Eva walked into the room scared inwardly at what she was about to face with Daadi.  The look she received from Daadi was of disappointment and anger.

Before Eva had a chance to explain about her lateness Daadi had fired off with accusations and questions that left her astounded.

“where have you been! You promised me to back by 6 this evening and it is now to seven”

“how dare you disobey me. You are just like your mother disobeying my orders time and time again with the same attitude and behavior! Mother like daughter”

“I should have never allowed you to go out on my permission! What do you have to say for yourself Eva!” she finished in a barking tone.

“D-a-adi it wasn’t my fault that I was late! I was signing up for a new class! I wanted to try a fine art class” she replied stuttering slightly.

“your stuttering child! Are you lying to me” Daadi barked sharply instantly noticing the slight stutter.

She is so sharp I should make sure this lie becomes a reality.

Eva thought warily still sharing eye contact with Daadi.

“I’m sorry Daadi I will not be late again maybe one of those pagers the boys could kept you updated when I am at school?” she apologized to Daadi inwardly hoping that she would accept it and move on.

“you are forgiven child and I do not know what those modern technologies you are talking about. nonetheless I expect better behavior. you will wake up early to finish the house chores do you understand me?” Daadi commanded in a strict tone.

“yes, Daadi I understand” Eva replied obediently before dropping into the usual respectful pose and turned around to walk out of the room.

Before she opened the door, she was stopped by the words of Daadi.

“you won’t be using that education for anything useful remember that child. Remember your place with him”

Eva breathed in a shallow breath before she opened the door leaving the room heading to her room.

She walked into her room switching the light on before she stepped further into the room to get her hair ready for the night. Now sat crossed legged brushing the strand by strand gently to get rid of any hidden knots. As she was brushing she couldn’t stop thinking about the predicament she was in and how she wished there was a way out.

It didn’t take long for her to finish brushing her hair before putting it into a messy bun for the night.

She rubbed circles on her temple trying to calm down the chaotic thoughts running though her mind. till she remembered the amazing day she had with Michael. She couldn’t stop the small grin tugging on her lips from what she experienced during the day.  

I wonder what else he has for me in store for me?

She wondered briefly before the rumbling sound from her stomach interrupted her thoughts.

She uncrossed her legs standing up from the bed, to get some food from the kitchen hoping that the twins hadn’t eaten the remainder of the food. She remembered the picture Michael had given her from the shoot and thought it should be framed.

She went to her small cupboard and found an old battered blue frame. The ends cracked slightly from old use. She slid the picture into the frame and found it didn’t exactly fit inside the frame. She gently placed it next to the lamp on her table and left the room to find dinner and spend some time with the twins before going to bed.

.

.

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  :. Sunday 18th April 1997:.

Eva woke up bright and early to her chagrin to get up and do the chores that she missed the day before. She thought she shouldn’t be alone to clean up the home chose to wake up the boys. They groaned sleepily but eventually got up from bed to help clean the home.

Around twenty minutes past eleven in the morning the entire home had been cleaned from top to bottom making sure everything was spotless and clean for Daadi. She inspected every inch they cleaned. The trio breathed a sigh of relief when she approved and now were left to do what they please for the rest of the day.

The twins and Eva sat together on Aadesh’s bed discussing different approach for dinner that they hadn’t done in quite some time.

“how about making my favorite dish?? Lamb curry?” Adil suggested to the look of disgust on Aadesh and Eva’s faces.

“when are, you going to give up this vegetation life style bro? your food choices are getting more ridiculous” Aadesh replied his lips curling in disgust at his suggestion.

 “what? It’s healthy and I don’t hound you when it comes to your fatty and meaty juices when you eat your sandwiches” Adil scoffed at his brother rolling his eyes.

“before you both jump into a discussion how about I make some dishes from home that I know you both haven’t tried? I’ll make it a surprise” Eva responded with a cheeky grin.

“surprise us Eva I can’t wait to try what you bring this evening” Adil replied licking his lips in anticipation of the food she would cook for dinner.

“I bet there will be meat bro which you will happily munch on” Aadesh added in smirking smugly at his brother. He received a scowl from Adil.

“alright I’ll go get the money from Daadi Riya and we can go” Eva responded clapping her hands to close the conversation.

The brothers nodded at the same time watching walk out of her the room before chatting about Adil’s diet choices but that didn’t last long, when Eva walked back into the room with the money in her purse and bag in hand.

The trio left the home but not without telling Daadi their plans luckily, she approved and reminded them to arrive back on time. The trio continued to walk through the park to get to the Indian supermarket across the park where the twins usually bought their groceries from.

The trio had almost walked to out of the park when they heard shouts behind telling them to stop.

They spun around to their bewilderment to see Michael strolling towards them.

“hello again I didn’t know your names I was wondering If I could burrow Eva for a few hours for my project?” Michael greeted them sheepishly.

The brothers shared a look comminuting their thoughts. They broke eye contact to sigh in union knowing this wasn’t a good idea.

“alright fine you can look but make you sure you bring her back by 4.30 because you don’t how much trouble you got all of us in thanks to your so-called project dude and bring her back here” Aadesh answered in a serious tone to Michael.

“by the way our names are Adil and Aadesh remember that afro dude we have our eyes on you” Adil bluntly answered.

“BOYS!” Eva chided clearly unimpressed.

“I am sorry and don’t worry I’ll keep to the time this time Adil and Aadesh” Michael replied politely to the boys.

“alright Eva we are off to do some errands for ourselves---“Aadesh responded before he was cut off by the fake coughs from Adil.

“going to see his girl cough”

“oh, Adil are you feeling sick? Let’s go to the doctors, shall we? We shall see you later Eva” Aadesh answered in a sarcastic tone wishing farewell to his cousin and Michael as he dragged his brother away under his armpit ignoring the gags of air Adil was trying to inhale away from his brother’s armpit.

“well that was certainly entertaining” Michael chuckled watching the pair of brothers walk away.

“I don’t why I bother with those two sometimes” Eva replied sighing.

“now we are alone how about we get started on the photoshoot unless your busy?” Michael questioned focusing his gaze on Eva.

“I can’t exactly do it now Michael since we are short on time and I still need to get to the Indian supermarket to buy some food for dinner tonight. What other days are you off?” Eva responded apologetically.

“I’m off usually Wednesday and Friday will that be fine with you? It’s fine you don’t have time today. I have enough evidence to show for critic day on Monday … is it possible if I could come with you? So maybe I can take some pictures of you in your element. Is that fine with you?” Michael asked.

Eva was taken back by his willingness to come along and couldn’t help but blunt out “won’t you be out of your element coming with me?”

“are you implying I am not dark enough to pass off Indian heritage” Michael mocked with one eyebrow raised, staring down at her with his chocolate brown bambi like eyes.

“what? No! I didn’t mean it in that way” Eva protested weakly.

“please calm down Eva I was only joking besides I don’t mind the stares. I get enough of them daily with my friend Paul when we are together” Michael responded with a light chuckle.

Eva gave him an annoyed glare before she twirled around to walk straight to the back gates of the park hearing Michael’s fast footsteps behind her.

The duo left the park behind them as they crossed the road as the streetlight blinked a jade green signaling them that it was safe to cross.

Once on the other side they continued chat more walking ahead to the street where they were surrounded by many stales of fruit, meat, and clothes tailored to the Indian community. The pair ignored the curious stares from people around them as they moved on wards. The smells of spices and chilies reminded Eva of home but she wasn’t here to mourn her lost but chose to push the memories to the back of her mind and focus on the task at hand.

The pair stopped in front of the two-sided glass doors of the supermarket.  

“now before we step inside Michael are you sure you want to do this?” Eva questioned soberly hinting at the chance for Michael to escape and go home.

“I want to learn what your world is like. Your world sounds so interesting” he responded in a determined voice.

“fine” Eva replied in a defeated tone.

She pushed the door open to walk into the air-conditioned store to see a bearded man in his late forties look up from his counter to see a new customer.

His beady eyes blinked in surprise once he saw her but didn’t do anything. He chose to finish his current task (sorting out the bills).

Eva stepped further into the supermarket smelling several flavors all at once. It was a pleasant smell as her eyes swept across the neatly stocked area. She saw the signs of food above each section. She saw the multicolored rows of fruits, vegetables and so forth.

“I have a basket! Shall we get started?” Michael chirped snapping Eva out of her thoughts.

“uh yes we should” she responded seeing him holding a basket in one hand.

The pair strolled into the fruit and vegetable section first.

These oranges look good what do you think?" Eva asked Michael holding a ripe orange in hand. 

"Heh it looks ripe enough" Michael responded. 

"That's perfect. I'll buy four so the boys will eat them. They need to eat more fruit" she replied as she gathered more of the oranges in her hand and dropped it into the basket. 

"I know the boys are your cousins but why do you treat them like they are babies?" Michael asked curiously as they walked past the fruit aisle ignoring the looks from other customers.

They wondered off into the masala section (spices) as they walked Eva explained why. 

"Well they are kids in almost adult sized bodies and I can't help but make sure they eat properly" she replied facing him with a short smile.

"It's nice to see you care and it's another trait I'm learning about you" Michael responded with a smile in return. 

"Thank you I do try to look out for them" she responded. 

"How can you tell the difference between them?" Michael wondered. 

"Well Adil is the jokey, happy twin while Aadesh is the serious and responsible twin but like yin and yang they balance each other out. I'm just glad Adil is there to get Aadesh out of his shell but it does feel they are plotting something" she responded with a thoughtful look.

"That's amazing I can never tell difference in twins especially my cousins from my mother's side" Michael answered with a wince at the end of his sentence. 

Eva noticed his wince but chose to not ask any questions because it was none of her business. So, the pair continued further into the masala section. Eva was appealed by the ridiculous prices.

“how is this bottle of coriander six pounds? In India, this is cheaper” Eva complained in disgust returning the bottle back to the shelf.

“my aunt would agree with you Eva. She’s always complaining about the prices of spices” Michael chuckled amused by her complaint.

“your aunty sounds like a great woman” Eva replied.

“she sure is” Michael replied smiling warmly at Eva. He always felt a swell of love and pride for his wonderful aunty who loved him and Janet unconditionally.

“why don’t you let me carry the basket for a moment and then you can take a few pictures of me while I walk away and find some more things?” Eva suggested to Michael.

“that’s perfect but I won’t let you carry it for too long” Michael joked. It was becoming easier for him to joke with her as time went by.

Eva rolled her eyes at him before taking the handle from his hand ignoring his warmth. She held it in one hand as she walked away further down into the section drifting into the meat section.

She heard Michael’s footsteps two feet away from where she stood near the meat section. She shivered due to the chilly breeze emitted from the freezers. She strolled past each part till she found the chicken section. She grabbed the frozen bag of chicken breasts and dropped it into her cart.

As she was about to leave the section she saw a man across the freezer a foot away looking slightly lost and confused. When the man heard her approaching footsteps, he looked up and saw her. she locked gazes with a blue-eyed, brown haired man.

The young man immediately strolled up to meet her in a hurried speed walk till he stood in front of her.

“excuse me miss! I need your help with something----“he said before he was cut off by Eva.

You have wrong person eh sir. I don’t work here”

“are you sure? You look like you work here” he replied hinting at her clothing and accent.

“don’t just assume I work here because of my clothing or accent” Eva replied coolly.

“well it doesn’t matter I still need your help” he replied.

“look sir I have other plans to get done.” Eva responded with a tight smile before stepping back to turn around and walk away from this arrogant fool.

“now just wait – “the man said grabbing her wrist suddenly.

Now Michael had been watching from where he stood a few feet away didn’t like the arrogant attitude from the taller man. He quickly approached the pair pulling the taller man’s hand away from Eva’s wrist.

“what are you doing here negro?! You shouldn’t interfere in my business” the man sneered at the sudden appearance of Michael.

“you can call me whatever you want but I’m still free in this country. I suggest you back off my friend and pretend this confrontation never happened” Michael replied icily.

Their eyes clashed in dominance but luckily the man backed down sneering at Eva and Michael as he made a u turn walking away in another direction.

“thanks for saving me Michael. I didn’t know what that man was thinking that I work here” she replied in gratitude.

“your welcome Eva. Any woman shouldn’t have to be harassed by some punk but let’s go it’s almost time for me to drop you back with the twins” Michael replied as he looked down at his wrist watch.

Eva nodded in agreement and the pair walked out of the freezer section into the checkout section where rows of cashiers sat waiting.

After paying for the items Michael helped Eva carry two bags as they headed to the entrance. Just as they were approaching the exit door. they were stopped (yet again) by an elderly Indian woman.

The elderly woman immediately started speaking in Hindi to Eva.

“child! Why are you with this black man? Your family will not be happy with this including Riya” she scolded Eva who honestly didn’t want to deal with this woman.

 “he is doing nothing please don’t tell anyone” Eva pleaded to her in regards.

“fine I will not say a word but I recommend you don’t let this interaction continue further next time I see you I hope it doesn’t happen again” she replied strictly.

She gave a stiff farewell to the pair as she walked out of the entrance to find her parked car.

“what was she saying?” Michael inquired.

“she said I shouldn’t allow you to carry all these bags” Eva lied with a fake grin.

“I would have carried them all if you allowed me” Michael replied nonchalantly.

They strolled out of the supermarket heading back to the park where the twins stood waiting.

“wow on time we should threaten you guys more often” Adil gasped in mock horror.

“ignoring my brother thanks for not being late afro dude” Aadesh replied unware he had adopted the new nickname for Michael.

“your welcome I’ll see you some other time Eva” Michael responded to the twins as well-wishing Eva farewell and dropping the shopping bags to the floor gently.

Michael dusted himself off and started to walk away in the direction of his home. The trio picked up the rest of the bags to return home to get the food ready for dinner.