Page 113 of Tiger's Dream
“Is it enough?” she asked.
“More than enough.” I held out my hand and she took it.
“Why are you frowning?” she asked. “Are you not happy that we have twenty?”
“Yes. I just don’t like the idea of young men giving you their phone numbers.”
“I do not know what that means.”
“Yeah, I know you don’t. It means he likes you.”
“If he did not like me, then we would not have twenty.”
“It’s not that I don’t want people to like you. I know they love you. They’re drawn to you.”
“They respond to the goddess,” she said.
“They do, but it’s more than that. Even before you were a goddess, your men followed you blindly.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No. Yes. No.” I ran a hand through my hair. “Your men should follow you. I just don’t want them getting any ideas.”
“Ideas such as…?”
“Ideas of romance.”
Ana gave me a long look as I paid the ticket taker. When I offered my arm, she took it and followed me inside. After we found a seat, she finally spoke. “You do not wish me to experience romance?”
I let out a heavy sigh. “I wouldn’t think you’d want to. Not after what happened.”
“What happened to me was long ago.”
“It doesn’t feel long ago.”
“No.”
A man walked by holding a large container filled with red-and-white popcorn boxes. I raised my hand and bought one.
Opening it, I tilted it toward Anamika, who wrapped her hand around mine and lifted it to her nose. “What is it?” she asked.
“It’s called popcorn. This one is, in fact, caramel corn, which is even better than the original.” I nudged her shoulder. “Try it.”
Gingerly, she picked up a kernel and placed it on the end of her tongue. I grinned at the expression of surprise on her face when she bit down and I heard the crunch.
“Do you like it?” I asked.
She nodded, and I angled the box so she could take some. When I grabbed a large handful after her, she protested with a squeal and a full mouth and pulled the box from my grip. Popcorn threatened to spill out of her lips, and she nudged it in with the back of her hand, chewing quickly, and threatened my life if I took more.
I laughed and made a halfhearted attempt to grab the box from her, but she deftly maneuvered it away, and when I saw her mumbling slyly and the box refilling on its own, I warned, “Better not let any of these mortals see what you’re up to.” She just smiled at me and leaned back, munching on her snack.
People filed into the tent, filling up the seats, and Ana suggested we move up a few benches to see better. When we were settled again and she’d finished half the box of popcorn, she rolled a kernel between her fingers and said, “You did not ask me about Sunil.”
I shrugged. “I thought it was pretty self-explanatory. You wanted to see him happy. Truthfully, I was glad to see Nilima found love. She’s an amazing girl. I think they’ll do well together.”
“So, you approve of their…romance?”
“Yes. Don’t you?”
