The Patient Sikh: Part Nineteen--Oh Brother!
This an excerpt from a novel in progress and a work of fiction.
Ravi, my brother, came into town. He was just in Burma, and he decided to take a flight home. He rarely comes home. He avoids us. I understand why. He doesn't want to deal with an alcoholic father and a neurotic mother. He lets us deal with that ourselves.
I don't blame him. If I could leave it all, I might do the same. So I go home for the weekend as my mom dotes on Ravi. She makes like eleven dishes for him and he eats like twelve. Their relationship is mostly based on food.
I come into the house and see Ravi eating, this is what he will do for the next ten days. He's not overweight or anything, which I don't understand considering how much he eats. He's currently eating chicken curry with rice.
"Hey," I say as he takes a huge bite of curry.
"Oh hey!" he looks up not missing a beat and puts another spoonful in his mouth. He doesn't hug me or anything, which is fine because since he left we have this weird vibe. I know I silently blame him. I blame him for leaving us. I blame him for not taking care of us. He's my older brother, he should take care of me. But the truth is, no one is going to take care of me. Especially not a man,
Later that night, he's watching a late night comedy show. I sit down next to him on the couch. "So
"Not bad, I can't complain," he sighs and leans back into the cushions. "How's your first year at Michigan?" he asks, and looks right at me.
"It's harder than I thought it would be," I say. "I'm failing statistics but I'm acing my English class."
"Statistics 101?" he asks. "I took that class, a monkey could pass that class!" he laughs.
"I hate math, I only took it to get my quantitative reasoning credit over with," I explained and leaned back into the cushions on the couch as well.
"You hate math. What are you going to do with an English degree?" he asks, still staring at me.
"I'm gonna go to law school," I say and stare right back at him. I notice his hair is cut differently than it was before he left. It's longer now, and he has a goat-T on his chin. Ravi is an engineer who doesn't really appreciate the fact that I'm not good at science and math. He works for a year then takes six months off to travel. It's an exciting life. More exciting than mine. "How's Nima?" I ask about his girlfriend.
"She's not speaking to me right now," he says and plays with the remote control in his left hand. "We saw each other in Thailand and we had a big fight. She doesn't want to get married. Ever."
"Oh, I'm sorry," I say as he looks down at his hands. Nima is the most independent fabulous woman I have ever met. I want to be her one day when I grow up. "Are you guys still together?" I ask, praying that they are. I need her more than he does.
"I don't know," he says and doesn't look up at me.
"She'll come around," I say while secretly admiring the fact that she never wants to get married.
"I love her, but I can't stand her," he says.
"I understand," I say thinking about Sonny. I think about how I want to get married. Not now, but one day. "I'm seeing someone," I say shyly, looking away.
"Really?" Ravi smiles, he looks interested. "Who is it?"
"Just a guy from Gurdwara. He just moved into town recently," I say. "I mean he's not my boyfriend or anything."
"Then what is he, just some dude your playing around with?" Ravi asks.
"No, I don't know, he 's just a guy. I'm not sure what is going on between us. He's being really distant all of a sudden."
"I can't believe your finally dating, you've never had a boyfriend, have you?" he asks as I stare at the off white carpet.
"No." All of a sudden I feel weird talking to my brother about this.
"Don't worry too much about it, you are young, it probably won't last anyways," he says and shrugs his shoulders.
"Thanks," I say. "You started dating Nima when you were my age."
"And see how that's turning out?"
"I think she's the love of your life," I say, really believing that.
"I don't know if I believe in that shit."
"Well I do, and I'm betting on her. Just don't be an asshole," I say and smile.
"Why do you assume it's my fault?"
"Because I've met you. You can be a distant ass sometimes," I say and pull a lavender blanket over me.
"I guess I'm just like your guy, does he have a name?"
"Sonny," I say shyly again. Saying his name makes me flutter inside.
"Well let me tell you something about Sonny. Don't chase him, let him come after you. Guys like a chase."
"I don't like games," I say.
"Then you definitely shouldn't date men. Trust me, it sucks, love sucks."
"I know," I say and look over at the lamp in the corner with its yellow foggy light. "Is it always going to be this bad?"
"No, it usually gets worse. If you don't want to kill him or yourself and some point, it's not true love."
"Thanks again," I say as the light reflects on his face.
nina
If you would like to read the beginning of this novel in progress, The Patient Sikh, visit the following links in chronological order:
The Patient Sikh: Part Two–The Wonder Years
The Patient Sikh: Part Three–Sonny
The Patient Sikh: Part Four–Song Lyrics
The Patient Sikh: Part Five–Your Song
The Patient Sikh: Part Six–Coffee Talk
The Patient Sikh: Part Seven--Chocolate Covered Love
The Patient Sikh: Part Eight--Kiss And Tell
The Patient Sikh: Part Nine--Street Chess
The Patient Sikh: Part Ten--Ravi
The Patient Sikh: Part Eleven--Understanding
The Patient Sikh: Part Twelve--Hey Jealousy
The Patient Sikh Part Thirteen--Me
The Patient Sikh: Part Fourteen--The Telephone
The Patient Sikh: Part Fifteen--The Dress
The Patient Sikh Part Sixteen--The Car
The Patient Sikh: Part Seventeen--Silence
The Patient Sikh: Part Eighteen--The Talk