Read Online Imaginary Men by Anjali Banerjee - Free Book Online

band.”
    â€œPretty convenient having a fake fiancé to boss around.” He takes a long sip of his mocha. A ray of sunlight breaks through the fog, reflecting off his hair. I never noticed the red highlights.
    â€œIf I don’t, my aunt might send Pee-wee to America.”
    â€œWhy don’t you marry him?”
    I screw up my nose, as if I actually smell the elephant doo. “He has yellow, crooked teeth and a squeaky voice. He practically drooled on me.”
    Harry shrugs. “Maybe he’s a nice guy. You didn’t give him a chance—”
    â€œWould
you
sleep with Pee-wee?”
    He grins. “Well, depends on how big his—”
    â€œSpare me the details.”
    â€œYou have to stand up to your parents. Tell them to back off.”
    â€œMy great-aunt will be here to meet Raja. This astrologer, Pandit Parsai, predicted problems. He said my fiancé was
ephemeral
. ”
    â€œKnows what he’s talking about, this pandit.”
    â€œI’m letting my parents down by not getting married and having kids. My father gets indigestion. Ma dreams of a grand wedding with all our family and friends in attendance. In India, everyone knows everything about everyone else. It’s a big soap opera.”
    â€œYou live here. Do whatever you want.”
    â€œI feel a connection with my family, Harry. I love them. I want them to be happy, and I want to be happy too. But the two things seem to be mutually exclusive.”
    â€œYou do what you need to do for yourself. Your family will come around.”
    â€œNothing will please them. My father wanted a son. I was his firstborn, a girl. We’re all girls!”
    â€œYou gotta get a grip. This is about Nathu, isn’t it?”
    â€œNot again.” I lean back and roll my eyes toward the ceiling. I say nothing about the dream. I have crazy nightmares all the time. They don’t mean much.
    â€œYou don’t want to talk about him, but he rules you. A dead guy.”
    A dead guy
. I want to believe Nathu faked the car accident to escape and start a new life. He’s relaxing on a tropical island, sipping piña coladas and digging his toes into the warm sand. “Nobody rules me. I direct my own life.”
    â€œCome on, Lina. You can’t lie to me. How long have I known you?”
    Since we were both freshmen at Santa Barbara High School, when Harry still conducted his love life in the closet. “Too long.”
    â€œYou’re scared. I see it in your eyes.”
    I gulp my tea and say nothing. “Must be a reflection of your own eyes.”
    He leans forward and takes my hands, more tenderly this time. A new, slim gold band glints on the third finger of his left hand. “Honey, not every guy is going to drive off a cliff, okay? It was a freak accident.”
    My mouth goes dry, and I hate myself for letting the past ambush me. “Oh, Harry. Why couldn’t you have been straight?”
    â€œI was born crooked, baby.”
    To my surprise, I find myself close to tears. “Nathu was perfect. He didn’t even leave the toilet seat up.”
    â€œYou’re romanticizing him. Remember the nights he’d forget to check in, and you’d call me to talk because you were worried? Remember the way he used to drive, even with you in the car? He had a death wish, and he was willing to drag you into the afterlife, too.”
    A tear trickles down my cheek. “He did like to take risks.”
    â€œYou loved him, but was it Nathu you loved, or your idea of Nathu? You thought he might be seeing someone else.”
    My stomach squeezes. “There was nobody else.” Leave me to my imagination, I’m thinking. Let me believe Nathu was who I wanted him to be.
    â€œHe forgot to call late at night, showed up in the same wrinkled clothes he wore the day before. You know the truth, and it hurts. That’s why you won’t give anyone else a chance.”
    â€œOuch.”