Free Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda Page A

particularly reluctant group, Somer feels a body press up against her buttocks and a hand squeeze her breast. She darts around to see a couple young men snickering, one of them with stained teeth making kissing gestures at her.
    Somer feels panic rise in her throat as she pushes through the crowd, looking for an opening to escape. Marine Drive is buzzing with six lanes of traffic that never seem to stop, so Somer weaves her way through, one lane at a time, with horns blaring and cars narrowly missing her. She walks rapidly down one of the side roads toward home. Once her fear subsides, indignation and anger percolate in its wake. These men are pathetic. How can Kris be from here?
    She desperately wants to talk to him, but he is still out when she gets home. Thankfully, everyone else appears to be napping, so she stashes her leftovers in the fridge and retreats to their room. She fills two pails of water in the bathroom and washes every inch of herself before dressing in a clean nightgown and lying down on the bed until Kris gets home.
     
    S OMER WAKES UP TO LOUD CLANGING NOISES FROM OUTSIDE THE bedroom door. She looks at her watch and realizes hours have passed. She hears Kris among the raised voices outside, steps into the hallway,and Kris’s mother rushes past without acknowledging her. Somer walks into the living room, where she sees Kris arguing with one of the servants. The balcony outside is littered with various kitchen items—pots, pans, cooking utensils, dishes, cups—and another servant is furiously scrubbing each one of them. She walks toward the kitchen and sees a third servant dumping jars of flour, rice, and beans into the trash. Somer watches in disbelief as the servant empties out the entire platter of spices, at least two dozen small steel bowls.
    “Kris?” Somer says. “What’s going on?”
    Kris spins around, his face creased in anger. Without a word, he takes her by the arm, walks her into their bedroom, and closes the door. “What were you thinking?”
    “What do you mean?” She feels her heart rate quicken.
    “What the hell were you thinking bringing meat into this house? You know my parents are strict vegetarians. You polluted the entire kitchen.”
    “I—I’m sorry. I didn’t think—”
    “My mother practically had a heart attack. She wanted to throw out every single dish and pot, but I convinced her they could be disinfected.”
    “Kris, I didn’t know.” She gets up from the bed. “I’ll help clean it—”
    “No.” He grabs her arm. “Don’t. You’ve done enough. Just leave it alone now.”
    “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” She sits back down and begins to cry.
    “What do you mean, you didn’t know? Are you so wrapped up in your own head you don’t notice where you are? I’ve told you they’re vegetarians. Did we cook any meat when they came to visit us? Have you ever seen meat served in this house?” He shakes his head.
    “I should go apologize to your mother,” Somer says, standing up.
    “Yes,” Kris says, “you should.”
    Somer finds Kris’s mother in one of the bedrooms, sitting with Kris’s brother’s wife on a bed draped with various multicolored silks. She gives the open door a polite knock. “Hello?” she says. “May I come in?”
    “Yes, Somer,” Kris’s mother says, unmoving.
    Somer perches on the edge of the bed. “These are beautiful,” she says, running her hand over a pile of red silk.
    “We are choosing saris for a wedding this weekend, one of Dr. Thakkar’s colleagues.”
    “Oh. Well, I just wanted to come and apologize to you for the…for your kitchen. I didn’t realize…I didn’t mean any offense and I’m very sorry.”
    Kris’s mother nods her head from side to side. “What’s done is done. Let’s put it aside.”
    “I guess I wasn’t thinking. I was a little upset.” Somer takes a deep breath. “I went out for a walk and had a disturbing experience. This man—or two men, I’m not sure—they touched me, on the