Katie Ashley - The Pairing

“You were with a pregnant woman?” Charlie asked.

“Alpesh how could you?” his mother demanded from the doorway.

“How could I what?” Pesh asked.

Lavani’s expression was horror stricken. “Get a woman…in the family way.”

Pesh rocketed off the couch. He glanced past his mother to where Megan stood. “You’re…?” he couldn’t even form the words.

Megan’s face flushed blood red. “No! Of course, I’m not!”

Lavani gave him a confused look. “Not her,” she replied, pointing at Megan. “This Emma that Sanjay speaks of.”

Bringing his hand to his forehead, he rubbed furiously to try to ward off the ache that was starting to pound in his head. Everything was getting shot to hell so fast. “First of all, Emma and I were never intimate. She was pregnant by the man she is now married to. Yes, I took her to the opera with Sanjay and Shveta, but there was nothing really between us.” He shook his head and couldn’t help wondering if he would ever have to stop explaining what had happened between him and Emma. “Second of all, could everyone just back off for a second? I mean, you’re not exactly giving Megan a very good impression of our family.”

A nervous laugh erupted from Megan’s lips. She covered her mouth with her hand, trying to hide her giggling. He winked at her, and she lowered her hand to smile at him.

“Fine, fine. Now that we’ve cleared all that up, why don’t we eat?” Lavani suggested.

“That sounds wonderful,” Charlie replied.

As they made their way into the dining room, Pesh went to Megan’s side. “You surviving okay?” he whispered.

“I’m hanging in there. I may need a drink when we leave.”

“Just no Silver Tequila for you,” he mused.

Without the others catching her, Megan smacked his arm. “Ass,” she hissed under her breath.

He chuckled as he held out the chair for Megan. “Thank you,” she said before sitting down. He then eased in beside her. As the dishes began making their way around the table, he felt Megan kick him. When he glanced at her in surprise, she whispered, “Where is the silverware?”

“We eat with our hands.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes.” He leaned over to whisper in her ear. “But don’t use your left hand because it’s considered rude.”

She jerked back to stare wide-eyed at him. “I’m left handed,” she protested.

He fought the urge to smile at her horror. He could tell that she would rather die than do something to embarrass him in front of his family. “You’ll be fine. They won’t expect as much out of you since you’re American.”

“Alpesh, whatever is it that you’re whispering about?” Lavani asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

“I was just telling Megan what a wonderful cook you are. She loves Indian food, so I’m sure she’s in for a treat.” Pesh squeezed Megan’s knee under the table. She cut her eyes over to him and smiled.

Once the plates had been passed around and everyone served, they began to eat. “Mmm, the samosa is delicious,” Megan complimented.

“Thank you,” Lavani replied, with a beaming smile.

As his mother turned her attention to Shveta, Pesh bowed his head and spoke in a low voice to Megan. “Once I tried bribing Beau with some samosa.”

She laughed. “You did? Why?”

“I was at Aidan’s house checking on Emma when she was on bed rest. I guess you could say he didn’t like me invading his turf.”

“Would he not take it from you?”

“Oh, he took it, ate it, and seemed to enjoy it. But I didn’t make any friends that night.”

Megan grinned. “Good old Beau.”

Pesh raised his brows. “You’re siding with the dog?”

“In that scenario, yes. He was merely protecting Emma and Noah.”

“I see.”

Tilting her head at him, she added, “Besides, I don’t like any scenario where you and Emma are anything more than friends.”

“I was there in a medical capacity,” he argued.

She wagged her finger at him. “You brought dinner with you. That fact alone shows you were there for more than just practicing medicine.”

When he quickly pushed her finger down, she gave him a look that was a cross between puzzled and infuriated. “Are you trying to silence me?”

“No, I’m just helping you save face. We don’t point—it’s considered rude.”

Megan’s eyes widened. “I’ve done something else wrong now?”

“You’re fine.”

She shook her head. “Next time, you better plan on giving me a crash course in Indian culture before you even think about bringing me around your family.”

Across the table from them, Shveta cleared her throat. When Pesh and Megan glanced at her, she smiled. “You’re doing fine, Megan. Please don’t worry about following all the rules of our culture. We certainly don’t expect you to.”

Megan returned Shveta’s smile. “Thank you. I would never dream of doing anything to offend you.”

“Of course you wouldn’t,” Charlie replied.

Pesh didn’t dare sneak a peek at his mother. After all, she was the one who upheld the traditions and customs of their heritage while his father had tried to Americanize himself as much as possible, right down to changing his name.

Charlie dabbed the corners of his mouth with his napkin. “I understand you have a son, Megan.”

She smiled. “Yes, Mason is almost two. He’s my entire world.”

“You should have brought him with you this evening. We would have loved to meet him,” Shveta said.

“Maybe next time. Of course, after you see how much energy he has, you might change your mind.” As the table laughed, she glanced over at Pesh. “Mason truly adores Pesh, and Pesh is so good with him. His patience is infinite.”

Pesh smiled. “He’s a good boy. I enjoy spending time with him.”

“So it’s serious between you two?” Lavani asked.

“Uh, well—” Megan began before she was interrupted by the doorbell.

Sanjay rose out of his chair. “That must be Dev.”

“How surprising that he’s so late?” Shveta mused with a smile.

Pesh almost laughed at the horrified expression on Megan’s face at the mention of Dev. “You didn’t tell me he was going to be here!” she hissed.

“I wasn’t sure if he was coming or not. But don’t worry. Things are fine between us now.”

Megan gave him a skeptical look as Dev walked into the dining room. “Hey everybody,” he said, throwing up a hand.

At the sight of Megan sitting next to Pesh, Dev’s eyes widened. “Well, well, if it isn’t Miss Right Hook,” he mused with a smirk.

“It’s Miss Left Hook, actually,” she corrected.

Dev grinned. “Good to know.”

“You’ve met Megan, Dev?” Lavani asked curiously.

“We had the pleasure of meeting each other one day when I went by the hospital to see Alpesh.” At Megan’s sharp intake of breath, Dev winked at her. He then eased down across from them and began piling food on his plate. “So you guys work together and now you’re dating, huh?”

“Yes,” Pesh replied.

After taking a bite of his samosa, Dev motioned at them while he chewed. “Alpesh is sort of your boss, right?”

Pesh could feel Megan’s anger rising. “No, actually he isn’t. I have a preceptor, or head nurse, who is my boss. And before you can make it sound any seedier, it isn’t against the hospital rules to date each other. Besides, we met each other long before I started working at Wellstar.”

“Is that right?” Dev replied.

“Yeah, it is.”

A slow grin slunk across his face. “I like you,” he said to Megan.

“You have an interesting way of showing it.”

Charlie chuckled at the head of the table. “My, my, Alpesh, haven’t you picked a feisty one?”

Pesh glanced at Megan, who had flushed the red color of her blouse. She gave Charlie a weak smile. “I apologize.”

With a tsk, Charlie replied, “Please don’t. It’s been rather refreshing to see you putting Dev into his well-deserved place. I understand you punched him, too.”

When his mother gasped in horror, Megan fumbled under the table for Pesh’s hand. He squeezed it reassuringly as she ducked her head. “Um, well, I’m sorry to say that I did.”

“In Megan’s defense, I totally deserved it. I punched Alpesh and said some really shitty things.”

“Dev!” Lavani cried.

In true Dev fashion, he rolled his eyes at his mother’s outrage. “We’re fine now. Everyone calm down.” He met Pesh’s gaze. “I’m happy for you, brother. You’ve made a good choice.” He cut his eyes over to Megan. “I hope you both will be very happy together.”

Pesh was taken aback by the sincerity in both Dev’s words and his expression. “Thank you.”

Megan nodded. “Yes, thank you.”

Dev leaned back in his chair, clasping his hands behind his head. “And now to ensure that my news overshadows any excitement brought on by the two of you, I’d like to announce that I’m getting married next month—”

Lavani once again gasped in horror. But Dev wasn’t finished. “And I’m going to be a father.”

Pesh’s mouth gaped open as the table erupted in absolute pandemonium. He wondered if his mother was going to pass out. Turning to Megan, he found her with her napkin over her mouth. From the way her shoulders were moving up and down, he could tell she was laughing. He leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Guess we’re off the hook, huh?”

She grinned. “Yeah, I think we’re good.”

“I love you.”

“I love you more.”

Now that he and Megan were an official couple who had said the “L” word, Pesh no longer had days off where he had to wonder how to pass the time. He wanted to spend every waking minute with her and with Mason, and she always made sure that they had time together. Today found him at Patrick’s house, wedged on the couch between some of Megan’s male family members. Just like at his parents, the women were all stationed in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on Sunday lunch.