, although he couldn't do anything about his pants.

Thirty minutes later, Aakash and his brother Dilip, the owner of the gas station, arrived. Lucky was still shaken up, and tears stained his face. He explained what had happened to the brothers, and Dilip checked the security camera to verify Lucky's story.

Dilip was extremely agitated. "I lost almost five thousand dollars! Why aren't the police here? When did you call them?" Dilip had a full beard and broad shoulders, and his anger was palpable. He hardly ever showed up at the station, entrusting the daily management responsibilities to his brother Aakash, so Lucky had no experience or relationship with Dilip, and found him to be extremely intimidating.

"Sir, I'm sorry sir, I did not call the police," Lucky replied softly, trying to hide the front of his pants.

"What? Speak up! You didn't call the police? Why not?" Dilip thundered. Lucky looked to Aakash for help, but Aakash remained silent in front of his big brother.

"Sir, I am foreign student. I am not supposed to work here. If the police come to know they will arrest me and deport me to India," Lucky explained.

"That's your problem! I want my money back," Dilip replied rudely as he paced the floor.

"Bhai..." Aakash pleaded, looking at his brother. Dilip shot him an icy look, and Dilip cast his eyes downwards, knowing not to interfere again.

"Sir, please do not call the police," Lucky begged. "I want to complete my degree. I cannot go back. My family has big hopes from me...sir...please." Lucky began to cry.

"Then who will find these thieves? If police don't file a report, then the insurance company will not pay me and I will lose all my money. What about that? Who will give me my money back? You?" Dilip shouted at Lucky, taking his frustration and anger out on him.

Lucky didn't know how to respond. There was no way he could possibly come up with that much money, so he just lowered his head and kept quiet like Aakash. Dilip turned to one of the shelving displays and kicked it hard, scattering Hostess cupcakes and packages of Twizzlers across the dirty, tiled floor. Lucky cringed. Dilip ran his hands through his hair and stroked his beard, then pulled out his cellphone and started dialing.

"Bhai...Who are you calling?" Aakash asked.

"Who do you think I'm calling, Aakash?"

"Bhai...please...Bhai...leave it," Aakash requested.

"No! I need my money. I can't lose it," Dilip replied, waiting to be connected to the 911 operator.

Lucky realized what was happening and dropped to Dilip's feet. "Sir...please sir, I beg of you, please do not call police!"

Dilip wouldn't even look at Lucky, but Lucky persisted. He was beyond the point of shame, and would do or say anything to convince Dilip to hang up the phone. He knew that once the police watched the tape, they'd want to talk to him, and he couldn't afford to have that conversation.

"Wait! I will pay," Lucky cried out. "I will pay that money to you....mom swear," Lucky promised, his eyes turned upwards toward Dilip.

"911 operator, what is your emergency?" Lucky could hear the woman's voice over the phone, and tugged incessantly at Dilip's pants. He whispered to him again. "Please, sir. I will pay you every penny, I swear."

Dilip looked down at his feet. "Are you sure?"

Lucky shook his head vigorously. "Yes, yes, please..."

"Hello? Is anyone there? Please state your emergency..."

Dilip cut the call, and Lucky collapsed on the floor in tears. Returning five thousand dollars meant that he would have to work at the station for free for almost the entire semester. Lucky had no idea how he would he pay for his living expense or send money to his family in India, but he was still overwhelmed with relief. "I will work for you free for three, four months," Lucky said, wiping his tears and gathering his feet underneath him as he stood up on shaky legs.

Dilip eyed him suspiciously. "If you run, I will call the police and they will find you. Do you understand?" Lucky nodded. "Do you have a school ID?" Lucky nodded again. "Give it to me," Dilip demanded. Dilip made a photocopy, handed the ID back to Lucky, and left the station. Aakash stayed behind with Lucky, trying to comfort him, but it would be another hour before Lucky would stop shaking.

***

It was early morning when Lucky got off the subway and slowly began walking towards the apartment. After getting a 4.0 GPA in his first semester, he'd thought about quitting his job and focusing more on his studies and research. Now he was going to have to keep his job at the gas station and find a second job to support himself and his family back in India. Just the thought of it brought Lucky to tears again, and he sat down on the sidewalk and wept.

When Lucky finally reached home and unlocked the door to the apartment, he saw that Vijay and Raj were still sleeping. He closed the door quietly and slumped down against the wall. He had struggled his whole life to come here, and made so many sacrifices. And now, just when he began to think that maybe his life was finally taking a turn for the better, two thieves had stolen everything from him. They didn't just steal five thousand dollars; they stole Lucky's faith and his future. They stole his family's future. Lucky couldn't see through the tears streaming down his face, and he rubbed at his eyes with his shirtsleeve. Standing up abruptly, Lucky walked over to the window, grabbed the statue of Goddess Lakshmi in his hand, and with all of his strength, he threw it against the wall, shattering it into hundreds of pieces.

Vijay and Raj awoke with a start and jumped up defensively, unsure of what had happened. They saw that Lucky had come home, and the statue that he had worshipped day and night littered their wood floor. They tried to wipe the sleep out of their eyes, unable to believe what they saw.

Lucky stared at the broken statue and then threw himself to the floor, sobbing and crying out in his native language. Vijay and Raj rushed to him and tried to console him, having no idea what had happened to put him into this state of distress. Lucky was hyperventilating, and just kept crying and speaking Tamil.

"Lucky! Is everything okay with your family?" Vijay asked. Lucky managed to nod. Raj ran to the kitchen and filled a glass with water. He handed it to Lucky and told him to take a drink. Lucky tried, but choked on it, spitting water out all over Raj. Raj didn't care, and encouraged him to try again after he'd taken a few deep breaths. Lucky was finally able to take a few sips and calm down enough to talk. He relayed the whole story of the robbery to his friends, and Vijay and Raj sat beside him with their arms around him.

"Now I have to work for free, and I will have no money!" Lucky cried.

"It's okay, Lucky. Raj and I make enough to cover the apartment and our living expenses."

"You do not understand, Vijay. My whole life, I always shared my family's faith that no matter what happened in my life that the gods are looking out for us and they will not let us suffer too much as long as we keep them happy. So I pray and I pray, every day, for good things for my family. I pray that I will be able achieve greatness and help them live the better life. But after tonight what happened, now I know better. These men, they came and took what was not theirs and ruined everything for me, but there is no punishment for them. Why, Vijay? Why do I have all these problems since I was born? Praying to gods will solve the problems of my life is just stupid childhood fantasy. I am not stupid guy, but until tonight I have been behaving stupid. But it is okay. Now I know that only person I can count on is me. I am done wasting the time praying to gods that do not exist. Lakshminarayanan Durgalakshminath will make his own destiny."

Raj and Vijay listened sympathetically, but didn't know how to react while they watched their friend's entire belief system break down before their eyes.

"You know," Lucky continued, "with no money, I cannot send anything to India and my father and sister depend on my salary for their medicines. Without these medicines, they will get very sick." At the thought of his family, Lucky began to cry. "I work full-time at gas station, and I do not have much time for studying anyways. Now I have to find second job. But even if I find one, there is no way I can do school and two full-time jobs and keep up the grades. If my grades suffer, I will lose the scholarship and I cannot afford tuition from my pocket. All of my dreams are over." Lucky couldn't believe how bad luck seemed to just follow him throughout his life, and he felt trapped in a vicious cycle of never-ending problems. Unfortunately his friends were at a loss as to how to help.

The sound of Lucky's weeping stopped so abruptly that Vijay and Raj were taken aback. A strange look came over Lucky's face as he wiped at his tears. "I make my own destiny," he said again, almost to himself. Then he turned to his friend. "Vijay, I think I know what to do."

"What?" Vijay asked.

"Few weeks before, Dan asked me to do his assignments and papers. He was ready to pay even three thousand dollars," Lucky replied.

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him no. I did not want to work for such big asshole," Lucky replied.

"So you think he's going to be nice to you now?" Vijay asked.

"Nice? No, not nice. But I do not have other option. I need the money. I will get no salary from now onwards and I need to send money to India this week. How do I do that?" Lucky asked. Vijay shrugged.

"Lucky, I think that this job with Dan is your best option, at least for now," Raj said, speaking up. "If you're working for him, then you'd be spending time at the university, which would help you manage your studies also. And maybe we can help you with the assignments and share your workload."

Lucky put a hand on Raj's shoulder. "You are right. I think this is the only way I can get out of this," Lucky replied. He sighed heavily. "You know, I showed him my middle finger twice. He is going fuck me back. Hard."

"Just do it for one semester and then everything will be okay," Raj replied. "Who cares about his attitude?"

Vijay had said nothing about Lucky's plan. He was not comfortable with the idea of Lucky helping Dan to cheat, and could think of a million things that could go wrong with the plan, but since he didn't have a better suggestion, he kept his opinion to himself.

***

After a short nap, Lucky took a shower and changed into clean clothes. He needed to get to the university and find Dan. An hour later, he found Dan in the cafeteria.

"Hi," Lucky said, sitting across from him at the table.

"Oh, hi! My poor Indian friend! Did you eat? Do you want my food?" Dan laughed jovially, acting as though he had forgotten Lucky's last encounter with him. He pushed his plate towards Lucky.

"I will help you with the assignments," Lucky said in soft voice.

"What? I can't hear you," Dan said. "Did you say that you want to work for me?"

Lucky nodded and Dan laughed even more loudly, pounding his fist on the table. He put his feet up only inches from Lucky's face. "What happened to those tiny middle fingers? Are they hiding in your pants today?" Dan mocked.

Lucky knew this was just the beginning, but he had no choice. "I need money," Lucky said. "Three thousand dollars."

"Hohoho! I did not say three thousand, little man," Dan said.

Lucky predicted this tactic, and stood up to leave.

"Wait, wait, angry young man!" Dan jumped up and grabbed him by the coat. "You want three thousand? You have to do it for all three classes."

Lucky sighed and sat back down. This new development didn't surprise him either. He knew that Dan would take advantage of his desperation, but Lucky didn't hold any of the cards. "Okay. Three thousand for all three classes."

Dan smiled and put his feet back on the table, crossing his hands behind his head. "I'm real glad we reached an agreement, Lucky. I think you and I are going to be best forever friends."

Chapter 10

The snow had begun to fall, and temperatures in the city dropped drastically. Vijay and Lucky had never seen snow before, so they were initially very excited about snowball fights, making snowmen and snow angels, and the beauty of New York when the soft, white, glistening powder blanketed the dirty streets. Once the novelty wore off, however, they were left with nothing but bitter cold temperatures, blackened mounds of hard packed snow, and icy sidewalks, and their enthusiasm waned.

The basement apartment wasn't properly heated, so Mr. Hernandez gave Vijay a space heater, but it didn't work properly. Fortunately Vijay was able to fix it, and they kept the heater running nonstop in an effort to keep their apartment at a bearable temperature. Being from Kashmir, Raj was used to the cold, but Vijay and Lucky had never experienced temperatures below 60 degree Fahrenheit. A New York City winter was a very difficult adjustment for them, but Raj had a good number of winter garments that he shared with Vijay and Lucky, and slowly they began to acclimatize themselves. Still, Vijay ended up spending more time than usual at the university, and the school's reliable heating was not his only reason for doing so.

For the spring term, Vijay and Hina had registered for the exact same courses, and they would always sit beside each other in the classroom, and one would never eat lunch without the other. From the moment Hina entered the university, she spent every minute of her day with Vijay either in class, eating, or studying with him in the library or his lab. Yet despite their inseparability, neither one of them ever discussed their feelings for the other.

On Valentine's Day, Vijay decided it was time to change that. He spent an hour in a local shop, searching for just the right romantic card, and then he bought a single, long-stemmed red rose. He wore nice clothes, took his time shaving that morning, and left home early for school. The moment he saw Hina, he wanted to tell her how much he loved her, but he couldn't muster the courage. He spent the entire morning and early afternoon with the rose and the card tucked away in his bag, hoping that the right opportunity to confess his feelings would present itself. Hina on the other hand, didn't seem to be aware of the day's significance, and while sitting in their last class of the day, Vijay stared at her face and wondered how was going to tell her the truth.

After class was over, Vijay stepped outside the room while Hina stayed behind to speak to the professor. He needed to get some air and clear his mind, having been consumed with anxiety the entire day over the situation with Hina. While he stood leaning against the wall, Nadira walked by and waived at him. Vijay absent-mindedly returned her waive, and then lightening struck.

"Nadira, wait!" Vijay shouted. Nadira turned around and saw Vijay running up to her. "Nadira, I..." Vijay stumbled, not finding the words he needed. She stood there with a puzzled look, waiting for him to continue, but Vijay lost the ability to speak. Sheepishly he reached into his bag and pulled out the rose and the card. Nadira gasped at him in horror.

"Vijay, what are you doing?"

Vijay looked at her expression and suddenly realized his mistake. "Oh, no, no!" he replied as Nadira took a step away from him. "Sorry, sorry. It's not for you. It's for Hina," he explained. Nadira stared at him for a moment and then burst into laughter.

"Oh, thank God, Vijay! But why are you showing me?"

"Because I need your help. I can't do it, Nadira. I tried."

"Seriously, Vijay? What are we, in grade school?" she said disapprovingly. "Would you like me to pass her a note in class, too?" Nadira gently scolded him. Hina had never talked to Nadira about her feelings for Vijay, but she knew that Vijay's being Hindu was going to be a major issue with Hina's family. And although Nadira suspected that Hina cared for Vijay as more than just a friend, she wasn't sure that she'd ever be ready to admit her true feelings for him, and for that reason, Nadira was hesitant to talk to her on Vijay's behalf. But Vijay just stood there like a little lost puppy, and Nadira could tell that his heart was about to burst from his chest.

"Oh, Vijay, you poor bastard. You owe me one." Nadira grabbed the card and rose from his hands and strode into the classroom where Hina was still in a deep conversation with the instructor. Nadira slipped the rose and the card into Hina's bag and walked back out of the classroom without a word. Vijay rewarded Nadira with a huge smile, and Nadira responded by smacking him on the back of his head. But as she walked off, she couldn't help but smile and secretly hope that Vijay got his Valentine's Day wish.

Vijay was relieved not to have to face Hina directly, but he was concerned about her finding the gifts too soon, so when Hina came to meet him outside the classroom, he made an excuse about needing to go home immediately.

"Is everything okay, Vijay?"

"Yes, yes. I just...uh, Raj needs me to help with dinner. I think he invited a friend over, and Lucky can't cook at all, so...well, I have to go. I'm sorry to leave you like this, but I'll make it up to you! We'll study an extra hour tomorrow, okay?"

Hina was surprised and perhaps a little disappointed, but she didn't let it show. "Okay, sure Vijay. Have a nice evening with your friends," she said, and began to walk down the hallway towards the library. Vijay watched her go, and a few seconds later, she turned back and smiled at him, offering him a little waive of her hand. Vijay's heart swelled, and he did a little dance before he turned around and walked the other way. Happy Valentines Day, Hina.

Raj's evening was already starting off well. Carrie had invited him over for a Valentine's dinner, and Raj wore the same Kashmiri suit he had chosen for their restaurant date, since it was the only suit he owned. When he rang Carrie's doorbell, she buzzed him in the building's front entrance and then opened the door to her apartment and waited for him to climb the stairway. The sight of her took Raj's breath away. She was wearing a red wrap dress that showed off her slim figure, and a red rosebud was tucked behind her ear, holding back her long, blonde hair. Carrie welcomed him with a warm hug and then closed the door behind them. She took Raj's hand in hers and led him into the living room, where he sat down on the sofa and waited while Carrie checked on dinner and turned on some music. When she was finished, she joined him on the couch.

"You look beautiful," Raj said.

"Thank you. What would you like to drink?" Carrie asked.

"Nothing, I'm good," Raj said, feeling too shy to ask for anything.

"How about some juice?" she offered, knowing that he didn't drink alcohol. Raj nodded, and Carrie went to the kitchen and brought back a glass of orange juice for Raj and a glass of red wine for herself.

"Did you go to work today?" Raj asked.

"No. My apartment was a mess and you were coming over, so I took the day off to clean," she said, setting her glass down on the coffee table. "How about you? How was your day?" Carrie asked.

"I went shopping," Raj replied.

"Really? What did you buy?"

"Hmm... close your eyes," Raj requested.

"Why?" Carrie said with a smile.

"Just do it."

"Okay," Carrie said, closing her eyes expectantly. She heard what sounded like Raj rifling through his jacket pocket, and after a moment, he asked her to open her eyes.

Carrie's saw him holding a small box with a pair of beautiful jhumkas, and she squealed with excitement. The red, two-layered chandelier drop earrings were exquisite.

"Raj, they're beautiful! Are they really for me?" Carrie inquired, her hands clasped together in front of her in anticipation.

"Well, I definitely didn't buy them for me," Raj laughed.

"Oh, thank you!" Carrie squealed. "Give me a second." She went to the bedroom and tried on the earrings. Just as she'd thought, they were the perfect accompaniment to her dress.

As she was looking at herself in the mirror, Raj walked into the bedroom and stood behind her.

"Do you like them?" he asked.

"Like them? I love them! They'll go perfectly with my Indian dress, too. Thank you so much," Carrie replied, turning around and hugging Raj again.

"Oh! I also have something for you," she said, grabbing his hand and leading him back to the living room.

She reached for the red envelope hidden in flowers on the coffee table and handed it to Raj. He opened it to find a Valentine's Day card, and read the note Carrie had inscribed.

Dear Raj,

Since the first day I met you, I've never stopped thinking about you. You are such a unique person, and the times I have spent with you have been the best days of my life. I trust you with all my heart. Will you trust me with yours?

I love you.

Carrie

Raj read the short note a few times and slowly closed the card before looking at Carrie. She was sitting on the edge of the couch, her arm resting on his, waiting for a response. "I'm sorry," Raj said. Carrie looked as though he'd slapped her. "I can't," Raj repeated. "I'm sorry."

Carrie tried to regain her composure and struggled not to cry. "Oh my God, I feel like such an idiot. You don't love me?" Carrie's voice quivered.

"It's not about that," Raj replied sullenly.

"Then what's it about?" she asked harshly.

"It's not about you. It's about me."

Carrie shook her head in disgust. "It's not you, it's me," she said sarcastically, almost to herself. No. Don't judge him by your other relationships, Carrie. She took a deep breath. "Okay, what about you?"

Raj looked at her and then rubbed the worry lines on his forehead. "I can't lie to you anymore, Carrie. You don't really know me. I don't even know me."

"What do you mean, I don't know you? Did you lie to me about something?" Carrie said, her heart skipping a beat and her stomach rolling. "Are you hiding something from me?"

Raj was torn. He'd always been a private person, and sharing his life and his problems did not come naturally to him. Although he could imagine spending his life with Carrie, finding his parents took precedence over everything and everyone else. He could never give up on finding them and discovering the truth about himself, and until he knew everything about his past, he had no future – not with Carrie or anyone. But as he looked at the pained expression on her face and the fear in her eyes, he understood that his secrecy and his obsessive need to keep people at an emotional distance was once again hurting another human being, and his intention was never to cause anyone pain. The least he owed her was honesty, so he took the locket out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Carrie.

"I don't understand. What's this?" Carrie asked.

"Open it," Raj replied. Carrie unhooked the clasp and looked at the pictures inside. "I lied to you about my parents, Carrie. My mom isn't proud of me and she didn't teach me how to cook. I don't even know who my parents are. I just have this locket, and I believe that those people are my parents who abandoned me when I was born. They're the reason I'm here in America. I came here to find them," Raj explained.

For the next half hour, Raj gave Carrie the abbreviated version of everything that had happened in his life, right up until that very moment between the two of them on the couch. Carrie was stunned into silence. She could feel Raj's pain, and as Raj talked, she kept wiping his tears first and then her own. She was relieved that he'd trusted her enough to open himself up to her, and she wasn't angry with him for lying. The truth didn't change her feelings for him; if anything, his honesty made her more confident about her feelings.

She took Raj's head in her lap and gently ran her fingers through his hair. "It's okay, Raj. Everything will be fine. I'll help you find your parents. I'm glad you trusted me enough to tell me the truth." Carrie hesitated. Oh, what the heck? One more try, Carrie. "I love you, Raj," she said softly and with trepidation, steeling herself for disappointment and hurt.

Raj looked up at her face and traced her jaw with the tips of his fingers. "I love you, too," he replied.

Carrie drew in a quick breath. It was the first time he'd said it, and for a moment, they just looked at each other, and then Raj gently touched her bottom lip. Carrie closed her eyes and lowered her face closer to Raj. Propping himself up on his elbow, Raj reached behind her head with his right hand and gently pulled her lips down to meet his. He lightly brushed against them, hesitantly, and Carrie's lips opened in response. She felt electricity flow throughout her body as her mouth encouraged his. Raj stood up and lifted Carrie into his arms, and she rested her head against his chest as he carried her into the bedroom.

Raj laid Carrie on the bed and removed his jacket. His hands reached to remove the rose from her hair, and his lips sought hers again, this time with more confidence. Carrie grabbed Raj's shirt and pulled him down on top of her. She kissed him passionately, and Raj's body responded. His breathing was ragged as he pushed himself away from her and held her at arm's length for a moment. "Great, just what the world needs. One more Brit dominating a poor Indian," Raj said.

Carrie giggled. "Well...what would you say if I offered to pay you back for whatever my ancestors did to your people...with interest?" Carrie teased, opening the buttons of Raj's shirt.

"I'd say that I don't think you can pay me back for 150 years of servitude with just one peace offering," Raj replied with a grin.

"Hmm...then I guess the only solution is to make it up to you for the rest of your life, huh?" Carrie stood up and untied the ends of her dress. Raj couldn't help but stare at her body as she slowly undressed. She wore black lace panties and a matching bra, and her breasts were full, her skin creamy white and soft. This time she draped herself on top of him, and as he felt her skin against his, he began to tremble. This was his first experience, and he couldn't control his feelings. After a few moments of kissing, Raj gently pushed her off of him.

"What happened?" Carrie asked, confused by his unexpected behavior.

"I need to go to the bathroom," Raj said, abruptly jumping up from the bed.

"Um...okay," Carrie replied as she self-consciously pulled the covers around her naked body. Raj turned around to look at her, and Carrie realized that his face wasn't flushed with passion, but with embarrassment. Raj's hands were in front of his pants, trying to hide the telltale spot. Carrie's eyes grew wide. "Oh, oh, OH!"

Raj's face turned an even deeper shade of crimson when he realized that she'd figured it out. "No, really, it's okay," Carrie said, trying to reassure him. Raj headed to the bathroom.

A thought suddenly struck Carrie. "Don't tell me you're a virgin!" she called out.

Raj replied from behind the closed bathroom door. "What do you think?"

Carrie fell back against the pillow and smiled. Just when she thought she couldn't possibly love Raj more than she already did, his innocence and honesty continued to surprise her and touch her heart in a way that no other man had been able to do.

***

When Raj unlocked the door to his apartment the following morning, Vijay and Lucky were already getting ready for school.

"Dude! Where were you whole night?" Lucky asked, not because he had been all that concerned, but because he was determined to tease and embarrass Raj into giving him all the juicy details.

"Nowhere" Raj responded.

"Usually you come very late, but you never were away for whole night," Lucky said.

"Yeah, Raj. We were extremely concerned about you," Vijay added, trying to hide his smirk.

Raj wasn't falling for it. "Where's the laundry bag?" he asked Vijay.

"You just did laundry two days ago," Vijay replied.

"Come on! He was away for whole night! His clothes must be very dirty. There must be lots of stains," Lucky said, laughing loudly.

Raj tried to hide his smile, but Vijay saw it. "Look, he smiles! That smile tells me he enjoyed his Valentine's Day. Or at least his Valentine's night!" Vijay grinned, handing him the bag.

"I'm smiling because you're being stupid!" Raj barked as he grabbed some clean clothes and went to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. When he came back out, he handed the laundry bag to Vijay.

Lucky walked over to Raj and whispered conspiratorially. "How many times?"

"What?" Raj pushed him away.

"Come on! Tell us! Now you are most experienced among us," Lucky said.

"He does have a point," Vijay said, as he patted Raj on the back.

Raj blushed in front of his friends. "You're both nuts," he said, grabbing the laundry bag out of Vijay's hands. He went to the kitchen and took a bottle of laundry soap out from under the sink and walked out of the apartment without another word. Vijay and Lucky looked at each other and broke out in laughter.

***

Vijay was happy that Raj had found companionship, perhaps even love, though Vijay wasn't sure what Raj felt for Carrie. But right at that moment, while Vijay sat waiting for his class to begin, he was too anxious about seeing Hina to give Raj and Carrie much more than a passing thought. He had not slept at all the previous night, and instead found himself lying awake and running through countless scenarios in his mind about how Hina might respond to the rose and the card that Nadira had placed in her bag. Vijay was nervous, but also excited. He fantasized that perhaps Hina had been so consumed by her thoughts for Vijay that she'd also found sleep hard to come by.

Vijay was still lost in his inner fantasy world when class began, and he realized with some alarm that Hina had not yet arrived. He tried to concentrate on the professor's lecture, and told himself that she was just running late. A couple of times the door opened and Vijay would look up quickly, only to be disappointed when he saw some other late-arriving student saunter in and take a seat in the back. The fifty-minute class dragged on for what seemed like an eternity, but Hina never showed. Vijay's heart was pounding with anxiety by the end of the class, and he decided to head to the lab in an effort to preoccupy himself. But every ten or fifteen minutes, Vijay would stop working and stick his head outside the lab door, hoping that he would see Hina walking down the hallway to come for a visit. By mid-afternoon, Vijay's anxiety had turned to dread. He had not seen Hina all day, and when she didn't show up for their second lecture, Vijay was beside himself with worry. Hina had never skipped class, and this was twice in one day. Was it possible that she didn't feel the same way he did, and decided she no longer wanted to see him?

After his second class ended, Vijay went to look for Nadira at several of her usual hangouts. He eventually found her in the student lounge, and Nadira told him that she hadn't seen her or spoken to Hina since placing Vijay's gifts in her bag the day before. Nadira took out her phone and tried Hina's number, but the call went straight to voicemail. Nadira put the phone away and looked at Vijay. "Let's go to the library," she suggested. "Maybe she skipped her classes so she could study, and turned her phone off so it wouldn't disturb people." Vijay didn't believe that Hina would skip class to study, but he couldn't think of a better suggestion, and he was supposed to meet Lucky and Raj at the library in a few minutes anyway, so he agreed.

Vijay and Nadira were walking on the footpath behind the library when three men suddenly appeared in front of them and blocked their way. "Shoaib, what are you doing here? And where is Hina?" Nadira asked with barely disguised irritation. Vijay didn't recognize any of the men, and had never seen them before at the university, but obviously Nadira knew at least one of them.

"None of your business, whore," the man replied, shoving Nadira. Nadira didn't see it coming, and she stumbled to the ground, scraping her hands on the hard-packed dirt. One of the other men grabbed Vijay before he could react.

"Hey! Who are you?" Vijay yelled. The man twisted Vijay's arm behind his back and held him while the one Nadira had called Shoaib slapped Vijay across the face. As Vijay cried out, he felt a hand cover his mouth from behind, and Shoaib punched Vijay hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. "How could a kafir like you even look at my sister?"

Hina's brother, Vijay realized.

Nadira tried to get up, but the third man shoved her back down to the ground. With his mouth still covered, Vijay couldn't scream, and Shoaib grabbed him by the shoulders and drove his knee deep into Vijay's abdomen. "How could you dare send dirty letters to my sister?" he seethed as Vijay doubled over. Vijay struggled to stay upright, but his knees buckled beneath him and he grimaced in pain as the arm that was pinned behind his back prevented his decent to the ground. Shoaib could see that Vijay had no fight in him, so he nodded to his friend to release Vijay's arm. With his arm free, Vijay fell to the ground suddenly, and Shoaib grabbed a handful of his hair, pulling his face upwards. Shoaib's voice was low and threatening. "If you talk to her...if you look at her...if you even think about her ever again, Khuda kasam, I will kill you."

The man holding Nadira at bay looked at Shoaib. "Man, let's get out of here. You made your point." Shoaib turned back to Vijay, kicked him once more, and spit on his face. The three men then left quickly, sprinting to a nearby parking lot and jumping into a parked car.

Nadira stood up and looked at her bloodied hands before running over to Vijay. "Vijay! Are you okay? Are you hurt badly?"

Vijay's hand clutched his stomach. "Nadira, go," he gasped, pulling his hand away from his stomach long enough to point at the library. "Lucky...Raj." Nadira understood and ran to the library's back door, heaving it open with all of her strength and disappearing inside. Less than a minute later, Lucky and Raj ran out through the same door and knelt down beside Vijay.

"Vijay, seriously, are you okay?" Nadira asked again, on the verge of tears.

Lucky tried to lift Vijay, but he wasn't very strong and Vijay couldn't stand. Raj got on the other side and helped pull Vijay to his feet. "Who did this to you?" Raj asked, his voice full of anger.

"It was Hina's brother!" Nadira replied since Vijay couldn't talk.

Lucky grabbed Vijay's bag. "Where should we take him?" he asked Raj.

"Somewhere we can talk," Raj replied. "Not the library." The group decided on the cafeteria, since it was close and most of the lunch crowd would have already left. Slowly they made their way to the other building, with Raj and Lucky supporting Vijay, and Nadira walking behind them, wiping her tears and obsessing over her scraped hands.

There were only a handful of students in the cafeteria when they arrived, and Raj chose a table in a far corner. They sat Vijay down in a chair, his arm still wrapped protectively around his stomach and ribs.

"Why did Hina's brother beat you?" Raj asked. Vijay looked up at his friend and broke down in tears.

"Vijay, are you hurt that bad?" Lucky said, pushing past Nadira. "Should we take you to hospital?" Lucky asked.

"No," Vijay said through his tears. "I'm not worried about me. I'm worried about Hina." Nadira explained to Raj and Lucky about the Valentine's Day gifts, and how she'd put them in Hina's bag for Vijay. Raj was furious and he clenched and unclenched his fists in anger. He wished he'd been with Vijay when he'd run into those assholes. He was sure that the encounter would have ended very differently. Meanwhile, Lucky had gone to get Vijay something to drink, and returned with a bottle of water. He handed it to Vijay, who gulped the whole thing down. The group sat in silence while Vijay regained some of his strength.

"I'm okay now," Vijay said finally.

"Vijay, I'm so sorry," Nadira said, her face full of worry. "I shouldn't have agreed to put those things in her bag. That was my mistake. I should have told you about her family. They're extremely orthodox. They won't tolerate any man talking to Hina, but you're Hindu, and they'll kill you and then they'll kill her if you even think about her again."

"But why did she even tell them about my card? Maybe she doesn't like me the way I like her, or the way I thought she liked me," Vijay said, the awful implications of that possibility hitting him harder in the gut than Shoaib had.

"I don't think she told them," Nadira replied gently. "Shoaib must have found the card."

"But this is not the way to treat anyone. We should file the complaint with the university," Lucky said indignantly.

"A complaint against who? Hina? Because her brother isn't a student here, so they can't do anything to him," Nadira replied.

"Well then where can I find him? I will fucking beat the crap out of him!" Raj exploded. Two students sitting on the opposite side of the cafeteria turned their heads to look at Raj, then gathered their books and left.

"It's okay, Raj," Vijay said, putting his hand on his friend's arm, trying to calm him down. "I don't care if he beats me. I'm more upset about Hina."

Nadira moved her chair closer to Vijay's. "Vijay, believe me. Hina and I are childhood friends. I can read her eyes. I know she likes you. But I also know that what you want is next to impossible. Her family would never approve if she were to admit her love for you. Please try to understand. I'm afraid that if you pursue this, they will stop her schooling now. Or maybe worse. If you truly love Hina, the best thing you could do for her is just stay away. It's better for you and it's better for her." Nadira pulled her phone out of her purse and tried Hina's number again, but again it went to voicemail. This time she waited for the beep. "Hina, it's me, Nadira. Call me when you get this, right away. It's urgent."

"Dude. It is okay. Leave it. We are here in this country to make good career. We should not get involved in all these matters and get distracted," Lucky said. He leaned in closer to Vijay and lowered his voice. "You remember that these people killed your father. Do you think your mother is going to accept a Muslim girl as her only daughter-in-law?" Lucky asked.

Nadira's head snapped around and she looked at Lucky with anger in her eyes, but decided to keep quiet for now. Vijay felt bad for Nadira, but he didn't know how to respond to Lucky's comment, so he said nothing. Raj could also tell that Lucky's words had hurt Nadira's feelings, but Nadira was not his concern. In that moment, Raj's only concern was Vijay. He knew that his friend could barely stand, so getting him to the subway or from the subway to the apartment would be out of the question.

"Nadira, can I borrow your phone?" Raj asked. Nadira handed her phone to Raj, and he called Carrie and asked her to come with her car. "I'll explain everything later, Carrie. Just please come as soon as you can. We're in the cafeteria."

***

When Carrie arrived, she was surprised to see the whole group gathered at the table. "What happened?" she said, shocked at Vijay's appearance. Before Raj or Lucky could say anything, Vijay answered.

"A couple of lowlifes from town attacked me and stole my wallet." Vijay didn't want to tell her the truth, especially since she didn't know Hina.

"Oh my God! Did you call campus security or the police?"

"No. Just please take me home. I'll be fine," Vijay said, putting his hand over her phone as she started to dial 911. "Please, Carrie. Don't report this. I have my reasons."

"But Vijay, this wasn't your fault! You have to tell someone..." she protested. Raj looked at her and shook his head. Carrie let out an exasperated sigh and put her hands on her hips, looking at Raj, then at Vijay, then at Lucky, and finally at Nadira. No one said anything, but Lucky and Nadira wouldn't look her in the eye. "Seriously? Okay, guys. I don't know what's going on, but okay," she said, holding up her hands in defeat and then putting the phone back in her purse. Raj looked at her and mouthed "thank you."

Raj and Lucky helped Vijay to Carrie's car, and Raj instructed her on how to get to their apartment. This was the first time she was going to see the place, since up until today, Raj had been successful in keeping her away. But Vijay was in pain and needed the ride, so Raj put his embarrassment aside. He was serious about Carrie anyway, so it was time that she knew the truth about the conditions they lived in.

Carrie parked the car in front of the house, and as Raj and Lucky were helping Vijay out of the car, Carrie ran up the walkway to the front door of the house with the intention of holding the door open for them. She grabbed the screen door and pulled it open, but when she turned around, Raj, Lucky, and Vijay were walking down the sloped driveway towards another door.

"Not the first floor...the basement," Raj called out over his shoulder.

Carrie stood there for a minute, still holding the door handle. She couldn't imagine all three of them living in a basement apartment, but she tried to hide the surprised look on her face and retraced her steps, following the boys down towards the outside basement door.

Lucky opened the door and Raj helped Vijay to lie down on some blankets. Carrie stood outside the apartment, trying to get a glimpse from outside. Raj had never talked about their apartment and had always avoided taking her there, and now she realized why.

"Come on in," Raj called out. "Surprised?"

Carrie tentatively stepped inside and looked around. She didn't know what to say, but with four people in that tiny space, she'd already begun to feel claustrophobic.

Lucky walked into the kitchen and took ice out of the freezer. Carrie forced herself to get over her shock, and ran over to Lucky. "Wait! I'll do it, Lucky. Can I have a towel?" Lucky nodded and handed her a dishtowel, which Carrie used to wrap the ice. She went to Vijay, who was laying on the ground, and she sat down cross-legged next to him. "Where did they hit you?" she asked. Vijay pointed to his stomach, and she lifted his shirt gently and applied the compress to his abdomen. Vijay jumped at the sudden coldness on his skin, then smiled at Carrie weakly.

"So," Raj looked at Carrie. "You always wanted me to prove to you that I cook, right? Well, today is the day. What would you like to eat?"

Carrie thought she was aware of Raj's struggles, but this was the first time that she was actually seeing the reality of his life with her own eyes, and she was still trying to process her feelings. "Anything is fine," she replied.

"Okay, I'll cook eggplant...your favorite. Is that okay?" Raj asked, heading to the kitchen. Carrie nodded silently and kept applying ice until Vijay began to feel better.

Lucky helped Raj in the kitchen for a few minutes and then sat down beside Vijay and Carrie. "So, do you like our apartment?" Lucky asked.

Carrie didn't reply, but instead brushed a wisp of Vijay's hair off his forehead in a soothing gesture.

"It is quiet cozy, no?" Lucky said, laughing to try to put her at ease. "Here is what is good about it. I can show entire apartment to you in few seconds without even moving. That is the kitchen, that is the bathroom and the place where you are sitting is our living room slash study room slash dining room slash bedroom," Lucky said, imitating Vijay and the conversation he'd had with him the first night they'd met. Despite himself, Vijay laughed and then immediately regretted it, grabbing his stomach again.

"You guys sleep here? Together?" Carrie said, finally breaking her silence. Raj was listening to their conversation carefully from the kitchen.

"Oh! Yes. Vijay sleeps in this corner, then Raj and I sleep at the end. Those are our beds," Lucky pointed towards the bed sheets and pillows on top of the bags in the corner. Vijay had started to feel better, and Carrie and Lucky helped him sit up and lean against the wall. Lucky then offered a chair to Carrie, and he sat back down on the ground. "This is better than where I lived in India during undergraduate studies. I had ten roommates and we used to take turns for sleeping because there was no space for ten people. I am the expert of sleeping while standing," Lucky said, laughing again. Carrie didn't seem to think there was anything funny about Lucky's story. In fact, she looked like she wanted to cry. Lucky decided to end the conversation, and Raj asked him to put papers on the floor and help him bring the pots and dishes over.

"Would you like to sit on the floor with us or in the chair?" Lucky asked Carrie while arranging the newspaper on the floor.

"Let her have the chair," Raj replied. He began scooping the food onto plates and passing them around. Vijay was still upset about Hina and shook his head when Raj handed him a plate. Lucky insisted, and when he realized Vijay was having trouble sitting properly to eat, Lucky put his own plate down and went to help Vijay.

Seeing Lucky's compassion cut Carrie to the bone. It wasn't even that he was helping Vijay so much as his overall nonchalance, as though putting his friend first was just the most natural thing in the world. Like he didn't even give it a second thought. Carrie burst into tears, and everyone looked up from their plates.

"Are you okay?" Raj asked.

"Yeah, it's just the spices," Carrie lied. She quickly finished the food on her plate and excused herself, as it was getting late.

"Okay, Carrie, thanks so much for the ride. And for everything. I really appreciate it," Vijay said as she stood to leave. Lucky bobbed his head and smiled at her warmly, and Raj helped her put her coat on and stepped outside with her. It had begun to snow, and the ground was lightly frosted in white. They walked together towards the car without saying a word, Raj holding her around her waist so that she wouldn't fall on the slippery pavement. "Thanks for helping us today," Raj said as Carrie opened the car door. Maybe he had misjudged her, and she wasn't going to be able to accept how poor he was. He couldn't blame her. She really did deserve better.

Carrie rested her arm on the car's side window and turned to face Raj. "You know, you told me about your childhood and your struggles, and I always admired you for your strength and for everything you went through to get where you are today. But now, after seeing this...I'm speechless," Carrie said, and she looked away from him to try to hide the tears that had started to fall again.

Raj turned her to face him again and took her into his arms. "Today, for the first time, I actually wanted you to see it. This is me, Carrie. This is my life. Now you know everything about me. If you want to run, now's your chance."

Carrie stood back from him and looked into his deep-set eyes. "If you think this changes any of my feelings for you, then you're dead wrong, mister. You're stuck with me for life. Just as long as you promise to make me eggplant like that again, whenever I ask you to!"

Raj laughed and she hugged him tightly.

"Seriously?" Raj said. "Because I was kind of thinking that we were moving too fast, and maybe we should see other people..." he teased, and Carrie slapped him on the chest. He laughed again, and her expression softened.

"You know you can come and stay with me. Anytime," Carrie offered.

Raj wiped a snowflake off her cheek. He smiled, and then took her by the hand and pulled her back towards the driveway.

"Raj, what are you doing?" Carrie said, glancing nervously back at the open car door. But Raj was insistent. He led her back down the driveway and stopped in front of their tiny window, and then looked at Carrie.

"Look at them," Raj said, nodding his head towards the window. Carrie bent down slightly and peered through the dirty windowpane.

She saw that Vijay had his arm around Lucky's shoulder, and Lucky was helping him towards the bathroom. "Do you see that right there?" Raj asked gently. "That's my family, Carrie. That tiny basement is full of love. I'm happy with them. I can't leave them."

Carrie felt a lump in her throat. "I love you, you know."

"I love you, too," Raj said as he bent down to kiss Carrie before he walked her back to the car.

***

When Shoaib reached the family's home in Long Island, the tension from the previous night's fight still lingered. Shoaib had asked to borrow Hina's laptop before dinner, and she told him it was still in her school bag, since she was helping her mother prepare dinner and wouldn't begin her studies until afterwards. Hina had no idea that Nadira had put anything in the bag, and when Shoaib found the rose and the card, he was furious. He had stormed around the house for hours, screaming at Hina and pounding his fists against the walls and furniture, ignoring his mother's pleas to calm down.

If it was possible, Shoaib was even angrier now. Beating the crap out of Vijay had been strangely unsatisfying, and Shoaib had locked on to another target for his rage. He slammed the front door and headed directly to Hina's room. He didn't bother knocking, but flung the door open. Hina was reading a book, or at least pretending to. She saw the look in her brother's eyes, and she jumped off the bed and huddled in the corner, trying to make herself as small as possible. Hina's mother had heard Shoaib come into the house, and she ran into Hina's room after him.

Shoaib went to his sister and pulled her up by her long hair, twisting it around his fist. Hina screamed in pain. "If you talk to him or see that kafir again, I will forget that you are my sister. Do you understand me?" Shoaib grabbed her jaw with his other hand and squeezed.

Hina cried out and her mother grabbed at her son's hand that was still twisted around Hina's hair and tried to pry his fingers open. "Shoaib! Leave her!" But Shoaib released his grip only long enough to grab a section of hair closer to her head and twisted again. Hina desperately clawed at his hand and shouted at him.

"Bhai, please!" she sobbed.

"She is going to bring shame to all of us!" Shoaib warned his mother while glaring at Hina, his nostrils flaring with anger.

"I will talk to her, Shoaib! You leave her first," his mother demanded as she used her fists against Shoaib's back.

"You drink all the time, bhai, and you do everything you want! Do you think that doesn't bring this family shame?" Hina shouted bitterly.

Shoaib released her hair from his grasp. "You cunt!" he bellowed, delivering a stinging slap across Hina's face and sending her reeling into the wall.

His mother was furious, and slapped Shoaib across the face. "Stop it!" she screamed at her son.

Shoaib instinctively lunged towards his mother but got control over himself at the last second, his hand suspended in mid-air. She stood defiantly in front of him, almost as though she were daring him to hit her, which is how Hina's father found them when he got to Hina's room. He said nothing, but only glared at everyone. Shoaib put his hand to his stinging cheek and slunk out of the room with his tail between his legs.

Hina's father turned to his wife. "From now on, she is not going to school," he said. It was not a suggestion or a request.

"Maybe we can send her to a different school," she gently suggested.

He pointed a finger in her face. "Don't argue with me! Because of you, she is spoiled."

She bowed her head. Her husband had been against the idea of allowing Hina an education in the first place, but because she'd received a fellowship from a large corporation, Hina was not financially dependent on him, and he hadn't wanted to deal with all the arguments he knew he'd have to have with her if he had forbidden her to attend university. But now the situation had turned, and she knew that her husband would take full advantage of the change to force his will on their daughter.

"I have called a few people, and tomorrow they will see her. You'd better get her ready," he warned as left the room and slammed the door behind him.

Hina picked herself up off the floor and threw herself into her mother's arms. She was inconsolable.

"Ssssh, beti. It's okay, sssh. Everything will be fine," her mother said soothingly, stroking her daughter's hair and trying to pacify her.

"No it won't be, Ammi," Hina sobbed. "I don't want to marry a stranger. I want to go to school!" Hina began choking on her tears.

"Hina, you know your father. He won't listen to me."

"Please, please Ammi. I want to go to school and I want to complete my degree. I promise... I won't do anything to bring shame to you or this family," Hina begged.

"Maybe after marriage, your shohar will allow you to study," her mother said weakly.

"You know that won't happen," Hina cried. "Do you really want me to live your life?"

"He is your father, Hina. He will always think good things for you. Whatever he does will be always good for your future," her mother assured her, still running her fingers through her hair. Hina rested her tear-streaked face against her mother's chest.

"And what about you, Ammi? What do you think?" Hina asked.

Her mother kept silent for few moments, and then put her index finger under Hina's chin, lifting her face and looking into her daughter's big, brown eyes, which were swimming in tears. "Hina, in our society, a woman does not have the right to think," she replied matter-of-factly, and she got up and left the room.

***

The following day, Vijay went to the university hoping to see Hina, but again she didn't come. As the days passed with no word from her, Vijay's hopes began to fade. Finally Nadira found out from a friend of hers who worked in the Registrar's office that Hina had withdrawn from all of her classes for the semester.

Vijay was despondent and blamed himself for everything. He knew that he'd destroyed Hina's present and her future, and the guilt was almost too much for him to bear. Hina had done nothing wrong. He didn't even know for sure if she'd had any feelings for him, but he had just kept pushing his own agenda, never stopping once to consider her wishes or her desires. He wanted to go to Hina's house and talk to her, or maybe even to her parents. But Nadira had been adamant that doing so would only cause more trouble for Hina. "I told you before, Vijay," Nadira warned. "If you really do love her, let her go."

Vijay couldn't stop thinking about Hina, though. He missed studying with her, having lunches together, and laughing with her. But he was helpless, and he didn't hear anything from Hina for months. As the harsh New York winter gave way to spring, the university's final exam period began, and Vijay reluctantly forced Hina from his mind as he turned his attention to his studies. He had lost all hope for her and for their future together.

Lucky had spent the winter and early spring working at the gas station, studying, trying his best to console Vijay, and with what little time he had left, doing all of Dan's assignments. Lucky barely slept, and had developed quite the caffeine habit. Dan was getting good grades on the assignments that Lucky was submitting for him, and as a result Dan grew complacent, spending all of the extra time Lucky had freed up for him partying with his friends instead of learning the material for his classes so that he could pass his final exams. He'd barely passed the midterms, so he knew he'd have to do well on the finals, and by early spring, Dan knew that there was just no way to learn that much material in a few weeks. In desperation, Dan had asked Lucky to take his finals for him, and offered him another thousand dollars for each exam. Dan had already paid one of his business contacts to make a fake student ID card with his name and Lucky's photo, and he convinced Lucky that no one would recognize it as a forgery.

Although Lucky was paranoid about getting caught, he couldn't refuse the money. He still had a sizeable balance he owed to Aakash and his brother for the robbery, and hadn't been able to send much back to India, so he felt he had no choice but to take the risk and appear for the exams in Dan's place. He didn't even consult with Vijay and Raj, since he knew what they would say.

Just as Dan had predicted, the student proctors, who were mostly PhD students, didn't recognize Lucky when he came to sit for Dan's exams, and didn't recognize the scam going on right under their noses. Lucky took Dan's three finals, and always left the exam hall without getting caught. Dan seemed pleased, and kept his word about the money. After Lucky collected his payout, he was able to pay off the remainder of his debt to the brothers, and still had enough left over to head down to the Western Union and send a money order to India. For the first time in months, Lucky was debt-free, and he was feeling pretty proud of his own ingenuity and resourcefulness, right up until the day he was sitting at the library computer and the email from the Graduate Dean's office showed up in his inbox.

Lucky looked at the email header and his palms started to sweat. His throat went suddenly dry, and with a shaky hand, he clicked on the email to open it, and read through it quickly.

It has come to our attention...

inconsistencies in performance...

allegations of academic dishonesty...

presence is required for a

meeting with Dean Horwitch...

discussion of disciplinary action

to include possible dismissal from the university...

Lucky felt his stomach lurch. How had they found out? He'd been so careful. He'd never been stopped or questioned by the proctors, he'd said nothing about the arrangement to anyone, even his friends...Dan wouldn't have told anyone because he'd have nothing to gain by it, and he'd have to know that they'd both get kicked out of school...

Lucky grabbed his books and slapped his hand over his mouth, running out of the library. He barely made it to the men's room before vomiting up his lunch.

***

Lucky's meeting with the dean was scheduled for the following day. He rode the train back and forth between Manhattan and Queens for hours, trying to figure out what to do about his predicament. While waiting at Rockaway Boulevard for the train that would take him back to Manhattan again, Lucky watched the approaching lights and for just a moment, he thought about stepping off the platform into the path of the oncoming train. But he knew that suicide was not the answer, and that his family would be devastated. They would be disappointed in him for getting kicked out of the university, but his family would never recover if he killed himself.

When Lucky finally reached home, he was glad to see that both of his roommates were home, and he blurted out everything to Vijay and Raj. He was so ashamed to admit what he'd done, but he desperately needed their advice. Unfortunately neither Vijay nor Raj had any great ideas, but at least they were supportive and didn't judge him harshly.

"Lucky, you're just going to have to face Dr. Horwitch and tell him the truth. Tell him why you did it, tell him about your family, tell him everything. The best you can hope for is mercy," Vijay said sympathetically. Raj put an arm around Lucky, and Lucky cried into his shoulder.

"Vijay and I will go with you, Lucky. No matter what happens, we'll be there," Raj promised. His friends' support only made Lucky cry harder.

***

This was the first time Lucky had been in the Dean's Office. As promised, Vijay and Raj accompanied him, but they were asked to take a seat outside the room. Lucky looked at both of his friends, and then reluctantly knocked on Dean Horwitch's door.

"Come in."

Dean Horwitch was a short, compact, middle-aged man with graying hair. He asked Lucky to sit while he finished writing an email. As the dean typed on his keyboard, Lucky broke out in a cold sweat, thinking that he must be typing his dismissal letter. But wouldn't he have an assistant for that?

After a few minutes, the dean pushed himself away from the keyboard and looked over his desk at Lucky. "How are you, Lakshminarayanan?"

"I am good, sir" Lucky responded, wiping sweat from his brow. Wet stains were beginning to spread under his armpits.

"Hmm. And how were your exams?" the dean continued.

"Good, sir," Lucky replied. He didn't trust himself to say more.

The dean looked at Lucky for a full minute without saying anything, and Lucky began to squirm in his seat. Finally the dean opened his desk drawer and took out a few blue answer books. Lucky recognized his name on the front covers. Dr. Horwitch flipped through them casually. "You did really well in all of your exams."

"Thank you, sir."

"You also have very good handwriting, Lucky. I've seen the handwriting of hundreds of students in my career, and I have to say, yours is quite unique."

"Thank you, sir," Lucky said, swallowing hard. He didn't think the dean really meant it as a compliment, but he didn't know what else to say.

"Do you know a Mr. Dhansukh Patel?" the dean asked.

Lucky's stomach fell as his fears were confirmed. He put his head down, and the first teardrops fell from his eyes and onto his folded hands that were resting in his lap. He nodded his head.

"Hmm. Surprisingly, Mr. Patel also performed extraordinarily well in his final exams this semester, particularly as compared to his midterm grades and all of his previous semesters," the dean remarked as he pulled more blue books from the drawer. Lucky knew that these books were not his. "So I had a little conversation with Mr. Patel, and he was very forthcoming about his...arrangement with you."

Lucky realized he shouldn't have been shocked; he always knew that Dan was an asshole. Still, he couldn't help but to feel angry and betrayed. The minute Dan had been cornered, his first move was to rat Lucky out.

"I wasn't entirely convinced," the dean continued. "So I compared Dan's bluebooks from this semester against those from previous semesters, and then against yours. And I think you can see where I'm going with this, yes?"

Lucky nodded and wiped at his eyes.

"Your handwriting and the handwriting in Dan's blue books from this semester are a perfect match, at least to my untrained eye. See?"

The dean pushed the blue books in front of Lucky and Lucky burst into tears. The dean didn't need a confession; Lucky's physical response to the dean's accusations convicted him faster and with more certainty than anything he could have said.

The dean got out of his chair and handed Lucky a box of tissues. He could see that Lucky was consumed with guilt, but it wasn't guilt that interested Dean Horwitch. He wanted to know what would drive a good student like Lucky to commit such blatant acts of dishonesty. He put his hand on Lucky's shoulder.

"Mr. Lakshminarayanan, you are one of the best students I have seen in this school in a very long time. I never expected such kind of behavior from you. Why did you do this?"

Lucky still couldn't look at the dean, and his guilt was all-consuming. The dean walked over to the water cooler and pulled off a paper cup, filling it to the brim and handing it to Lucky. He then pulled up the chair beside Lucky and sat down.

"Do you know that you can be expelled for this?" The dean's voice was gentle, and Lucky nodded.

"So why did you do this? Did he force you?" Dr. Horwitch asked. Lucky shook his head no.

"Then Mr. Lakshminarayanan, you had better start speaking because I don't have all day for this meeting," the dean said, momentarily losing his patience.

Lucky wiped his tears. "He gave me money."

"I understand that. But as far as I know, we gave you a full scholarship. So why did you need more money? Help me to understand."

Lucky drank the cup of water, cleared his throat, and then he started to tell the dean his story. His life, his family, their illnesses, his struggles, his hard work and ambitions, his off-campus job, the robbery, and how it resulted in him working for Dan. Lucky knew that he was taking an even bigger risk confessing that he had been working illegally for months, but he didn't think his situation could get any worse than it already was, and if he was going to get expelled from the university, he at least wanted the dean to know everything.

Dr. Horwitch was flabbergasted. As a Harvard graduate, he had always enjoyed the benefit of privilege. He couldn't imagine what Lucky had to go through just to get to graduate school in the U.S., and as he sat back in his chair, he realized that he had no idea how to penalize a student who had known nothing but punishment for the first twenty-one years of his young life. The dean guessed that the university probably wasn't doing enough to recruit and retain brilliant but economically challenged students like Lucky, and he made a mental note to have his office look into the matter. It was unconscionable to think that there might be other students like Lucky, students who bore the heavy burden of being their family's only hope for escaping poverty and leading a better life, students who would take desperate measures just to avoid failing their families so completely and irrevocably.

By the time Lucky finished telling the dean about Dan's fake ID card, Dr. Horwitch was convinced that dismissing Lucky from the university wouldn't benefit anyone, but would serve only to destroy Lucky's dreams and deprive the university of a brilliant student. But he also knew that he had a responsibility to the university and to the faculty, and he couldn't just pretend that this incident never happened. "Mr. Lakshminarayanan, I understand your situation, and I have complete sympathy for you. But your actions cannot be tolerated in academia."

Lucky listened carefully, hoping that the dean would offer him some glimmer of hope, some alternative to dismissal.

"Usually, in such cases, I recommend severe punitive measures," Dean Horwitch continued. "But after listening to you, I'm very confused about the best course of action. I'm going to have to discuss this matter with a faculty committee, who will render a final decision."

Lucky hadn't prepared for this, as he thought that the dean would hand down his decision today, one way or another. To have his fate hanging in the balance for days or weeks was too much for Lucky. "Please, sir...I will never do this again! Please, please... mom swear! I have worked so hard to reach here. If I do not complete my masters, it would destroy my dreams and my family's dreams. I beg of you, sir...please," Lucky pleaded.

Dr. Horwitch was moved by Lucky's circumstances and he wanted to help, but as the dean, he had a bigger responsibility. He stood up and put his hand on Lucky's back. "Son, I can't promise you anything, but I will try my best to convince the faculty to consider your background and factor it into their decision."

Lucky looked at the dean's face and realized he was telling the truth. It wasn't a guarantee, but Lucky would take whatever comfort and reassurance he could come by. "Thank you, sir. I will never forget your help," Lucky said. "What should I do next?"

"Nothing. Within a week or so, we will get back to you with the committee's decision. If I need anything from you, I'll contact you. Until then, you're just going to have to wait."

"Yes, sir." Lucky blew his nose and wiped his eyes, and began to gather himself to leave. The dean stepped back behind his desk and looked at Lucky.

"Mr. Lakshminarayanan, did you consider an internship this summer, before this unfortunate situation happened?" the dean asked.

Lucky was surprised by the question. "No, sir. I did not get time to apply properly."

Dean Horwitch took a business card from his wallet and handed it to Lucky. "This is my management consultancy. Should the committee decide in your favor and allow you to continue your studies here with us, why don't you consider coming to work for me this summer?"

Lucky's face lit up and he looked at the card he was holding like he was afraid it was an illusion. "Yes, sir! Definitely, sir. Thank you, sir," Lucky bent to touch the dean's feet in a show of respect and gratitude.

Dean Horwitch was not expecting Lucky's behavior, and he uncomfortably cleared his throat and reached to pull Lucky up from his kneeling position. "Okay, Mr. Lakshminarayanan, that's not necessary, young man. You take care, and try to hang in there, okay?" Lucky thanked him again and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Vijay and Raj were still waiting for him outside, and they couldn't believe the look on Lucky's face when he emerged from the Dean's office. They were sure that he'd be in tears and they'd have to call 911, but the little Indian man was beaming from ear to ear.

Lucky quickly explained what had happened. "Hmm, I do not know," he said, bobbing his head. "I could get kicked out, maybe, very easy. Students have been dismissed for less than what I did, I am sure of it. But I feel something in my stomach and in my bones."

"What do you feel?" Raj asked.

"I feel like my luck has finally turned."

"Frosted Lucky Charms...they're magically delicious," Vijay said with a smile, patting him on the back.

Lucky looked at him quizzically. He still had no idea what the joke was about, but he didn't care. He truly felt that his life had just taken a 180-degree turn, and that was all that mattered to Lucky.

***

As Dr. Horwitch had promised, almost one week to the day of their meeting, Lucky received a letter from the Dean's Office. The letter stated that the Faculty Committee had decided to place Lucky on academic probation for misconduct, and warned him that any further code of conduct violations would result in his immediate dismissal with no opportunity for appeal. They required that he take a class on Academic Ethics over the summer before he would be permitted to register for the following fall term, and they ruled that he would have a misconduct file kept on record in the Office of Student Affairs, which would remain until he graduated and formally requested its removal.

A rumor spread throughout the school that Dan had received Fs in all of his classes as a result of his cheating, which effectively disqualified him from the university since he was already on academic probation before he was caught. Lucky could hardly believe this turn of events. Not only had he been given a second chance to continue his studies, but Dan was now out of his life for good, and his internship with Dr. Horwitch's company for the summer meant that he no longer needed to keep his job at the gas station.

Fate had also looked down favorably on Raj for a change. Carrie had spoken to several of her contacts at some of the city's most successful event planning agencies, and had landed Raj a job as a sous-chef in a five-star hotel in downtown Manhattan. At first Raj had explained to her that he couldn't risk working illegally at such a high profile job, but with Carrie's encouragement, he'd been able to sweet talk his academic adviser into convincing the International Student Office that the restaurant job was an internship, and that culinary arts was not just about food preparation, but also about food presentation, and therefore was a form of visual art which would fit nicely into his MFA portfolio. Raj's charm worked, and he was approved for curricular practical training. Not only was it now legal for him to work in the restaurant full-time over the summer - which meant no more hiding, no more lying, and no more concerns that he'd get caught - but he even got academic credit for his work. He'd woken up every day for the first week on the job, convinced that the whole thing had been a dream, because reality had never been quite this good for Raj.

Vijay was happy for both of his roommates and their newfound success. While they adjusted to their summer work schedules, Vijay was busy studying for his PhD qualifying exam, and he passed it in late June. He was now an official PhD candidate, and he received a research fellowship from the department. With their combined salaries and good fortune, the boys decided to move out of their basement apartment in Queens, and they rented a spacious, three-bedroom place in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

In many ways, life was finally coming together for the three of them. But although Raj tried to hide his frustration from Carrie out of respect for their relationship and what she'd done for him, he was growing more and more disheartened about his search for his parents. While he didn't miss his job handing out flyers, his work at the restaurant didn't allow him the same opportunities to wander the city for hours, day after day, looking at strangers and hoping to recognize a familiar face.

Vijay might have sensed Raj's depression if he hadn't been so preoccupied with his own. He had tried for months to put Hina far from his mind, but the sadness wouldn't budge. His research no longer excited him, and he began to doubt himself and his decision to continue his PhD studies. One day just spilled into the next with nothing to set it apart, and there was very little joy left in Vijay's life these days. Only Lucky seemed impervious to the dark cloud that hung over their beautiful apartment in Bay Ridge, and although Vijay and Raj were happy for their friend, they were also envious.

Chapter 11

It had been six months since Vijay had spoken to Hina on Valentine's Day, and he was pretty sure that he'd never hear from her again. But late in the evening on the night before Eid, his computer chimed to announce the arrival of a new email. Vijay was working on a simulation in Fluent and ignored the indicator for a few minutes, but he couldn't maintain his focus. It was a problem that was becoming more and more common for him these days. He leaned his chair back in frustration, and ran his fingers through his hair, a nervous habit he'd developed. Since he was already distracted, he figured he'd check his email, so he minimized the open window and brought up his account. The bolded new message jumped out at him and the front legs of his chair slammed down on the wood floor as he sat upright. There was no subject line, but the message was from Hina.

Dear Vijay,

I know you are angry with me, and you have full rights to be angry. I am so sorry for the trouble I have caused to you. But you must believe me when I tell you that I was helpless against my family's wishes, as they are capable of doing anything to me or to you if I would have resisted. I hope that someday you might understand, and forgive me for my cowardice.

Tomorrow, on the occasion of Eid, I am getting married to a man I do not know very well. I may not be able to return to the university, and I may never see you again. If it is not our fate to be together, I want you to know that I respect your love for me. Know also that my feelings for you were true. Only I can ever know how I was able to control myself all of these months of being away from you.

I wish that we had been born into the same culture, and some nights I dream that I might find a way to make things right with my family so that you and I could spend our lives together. But it's just the dream of a foolish girl, and I know that I have to let go of that dream. I have to let you go.

I wish for you a lot of success, and may Allah bless you someday with the love of your life. You will always be the love of mine, Vijay.

All my love, Hina

Vijay immediately responded to email, asking Hina if she was online, but no matter how many times he refreshed his inbox, there was no reply. He pulled up her email and read it again, several times, then put his head down in his hands and began to weep. Raj and Lucky heard him, and immediately came out of their bedrooms.

"Vijay, what is wrong?" Lucky asked, placing his hand on Vijay's back. Vijay just shook his head. Raj looked at the screen and saw the message was from Hina. "Vijay, do you mind if we read her email?" Raj asked gently. Again, Vijay just shook his head. Raj looked at Lucky and pointed to the screen, and they both read the email over Vijay's shoulders.

"So now what?" Lucky said after reading it.

Raj grinned. "Now what? Now we get to crash a wedding!" He put up his hand in front of Vijay's face in a high-five gesture.

"Are you crazy?" Vijay snapped, annoyed at Raj's delight. He obviously had no idea what he was talking about. "They will kill us and they will kill her, too," Vijay said.

"No, Vijay. I think Raj is right," Lucky replied. "We saw how depressed you were without her last six months."

Raj nodded. "Vijay, if Hina hadn't written to you, but you still thought there might be a chance that she loved you, even then I'd tell you that we should try. But there's not even a question about it! She said it all right there, man...you are the love of her life! If you don't go to her now, you will regret it for the rest of your life. When you find someone who loves you, you don't just give up on them, Vijay. You fight."

"Yes!" Lucky agreed. "You must try, or like Raj says, you will regret for whole your life. No worries. We will take care of everything," Lucky said, holding up his hand to Raj for a high-five.

Raj laughed, and slapped Lucky's hand. He was surprised by his enthusiasm. "I can't believe you're up for this after what you said to Nadira. I thought you didn't like Hina."

"No, I do not have problem with her. I thought she was playing with Vijay, and I was just angry that day. But tomorrow I get to punch her brother in his face!" Lucky grinned. He looked at his arms, and the grin faded. He furrowed his brow and squeezed Raj's biceps. "Well, okay, maybe Raj will punch him. It is better that way."

Raj and Lucky knew the risk they were taking, but Vijay was their best friend and he had saved them both so many times. The least they could do was stand up for him now, and try to help him win the love of his life.

"Do you know where she lives?" Raj asked Vijay.

"No, I don't," Vijay replied. "But I'm sure Nadira knows."

"Well what are you waiting for?" Raj asked.

Vijay glanced at his watch. It was late, really late. "Oh well, screw it," he said and dialed Nadira's number. The phone rang a few times, and then a sleepy female voice answered. "Hello?"

"Nadira, it's me, Vijay," he replied, putting the phone on speaker. "I need to know where Hina lives."

There was a long silence on the other end of the line, and then Vijay thought he heard Nadira sigh. "How did you find out?" Nadira asked.

"She emailed me."

"Okay, so what?" Nadira asked.

"So please give me her address. I have to talk to her. I have to talk her out of this."

"Do you want to die?" Nadira asked.

"Not particularly. But Raj and Lucky will be with me," Vijay replied, trying to reassure Nadira. Or maybe he was just trying to reassure himself.

"Oh, I see. Well why didn't you tell me? It's so sweet that you've all decided to die together," Nadira replied sarcastically.

"Nadira, please! Just give me the address," Vijay pleaded.

"Vijay, do you honestly think she is going to come with you? If you do, then you've lost your mind."

"You know she loves me, Nadira. Do you want your friend to marry some guy she doesn't even know?" Nadira didn't reply.

"Nadira, are you there?" Vijay thought Nadira had hung up. "Nadira!" he shouted.

"Pick me up from Flushing at 9 am," she replied quietly. Vijay breathed a sigh of relief and Raj high-fived Lucky.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Vijay replied joyfully.

"Don't get your hopes up, Vijay. I'm just taking you there. I'm not doing anything else for you, do you understand? Wow, is this a stupid idea."

"Yeah! Sure, no problem. I'll meet you tomorrow morning. Good night!" Vijay said, jumping into the air.

"Vijay!" Nadira's voice was loud.

"Yes?" he said, fumbling with the phone.

"You're going to need my address."

"Oh, sorry, yes, yes," Vijay said as he grabbed a piece of paper and took down the information. He thanked her again and hung up.

"Great! Now the only thing we need is the car," Lucky said.

"Carrie has a car. Let me call her," Raj said, taking the phone from Vijay's hands and dialing Carrie. He explained the situation quickly and asked for her help. Carrie was thrilled about the prospect of crashing a wedding, and agreed to pick them up in Bay Ridge early in the morning.

None of the boys slept that night, and they were ready and waiting when Carrie double-parked in front of their building the following morning. They ran outside carrying a couple of duffle bags filled with traditional Indian clothing, just in case they needed to pass as wedding guests, and they piled into the car, full of nervous excitement. They hit some traffic on the way to Queens, but they'd left themselves plenty of time, and arrived at Nadira's house a few minutes before 9 am.

Raj jumped in the back seat with Vijay and Lucky, letting Nadira take the front seat so that she could direct Carrie to Hina's house in Huntington. There was no mistaking which house was hers as they pulled up, between the tents set up in the yard and the numerous cars lining the street. They couldn't get very close to the house, so they sat in the car for a while, discussing their options and arguing over the best plan.

The task wasn't going to be easy. They decided that Raj and Lucky would wear the wedding clothes and try to mix with the crowd. Vijay couldn't risk it, since Shoaib would recognize him in an instant. Vijay had spotted Shoaib the minute they'd parked the car. He was pacing back and forth on the front lawn, talking on his phone and yelling at the caterers, and Vijay pointed him out to Lucky and Raj. Lucky's eyes widened when he saw Shoaib's size, and he was relieved that Raj would be with him. He poked Raj's biceps again, and Raj swatted him away.

The group also decided that Carrie should wait with Vijay in the car, not only because she was the only one who could drive, but because a white, blonde girl at a Muslim wedding would stick out like a sore thumb. Nadira, against her better judgment, agreed to get Raj and Lucky as close to Hina as possible, which, as it turned out, was not very close. All of the male guests were hanging around outside the house, and the women were all inside. As per Muslim tradition, no male guests were allowed inside the house, so there was no way that Raj or Lucky could talk to or even see Hina. They pleaded with Nadira to talk to Hina, and she threw her hands in the air in exasperation.

"I told you this was a stupid idea!" Nadira said, but she agreed to try. Before going inside the house, she pointed out Hina's bedroom window to Lucky and Raj, and told them to keep watch. Raj and Lucky agreed, and tried to look inconspicuous as they approached the house and mingled with the other men.

They hadn't had breakfast, so Raj suggested that they try some of the food. As they sampled the spread, some of the guests introduced themselves, and Raj and Lucky told everyone that they were friends of the groom. It was going to be a large wedding with many distant relatives who didn't know each other, so no one questioned their story. Through their conversations with the guests, they learned that the groom was a thirty-year old businessman from Pakistan, and that Hina would have to go to Pakistan after the wedding.

Nadira walked up to the front door, but Shoaib stopped her as she tried to enter the house. He pulled her roughly by the arm into the corner of the vestibule. "What are you doing here? I'm sure we didn't invite any whores to the ceremony."

Nadira yanked her arm out of his grasp, determined that no matter what she'd said to Vijay before, she was now committed to doing everything in her power to crash this wedding. She saw Hina's mother a few yards away, talking to the guests. Nadira stuck her chin in the air and walked away from Shoaib without a word.

"Bitch!" he hissed after her, but he didn't want to create a scene in front of the guests, so he let her go.

Nadira greeted Hina's mother and congratulated her on her daughter's wedding. Her mother smiled and thanked her.

"Where is Hina? I'd like to congratulate her myself," Nadira asked.

"She's getting ready in her room," she replied. "She seems a little nervous about the wedding, so I'm sure that a good friend would help calm her nerves. I'd appreciate it if you would go to her and make sure that she'll be ready when it is time for the ceremony. I actually have to go find her father. He went to pick up the Imam for the nikah, but he hasn't come back yet."

"Absolutely. It would be my honor," Nadira said, reassuring Hina's mother before she rushed off. Nadira was happy to find out that Hina's father wasn't at the house; the less family around, the better their chances of sneaking Hina off the property.

When Nadira knocked on Hina's door there was no answer, so she slowly turned the knob and poked her head inside. Hina was alone in the room, sitting in front of her mirror and staring at herself in deep thought. A wedding dress and jewelry were lying beside her on the bed.

"Hina?"

Hina didn't notice her friend's presence at first, but when she finally looked up and saw her, she ran to Nadira and hugged her hard.

"Oh, Nadira! What am I going to do?" Hina cried into her friend's shoulder.

"What happened? You should be happy today," Nadira asked.

"I don't want to do this," Hina sobbed.

"Why not?" Nadira had to be sure that she was doing the right thing, and not just reacting to being pissed at Shoaib.

"I want to study," Hina replied.

"Is that all?" Nadira asked gently. She held Hina's face in her palms and looked into her eyes for answers.

"Is that not enough?" Hina replied.

"I don't know, Hina. You tell me."

Hina looked at her friend and couldn't hide her feelings any longer. "Okay, I love Vijay! But you know it is impossible. My family will never approve of it," Hina said sadly.

Nadira shook her head sadly. "So you're going to marry someone that you don't love? You will let someone else touch your body, when you know that you love Vijay and he loves you?"

"I know, I can't even bear the thought. But what can I do? I just want to kill myself," Hina cried, crumpling into a ball on the floor.

Nadira put her hands on her hips. "It's haram...Don't be stupid, Hina. Allah will forgive for you for taking a decision against your family, but will never forgive you that," she said sternly.

"But it's too late. I'm getting married in a few hours," Hina replied with desperation in her voice.

Nadira walked towards the bedroom window and parted the curtains. "Not if you don't want to. They're here to take you."

"What?" Hina said, stifling her sobs. She jumped up and ran to the window. Raj and Lucky saw her and waived. "Vijay is in the car," Nadira said. "I read your email."

Hina grabbed Nadira by the arms, the panic visible in her eyes. "They will kill me and him."

"This isn't Pakistan, Hina," Nadira reasoned, rolling her eyes and shrugging off Hina's grasp. "This is the United States of America. You're an adult who can make decisions for herself. They can't touch you or him, believe me."

Hina walked away from the window shaking her head, but Nadira persisted. "If you say no to Vijay today, I can assure you that you will regret it for the rest of your life. Don't do this to yourself, Hina. If not for you, then think about Vijay. You have no right to do this to him. He is risking everything for you. Do you know that your brute of a brother beat him up months ago?"

Hina turned to Nadira in shock. "What! When? But..." she stumbled. It was all happening too fast and there were too many considerations. "But what about my parents?"

"They're sending you to Pakistan, Hina. You'll hardly see them anymore anyway. And if they really cared about you, they would have let you follow your own dreams instead of insisting that you fulfill their own ambitions. Please, Hina. We don't have time for this conversation. You know this is the right thing to do." Nadira took a burqa out of her bag and held it out to Hina.

Hina looked at the wedding dress on her bed. The wedding dress was an end to her dreams, of that she had no doubt. But the burqa was a slap in the face to her family, an insult, an abrogation of her obligations as a dutiful daughter. Hina was tormented by the choice, but if there was one thing she was certain of, it was that these past six months away from Vijay had clarified her feelings for him. It had taken this time apart for her to realize just how much she loved Vijay, and she knew she didn't want to live without him. She took a deep breath and reached for the burqa that Nadira was holding. "Allahu Akbar," she said, and pulled the burqa over her head.

Nadira smiled in relief. "We should go out the back. Shoaib is at the front door," she said. Hina nodded in understanding and then ran to the window and gave a thumbs-up signal to Raj and Lucky so they'd be ready. Hina looked around her room and grabbed a framed family photo off her nightstand, hiding it underneath the burqa, and then the two girls slipped out of the bedroom and closed the door behind them.

After getting Hina's signal, Lucky scouted out a food table that didn't have any guests around it and engaged the server in conversation about the chicken tikka. Once Lucky had distracted the man, Raj took a quick look around to make sure nobody was watching, and then picked up the edge of the white tablecloth and held it to a burner that was warming a serving platter. In a few short seconds, the tablecloth caught fire and flames spread rapidly across the table. Raj and Lucky were able to disappear into the resulting chaos as a crowd quickly gathered to try to douse the flames. Nadira used the distraction to her advantage, pushing Hina ahead of her as they walked quickly towards Carrie's car. They had made it halfway across the lawn when Nadira heard a female voice shouting, "Hina is not in her room, and her wedding dress is still on her bed. She is not in the house!"

The fire had been extinguished by then, and the crowd turned their attention to the latest commotion. The inside of the house was abuzz with activity as over two-dozen women searched bedrooms and bathrooms for Hina and called her name repeatedly.

Hina looked over her shoulder, but Nadira shoved her from behind. "Don't look back, Hina. There is no going back, only forward!"

Shoaib heard the women shouting and looked out over the chaos. He knew Nadira was up to something, and he ran up on the porch to get a better view of the scene. That's when he saw Nadira leaving the house with someone wearing a burqa, and they both seemed to be in a pretty big hurry. Kutti, Shoaib muttered to himself as a scowl darkened his features.

Shoaib broke into a run and took off after them. Lucky saw what was happening and tried to intercept Shoaib, but Shoaib swatted him away like a fly. Raj was right behind Lucky, though, and tackled Shoaib at the knees, taking him down hard. Shoaib's momentary shock dissolved to rage when the realization of what was transpiring hit him. He and Raj locked arms and rolled over several times, engaged in a violent struggle. Raj ended up on top and pinned him down. He began to pummel Shoaib with his fists, bloodying his face, until he heard a woman screaming.

"Stop! Please don't hurt my son!"

Raj had one hand on Shoaib's throat and the other drawn back for another punch when he looked up and froze.

Lucky had gotten to his feet and screamed at Raj as he came running over. "Raj, Raj, are you okay?" Lucky saw Raj on top of Shoaib with his fist raised high above him, frozen as though in suspended animation. Lucky was running at full speed when the woman standing over Raj turned to look at him. Lucky tried to stop, but he was going too fast, and the ground was still slippery with morning dew that the sun hadn't burnt off yet. His feet came out from under him, and he slid into Raj, knocking him off Shoaib.

The woman threw herself down beside Shoaib and pulled his battered head into her lap, rocking him back and forth in her arms. "Beta, beta," she cried, dabbing at the blood on Shoaib's face with the corner of her dress. Raj and Lucky untangled themselves and sat up, staring at the woman as if they were looking at a ghost. Lucky composed himself first, and pulled at Raj's sleeve, helping him up from the ground. "Raj," he whispered loudly. "We need to go now. Leave it."

Raj resisted, and Lucky grabbed him by the arms and shook him hard. "Now, Raj!" Carrie didn't know what was happening, but she knew they had to get out of there fast. She laid her hand on the car horn, and the blaring sound jolted Raj out of his paralysis. He nodded at Lucky, and they took off towards Carrie's car.

"Raj, Lucky, come on! Let's go!" Carrie shouted out the window. Hina and Nadira were already in the car, and Vijay was standing by the door, fighting the urge to run to help his friends.

Raj and Lucky came running up fast. "Get in, get it!" Lucky shouted, and Vijay dove into the back seat with the girls. Lucky slid in next to Carrie and Raj followed behind him, slamming the door shut. Carrie hit the accelerator and almost slammed into the car in front of her as she pulled away from the curb.

Carrie maneuvered quickly through the side streets and blasted through a few yellow lights and one red one, wanting to put several miles behind them before she relaxed. When she was finally convinced that no one was following them, she eased her foot off the gas and let out a whooping noise. "Yes! Guys, we did it!" Carrie was beaming from ear to ear. She looked in her rearview mirror and saw that Vijay also had a smile on his face, and was holding Hina's hand. Hina had removed the burqa, and she caught Carrie's reflection in the mirror and smiled at her shyly. Hina wasn't sure whether she should celebrate the moment or not, but she knew she was happy to be in that car.

Lucky and Raj didn't seem to be participating in their sweet victory. Lucky was unusually quiet, and Raj seemed upset. He kept glancing in the side mirror, and after he'd done so a few times, Carrie looked over at him. "Raj, it's okay. No one is following us. We're all fine." But Raj wasn't looking at cars. He was looking at Hina's reflection in the mirror. His mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, and he dug his fingers into the door's armrest to try to maintain control. He looked down at his bloodied knuckles, and at the sight of them, his heart began to race and threatened to burst from his chest. He suddenly felt ill, and he forced himself to inhale and exhale slowly so that he wouldn't be sick in the car. Was that woman my mother? Does that mean that Hina is my sister, and did I just help Vijay break up my own sister's wedding? Raj swallowed hard to keep from vomiting. Did I just beat my own brother, my own flesh and blood, to within an inch of his life? What's happening to me? Raj's fingers were leaving imprints in the pleather armrest, and his jaw ached from clenching his teeth. He forced himself to turn his gaze forward, and rolled down his window to breathe in fresh air.

Lucky tried to change the subject. "Where do we go now?"

"Carrie's apartment. That's where Hina will stay for a few days," Vijay replied from the back seat.

"What if they call cops?" Lucky asked.

"Don't worry, nothing will happen," Carrie said reassuringly.

Nadira nodded her head in agreement. "This marriage was against Hina's wishes. I don't think they'll call the cops. They don't want to create trouble for themselves. In a few hours, I'll try to find out what's happening at the house."

When they reached Carrie's apartment, they ordered lunch while Nadira called a friend of hers who was also a wedding guest. She went into Carrie's bedroom to have the conversation, and was in there for some time. When she emerged, she had a look of satisfaction on her face. "Just like I said! They didn't call the police. Everything should be okay." Nadira turned off her phone, and there was a collective sigh of relief and a few nervous laughs. Hina looked at Nadira and asked her the question Nadira knew was coming.

"Are they angry?" Hina inquired.

Nadira shrugged. "I think it would be better for you if you stayed away from them for a few days...or maybe a little longer."

Hina said nothing, knowing there was more to come. Nadira looked down at her phone and twirled it in her palms. She knew what Hina was waiting to hear, but she didn't want to be the one to say it and hurt her friend. Finally she looked up. "Yes, Hina. Your family has disowned you."

Lucky looked at Raj. He said nothing, but an expression passed between them that no one else would have understood. Hina burst into tears and ran to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Nadira went to the door and knocked, and Carrie stood beside her. "Hina, sweetie, you did the right thing," Carrie said softly through the door. "You can finish your education. You can become whatever you want. You can be friends with whomever you want. You can do whatever you want. You're free."

"Free," Hina echoed weakly. "But what do I do now? Where do I stay?"

"You can stay with me if you like," Carrie offered.

Vijay had walked over to the door and Nadira and Carrie moved aside for him. "Hina, I'm here for you," Vijay said.

"I don't want to be a burden on you," Hina replied through her tears.

"I love you. You are not a burden for me," Vijay replied. "Please come out."

Hina unlocked the door and stepped towards Vijay, a tissue in her hands. "I know. But I want to be independent. I guess I still have my fellowship, and it will cover my expenses," Hina replied, her face momentarily brightening.

"Sure you do!" Nadira said, putting her arm around Hina. "But we'll always be here for you if you need anything."

Hina tried to smile, but she couldn't. She had never been away from her family, and now she had suddenly lost them all. She had left them behind for the dream of becoming an independent woman who had the freedom to make her own decisions about her life, but instead of feeling triumphant, she felt like a sad, confused little girl who was terrified of her future. She silently prayed to Allah that she had made the right choice.

The doorbell rang. "Pizza's here!" Carrie said awkwardly, rubbing Hina's arm affectionately before she went to grab her wallet.

***

After lunch, the boys left the girls in Carrie's apartment and took the subway back to Bay Ridge. Raj was sullen the entire way home, and when Vijay asked him what was wrong, Lucky shook his head. "When we get home, Vijay. We will talk about it then."

Vijay had no idea what was happening, but he was worried. Maybe Raj had been hurt in the fight, or maybe he'd decided earlier that the whole wedding crashing idea was terrible, but felt like he couldn't back out, and now he was angry at Vijay for involving him. Maybe he was worried about his job at the restaurant if the police found out, but that seemed unlikely, since Nadira said that Hina's family hadn't called them. Whatever it was, Vijay was anxious to get to the bottom of it, and when they were all in the apartment, he turned to his friends. "Okay, seriously. I really appreciate everything the two of you did for me today. It means more to me than you know. But what's going on? Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong? I promise, you won't get in any trouble for this. If anyone comes asking, it was all my idea, I'll take the blame for everything. Just tell me..."

"It was her," Raj said, his voice strangely monotone.

"Her?" Vijay had no idea what he meant.

"From the locket," Lucky volunteered.

"Who from what locket?" Vijay asked, trying to grasp what his roommates were trying to tell him.

Raj sighed and sat down at their small dining table. He pulled his locket from an inside pocket of his clothes and opened it. "Shoaib's mom. Hina's mom. She's the woman in the locket."

Vijay gasped. "What? What are you talking about, what are you saying?" He pulled out the chair beside Raj and sat down. "Are you sure?"

"Damn sure. There's no mistake, man. I've been looking at the woman in this picture for over ten years," Raj replied.

"Did Hina ever talk about her mother? Did she tell you her name or anything?" Lucky asked Vijay.

Vijay shook his head. "No. She just used to say that her mother loved Indian culture, Indian food, Indian movies. But she never told me her name." He looked at Raj. "You know that her family is from Pakistan, right?"

Raj rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know. I don't care. I have to talk to her mother. She's my only hope of finding out who I am."

"There must be more to this story. It just doesn't make any sense. Do you want me to talk to Hina?" Vijay asked.

Raj shook his head. "No," he said emphatically. "I think Hina is already going through a lot right now, and this would just be too much for her to handle. And what if her mother isn't the person I should be looking for?"

Lucky spoke up. "I agree. I think it is better to keep Hina out of it. Confront her mother directly."

Vijay nodded in agreement. "They're a very conservative family, so Hina may not know anything about her mother's past."

Lucky began pacing the living area. "But what if they are his family? Does that mean Raj is Pakistani? But then how does he land in Kashmir? Maybe they came to India to see Kashmir and someone stole you," Lucky said, muttering to himself.

"But then why they did not look for you?" he continued, exploring different possibilities. Vijay and Raj just sat at the table and listened to Lucky brainstorm for a while. "It means Hina is your sister, and...oh!" he said, wagging his finger in the air. "Her asshole brother," he said, pointing to Vijay, "is your asshole brother!" he said, pointing to Raj.

Lucky laughed, and then coughed when Raj gave him a dirty look. "... and Vijay will be your brother-in-law. Hmm!" Lucky's face brightened. "Okay, okay! Well, that will be awesome, no?"

Raj and Vijay looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Wait," Lucky said, snapping his fingers. "You should also be Muslim, like them."

"And?" Raj asked.

Lucky's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "How is your dick?"

"How is my WHAT?" Raj snapped. "What does my dick have to do with anything?"

Vijay reached over to touch his arm. "No, Raj, he's right. Is it...you know...cut?"

It took Raj a minute to understand what his friends were asking. "Oh. Um, I don't think so." Raj really didn't know what other guy's penises looked like, but he was pretty sure he still had his foreskin.

"Fascinating!" Lucky clapped his hands together. "So they did not cut it off and leave you on the street? How is that possible?" The wheels in Lucky's mind just kept turning.

Vijay gave Lucky a look. "Are you finished talking about his dick?"

Lucky shook his head and kept pacing.

"Okay," Vijay said. "Then by all means, please continue. But maybe a little less talk about his dick and a little more talk about what to do next?"

Raj thought for a moment and answered the question Vijay had directed at Lucky. "I'll go to her house tomorrow and talk to her mother."

"Alone? No way! We'll come with you," Vijay replied.

"No, Vijay, it's not necessary. They already hate you. I don't want to make things worse for you," Raj replied.

"Dude," Lucky laughed. "Last time they saw you, you were sitting on top of Hina's brother and beating his face. I do not think they will invite you inside and offer you a cup of tea," Lucky said.

"Yeah, Raj, her brother would kill you if he sees you again," Vijay said. "I saw the way you guys were fighting. We won't let you go alone, and there's no point in arguing with us about it." Raj was still reluctant, so Vijay reached over and put his hand on Raj's arm. "Look, you've waited so many years for this day. Getting answers from Hina's mother is more important than my one-year old relationship with Hina. We promised we'd help you find your parents, so let us help you," Vijay said, half insisting and half pleading with Raj.

Raj finally relented. "Okay, thanks guys. You can come, but this is something I need to do for myself, so promise me you'll let me handle things."

Vijay and Lucky looked at each other and nodded. "Promise," they said in unison.

***

The next morning, the boys took a cab to Hina's family's home. Raj had insisted that until he came to know the truth about Hina's mom and her possible connection to Raj, he didn't want to involve the girls, particularly Hina. Vijay and Lucky had agreed that it was the best approach, but it meant that they couldn't ask Carrie for a ride.

The three sat on the ground by a clump of trees in the park across from the house for nearly an hour, hoping that they might be able to catch Hina's mom alone if she came outside, but no one had come or gone from the home since they'd arrived.

"I don't know, guys. I think I should just go ring the bell," Raj said, getting impatient.

"Sure, and what are you going to do when Shoaib opens the door?" Vijay asked.

"Kiss his boo-boo," Lucky snickered.

"Well, we can't wait here all day," Raj replied. His stomach was in knots, and not because he was afraid of Shoaib.

"Eeh, I do not have anywhere important to be," Lucky said, linking his hands behind his head and leaning his back against a tree. Just then, Vijay slapped his arm.

"Oww!"

"Look!" Vijay said, pointing at the house. An older man walked out the front door, and the boys watched from a distance as he got into the car and sat for some time. They could see that he was adjusting the rearview and side mirrors of the car, and moving his seat forward. Once he finally got situated, he started the engine and slowly backed the car out of the driveway. His actions seemed nervous and hesitant, and Vijay thought that perhaps he didn't normally drive. The car idled in the middle of the street as if the man was indecisive about whether he actually wanted to go anywhere, and Raj thought briefly that he might change his mind and pull back into the driveway. But finally he shifted the car into gear and slowly drove down the street. When the car turned at the end of the block, Raj jumped up. "Stay here, guys. Please. I'll call you if I need you."

"Raj! What if Shoaib is there?" Lucky called out.

"I'll just have to take that chance," Raj replied, and after a quick look to the left and to the right, Raj hustled across the street.

When he reached the front door, Raj's nerves got the better of him and he broke out in a cold sweat. He wiped his palms on his jeans and smoothed back his hair. Now or never. He rang the bell and waited.

Nothing.

He looked across the street at Vijay, and Vijay made a frenetic motion with his hand. Raj turned back to the door, and pressed the buzzer again.

The door suddenly swung side open, banging against the inside wall, and Hina's mother bore down on Raj with a fury he had not anticipated.

"What do you want from us now?" she screamed. "You haven't done enough already? You attack my son and put him in the hospital so that your friend could steal my daughter from me, and now you dare to show your face at my house! Get off my porch or I'll call the police!" The woman slammed the door in Raj's face.

Raj's heart was pounding. The woman was understandably distraught, but he wasn't going to leave without answers. He couldn't. But this was an upscale, private neighborhood, and Raj knew better than to make a scene, because if she didn't call the police, he knew somebody else would. He was at a loss as to what to do. Surely she wasn't going to answer the doorbell again.

Raj looked across the street, and Lucky had his arms and hands raised in the air in a "what are you going to do?" gesture. Raj thought for a moment, and then took his locket out of his pocket. Caressing it with his thumb, he brought it to his lips, kissed it, and pushed it through the mail slot. It was his last hope.

He heard the locket hit the floor on the other side of the door, and he waited.

The door remained closed, but Raj's feet stayed rooted to the porch. Time slowed, and his breathing suddenly seemed very loud in his ears. He could hear his own pulse, the sound of his blood rushing through his veins. The smell of fresh cut grass reached his nostrils. It was in this moment - here, on this porch, on this day as the sun shone down on his face - that he felt the most alive he'd ever felt. The answers he had sought for so long were right there on the other side of this door. Just the thought that he might finally be able to put together the pieces of his life's puzzle provided an overwhelming sense of relief, and for this brief moment, the deadness that had sat like a stone inside him for ten years was gone. Raj turned around and leaned his back against the door, sliding slowly to the ground. He was prepared to wait there forever, if necessary. He was almost positive that his mother was behind this door, right now, looking at his locket. But even if he was completely wrong about everything, even if this woman was not related to him at all, he was not leaving without his locket.

He saw Lucky and Vijay start to come towards him, but he put his hand up. Stop. No.

Vijay and Lucky paused, their faces full of concern and heartache for Raj. Raj cradled his face in his hands, and sat leaning against the door for several more minutes. Suddenly, he heard a click, and then he fell backwards as Hina's mom opened the door. Scrambling to get up, Raj turned to face her.

The woman's face was pale, but her voice was eerily calm. "Where did you get this?" she said in a measured tone, holding the locket in her hands.

"Someone left it with me when I was born," Raj answered.

The woman looked up into Raj's eyes and then collapsed to the floor.

***

Vijay and Lucky again started towards the house, but again Raj signaled them to stop. He sat down beside the woman and pulled her into a sitting position. As he was maneuvering her, an old woman walked out of the kitchen and saw him. She pointed at Raj accusingly. "Who are you? What has happened?" the old woman shouted. "Aisha, what happened?"

So she is Aisha. Raj's eyes grew wide.

The old woman kept talking to herself as she stood over Raj, who now held Aisha in his arms. She clucked her tongue admonishingly. "Hundreds of times I tell her, do not fast this much. But never does she listen to me. And now look at her..." the woman said, shaking her head.

She asked Raj to carry Aisha to the sitting room, and he obeyed without a word. The old woman brought a glass of water from the kitchen and continued her complaints. "I do not understand what happened to this house. Whose evil eye has turned to this house? First the daughter ran away. The son is in the hospital. Now she falls to the floor." She motioned to Raj again, pointing to the glass of water. "Sprinkle it on her face," the old woman insisted, and Raj complied.

Aisha's eyes fluttered open, and the first face she saw was Raj's. She sat up and burst into tears. The old woman was surprised with Aisha's behavior. "Who are you?" the old woman asked Raj again.

Raj didn't know what to say. After all of these years of imaging the things he'd say to his mother if he ever found her, he now found himself without a voice, and he could only stare at Aisha. She was sitting beside him on the settee, the locket still in her hand. Aisha held the necklace out to the old woman. "Ammi, you told me he was dead."

Aisha's mother took the locket into her hand, looked at it carefully, and then at Raj. "Where did you get this?"

"Ammi, you left it with him," Aisha answered, her voice taking on an angry edge.

Aisha's mother pinched the clasp and rested her gaze on the picture of the man inside the locket. She shuffled slowly over to Raj and lifted his face in her wrinkled hands. Her eyes, once dark, were milky now with cataracts, but there was kindness there. Kindness and pain. She leaned down and kissed Raj's head with old lips, then looked deeply into his eyes. "You look exactly like Mohan," she whispered.

Raj didn't know what they were talking about, but he was certain that Aisha knew the truth about him and his past. "Who is Mohan?" Raj asked, his eyes shifting back and forth between Aisha and her mother.

Aisha spoke first. "Mohan is the man in the locket. Mohan was your father."

Raj's eyes grew misty, and he turned towards Aisha. "Please. I know I've caused you trouble, but I am begging you...I need to know everything."

Aisha put her hand on Raj's cheek. "Everything?" She looked at her mother with twenty-six years of questions in her eyes. "I don't even know everything," Aisha cried. Her mother bowed her head, and Aisha sighed deeply, her body slumping down into the cushions. She seemed to age ten years right before Raj's eyes. "Ammi, we should have tea, offer him something to drink." Her mother gave a little nod and walked towards the kitchen.

"Please, it's not necessary. I just want to know what happened. But your family, where are they?" Raj inquired uncomfortably. "I don't want to disturb them."

Aisha placed her hands over his. "My husband went to the hospital to be with my s.." Aisha cut herself off. "My husband went to sit with Shoaib. He will be at the hospital all day and early evening, so there is plenty of time. Besides, is that what you think? That after all of these years, your presence is disturbing me?"

Raj looked at Aisha's hands, which were holding his. How many years had he longed for his mother's touch?

"Come. Let's go to the kitchen," Aisha suggested, standing up and taking a moment to make sure she had regained her balance. As they entered the large, modern kitchen, Raj noticed that the table had been set for three. Aisha's mother motioned for her daughter and Raj to take their seats.

Aisha pulled out a chair and sat down wearily. She poured a cup of steaming tea for her mother and for Raj, but left her cup empty. "Where do I begin?" she sighed. "I met your father, Mohan, when I was twenty years old. I grew up in Birote, a small village in northern Pakistan, close to the border of India. Mohan was an Indian doctor who came to Birote as part of the Global Health Organization's initiative to eradicate polio from tribal regions in Pakistan, places like Birote.

"My father, Mehmood Khan, was a leader of Dhund Abbasi, the Islamic tribe that ruled Birote for centuries. I don't know if you've ever heard of Birote, but it sits across from the Jhelum River, and it is a place of great beauty. But illiteracy levels are high, particularly for women. And although the number of polio cases was increasing, the people of Birote were refusing to take the vaccine because of their religious beliefs.

"After the deadly wars between India and Pakistan in the '60s and '70s, the feelings between the border people were very hostile. Mohan was only in his mid-twenties, but he was a talented and skilled doctor. But most of the people in Birote didn't like him, just because of his nationality.

"Mohan didn't take it personally. His ego was not important to him; he only wanted to find a way to convince the villagers to allow their children to be vaccinated. So he used his charms to impress my father, and he persuaded him that it was in the best interest of the village to allow vaccinations, as the children were the future of the village. There was a lot of resistance from the other tribes and the religious leaders of Birote, but Mohan knew that if my father blessed the vaccination initiative, then no one would dare to question it, even if they didn't like it. Mohan had many talks with my father about the vaccine, about its safety and effectiveness, and how it was the best decision he could make as the leader of his village. My father grew to trust Mohan and believe in him, even though he was a Hindu Indian, and my father defended him against all the politics of the town."

Aisha paused and looked at her mother, who gently urged her to continue. "In order to win the confidence of the people, my father asked me to join Mohan in this movement. Mohan and I walked together to each and every house in Birote, door-to-door, trying to convince the people to vaccinate their children. The mothers trusted me because I was a local girl, and because they respected my father.

"Very soon, Mohan and I became good friends. He didn't care about the politics between our two nations, and religion did not matter to him. He was a doctor, and he always put people first, irrespective of their religion or nationality. I admired his passion and his dedication to helping my people, and I loved the way he cared about the children of Birote, despite the fact that their parents were citizens of a nation that was in a bitter rivalry against the land of his birth.

"But true love does not recognize differences in castes, religion, color, or nationalities. Love is a language of the eyes which has no use for spoken words. I don't remember the exact day I realized that I was in love with Mohan, because it seems that there was never a time when I was not." Aisha smiled sadly.

"I used to spend a lot of time with Mohan," Aisha continued, "and the people of Birote began to talk, but I didn't care. But Mohan knew the consequences of falling in love with me, and moreover, he did not want to betray my father's trust. So he always tried to be respectful, and keep his distance from me.

"My father wanted me to marry another Abbasi man who lived in the United States. But I wanted to break all of the restrictive chains of my upbringing and spend my life with Mohan. The more Mohan pushed me away, the more passionate I became about him. I even threatened to kill myself if he didn't marry me, and I know now that my words and threats were wrong. I have lived with this guilt all of these years, wondering how different things would have been for Mohan if I'd not been so selfish, if I'd not put that burden on him. But I was young and in love, and I did say that to him, and finally, he gave in." Aisha's voice caught in her throat, and her mother tried to get her to take a drink of tea, but Aisha waved her off. Picking up the cloth napkin, Aisha blotted her eyes and cleared her throat, and her mother reached out to touch her daughter's hand.

"Without telling anyone, we got married in front of a God Shiva's statue we had made for ourselves. Mohan gave me the locket you have as a wedding present. For a few months, everything was wonderful, and no one suspected that we had married. But then one day I started vomiting and couldn't stop. I did my best to hide my sickness from everyone, but my mother knew better." Here, Aisha paused and looked at her mother with a mixture of sadness and empathy. "Ammi..."

"No, Aisha," the old woman protested. "You must continue. I have made my peace with this long ago."

Aisha squeezed her mother's hands between hers, and tears began to roll down her face. "I was scared about the pregnancy, and I confessed to my mother about my love for Mohan and our secret marriage. My mother..." Aisha paused, again seeking her mother's permission. The woman nodded.

"My mother beat me for destroying my family's pride and status within the village," Aisha admitted. "She liked Mohan and believed him to be a good man, but I was carrying a Hindu man's baby. My mother knew the tribe would never allow this. I was her only daughter, and she couldn't bear the thought of seeing me lashed in front of everyone. But in Islam, abortion is considered haram, and anyway, I wanted to keep Mohan's baby. So we knew my only option was to run away with Mohan to India, where no one could find us. After a few days, my mother came to us in the middle of the night and gave us a lot of money and jewelry and helped us cross the Jhelum river and enter the Kashmir region of India.

"The next morning, the people of Birote became suspicious when they didn't see us the whole day. Talk spread quickly, and my father's rivals took advantage of the situation to stir up political hatred and to disparage my family. My mother knew she had to do something to salvage my father's position of respect in the community, so she told everyone that Mohan had kidnapped me after stealing our family's valuable possessions.

"Upon hearing this, the people of Birote quickly forgot their rivalry with my father and turned their anger on Mohan. They were incensed that a Hindu man would dare to betray the community's trust and kidnap the daughter of their leader. Their only goal was to find Mohan and kill him, as a way of regaining the pride and honor of the village."

Aisha folded and unfolded her napkin nervously. "My father was also extremely angry with himself for trusting Mohan, and he, too, thirsted for Mohan's blood. But you must understand that I do not blame my mother for her lies. As a mother and a wife, it was her duty to save her family. But she never expected the amount of trouble she'd created for Mohan, and she prayed every day for his safety. Meanwhile, my father's people traveled all around Birote and the outlying areas looking for us, even expanding their search into India.

"We changed our names and settled in a small village near Gulmarg, in a remote mountain area of Kashmir. For almost six months, no one could find us. We were extremely happy together, waiting for our baby and dreaming about our future full of love. Mohan brought in a small income by treating the local villagers. But it wasn't really about the money. Mostly he did it because he was a doctor, and helping people was as necessary to him as breathing. Unfortunately, Mohan's skill and compassion made him famous, not only in our village, but in the surrounding villages as well. I was scared for us both, but Mohan reassured me that no one in our old village could stay angry for this long, and even if they could, they wouldn't be able to find us in the middle of the mountains.

"But Mohan was wrong. When my father heard about the caring young Indian doctor, there was no doubt in his mind that it must be Mohan. He immediately led his people to our village. My mother tried to stop him but he wouldn't be dissuaded, so she insisted that she come, too. The whole trip, she prayed to Allah that she could find a way to save our lives."

Aisha stopped talking, and no one made a sound or even dared to breathe. She noticed that the tea cups were empty, so she slowly pushed her chair back and took the kettle to the stove to heat more water. Raj thought he would burst, but he knew he couldn't push her. As difficult as it was for him to hear this story, he knew it was twice as hard for her to tell it, because the guilt was hers to bear. Aisha's mother was silent as well, but Raj could tell she was upset. Aisha walked back to the table and put her hand on her mother's shoulder, and the old woman reached up and covered her daughter's hand with her own.

"We were having dinner when a number of cars surrounded our small house," Aisha sighed as she sat down. "Before we even realize what was happening, men were entering our house and they dragged Mohan outside. I was nine months pregnant, but I ran after them. My father ordered my mother to stay in the car. When I got outside, I saw my father holding a long gun to Mohan's temple, and cursing him for betraying the family and ruining his daughter. I shouted at my father to stop. That's when he looked up at me and saw my swollen belly, and for the first time, he came to know that I was pregnant."

Aisha hung her head down, and blotted at her eyes again. For nearly a full minute, she said nothing more. Raj's stomach churned, and he looked at Aisha's mom, but she also had her head cast downward. When he turned back to Aisha, she slowly raised her head and looked directly into his eyes without blinking, her cold stare holding his gaze until Raj felt distinctly uncomfortable. "Do you see how I am looking at you now? This is how my father looked at me that night. His eyes never left mine as he pulled the trigger and killed my Mohan."

Raj inadvertently let out a strangled sound, and he reflexively put his hand over his mouth. He had tears in his eyes.

Aisha was staring off into the distance, as though she could see her past playing out right before her eyes. "I saw Mohan fall. I saw his face...his beautiful, dark chocolate eyes, his perfect nose, his full lips that had smiled at me so many times and made my heart swell...and all of it just disappeared before my eyes. Mohan was there, I was happy and in love, and about to give birth to our child conceived in that love, and then...it was all just gone."

Aisha wept openly. "As I fell to the ground, I hit the doorstep and my water broke. I started screaming and crying and shouting, and my mother ran out of the car and covered me with the chaddar. The idea of his daughter giving birth to a kafir's baby was an unbearable shame and my father would not stand for it. He knew he'd never win back his villager's loyalty if he let that happen. There was only one thing left for my father to do, and he raised the gun to my head."

Aisha's mother did not try to hide the tears that silently flowed down her deeply lined face. Aisha reached over and touched her mother's cheek, wiping away a tear. "But my mother threw her body over mine and begged my father not to kill her only daughter and their only grandchild. But my life meant nothing to me anymore, and as ashamed as I am to say it now, neither did my baby's," Aisha admitted, casting a guilty look at Raj. "I died the moment that Mohan took his last breath, and I prayed that Allah would take my last breath from me. I wanted my father to kill me, because I could not imagine a life without Mohan. But the villagers pulled him away, telling him that it wasn't my fault, and that I was Mohan's victim.

"That is the last thing I remember before I fell unconscious from the pain of labor and from a shattered heart. I don't remember anything after that," Aisha concluded. As if on cue, the water reached a boil and the kettle's shrill whistle pierced the momentary silence. Aisha got up and brought the kettle back to the table, this time pouring steaming water into her mother's cup.

Aisha's mother had been listening quietly without imposing her memories on Aisha, as the story up until that point had not been hers to tell. But now, as her daughter's memories ended, her mother's began. She wrapped her small, bony hands around the cup. Her skin was paper thin, and her fragile body shivered with the effort of dredging up such painful reminders of her failures as a mother, grandmother, and protector.

When the old woman spoke, Raj could barely hear her words, and he had to lean closer to her. "I had lot of experience helping the women to give the birth," she said quietly. "Aisha gave the birth to a beautiful baby boy," she mused, a melancholy smile passing over her thin lips and then disappearing like a ghost. Her eyes met Raj's and held them. "As I looked at your face, my husband snatched you from my arms and was to throw you on the ground. But I begged him, for the sake of Allah, please do not do this. I said this to him as I held tightly to his legs. He kicked me hard in the stomach, telling me go away, saying, 'I do not want this harami in my house.' Again I pulled at his legs. I promised him I would leave you somewhere far away so that he would not have to see you ever.

"I tell him," she continues, her language switching to present tense as the memories before her eyes grew more vivid, "I will say to Aisha, 'your baby was born dead,' and I promise I will get her married to the man of his choosing. He thinks about this and then he opens his arms, just like this," she says, opening her frail arms, "as if it is nothing, and you fall. But I catch you, I catch you in my arms and he says to me, 'Take this harami away and keep this secret from your daughter' and I know that if I do not obey, he will kill my daughter first and then me.

"They put Aisha in the car. Still she is unconscious. I lay you on Aisha's chest for the last few moments. You look peaceful. Unknowing of what has happened to us all that night. Unknowing and innocent of what your future holds. We drive towards Pakistan and they tell me to leave you on the side of this lonely road. I take the locket from Aisha's neck and I leave it with you. I pray to Allah, ask for His forgiveness and lots of blessings for you.

"Next day, when Aisha wakes, I tell her that her baby was born dead because she fell to the ground and because of the pain of seeing her husband die, and she believes me, because I am her mother," the old woman says, her eyes glazing over, her face fallen in a mask of guilt and shame.

Aisha placed her head in her hands and rocked her body back and forth, her sobs tearing at Raj until he thought he would come undone. He reached out his hand to comfort his mother, but then hesitated and pulled it back, not knowing where the boundaries were. His grandmother continued. "Aisha blames herself for having unsuccessful labor and giving birth to the dead child – the only symbol of her love for Mohan. For Aisha, being alive means nothing. She does not care about her future anymore, and when Aisha's father arranges her marriage, she stood at alter like dead body. After the wedding, her new husband – Hina's father \- brought her to America."

Aisha looked up at Raj through her tears. "How did you find me? I could have been anywhere."

Raj took the locket from her hands, opened it, and stared at her picture. "I saw you on television, when I was still in India. It was 2001 and the planes had hit the towers in New York, and you were running. A newsman stopped you and tried to interview you," Raj replied.

Aisha shook her head. "I can't believe you saw that interview. Before 9/11, I used to work as a nurse in a clinic near the World Trade Center. I was doing Mohan's work, hoping to carry on his legacy. But when the towers collapsed, I was injured from the debris, and started having breathing problems. Eventually I had to stop working at the clinic."

Aisha's eyes were bloodshot, and she wiped her nose with the damp napkin she still grasped in her hand. "You came all the way from India to find the woman in the locket? When did you get here? How did you come? Who...who..." Aisha got up from her chair and began pacing, her voice taking on a frantic tone. "Who took care of you, who found you on that road? I don't know anything about my son..." she said as she started to hyperventilate.

Now that Aisha had told her story, the realization that she had a son – a living, breathing son – and that she had no idea what his story was or who he was as a person, suddenly overwhelmed her. She abruptly stopped pacing and looked at her mother, her forehead wrinkling with concern. "Ammi, now what? What do I do? I have a husband now, children..." Aisha looked at Raj apologetically, and he lowered his eyes to stare at his hands. Aisha slowly walked back to the table and sat down in her chair. Taking Raj's hands in hers, she continued. "An hour ago, I didn't even know you existed anywhere except deep in the recesses of my heart, the place where a mother holds all of her children, even the ones who were never born. I've never told my husband about any of this; how can I tell him now? After all of this time?"

She turned to her mother again. "Ammi, they will never accept him, not after what happened with Hina, and not after I have kept these secrets for so long. How can I expect them to welcome him? Especially now, when my family is already falling apart," Aisha said, breaking into a new round of tears.

"Ammi, please," Aisha continued. "You have to help me! I don't know what to do. My son has searched for me all of these years, and you told me that he was dead!"

Her mother's eyes also brimmed with tears. "Aisha, my child," she said, her diminutive voice breaking. "I did what I had to. Had I not told you he was born dead, your father would have killed him, and maybe you and me. No matter, you would not be seeing him today, if not for my lie. I did what I thought was the best for my child, and for your child."

"But I went on with my life, Ammi. And Raj didn't get to do that. His whole life has been spent with a hole in his heart, and now I must say, 'That does not matter to me? I am your mother, but I will not be with you? I will not try to fill that space, that space where I belonged all of these years?'"

Aisha's mother only continued to weep silently, as she had no answers for her daughter's questions, no salve for her pain. Despite her advancing years, the woman remembered with total clarity the suffering her daughter had endured when she thought she'd lost her son the night she gave birth to him. Would she be able to lose her son all over again? Could she possibly bear that pain, not once, but twice in a lifetime? But of course Aisha was right; her husband and Shoaib would never accept Raj. Not just because of his fight with Shoaib, or because he'd helped a friend take Hina away from them, but because Aisha's family held certain sacred beliefs about the matriarch of their family, and to find out now that Aisha had been previously married, and that she had given birth to a child...it was too much to ask of them to accept. Aisha would end up alone, shunned by her family. A woman of Aisha's age, shunned, divorced...or worse. No, nothing good could come of the truth. But she had made decisions for her daughter once, and she knew this time her daughter's decision would have to be her own.

Raj had been listening to the exchange, but he'd also been thinking about everything and wondering what was best for all of them now. He looked at his father's picture in the locket. It made him proud to know that he had been a kind and generous man, but he was devastated to hear of how his father had died. He'd come to America to find his parents, and now he knew that his mother was all he had left, and he didn't even have her. He sympathized with Aisha's dilemma, but he'd harbored the hope that she'd be able to accept him anyway. But it didn't look as though that was going to happen, and Raj didn't want to disturb her marriage or damage her reputation with her family and the community. He realized what he had to do.

"I just wanted to know who my parents are and where I came from," Raj said, looking at Aisha. "I had no idea how much you've suffered. Losing the love of your life, all because he was from a different country? Because his religion was different than yours? Because your father cared more about his reputation than his own daughter's happiness? I can't even imagine how terrible that must have been for you, when all you wanted was just to live your life with the person you loved." Aisha wrung her hands, and Raj couldn't help but to think of Vijay and Hina.

"I understand your situation," Raj said, "and I do not want to disturb your life. You don't have to accept me. I'm happy just having found you. I'm happy because at least you know now that I exist, and I know that you exist. That's enough for me." Raj slid off his chair and bent to the ground to touch Aisha's feet and take her blessings before leaving. Aisha pulled him up and threw her arms around him, holding him tightly.

"I am so sorry! Believe me, if I'd known about you, I would not have left you alone. I am so, so sorry. I don't know what to do," Aisha cried against his chest. Raj held her close and tried to imprint the feeling in his mind and his heart so that he could remember it forever. When Raj finally pulled away from her, he took his mother's hands in his. "You take care, and if you need anything, anytime, you just let me know. I will be always there for you," he said. He then walked over to his grandmother and the woman embraced him. He didn't blame her for any of this, and knew that she had made impossible decisions whose consequences had weighed heavily on her for many, many years. His grandmother gestured towards his pocket, and he took out the locket. She opened it one last time and smiled, then snapped it closed and kissed it before handing it back to Raj. He smiled sadly, gave her one last kiss on the cheek, and hurried to the door. He knew if he didn't leave now, he might not have the strength to leave at all.

As Raj opened the front door, he was startled to see Vijay and Lucky standing on the porch. They had spent the past hour peering through the front windows of the house, trying unsuccessfully to see what was going on, but now that they had been caught, Lucky's eyes widened and he tried to cover for their indiscretion by quickly reaching over and ringing the doorbell. The attempt failed miserably, and Vijay looked at him like he was crazy. Raj just shook his head.

Raj turned to Aisha. "These are my friends, Lucky and Vij- " Vijay's eyes widened, and Raj quickly recovered. "Vijeesh." Lucky and Vijay could see that Aisha's eyes were swollen and her face was puffy, but she was still beautiful. Raj looked at his mom for the last time, smiled sadly, and turned to leave.

"Raj," Aisha said. "May I have just one moment with your friends?" Raj shrugged. "I mean, alone," she added. He looked at his mother questioningly, but she offered a reassuring smile. Raj embraced her one last time, nodded to his grandmother, and jogged across the street to the park to wait for his friends.

Vijay and Lucky stood on the porch with Aisha, unsure of why they had been asked to stay behind. Lucky spoke first, since it didn't seem like Vijay was going to. "Madam, is there something we can do for you?"

"Raj will probably have a lot to say to you when you leave here, and I just want you to know that I did the best I could," Aisha said, tears threatening to spill down her face at any moment. "You are his friends. You must promise me that you will take care of him, always."

Lucky had no idea what had transpired inside the house, but her request was easy to agree to. "Yes, madam, of course. He is like the brother I never had. No worries, madam. We will take good care of him."

"Thank you, Lucky. Now, may I have a word, please, with Vijeesh?" Vijay looked at Lucky. "It's okay, Lucky. I'll be over in a minute," Vijay nodded. Lucky didn't want to leave him behind, but he reluctantly walked down the front steps. He saw Raj in the park, and headed over to meet him.

Aisha turned to face Vijay. "Thank you for coming with Raj," she said.

"He's my friend," Vijay said by way of explanation.

"Yes, he is. A very good friend. A friend who would do anything for you," Aisha said, staring into Vijay's eyes.

Vijay cleared his throat. "Yes, madam."

"You take good care of him, too."

"Yes, of course, madam."

"And you will also take good care of my daughter, won't you, Vijay?"

Vijay's face fell, and the color drained from his cheeks. "Madam? How...how did you..."

"A mother knows, Vijay. It is not as though Hina never spoke of you."

"Please, madam, I never meant any disrespect - " Vijay started.

Aisha put up her hand. "When I first came to know about you and Hina, I knew that our society would never accept your love, and I didn't want Hina to go through that pain. So even though I had nothing against you personally, I tried everything to convince her that her feelings were inappropriate, and that she couldn't continue to see you. Everything, that is, except to tell my daughter the truth about why I was so concerned. But now it doesn't matter, does it? She's run away with you."

Vijay didn't know what she was referring to when she said she hadn't told Hina the truth, but he couldn't think about that now. This was his one chance with her mother, and he struggled to find the words to impress upon her that he was a good person with good intentions, and that he'd never meant to hurt anyone. "Please," Vijay begged. "I am not trying to cause you or your family any trouble. But I love your daughter...she is the most amazing person I have ever met! I love her heart and her soul, and I love the person I am when I am with her, and she always makes me want to be better and try harder, and..." Vijay desperately tried to explain his feelings for Hina, but words were failing him. "Please, don't hate her. Hate me. She loves you all, and it was my mistake to pull her away. Maybe I should have stopped her. I could have stopped her..."

Aisha suddenly laughed out loud, which startled Vijay. "Oh, Vijay. I was just beginning to believe you for a minute. But if you honestly think that you could have stopped my daughter from following her own heart, then you obviously do not know her at all."

Vijay didn't know how to respond, since he couldn't quite decide if Aisha was amused or angry, or perhaps on the verge of a breakdown. Aisha saw his discomfort. "Vijay, I have made many, many mistakes in my life. Raising an independent daughter who believes in herself and follows her dreams is not one of them. Hina is my beautiful, capable, loving daughter. She is my heart, and because I carried her inside of me, I know her heart like it was my own. And I know that her heart belongs to you now. My husband and son, they have disowned her. But don't let their prejudice and cowardice tarnish your feelings for her. Don't look at her differently. You and Lucky and Raj...you will be her family now. Promise me that. You must promise me that," Aisha said, tears filling her eyes. She put her hands up in embarrassment and motioned for Vijay to leave. Reluctantly he turned to leave, but glanced back at her after a few steps. She had already gone back inside and closed the door behind her.

Vijay stared at the closed front door. "I promise," he said. "I promise."

***

Vijay called a cab to pick them up from Aisha's house, and Lucky kept asking questions about what had happend, but neither Raj nor Vijay would talk while they waited for the cab, or during the entire ride home. When they finally entered the apartment, Raj sat down dejectedly at the table. "I'm going back," he said.

"Back where?" Lucky asked.

"India," Raj replied.

"Are you crazy?" Lucky replied incredulously. Even Vijay, who still had not spoken, seemed surprised.

"Raj, what happened at the house? What is going on? You have said nothing to us," Lucky implored. "And Vijay, why you are so quiet, too?"

Lucky and Vijay sat down at the table with Raj, and finally Raj began to speak. For the next twenty minutes, he explained in detail what he had learned about his background, about his mother and father and their illicit marriage, about his birth and his father's death at the hands of his grandfather, and about how his grandmother had lied about Raj's death and abandoned him in an effort to save her family from her husband's wrath. Even though Vijay and Lucky had been fairly certain that Aisha was Raj's mother, they were completely unprepared for the story Raj told them.

"I am so sorry, Raj," Lucky said, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "But at least now you know everything and you can have the family now. So why go back to India?"

"I don't have a family, Lucky. My mother cannot accept me. She has her own family now, her own life, and I don't fit anywhere. There's no way I can interfere with her life now, especially after everything that has happened." Raj quickly looked at Vijay. "Sorry, man. I didn't mean it like that. It's not your fault."

Lucky looked confused. "She knows, Lucky," Vijay explained. "When she asked to talk to me alone, she told me she knew who I was, and asked me to take care of Hina."

"Seriously, dude?" Lucky whistled softly.

"Damn it!" Vijay shouted, slamming his fist down on the table and startling Raj and Lucky. Vijay stood up abruptly, shoving his chair back from the table. While he felt guilty for inflicting pain on Hina's family when he'd convinced her to leave with him, he was now wracked with guilt that his love affair with her had ultimately cost Raj his only chance with his family. If he hadn't fallen in love with Hina, or if he'd insisted on handling the situation himself and not involving his friends, Raj never would have fought with Shoaib, and maybe then he'd stand a chance with his family. Now he knew he'd ruined everything for Raj.

"Raj, please," Vijay said, quickly walking back to the table and squatting in front of Raj. "We'll figure this out, we'll find a way to make it right. I can't let you leave like this, especially not after what I've done."

Raj patted his friend on the back. "You didn't do anything, Vijay. You fell in love. That's a good thing, and you had no way of knowing; none of us did. Look, I came to this country to answer the biggest question of my life, and I have. So there is no purpose in staying here. At least if I go back to Kashmir, I can be close to my father's soul."

"And what about Carrie?" Lucky demanded.

"What about Carrie?" Raj sighed. "I love Carrie. But after so many years of trying to find my parents, only to find out that my father is dead and my mother can't be my mother...I can't live like this, knowing she is so close, but I can't be with her or get to know her. I just can't do it. It will kill me every moment of every day that I stay here," Raj said, becoming extremely emotional. Vijay and Lucky understood, and they put their arms around Raj. All of these years, Raj had survived by hanging on to a fragile thread, a hope that one day he'd be reunited with his family. And now that he had been, he had to face a hard and bitter truth: He was not welcome. Despite all of the scenarios Raj had imagined over the years, he wasn't sure why this was one he had never entertained. He'd prepared himself to never find his parents, and he'd prepared himself to find out that he was too late, and that they'd already passed away. But to have found his mother and to know that she had moved on with her life without him was simply too much for Raj. He felt more alone now than he had ever felt when he'd thought he was an orphan.

Vijay and Lucky knew they couldn't change Raj's mind, and they sat dejectedly as Raj called the airlines to book the morning flight back to India. They helped him pack his bags, though he didn't have much to take back with him.

"You do not want to call Carrie?" Lucky asked after they set Raj's bags by the front door.

Raj shook his head. "I can't. What could I say that would make her understand any of this? Can you think of anything I could say or write that would make her forgive me for leaving?"

"Maybe if you explain to her..." Vijay began.

"Explain what? That I love her, but that she's not enough?" Raj snapped. "Trust me, there is nothing that I can say that's going to make this better for her. If I thought that Carrie could be happy being with me in India, maybe things would be different. But she's a British girl in America. Her career is here. Her friends are here. Her life is here. Do you think she's the kind of girl who would just pack her bags and move to Kashmir so she can get fat and pregnant with my babies? Come on, guys! It's never going to work. It's better for her this way. She doesn't need any 'explanation' because all she's going to hear is that not being able to be with my mother is a greater tragedy for me than not being able to be with her. A woman like Carrie deserves better than that. A woman like Carrie doesn't need a man like me," Raj said with disgust. He got up from the table and stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

Lucky turned to Vijay. "Now what?"

"Now what, what? Now nothing. It's his decision, Lucky."

"Come on, dude, you know he loves her! He is just hurt right now. He is not thinking. This all just happened today and he is not even waiting and taking the time. His brain is not working. He will regret this, Vijay. At least he should give her the chance, let her decide what she wants to do," Lucky argued. "Maybe she wants to be fat!"

Vijay shook his head. "Pregnant, maybe. But girls never want to be fat."

Lucky laughed despite himself, then quickly put on his angry face again. "Seriously, Vijay, stop playing. Raj convinced you to go to Hina when you were giving up. Do you remember what he said? He said, when you find someone who loves you, you do not give up on them. Raj should not give up on Carrie without even talking to her."

Vijay sighed. "I know, Lucky. You're right. Of course, you're right. I'm just distracted and being selfish right now. I can't stop thinking about what Aisha said to me.

What did she say?"

"Just that she was counting on all of us to be Hina's family, now that hers had disowned her. But we'll deal with that later. We need to think about Raj now. What do you want me to do? He won't even talk to Carrie."

Lucky scratched his head like he did sometimes when he was working on a particularly vexing multivariate probability question. He suddenly snapped his fingers. "I know what to do!"

"Feel like sharing?" Vijay asked. Lucky seemed too pleased with himself to do much more than grin at Vijay like a crazy person.

"Call Carrie," Lucky instructed.

"That's your brilliant plan? Call Carrie? Lucky, come on. Even if we tell her everything, I don't know that it will make any difference. Not unless she's willing to get fat and pregnant in Kashmir, anyway. Raj seems to have made up his mind. I really don't think Carrie will be able to convince him to stay."

"Then it is good thing that she does not have to," Lucky replied.

***

At eight o'clock that evening, Raj took a final look around the Bay Ridge apartment before banging on Lucky's door. "Hey, man, you called the car service, right?"

Lucky quickly opened the door and shook his head like a bobble head doll. "Sure, sure. It will be here any time. No worries."

Raj didn't seem worried, but the look of depression on his face was unmistakable. "Where's Vijay?" Raj asked. Almost on cue, Vijay came out of his bedroom and slipped his phone into his pocket. He glanced at Lucky and nodded discreetly. There was an awkward silence as the three boys stood in the hallway looking at each other, not knowing how to say goodbye. Raj cleared his throat. "Look, guys, I know you don't agree with my decision, but I hope that you can...what? I don't know. Understand? Forgive me? Not think I'm a coward?" Raj stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes.

The doorbell rang and Lucky jumped. Raj opened his eyes and looked at his friends. "So, are you coming with, or are you saying goodbye here? If you want to do it here, I understand. I don't want you to have to pay for the ride back from the airport."

"Um, no, it's fine. We'll go with you. Let's go," Vijay said, motioning for Raj to take the lead.

Raj smiled and looked relieved. "Good! I don't know if I'm quite ready to say goodbye yet."

"I hope not," Lucky replied under his breath. Raj furrowed his brow at Lucky, then shouted towards the front door. "Yup, coming!" He threw his backpack over his shoulder and extended the handle on the larger bag, pulling it behind him as he opened the door.

A small woman was standing in front of him, nervously tucking her hair into her hijab. She smiled at him – a beautiful, shy smile. "Bhai..."

Raj stared at Hina, and then slowly took his bag off his shoulder and let it slide to the floor. He hadn't expected to see her again after the day they'd crashed her wedding and dropped her off at Carrie's apartment.

"Hina...what...what are you doing here?" Raj felt a lump in his throat.

"Bhai, please."

She called me 'brother,' was all that Raj could think.

"Bhai, I don't think my family is going to accept me, ever. I don't have any hopes to be with them again. I have lost them. I can't lose you, too. Allah sent you to me for a purpose in my life. Please don't leave me. Please..." Hina begged, her eyes glistening.

"So you know? Everything?" Raj asked slowly.

"Yes. Vijay called me last night and told me everything. About my mother, about Mohan and their love for each other. About how he died, and how you were saved, and how you had spent your whole life trying to find your family. It all sounded so incredible, but somehow I knew that everything he said was true. My...our mother," she corrected herself, "has always been a wonderful, loving mother, but there has always been a sadness in her, a part of her heart that always seemed to be grieving some kind of loss. And every year, at the same time in the middle of October, my mother would pray and fast, and I never knew why. When is your birthday, bhai?" Hina asked softly.

"October 20th, or at least, that's when they found me." Raj replied.

Hina smiled and took a step closer to him. "She prayed for you on your birthday, Raj. And she prayed for Mohan, too. The same day your father left our mother's world, you came into it, and her heart breaks every year on this day. And yet she gives thanks to Allah every year for you both."

A huge sob escaped from Raj's throat, and he didn't care what anyone thought. Hina tentatively took another step forward and extended her arms. Raj hesitated for only a moment before wrapping his arms around her small frame and embracing her, his tears creating an intricate pattern of grief, loss, and resurrection on her silk hijab.

"Bhai, our mother...you mustn't judge her. I am proud of her for pursuing love in the presence of so many restrictions, even though her love was stolen from her. I know that without Nadira's help and the protection of American laws, I would not be able to love Vijay openly. Don't you see? I have achieved our mother's dream. I have done what she was never permitted to do. And one day, I hope that she will find the courage to accept us both into her life."

Raj nodded in agreement, his cheek still pressed against the top of Hina head, his strong arms embracing the sister he never knew he had. "Me, too," he whispered. "Me, too."

Raj had his eyes closed and didn't see that Carrie was standing behind Hina at a respectable distance, watching the reunion unfold. When he opened his eyes and saw her, he bowed his head in shame. "Carrie..." he started, but choked on his tears.

Hina stepped to the side as Carrie approach Raj.

"Carrie, I'm so sorry...I...I don't know what else to say," Raj said, his eyes pleading with Carrie's. "I know it's not enough."

Carrie had been hurt, without a doubt. When Vijay and Lucky told her that Raj had bought a ticket back to India and hadn't intended to say goodbye, she'd been furious. A hundred different things had run through her mind, none of them positive. Had she really been so blind as to fall for a selfish playboy? A man willing to sleep with her, but not willing to include her in the biggest decisions of his life? Was Raj ashamed of her? Did he think she wasn't good enough for him?

Vijay and Lucky were on the unfortunate end of this barrage of questions and accusations, and it took a concerted effort on their part before they were finally able to calm her down enough to hear Raj's story. "And so," Vijay had told her, "If you love him, you'll understand that he has lost his parents all over again, just like he did when he was a newborn. He is devastated right now, and you just need to give him time to figure things out, without getting angry or taking his decisions personally." Then he'd asked her to put Hina on the phone, as he knew he needed to have a long and difficult conversation with her as well. By the time the call ended, Vijay and Lucky were both emotionally drained, and they passed out in Vijay's bed, waking only when Raj came back to the apartment with dinner.

Carrie now looked at the man she loved, and felt his pain as her own. "Ssssh, Raj, don't," Carrie said soothingly. "You don't have to apologize to me for being a man who feels things deeply. You don't have to apologize to me for loving your parents, and for grieving their loss for a second time in your life. You don't have to apologize to me for not knowing how to face me, when you've just had to face one of the most difficult and heartbreaking moments of your life," Carrie said, wrapping her arms around Raj. He hugged her to him fiercely.

"You might have to apologize to me, however, for calling me fat," she whispered in his ear.

Raj pushed her away and held her at arms' length, a look of incredulity on his face. "What are you talking about? I never called you fat!" Raj protested, and Vijay and Lucky giggled.

Carrie threw her head back and laughed. "I know. I was just teasing. But seriously, you were going to go back to India without even saying goodbye?" she said indignantly, slapping his chest. "You deserved that, and everything else you're going to have to endure to get back in my good graces," she said.

Raj wiped the tears off his face. "Let me guess...more subjugation of an Indian by a Brit?"

"Perhaps," Carrie replied coyly.

Lucky and Vijay couldn't stand it anymore. "Hey, sale," Vijay said, addressing Raj by the Hindi word for brother-in-law, "any way we could get in on this little love affair?"

"Yeah," Lucky complained. "I never had to talk so much in whole my life as I did tonight with these girls. You owe me, dude. You think you are so generous with the hugs, maybe you can spare one or two for us?"

Raj laughed and jumped at his friends, grabbing them in a big bear hug. Until now, Raj had cursed God for taking everything away from him that he thought was important. But standing in that doorway, surrounded by his sister and these friends who had become his family, Raj knew that he had gained so much more than he'd lost. The love of his friends would heal his heart. For ten years, Raj had wandered through life, a lost soul searching for answers and for his true home. For ten years, he'd thought that until he'd found his parents, until someone stepped up and claimed him as their own, that his life would continue to be meaningless. That night, Raj realized that he was only partially right. Vijay, Lucky, Carrie, and Hina were not the people he had imagined that would heal his pain, and his life in America was nothing like he had anticipated. But these people – these people were the ones who had stepped up and claimed Raj as their own. And it was here, standing in this apartment in Bay Ridge, surrounded by his people, that Raj realized he was finally home.

Chapter 12

Kaveri, Vijay, and Lucky didn't realize how the night had passed them by as they recounted all of these memories. When Vijay's mother awoke, she'd found them in the living room talking.

"Did you not sleep? You have a big day in front of you!" Vijay's mother scolded. She was in disbelief. Young people, she thought.

"That's why we couldn't sleep," Vijay replied. His mother muttered to herself and then went to the kitchen to make breakfast.

"So what happened next?" Kaveri asked Vijay, lazily covering her mouth as she yawned.

"Hina stayed with Carrie for a few days and then rented a small place using the funds from her fellowship until she completed her masters. And as I'm sure you are aware," Vijay smiled, gesturing at her fiancé, "Lucky completed his MBA and got a good job here, but he moved to India after a few years to take care of his parents. I completed my PhD and started working as a researcher," Vijay explained.

"And what about Raj?" Kaveri asked.

Vijay laughed. "Stick around here for a few days and you'll probably catch him on TV or see him in a magazine. He's a pretty famous chef here in New York, and he gets interviewed a lot. Raj and Carrie do a lot of charity work with a foundation that's trying to eradicate polio from the remote areas in Pakistan. It's important to them to honor Raj's father's and his dream."

"So did Aisha accept him finally?" Kaveri inquired eagerly.

Vijay looked wistful and shook his head. "No, she'd didn't. Hina's father had heart disease, and he just recently passed away from his third heart attack. I think because he'd been ill for so long, no one wanted to upset him. Aisha was able to talk to Hina once or twice on the phone since Hina left the house. She told Hina that she thought it was best to honor her marriage. Hina's dad wasn't a bad man. He was just born in a different time, with different values, but he'd been faithful to Aisha and to their marriage, and she didn't want to hurt him by betraying his belief about their life together, and about her life before him. Hina and I also decided that we would postpone our marriage until after his death out of respect."

Lucky had closed eyes and was trying to get a quick nap, and he'd begun to snore.

"Oh, really? And what did your mother say about all this?" Kaveri whispered.

"My mom loves Hina, even more so because she's so loyal to her beliefs. Mom appreciates Hina's dedication to her faith. She's cool with everything," Vijay laughed. Just then, Shobha walked into the room and asked everyone to take a shower and get ready for breakfast before the wedding guests started to arrive. The house had three full bathrooms, so the morning rituals went rather smoothly and everyone was ready on time.

The wedding had been planned with both Hindu and Islamic traditions in mind. Since the ceremony was taking place in the U.S., most of Vijay's middle-class relatives hadn't made the trip, and no one in Hina's family had shown, despite the fact that Vijay had insisted that Hina send them an invitation. He didn't do so out of spite, but out of concern that if Hina didn't at least try to extend an olive branch and make amends with her family, she'd always regret it. In the end, the wedding was a small ceremony by Indian and Pakistani standards, attended mostly by close friends, colleagues, and their families.

Vijay's house had a huge, landscaped backyard, so they'd decided to hold the religious ceremonies at the house and then have a wedding party the next day in New York. An events team had set up for both ceremonies the day before, so that when the wedding planner and her assistants arrived at 9 am on the day of the ceremonies, they only had to double check the placements and details. The Islamic nikah was planned first, before noon, and the Hindu vivaha was planned for later in the afternoon.

As per Vijay's family traditions, he was not allowed to see Hina for the five days leading up to his wedding day, which is why Hina was not able to attend his award ceremony the night before. Raj had agreed to take care of all of the food arrangements, and he and Hina were both disappointed that they couldn't be with Vijay for such a prestigious event, but Vijay had insisted that they maintain tradition, as it would have been important to his dad. Raj grumbled about it, because he'd been so proud of Vijay's academic accomplishments, but had ultimately relented. He'd asked Carrie to stand in for him and accompany Vijay and his mother to the ceremony, so that he'd be able to focus on the wedding preparations, and she'd been more than happy to oblige. Vijay and Hina were far more important to Raj than any snooty food critic from The New Yorker, and he wanted to ensure that everything was prepared to perfection. He'd stayed up all night making sure that every appetizer, main course, and dessert met his strict standards.

Vijay was in his bedroom, the room he would soon share with his new wife. He was alone, and the noise and bustle around him faded away for a few moments. Vijay sat quietly on the edge of the bed, meditating. As he brought his focus back to the present, he thought of his father, wishing he were alive to witness this beautiful milestone in his life. His father would have been proud of his award from the other night, but he would have been even prouder to see Vijay become a man and take this step, risking his heart for the woman he loved. Vijay had been young when his father passed, but he was old enough to know that his parents had shared something special, and their relationship had always been an inspiration to Vijay. He'd always been sad that his mother had lost the love of her life at such a young age.

Vijay stood up and began to dress. He wore the sherwani and the turban that Hina chose for him, and after he finished, he stood in front of the picture of his father and prayed to take his blessings. Vijay wondered what Hina was doing, and if she was also getting dressed at this moment. He couldn't wait to see her, and had dreamt of how beautiful he knew she would be. Vijay heard the doorbell, and someone downstairs greeted the guests that had started to arrive. Everyone had worn Indian style colorful dresses, and came bearing large and small gifts wrapped in beautiful gold and silver paper and ribbon. Taking one last glance at his father's photo, Vijay headed downstairs to see his friends and family.

Raj was manning the kitchen and ordering around the assistant chefs when Carrie and Nadira arrived with Hina. As Hina's eldest brother, Raj was going to serve as her wali, or guardian, for both of the wedding ceremonies, but he had to make sure the kitchen was under control before he ran upstairs to change. Carrie spotted him in the kitchen and waived, and Nadira kept an eye out for Vijay as Carrie snuck Hina upstairs to the guest bedroom that would serve as her dressing room. Hina had chosen an exquisite long-sleeved, high-collared wedding gown adorned with thousands of crystal beads. She thought it complemented Vijay's sherwani, and hoped that he would like her in it.

Raj was finishing the last of his instructions when Lucky bounded down the steps and into the kitchen. He and Kaveri had just been upstairs changing into formal wear themselves, and Lucky wrinkled his nose when he saw Raj. "Dude, you are wearing an apron to escort your sister in her wedding?"

Raj looked up and grinned. "I could wear anything and still look better than you, you bastard!" He ran over to Lucky and threw his arms around him. "How are you? Where's the lucky girl?" Raj asked. Kaveri had followed Lucky into the kitchen and introduced herself.

"Raj, so happy to finally meet you! I've heard so much about you," Kaveri said, offered her hand.

"All good things, I hope?" Raj asked with a grin.

"Absolutely," Kaveri reassured him. Raj grabbed Lucky in a headlock and mussed his hair.

"Way to go, buddy," he whispered. "Looks like you are a lucky charm...and there's no question that she's magically delicious," Raj joked.

Lucky struggled against Raj's hold. "Dude, I still do not get that joke. But it sounds dirty, and you should not talk about my fiancé like that," Lucky grumbled.

Raj laughed and let Lucky go. "No offense. Seriously, man, it's so good to see you!" Raj embraced his friend again and Lucky smiled.

Raj ran upstairs and changed, and just in time, because the nikah ceremony was about to start. Vijay stood awaiting Hina's entrance, and when she appeared, Vijay struggled to breathe. In all of his dreams, he had never imagined that Hina would look so beautiful in her wedding gown. The material and the cut were stunning on her, but what Vijay admired the most was Hina's natural beauty. In many ways, she had looked just as stunning to him on the first day they'd met, when she was wearing casual school clothes and her hair had stubbornly kept peeking out from underneath her hijab. Hina's attractiveness was not about her makeup, which was always minimal, or the clothes she wore, which were always modest, but about an inner beauty that radiated outward whenever she spoke to Vijay or offered him one of her shy smiles. He was powerless against such true beauty, and he wished that Hina would offer him one of those smiles as she sat across from him. But Hina seemed to be distracted as the Imam started reading the Quran to both of them, her gaze returning repeatedly to the door that led from the house to the backyard.

Hina finally noticed that Vijay, who was positioned across from her and behind a transparent curtain, was mouthing something to her. Initially she thought he was asking her to pay attention to the Imam, and she blushed and lowered her eyelids in embarrassment. But when she chanced another glance at Vijay, he motioned to something behind her. Hina turned around to see her mother sitting on the floor right behind her. Not caring that the ceremony was in progress, Hina hugged Aisha tightly, but she couldn't speak to her in front of the Imam. She turned her attention back to the Imam and Vijay.

"Do you accept?" Imam said, asking for Hina's agreement for marriage.

"Kabool," Hina replied in affirmation. The Imam asked the same question to both Hina and Vijay three times, and they both confirmed their readiness for marriage. The Imam then introduced the couple to the wedding guests as husband and wife, and congratulated everyone on the occasion of the marriage. The audience burst out in cheers and clapping, and Hina was overjoyed. She wasn't sure if she was more excited to finally be married to Vijay, or to see her mother for the first time in years, but she'd never dreamed that she could be this happy. Hina held on to her mother like a little girl while Aisha congratulated Vijay. After Aisha had shared her good wishes and spoken to Vijay and Lucky for a few minutes, she looked around the crowd.

"Where is Raj?" she asked.

"He was in the garden with Carrie, last time I saw him," Lucky replied. Aisha unwrapped her arm from her daughter's and excused herself. She briefly touched Vijay's arm as she walked away.

Carrie noticed Aisha enter the gardens, and she smiled at her and left her alone with Raj.

"Are you angry with me?" Aisha asked, approaching her son.

Raj looked down and shook his head.

"So why are you running away from me?" Aisha asked.

"I don't want you to be embarrassed," Raj said, keeping his head down.

Aisha saw tears welling up in her son's eyes, and she took his face in her hands. "I was never embarrassed about you. In fact, I was ashamed of myself for leaving you alone, not once, but twice. Can you ever forgive me? I am so proud of you, Raj. You remind me so much of your father." Aisha pulled Raj into her arms in front of all of the guests in the garden, no longer worried about what people might think. "If it's okay with you, I would like to get to know my son," Aisha said, her face pressed against Raj's chest.

"But what about Shoaib?" Raj asked.

Aisha sighed, taking a step back. "Shoaib chooses his own road in life, as we all do. As for me, I will not choose between my sons. I love you both, and I will continue to do so until the end of my days. It is up to Shoaib to decide if he can accept that, and if he can, I will be here, waiting for him at the end of his path with open arms. But I will never let anyone stand in the way of my relationship with you and Hina ever again. I am sorry I did not say this to you before, but I want to thank you for not giving up, Raj. Thank you for looking for me until you found me," Aisha said, hugging her son closely to her.

Raj's tears kept falling as he hugged her back.

"Hey," Aisha said, smiling through her tears. "Whenever I see you on TV and people talk about your cooking, I feel very proud. You should cook for me sometime. I want to eat the food made by my son."

Raj smiled. "Have you tried the chicken tikka here?"

Aisha laughed. "No, I haven't. Let's go make me a plate, what do you think?" Aisha linked her arm through Raj's and they headed back towards the house. Raj saw that Carrie was waiting for him at the door. "Who is that girl?" Aisha teased. "She is very pretty."

"Oh! She's my friend, Carrie," Raj blushed, suddenly feeling shy.

"Are you sure she is just a friend?" Aisha asked. The smile on Raj's face told her everything. Aisha walked up to Carrie and took her hands in hers. "May Allah bless you. Thank you for taking care of my son," she said before she walked into the house. Raj took Carrie's hand in his, and Carrie kissed him on the cheek.

A few hours later, after the guests had complimented Raj on all the food, the Hindu wedding ceremony started. Vijay and Hina sat under the mandap, and Vijay smiled at his mother who was sitting nearby. Raj performed kanyadaan, a Hindu tradition usually performed by fathers giving away their daughters in marriage, and Hina and Vijay placed garlands around each other's necks.

The guests watched as the traditional Hindu ceremonies ensued, and when the pandit finally announced them as husband and wife, the guests cheered, and Lucky jumped up to begin his job as deejay. He fired up the speakers, flooding the house and yard, and probably most of the neighborhood, with the loud, joyful sound of Indian Bollywood music. The wedding crowd slowly migrated to the middle of the yard and began to dance and sway to the music.

Raj and Carrie stood on the perimeter of a large circle of friends and relatives, and Raj scanned the crowd for Vijay. Vijay was several yards away, twirling Hina around as she threw her head back in laughter. Raj caught Vijay's eye, and Vijay smiled and nodded, whispered to his new wife and excused himself. Together, Vijay and Raj walked over to where Lucky and Kaveri were standing, and motioned to the man next to him to take over Lucky's deejay responsibilities.

"Come on, man!" Raj shouted over the music as he grabbed Lucky by the arm. "Let your friend take care of the music...just one dance!" Kaveri smiled and encouraged Lucky to go with his friends.

Lucky reluctantly abandoned his post and followed as Raj dragged him further into the crowd. When the three boys reached the center of the impromptu dance floor in the middle of Vijay's yard, they stopped and looked at each other. For the first time in years, it was just the three of them, together again. Everything suddenly seem to fall away and the music faded into the background as the boys stood silent and motionless in a sea of twisting and gyrating bodies, their faces holding expressions that only they could read and understand. Raj nodded at Vijay, who in turn nodded his head to Lucky. Lucky's eyes filled with tears, and he wiped at them with embarrassment, but when he looked at Vijay and Raj, their eyes were also clouded with tears.

Raj laughed. "Look at us! We're worse than a bunch of girls!" Lucky laughed and sniffled, and Vijay smiled. "No more tears!" Raj shouted. "This is Vijay's wedding!" He grabbed Lucky's arm, pulled it high above his head, and spun him around like a top before dipping him low in his arms.

"Dude!" Lucky shouted, his face turning red as he lay bent over backwards in Raj's arms. "Stop it! Let me up!"

Vijay burst into laughter and clapped his hands to the beat of the music. Raj set Lucky back on his feet, and Lucky made quite the show of straightening his clothes and feigning indignation, which only made Vijay laugh harder. He looked at Vijay and then made a face at Raj, but as hard as he tried, he couldn't maintain the act. Lucky grinned, and Raj grabbed him in a bear hug. Lucky hugged him back, and Vijay moved closer and put his arms around his two best friends, his two brothers. They had seen each other through years of life's ups and downs, and Vijay knew that no matter what happened or where they all ended up, nothing could break the bond that had been forged when they'd first arrived in America as three poor Indian graduate students.

When they finally released each other from the embrace, they saw that all the women had gathered around them. Carrie smiled at Vijay. "Any room for us in this little love affair?"

The boys laughed with embarrassment and Hina and Vijay paired off, and Raj took Carrie into his arms. Lucky and Kaveri began to dance, and Aisha and Shobha began swaying to the music, and their laughter and joyful singing filled the air. The party would continue long into the evening hours, when the backyard took on an ethereal glow from the tabletop candles and the paper lanterns and the thousands of tiny white lights that were strung throughout the trees. Vijay smiled as he watched his friends eating and dancing. He'd had no idea when he came to America what fate had in store for him, the people he would meet, the acquaintances who would become his friends, and then his family. His work was important to him, and the award he'd won was a nice, professional nod to his research achievements. But as he looked around at the wedding party, he knew that no research breakthrough could ever make him feel the way he felt right now. These people – at one time, all strangers - had come together and created a family in this strange, exotic land, thousands of miles from India, and it was this accomplishment that Vijay was most proud of. He was suddenly overwhelmed with love for this new extended family of his, and as he pulled Hina into a warm embrace, he knew in his heart that nothing he had experienced before and nothing he would experience in the future would ever surpass the love and joy he felt in that moment.
Afterward

"Is she pushing? It does not sound like she is pushing," Lucky said, trying to peer through the door to the delivery room.

"Lucky, come sit down and wait, like the rest of us," Kaveri admonished. "Vijay will come out and let us know what is happening as soon as he can."

Raj was also pacing the hallway, while Carrie had taken a seat next to Kaveri and flipped through the latest issue of Vogue. Shobha and Aisha were sitting nearby, chatting nervously and sipping bitter, cold tea they had bought at a vending machine. The group had been there for several hours, and they were all a little anxious for the show to start.

Suddenly the delivery room door swung open, and a scrub nurse appeared. She smiled amicably. "It's time. She wants you to come now."

Lucky clapped his hands and jumped up from his chair, but Kaveri grabbed him by the shirtsleeve and yanked hard. "Lucky!" she hissed. The nurse giggled. "I'm sorry, sir. I was speaking to her mother and mother-in-law."

"Oh, sorry, sorry," he said, bobbing his head and reluctantly taking his seat. Shobha and Aisha set their Styrofoam cups on the table and anxiously walked towards the delivery room. Before they could enter, Lucky again jumped up from his seat and ran over to the nurse.

"Sorry, sorry, but could you make sure to tell the doctor that she needs to push? Push hard. And do not worry about the screaming. Women sometimes scream, and it is okay."

The nurse seemed amused. "What is your name, sir?"

"Lucky, ma'am."

"Okay, Lucky. Dr. Rai has been delivering babies for about twenty years now, but I will definitely make sure to give her your advice."

Lucky smiled triumphantly and nodded. "Thank you, ma'am!"

Vijay appeared at the door wearing a pair of paper scrubs and a cap. He was sweating profusely, dark tendrils of hair plastered to his forehead. "The doctor said to come now."

Shobha and Aisha pushed past him into the room, and then he followed. Aisha went to her daughter's bedside, took her hand in hers, and softly whispered encouraging words in her ear. Vijay stood on the other side of the bed, and Shobha stood next to him, proudly watching her son comfort his wife as she labored with her first child. Vijay wasn't as impressed with his ability to comfort, and he looked as though he might faint at any moment. It was at times like these that he realized that the "Dr." in front of his name was not helping him in the least. When he was a young boy, his instructors had been so impressed by his grades that they'd encouraged him to consider medical school. As a smart Indian boy from a middle class family, Vijay's options were limited: he could have studied to be an engineer or a doctor, and one class in zoology was all it took for Vijay to decide that he would make a terrible doctor. Now, standing in this hospital room and seeing his wife enduring the pain of labor only reaffirmed what he'd known long ago. He forced himself to take a few deep breaths, and then kissed Hina's forehead.

"Okay, Hina, you're doing great. Just one or two more good pushes and we should be there," the doctor encouraged.

Hina gave a loud cry, which startled Vijay. He'd had no idea that such a loud, horrible sound could come from his shy, tiny wife. Hina squeezed Vijay's hand and bore down with all of her strength.

"And there he is! Hello, little man!" Dr. Rai exclaimed, cradling the slimy little boy in her hands.

Aisha and Shobha wiped away happy tears as they admired their new grandson.

"Okay, dad, do you want to cut the cord?" Dr. Rai looked at Vijay expectantly, but Vijay was a frozen bundle of nerves, and couldn't speak.

"Come on, dad, it's not hard at all. I've clamped off the cord, and I just need you to cut right here in the middle. Don't be afraid to put some pressure on it; it's tougher than you would think."

Vijay's hands shook as he reached for the scissors and cut the cord where the doctor had instructed. Dr. Rai laughed. "What is it that you do, Dr. Kumar?"

"I'm a mechanical engineer," Vijay replied, his voice shaky as he stared in awe at his son.

"Hmm. That's very good to know, Dr. Kumar, because you certainly don't have the hands of a surgeon."

Dr. Rai handed the baby to the nurses so that they could clean him and do an Apgar assessment, then turned her attention back to her patient. "Okay, Hina, how are you feeling? Do you think you're okay? Are you ready? You can do this, you know."

Vijay had been watching the nurse as she carried his son to the table, but now he spun around to look at the doctor and then at his wife. "What's happening?" he asked, his voice laced with fear. Hina still seemed like she was in a lot of pain. "Ready for what? What does she need to do? Is there something wrong?" Vijay was beginning to panic. Dr. Rai was not their regular OB, but he'd been called into an emergency surgery and had reassured Vijay that he had full confidence in Dr. Rai's skills.

"She's fine, Dr. Kumar. But it's time."

Hina was covered in sweat, and she was in obvious distress. Vijay knew something was terribly wrong, because he'd watched all of those health channel documentaries and the shows about the sixteen year-olds giving birth when they didn't know they were pregnant, and every time, once the baby was out, the women didn't seem like they were in pain anymore. Or at least they didn't care about it, because they were too busy fawning over their babies. But Hina wasn't paying any attention to her son's cries, and her breathing was jagged. Vijay was suddenly very afraid for his wife.

Hina looked at the doctor and grimaced with pain. "He doesn't know," she panted.

"Oh, really?" Dr. Rai raised her brows in surprise and shook her head.

"Know what?" This time Vijay couldn't control himself. He looked at Shobha and Aisha, but neither of them seemed concerned.

"Well, Dr. Kumar," Dr. Rai smiled. "I hope you have a strong heart. Or good insurance. Don't worry, our hospital has a wonderful cardiac intensive care unit," she said sarcastically.

Vijay looked at the doctor like she'd lost her mind. "Please," he begged. "What's wrong with my wife? Please don't let her die!" Vijay could hear his son crying in the background and he wanted to go to him, but his focus now was on Hina.

Hina reached up and grabbed Vijay's arm. "Vijay, it's okay. I'm sorry, it's just that you've always been the one to surprise me and I never get to surprise you. From the day...you gave me that card and the rose, and...then..." Hina couldn't talk through the pain that tore at her insides. She took short, shallow breaths. "When you came to the house and took me away from my wedding..."

The doctor jerked her head up and looked at Vijay, but he didn't notice.

"I just...wanted...to surprise you, just once," Hina said, between staccato breaths.

"Okay, Hina, I need for you to push. I need you to push hard, right now! Here we go!" Dr. Rai said.

Vijay stood in shock as Hina again began to push, and suddenly a small cry pierced the silence, joining the other baby's cries in a chorus of wails.

"Welcome to the world, little man," Dr. Rai said as she held the baby up and looked at Vijay. He looked unsteady, and then his face took on an unflattering greenish tint. Before he could make any sense out of what had just happened, he began to feel faint, and a nurse quickly helped him to the chair in the corner.

"Vijay!" Hina cried out.

Vijay sat for a moment and tried to control his dizziness. The nurse handed him a small cup of water, which he gulped down, and then he stood up on shaky feet and walked over to Hina, who was exhausted but glowing. Aisha reached over her daughter and squeezed Vijay's hand. "She wanted it to be a surprise. She was so happy when she found out that she wasn't giving you just one, but two sons!"

By now, both babies had been tested and swaddled, and the nurse placed one of Vijay's sons in the crook of his right arm, and the other in his left. Vijay stared down at them in awe, counting their tiny fingers, making sure there were twenty fingers total. Hina reached up to touch her sons. Vijay gently laid them both down in her arms, then closed his eyes and placed his lips against Hina's forehead.

"Do you have names chosen?" Dr. Rai had finished with Hina and took a moment to look at the babies.

"Just Rahim," Vijay said. "I don't know how she kept this secret from me. I was here for her appointments and we went shopping for one baby..."

Hina smiled. "I told our doctor that I wanted to keep it a secret, so he never said anything when you were here. And when he turned the screen to you during the ultrasounds, he made sure to focus only on the one baby. I tried to tell him that you were not doctor material, and that you wouldn't recognize two heads or four feet even if you saw them, but he said we should be careful not to ruin the surprise. After the way you cut the cord today, maybe she believes me now," Hina explained with a laugh.

"But we only bought one crib, one changing table..." Vijay said, shaking his head at his crazy and amazing wife.

"It's okay, Vijay. It's all taken care of," Hina said, smiling at Shobha and Aisha. "Mom, please bring me my hijab. I'd like for our friends to see the babies." Aisha nodded and combed her daughter's hair, then helped her with the hijab.

"Vijay, I'm ready. Go get everyone." Vijay seemed reluctant to leave, stroking his wife's forehead and rubbing his son's puffy red cheeks. "They'll still be here when you get back," Hina promised.

Vijay kissed Hina's cheek and went to the door. Lucky's nose was pressed against the glass, and he backed up when he saw Vijay coming towards him. "Alright everyone, come meet my sons," Vijay said, a huge grin plastered across his sweaty face.

Lucky and Raj stopped in their tracks. "What? What did you say? Did you say son or sons? I thought you said sons!" Lucky asked excitedly. He turned to Raj. "Raj, did he say son or sons?" Raj shrugged and looked at Carrie, but Carrie and Kaveri were giggling.

Lucky pushed past everyone and was the first into the room. He looked at Hina and the babies in her arms and took in a deep breath. "Two little mini Vijays!" he exclaimed. Hina smiled and looked down at both of her sons. "This is Rahim," she said, kissing the top of his head, "and this is Ram," planting a kiss on her other son's head.

Lucky clapped. "Ram and Rahim! Just like the comic book! Excellent choice!"

Hina laughed gently. "Yes, Lucky, just like the secret agents in the Indian comic book. But their names were fitting because Ram is a Hindu name and Rahim is a Muslim name. And yet my boys are brothers, and share the same blood. It's symbolic of all Hindus and Muslims. We are all brothers, and we must learn to love each other, and not hate what we don't understand." Aisha looked at her daughter with pride.

"Fantastic! I will go out now and buy them copies of the books," Lucky said.

Vijay chuckled. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, Lucky, but it's going to be awhile before they can read."

"They are the sons of Vijay and Hina," Lucky scoffed. "They will be doing multivariable calculus by the time they are three."

Raj walked up to the bed. "Raj, why don't you hold Ram?" Hina said, gesturing at her baby.

"Oh, no...he's so small," Raj said nervously.

Hina exchanged a look with Carrie. "Go ahead, bhai," Hina laughed gently. "I'm sure you'll do fine."

Raj tentatively reached his hands under the baby and pulled him up to his chest, cradling him in his arms. So tiny, Raj thought. He looked down at little Rahim and touched his cheek. So perfect. Carrie stroked Ram's cheek and put her arm around Raj.

"You seem like a natural around babies," Aisha said as she admired her son cradling her grandson. "Maybe someday you might decide to have a few of your own."

"Yeah," Raj replied. "Maybe someday, if I'm lucky."

Hina looked at Carrie impatiently. Carrie waived her hand at Hina. "Okay, okay!" she whispered.

Raj looked up from Ram. "What? What's happening?"

"Nothing, Raj. It's just that I'm happy that you want babies someday."

Raj nodded. "Of course."

"So when you say someday, I was thinking more like twenty-nine weeks."

Raj looked confused, as did Vijay and Lucky. Aisha had her hands over her face, and she was laughing and crying at the same time. She came around the bed towards Carrie with her arms outstretched. She hugged her and kissed her forehead, then turned to her son. "Raj," she smiled, amused by the look of confusion on his face, "Carrie is pregnant," she explained. "You're going to be a father."

Raj's face dropped, and he quickly handed Ram back to Hina. He grabbed Carrie by the shoulders and spun her around. "Seriously? You're going to have a baby? My baby?"

"Of course, 'your' baby. Whose else's would it be, silly?" Carrie beamed. Raj threw his arms around her. "I love you," he whispered into her hair.

"I love you, too," Carrie replied. Raj put his hand on her stomach in disbelief.

"It's a little early for kicking," Carrie said.

"Dude, congrats!" Lucky said, slapping Raj on the back. "Is there not something you want to ask Carrie?" Raj shook his head reluctantly and looked at his sister and Vijay. "This day is about Hina and Vijay, and little Ram and Rahim."

"Bhai," Hina said as she handed the babies to Vijay and took Raj's hands in hers. "If you have learned anything by now, it should be that you must follow your heart, wherever it leads. Life is so short and there is no time for formalities. Carrie had the same concern, and asked me if it was okay to tell you here, today, about the baby. She, too, was concerned about taking the attention away from me and Vijay and our babies. I told her the same thing I will tell you now. Life will always be full of sorrow, so when there is love and when there is joy, we must share it and celebrate it. It is not about you versus me, or my good fortune versus yours. It is not either/or, bhai. Your good fortune is mine, and mine is yours."

Raj had tears in his eyes when he turned to Carrie and took her hands in his. "Carrie, I've had an engagement ring at our apartment for six months, but it never seemed like the right time to ask. I came to this country to look for my family, nothing more. I never dreamed that I would meet and fall in love with a blonde, blue-eyed, loud-mouthed, strong-willed British girl living in America. You were nothing that I'd hoped for my whole life, but I know now that you're everything that I need."

Carrie also had tears in her eyes, but a smile firmly planted on her face. Raj continued to hold her hands and look into her eyes, and the room was silent with anticipation, but Raj didn't speak. Vijay looked at him, then at Hina. She shrugged, and looked at her mother. Aisha held her finger to her lips, motioning for everyone to be quiet. The only noise in the room came from Ram and Rahim as they squirmed in their father's arms.

Finally Lucky could not contain himself any longer. "Are you going to propose or what?" he shouted.

Carrie smiled as the tension eased, and she exhaled loudly. "Lucky has a point, Raj."

Raj laughed. "Carrie, I hope that I can be half the man you already think I am. I promise to do everything in my power to make sure that you never regret having me as your best friend, your husband, and father of our child. This may not be the right time or the right place, but Carrie Ann Jacobs, will you marry me?"

"Raj, this is the perfect time and the perfect place. What could be more perfect than sharing this moment with our friends and family?" Carrie threw her arms around Raj and kissed him, and Aisha and Shobha began clapping while Hina smiled and Vijay whistled through his teeth.

Lucky, however, was incensed. "You people do not do anything right," he said angrily.

Raj and Carrie looked with confusion at Lucky. He threw his arms in the air and began pacing and cursing in Tamil as Kaveri tried to calm him down, but she got a fit of the giggles and wasn't being very effective. Lucky shrugged her off and turned back to Carrie.

"Carrie, Raj asked if you would marry him and you did not give him the answer!"

"Oh!" Carrie blushed. "I'm sorry! Yes, yes! Of course I will marry you!"

Lucky cried out and clapped his hands together. "Now it is proper proposal, finally!" He did a little dance in celebration.

The group huddled around Hina's bed, excitedly making plans for Raj and Carrie's wedding and the baby on the way. Vijay stood apart, watching everyone in the room, thinking back to the night he and Hina got married, and how he'd looked at these same people and thought that he couldn't possibly feel any more love and joy than he did in that moment. He was wrong. As Vijay held his sons and looked at his big, goofy, flawed, but perfect family, he realized that as long as he had them in his life, there were no limits. His love just kept growing, and his life just kept getting better. He looked down at the cute little ABCDs nestled safely in his arms, and planted gentle kisses on their foreheads. Not bad for a PIG, Vijay thought, not bad at all.

