Chapter Eight

"Namaste, mama," I say to her as I pull her into a hug. My mama and I look similar except the roots of her hair are turning grayer and grayer every year. She refuses to get any color added claiming she has earned it.

"Boy Trouble," she says, looking me up and down. I don't know how mothers do this, how do they always know? It's like they have something more powerful than the force.

"No mama, I am just a bit overworked," I lie, wincing inside because I am a horrible liar. When I was little my mama told me my eyes would change color when I lied. So when I lied as a kid I would close my eyes and try to keep them shut. I don't know what it is about Indian mothers, but they know all and somehow see all.

"Don't lie to me Ali, I know when you lie. I don't think you should do it to me," she explains, folding her arms together and giving me a look I know way too well. The look that means seriously, she is struggling to pull this act off.

"Mama, trust me I am fine." She sighs in defeat and I can tell she has decided to drop it for now.

"Let's get inside and get everything ready for the party." She grabs me and drags me into the house. My dad isn't here like always that man is going to show up late.

She ushers me inside the kitchen and my brothers are most likely in their rooms playing video games. I quickly run to the birthday boy's bedroom. I have to do my normal 'big sisters annoying their brothers' routine visit. If not, I lose my street cred and they start one-upping me. Meaning they will try and take my crown. I show these kids who is the sheriff in the house. When I come home they know who I am boss, the way it should be.

"Deven, my little birthday boy." I walk into his room without knocking, a pleasure I have always endured with both of them. Deven is thirteen now and Wyatt is my favorite ten-year-old. He runs to hug me, he has gotten taller since my last visit.

"Wyatt, you have gotten taller," I say as I place my hand on the top of his head and move it to hit my chest which is where he measures now.

Wyatt shrugs and says, "I know." He walks away to go back to playing either Fortnite or Roblox. He may be ten but he is still a sticky iPad kid. The amount of screen time these kids have these days. I was outside until the streetlights turned on. I was begging my mom to let me stay outside, not begging my mom to let me keep my charger in my room.

Deven has recently stopped giving me hugs unless our mama forces him to. He seems to think people mature from the wrath of his big sisters' love. Sadly, he will have to stop thinking that. He was always the snuggling baby, I think he likes it but is trying to act all macho to cover it up.

"Oh a teenager, that explains the smell." He gives me a side glance and smiles, his big brown eyes full of so much happiness as he glances at me.

"I know I hate it, I miss the days I didn't have to shower every day to look the least bit clean." He throws a pillow over his face.

I join him on his bed and pull him into a big hug. "Girls got it so much easier." He says it is muffled by the pillows. I laugh not wanting to go through this debate. We all go through changes in puberty. I don't understand how sometimes it's a war. One of us is spilling blood, the other's voice gets deeper and they have to deal with boners, it's not the puberty wars. The transition takes a few years too for everyone. I honestly couldn't handle a boner, especially the random ones they get a day. Imagine standing up and it is sticking out like it should be paying taxes or something.

"Life is hard, I know. But pretty soon you will be driving," I explain and he perks up. He is the car guy of the family. Dad is a mechanical engineer for a local car shop. So he has taken a huge liking to cars.

"Oh, dad is running this party. I don't want the fancy parties mom throws. I wanted a party with pizza, like all the other kids," he explains and I roll my eyes.

"Yeah, I get it." I throw a pillow at him. He squeals and it starts a war. A battle I plan on winning. I have twelve more years of experience than this kid.

"Take that." He says, hitting me with the soft feather pillow.

"No, you take that." I hit him harder with the pillow hoping to knock his pillow out of his grip.

"Ara, ara!" he shouts, hitting me and messing up my hair. My Mama is probably going to want to do my hair since Dad is now in charge of some of the things she usually runs. I bet she is a little upset. Her son is growing older and liking American culture better it seems. I am a little upset because I thought I signed up for my mama's cooking, not greasy pizza. Our dad is American. My dad was American too according to my Mama. So we grew up with both sides of traditions. Which is amazing, we got to experience more. I can't stand a lot of American food. My mom and my grandmother make the best dishes. My dad and grandma on his side still haven't discovered seasonings. They make very bland foods, including a lot of unseasoned beef. They make tacos without the taco meat flavoring. Thankfully I do not eat meat much.

"Alicia, come in here so I can get you ready for tonight." Deven has what I would call a wicked grin on. Our mama loves dressing us up like Barbie dolls. It's a full-on extreme makeover by the time she has performed all her work.

I walk out of his room and go to where my old room is. That is where my mama is ready with every beauty tool. She even has a pipe of henna ready.

"You kids grow up too fast, I should have listened to grandma when she said bricks on your head so you would stop you all from growing."

"Mama, we are still your babies." I walk over and hug her. I am a mama's girl. Again my dad was hardly around.

"So about the boy, do I see future grandbabies? " I laugh at her antics, she has been pushing having a grandbaby for almost two years now. I graduated college and she told me the next step was marriage and children.

"Nope, you are just stuck with just me." She pulls me into a hug when I say this.

She frowns but then goes over to my vanity which has everything set up. She hands me a package of makeup wipes.

"Wash that nonsense off your gorgeous face, you are too pretty for make-up." I do as she says and she ends up taking it off because I didn't want to take it all off. I go and wash my face, dry it, then put on some of her fancy moisturizing creams.

"Much better, now let's braid your hair." My hair is long and healthy just like hers. Very thick, and hard to manage. I figured it out though.

"I have to tell you a story," my mom says, practically jumping up and down.

By telling the means read off her phone, off of Wikipedia.

"Okay, in the town of the demons, there lived an influential demon named Arunasura. He was a furious God-hater and a fraud, who wanted above all else to conquer the Gods. He went to the banks of the Ganges in the Himalayas and practiced a very strict penance to Brahma, who understood him to be the protector of the demons. He held in his body the five vāyus of Prana and began meditating, repeating the Gayatri Mantra and practicing austerities. For the first ten thousand years, he lived by ingesting only dry leaves; for the second, he lived by drinking only drops of water; and, for the third, he lived by inhaling air alone. For the fourth ten thousand years, he did not consume anything and thus practiced his penance. Which is crazy to think about."

"Yeah, mama." She continues to brush my hair. Pulling on it slightly because of the new knots that have formed. Every few seconds my neck is pulled and I wince.

"While the Gods discussed his treason, Arunasur and his army went to the Heavens. The demon used the power of his penances to assume various forms and seized possession of the Moon, the Sun, Yamraj, Agni, and all the others. All the Gods, dislodged from their stations, then went to the region of Kailash and presented to Lord Shiva the dire nature of their situation. In the battle that ensued, the demons' swords were blocked by Bhramari Devi's shield, while her other arms inflicted damage on the massive army. She ran through the ranks, stabbing with the trident, chopping with the longsword, and reducing demons to powder with powerful swings of her mace. The bees, hornets, wasps, flies, termites, mosquitos, and spiders which clung to her emanated forth in a wave over the ranks. Which is honestly so scary. I would hate to get on her bad side. When Arunasur was the last demon remaining on the battlefield, she retreated and sent out all of the insects to attack him. They crawled all over him and ripped open each part of his body: his chest, back, belly, arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet, and toes were all torn apart. Soon after seeing Arunasur's great fall, the insects returned to Bhramari Devi and clung to her again. The Gods, who were in awe of this new form, gave her great praise. On the successful decimation of the demonic forces, all of the gods were able to return to their celestial homes. You kind of remind me of her. " She explains as I feel sleepy as she explains the myth and brushes through my hair.

"So, she fought demons with a bunch of bugs and her arms. Demons who pretended to be gods. I have met many men like that. They seem like good people, but then they turn on you rather quickly. Their flaws that need to be fixed show and that is when some girls get the 'I can fix it' message to their brain but I somehow missed that update." My mother loves reading up on myths and legends. Anytime I am over she tells me about one. It could be from any ethnicity too. She loves all mythology, we both do. Legends of people are remarkable to look at. My mom finishes my hair with some red hair clips and a load of hair spray. I then do my mama's henna, putting leaves and a big rose on the center of the back of her hand. I finish it up with some intricate swirls, hearts, and lines.

I put on my choli top which is a gorgeous rosy shade, I squeeze into my dhoti and then go to the garden which is where everyone is setting up everything. I would help, but they seem to not need it.

The party is at full capacity, by five pm. Pizza arrived on time and I offered to pay but my mama didn't let me. Dad arrives five minutes after the pizza and he is all covered in oil and dirt. Mama folds her arms together and gives him one of her most famous looks. He walks into the house with a sigh, my stepdad is a pretty short guy. My mom is five feet tall and I managed to pass her at five-three. He is around five, six, or seven. Honestly, I do not know but he is pretty short. He has dark hair, and blue eyes, and his family is polish.

There is a mix of things going on. I take a few photos with people, mostly my mom's side. My dad's side of the family hasn't accepted me. My cousin Silvie and I are currently catching up.

"So I hope he proposes to you soon. You have been together for like five years, Silvie," She sighs and looks down at the grass.

"What is up with men?" She asks and then walks away at the commotion of cake being cut.

"I don't know, you can tell me," I say, my phone buzzing in my purse. I go to look and it is a message from Blade. I instantly smile and it fades away as soon as it shows. Hopefully, mama isn't looking my way. I am too busy to answer him, if I were to respond my mama would want to know who I was texting during a family party.

I get the video call with grandma all set up, and she opens it not knowing she has opened it.

"Hey, grandma," I say, blowing her a kiss.

"Is this thing on or is it broken, hey my little ladybug." She is full of excitement. Anytime I try to schedule a day there with her she is getting numerous tests or going to dialysis.

"Is that Deven, oh my gosh he is getting so big." She says squinting at the screen. Her vision has been slowly going away for years now.

"Hey, grandma, I am thirteen now." Her mouth drops open in shock and then the camera angle goes right to the inside of her nostrils.

"That can't be you were all a baby like twelve years ago. I wish your mother would have listened to me about the bricks. Happy birthday my love." She says pulling the camera to her eye and then sticking the camera to where we can see up her nose again.

"Hey, Mama." My mama says to grandma waving at the screen.

"Hey, gorgeous you made such a beautiful family. I can't wait for Alicia to start making my great-grandkids." She says pulling the phone away from her nose. Her eyes are squinting pretty much shut, so she can see us.

"Yeah, mama she just has to find the right guy." My mama agrees, wrapping her arm around me in a hug. The scent of her perfume makes me feel all warm and cozy. Warm vanilla is the scent she has used over the years and a scent I adore.

"Trinity, your dinner is coming in." A nurse from the background says.

"When I come home we will have pizza. They don't give me that here. I love you guys so much." She says, hanging up the call.

We then have a few drinks and eat some food. I am too full for cake, but my brothers eat two pieces each. Our family plays a few games while the kids are taking turns playing video games in the house. By taking turns I mean fighting over whose turn it is.

When the party ends, the family leaves and we clean up. Deven has a bunch of gift cards and money now to spend on whatever he wants. He also got a few video games he wanted from me, which made my gifts the best but no one is keeping track.

It's getting late, I change back into my normal clothes and give my family goodbye hugs and leave.

I look at the text and it says, Would you like to go out Friday night?

I reply, yes. And I can see that he has seen the message.

Hopping in the Uber I called half an hour again. I am ready to go home and sleep. Hopefully, I do not dream of that awful man again.

My ex.