A smile swept across her face, the kind a person couldn’t hold back even if they tried, the kind that said the answer as clear as day. My little sister would marry Kimo in a second.

She plucked out purple and white orchids from the bag, already washed and wrapped in a paper towel, and arranged one flower to each glass.

“I want to live inside this color,” I told her as she handed me a drink. I held it up to the light before taking a second one to Sunny.

Diya took hers and one for Kimo. We retired to the lanai, where large string lights added ambience so we could enjoy the sunset.

Even though there were four lounge chairs, Diya curled up alongside Kimo, who wrapped an arm around her and thanked her for the drink. They clinked glasses, and ugh, if they could stop being adorable for a second, that would be great because Sunny and I were as far from snuggling as a “new couple” could be. In fact, our chairs weren’t even touching.

I took a sip of the slightly sweet, slightly tart, slightly alcoholic, fully creamy drink. I threw my head back. “This is so good! I missed this so much!”

“Better than ube?” Diya teased.

I shot her a look. “I saw ube paste at KTA. Do you know what we could make with that?”

She rolled her eyes. “I know damn well you didn’t go to the grocery store.”

“But I did go to their website.”

“To see what UX you’d improve on?”

“Yes. Always. But also to see if they have ube anything. Which they have lots of.”

“Enjoy this.”

“This is perfect. I don’t think ube could elevate this any more than what it already is.”

“Shocking statement!”

“This is very good,” Sunny agreed, raising his glass to his hosts. “Thank you for this. I…wasn’t expecting so much.”

“Hospitality?” Kimo asked. “You’re dating Bhanu, so you’re pretty much like family, and we have lots of aloha for our fam.”

Sunny and I gave each other a quick look, and I was beginning to feel bad again. Kimo and Diya were being so hospitable for a lie. I was sure they’d understand once I explained, but why ruin the moment? Not that I had to try, because the world’s biggest moment blocker was blowing up Diya’s phone.

“That better not be work,” I told her, nodding at the glorious shades of orange and pink brushed across the sky as the sun descended and set the water on sparkling, golden fire.

“It’s Mummie!” she said with cheer.

“Don’t answer.”

But it was too late, to which Diya shrugged and mouthed, “Sorry.”

“Eh, why haven’t you answered your phone?” Mummie said through the speaker.

Diya pointed at her phone and mouthed, “See?” then cheerfully said, “Hello, Mummie!”

She, knowing why Mummie was really calling, turned the screen toward us.

Sunny and I froze, staring at my parents through the miraculously annoying trap known as FaceTime. I shifted to hide Sunny behind me, but Mummie immediately swiped her hand across the air and said, “Let me see this man who has captured my beta’s heart, huh?”

Eighteen Sunny

I wasn’t going to lie and pretend that watching Bane squirm under embarrassment wasn’t entertaining as hell. She groaned, sinking into her chair so that her parents had a full view of me on video call. By now, I’d had enough practice acting the part in front of friends and getting acquainted with Bane’s sister to turn on the charm. My exes probably hated me, but their parents loved me.

Draping an arm on the back of Bane’s chair, I smiled. “Hello again.”

“Oh. Such a nice voice!” Auntie crooned.

I chuckled. “I get that often.”

Bane shot me daggers from the corner of her eye, which prompted me to give her shoulders a gentle squeeze.

Diya was holding the phone toward us while leaning against Kimo. They were a very lovely couple, and knowing this side of Bane would make it harder for me to continue giving her crap when we returned to work. They were all ear-to-ear grins, which had me wondering if carrying out this lie on them was harmful. My friends would be annoyed, but family? That was different. Or maybe they were as surprised by the idea of Bane being in a relationship as I would be.

“Oh, hah, he is handsome. Look!” Auntie said to a man beside her, whom I presumed was Bane’s father.

“Oh my god,” Bane mumbled, her hands covering her face.

I tugged down on her wrists and replied, “Thank you! May I return the sentiment? I see where your daughters get their lovely features from. What a beautiful family.”

Bane peered at me from between her fingers, but not with death glares as I’d expected. She seemed…confused? No suspicious. Ah, normal Bane-ish tendencies.

She returned her hands to her lap as her parents engaged in further conversation.

Auntie had been asking, “Beta, where do you work at? What do you do? What are your parents’ names?”

“Mummie,” Bane warned. “Let’s not.”

She pouted. “What, you think I’m going to research him?”

“I know you already have.”

She smiled sheepishly, her focus returning to me. “He’s such a smart man. Why didn’t you tell me you work together!”

“That hot office romance,” Diya said.

“Oh my god,” Bane muttered beneath her breath while I stifled a laugh and proceeded to answer her mother’s biodata questions. This had become a thing that typically happened when I met the Indian parents of anyone around my age, and most especially the parents of single women. And my parents had done this to others, ambush and all.

Diya mentioned how I’d helped Bane during her episode of heat exhaustion, and suddenly the word “hero” was being thrown around.

“What fresh hell is this?” Bane grumbled.

Tamping down laughter was getting exponentially harder. I caught Kimo’s amused look when he shook his head. He’d probably gone through the same thing. He got it.

“So, so. How long have you been dating and why am I only now learning of this, huh?” Auntie asked, although she could’ve been talking to either one of us. “And how serious are you? My daughter isn’t getting younger, you know?”

“Okay,” Bane said, holding up a hand and shifting to face me…a practically hysterically laughing man.