Page 52 of Not Your Basic Love Story

Thankfully, the cousins and grandparents had retreated to their areas of the house, leaving the four of us. Moe did give me a sideways smirk when he left, as if entertained by the turn of events. I tried to ignore him.

The argument had started off in English. Dev apologized to his mom for having walked in and seen something she shouldn’t have. Then, he declared that we were moving in together and he was continuing his education in the city.

After that, everything was in Punjabi. My face reddened, knowing that most of what they were saying was likely about me. Luckily, I had my phone on me. I pulled it out and began recording, catching the last part of the conversation for later interpretation. I didn’t trust Dev to give me a complete, unfiltered recap on the proceedings.

At first, it was uncomfortable being unable to understand an argument that pertained a lot to me and my involvement in Dev’s life, but after that wore off, I became... bored. It was odd.

Everything was muted and distant while a pleasant, glowing sensation blossomed in my chest. Dev was a grown man, capable of making his own decisions. He was also the kindest, sweetest, most alluring person I’d ever met. And he wanted to be with me. Me! In my crummy little apartment. He’d rather live with me in my tiny apartment downtown than here with his family in their mansion on a sprawling blueberry estate.

Part of me felt guilty that I was partially to blame for such an uproar, but the other part of me felt pretty awesome, I had to admit.

I had to remind myself it wasn’t only about me. It was about his education, his future. And he’d decided he wanted it to be with me.

Finally, Dev seemed to have enough. I hastily pushed my phone back into my clutch and stood as he took my hand and led me to the door. I looked over my shoulder, his mother’s expression furious and his father deeply saddened. Priya peeked out from her spot on the steps where she’d been eavesdropping, her forehead bearing the same worried wrinkles that Dev’s did.

Outside, the door slammed behind us. The crisp cool air and light evening drizzle brought with it some clarity. He led me to the passenger side of his car and opened it for me. I shut it, turning to face him.

“Dev,” I said, stern.

“Not now.”

“We have to talk about this.”

“Please, can we just go?”

The look on his face was one I hadn’t seen yet. He was hurt. My body went rigid, and my fists clenched at my sides. I wanted to walk back into that house and give them a piece of my mind, but I had no idea what exactly I should be angry about. I wiped a tear from my face, opened the door for myself, and climbed in.

We drove in silence back to my place—silence, except for my intestines that rumbled noisily. The spicy food was not sitting well. I began to sweat, clenching as tight as I could as my stomach rumbled louder and louder. It would be forty-five minutes until we got home. I held it as long as I could, but it just slipped out.

I farted.

It sounded like a confused balloon animal.

I glanced over at Dev.

He glanced over at me.

Then the smell began to permeate the air. I sheepishly rolled down the window. “Sorry,” I muttered.

A chuckle broke the silence, and I looked over to see a grin splitting his face in half. His laugh triggered my own, and suddenly we were both roaring. The tense evening we’d gotten through all seemed so far away now, with the two of us laughing like elementary school kids over the silliest thing.

We were going to be living together— it was only a matter of time before one of us broke the fart barrier.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The following morning we lay in bed post lovemaking, him with his head on my chest and me twirling my fingers through his hair as the typical Vancouver rain pounded against the windowpane. I watched the droplets run down the glass, choosing one to race against the other at random. Though the day was dreary, it was as if sunshine were streaming in, alighting me from within. I sighed, barely able to contain my deep sense of contentment.

Dev mumbled something.

“Hmm?”

He moved his head back to the pillow and looked into my eyes, his brow knitting together. “We can’t move in together.”

Suddenly my mood matched the weather. “But you said…”

“I know what I said.” He sighed, rubbing his hand down his face. “There’s a lot I have to think about. A lot to consider.” Dev rolled out of bed and sat on the edge, facing away from me, his shoulders hunched.

I sat up and pulled the blankets over myself. “So, what then? What about your master’s program?”

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