Free Queen of Dreams by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Page A

Sorry—Paul’s phone was down.”
    “There were other phones in town, were there not?” Then I realize what Sonny-the-master-tactician is doing. “Don’t try to sidetrack me,” I say acidly. “Irresponsible as that was, that’s not what I called about. God knows I’m used to your irresponsibilities—”
    “Ah yes, you called about my—how did you put it—crass perversions! Well, I’d like you to know that Paul and I only smoked after Jona fell asleep.” Sonny’s voice drips virtue. “And we went outside to do it—even when it was raining.”
    “And Eliana? Did Eliana go outside to smoke with you, too?”
    “Who?”
    “Sonny, please don’t insult my intelligence by pretending you don’t know what I’m talking about.”
    “I’d never dare to insult you, Riks! You’d probably sic Belle on me! Besides, wasn’t it I who once told you that you were too intelligent for your own good?”
    “Quit joking. Who’s Eliana?”
    “I don’t know anyone by that name. Honest!”
    He sounds so sincere, so not guilty, that I’m taken aback— but only for a moment. Sonny-the-sincere-sounding—I’ve heard him before.
    “Let me give your memory a little nudge. She’s the woman you took up to Mendocino with you. She stayed in your tent. Your tent—with my daughter! Eliana—long brown hair, flowery dress, foreign accent. Is it coming back to you now?”
    A silence. Then: “And just how did you get to know about uh—Eliana?”
    “Jona told me!” I say in triumph.
    There’s a moment of silence. “Jo told you that?” Sonny asks. From his tone I can tell he’s shaking his head in that disbelieving way he has, as though the world has just pulled the rug from under his feet again. “Amazing!”
    “Why should it amaze you that she confided in her own mother? Unless you asked her to keep it a secret? You did, didn’t you? Sonny, how could you do such a low-down—”
    But he’s laughing, great roars of laughter, so unfeigned that I get confused.
    He pauses long enough to say, “She’ll go far, our daughter! What was that name again? Eliana—with flowers in her hair? Wow! What an imagination that kid has!”
    He’s still laughing when I hang up.
    It’s evening, the blue hour of gathering shadows. It used to be our busiest time, when even with Marcia and Ping helping us, we could hardly keep up with orders. Today the only person in the place—other than Belle and myself—is my daughter, sprawled across a table at the other end of the store, drawing.
    I practiced various sentences in my head as I picked Jona up from school. Did you just imagine that woman? Your dad said there wasn’t anyone there except the three of you. You’ve got to learn to separatemake-believe from real life! But they all sounded accusing or prissy, so finally I didn’t say anything.
    “Don’t worry so much,” Belle says when I describe the morning to her. “We all used to imagine things when we were kids. It’s a part of growing up.”
    “The problem is, I’m not sure she imagined it. Sonny’s lied to me before—”
    “Come on, Rikki! Sonny would never take a woman along when Jona was around.”
    “I can’t believe you’re defending Sonny! Didn’t you once name him Public Enemy Number One?”
    Belle grins. “Actually, it was Private Enemy Number One— as in your very own private enemy.” She shakes her head. “I can’t believe I’m defending him either. But you’ve got to give him credit—he’s a good dad.”
    “I’m not sure about that either. Believe me, I wish I could be. It would give me one less thing to worry about.”
    Not true, jeers my whisper voice. You know that what you really want is for Sonny to prove himself completely and criminally irresponsibleso you can gain full custody of Jona and never let her see him again.
    I can’t deny it.
    “You could always call Paul and ask him.”
    “Paul and I are not on speaking terms. Also, his phone is out of order. And even if I broke down and