Goddess for Hire (20 page)

I WAS ON A ROLL,
so I decided to cover one last base.

Linda Vista Hospital.

Not as nice as Hoag, but I wasn't there for the ambiance.

She was sitting alone in the cafeteria, nursing a cup of coffee.

Nursing, get it? She was a nurse…

I took a seat across from her. “Hey, Nadia.”

Her hair was limp and her T-Zone dripped with oil. I didn't mention any of it though.

“What do you want?”

I tugged on my lower lip with my teeth. This was going to be painful. Better to do it fast. “I'm sorry. What I did the other night was uncalled for. You didn't deserve that.”

I was wrong. Fast didn't mean painless.

Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Why are you apologizing?”

She didn't believe me. And Ram thought I had issues!

“Nadia, I mean it. I had no right to treat you like that. I'm really sorry.”

She folded her arms and sat back. “Give me a break. You are so full of it.”

This wasn't working. I'd have to use the Goddess Gaze.

Before I could do so, a doctor with a bandana covering his curly brown hair sauntered over. “Could I interest either one of you ladies in a breast exam?”

Nadia curled her lip. “Not even if you were George Clooney in the second season of
ER
.”

“Not even if this were some sort of parallel universe and a pathetic remark like that was actually a turn-on,” I said.

He moved away with a dazed look, and Nadia turned to me with a grin.

“Listen,” I said. “Do you like your job?”

“I love it,” she said without hesitation. “And I'm damn good at what I do.”

“I believe that.”

“I guess, in a way, I'm glad everyone knows the truth. I hated pretending.”

“Tell me about it.”

“I don't think you'll suck as a goddess.”

I smiled. “Thanks.”

She smiled back. “Anytime.”

“THE BANNER
is crooked,” Ram said.

“I've adjusted it three times,” Tahir said, taking a sip of his scotch and soda. “I'll be damned if I do it again.”

It had been four weeks since I'd converted Sanjay and Indira, and I hadn't heard a whisper from them since.

We were throwing Ram a bon voyage party at the house.

I put my arm around him. “Relax, Ram, and finish your Coke.”

He took a sip and made a face. “Bah! Someone has put lemon in it. I will exchange it.”

Before he could walk away, I grabbed the sleeve of his robe. “Have you thought more about the vision I had, Ram? The one with the stallion and the decapitated head?”

He rubbed his chin. “Were you sleeping?”

“I was wide-awake. I told you.”

“It means nothing.”

“But—”

“The children are drinking all the Coke. I must go now.” He tugged his robe away and hurried off.

Sometimes I wondered about Ram's priorities. I shook my head and concentrated on my dirty vodka martini.

Pinky joined us. “It is a nice party, Maya,” she said. “You have done a good job.”

“Thank you,” I said with surprise.

“You know,” she added, “it is fine to enjoy a drink now and then, but it should not become a habit. It is different for men, of course. They work hard all day and come home and want to relax.”

I was about to respond when I caught Tahir's eye. I choked back my retort and smiled. “You're right.”

Well it wasn't like I had to live with her.

She smiled back. “Have I told you any stories about when Tahir was a baby? He was absolutely perfect.”

Tahir laughed. “Ma.”

Pinky reached over and affectionately smoothed the collar of his jacket. “He never fussed as a child. All you had to do was place him in front of a mirror, and he would happily look at his reflection all day. It was his favorite pastime.”

Tahir's smile disappeared. “Ma.”

I excused myself as a new party guest arrived. “Nadia, I'm glad you made it.”

“I brought someone. His name's Doug, and he's a cardiac surgeon. He's parking the car.”

“Great. Can't wait to meet him.”

She ran her fingers through her hair. “So you and Tahir really are getting engaged.”

“Yeah.”

She smirked. “I give it three months.”

I tossed my hair. “Does Doug know those aren't your real boobs? 'Cause you might want to tell him that in reality, his thirteen-year-old nephew probably has better cleavage.”

“Bitch!”

“Skank!”

We took off in opposite directions.

Thank God things were back to normal.

My brother walked over with my drink and handed it to me. “Thought you might need this.”

“Thanks.”

“You should come up to Stanford,” he said. “I could show you the campus, we could go into Frisco…”

“I'd love that.”

He blinked, smiled, and walked away.

Mom, Aunt Dimple, and Aunt Gayatri were supervising the buffet table. I joined them.

“I took the check down to the shelters, Maya,” my mom said. “Half to the homeless shelter and half to the animal shelter like you requested.”

I was helping out our furry four-legged friends at the local no-kill shelter. Maybe I'd eventually reach out to snakes.

I was suddenly struck with a terrible thought. “You didn't give away my Segway, did you?”

My mom rolled her eyes.

She was doing that a lot lately.

“You only reminded me ten times,” she said.

“Thanks,” I said, and hugged her. This time she hugged me back.

“Can I ride the Segway, Maya?” Aunt Dimple asked, her mouth full as usual.

I put my arm around her and squeezed. “No.”

Aunt Gayatri was surveying Tahir. “What's his sperm count? Have you checked? If they're sluggish, come to me right away.”

Ram and Tahir were waving me over, and I was grateful to get away.

“So.” Ram beamed. “When will you be coming to India?”

Tahir slipped an arm around my waist. “Soon.”

I looked at him. “Actually, my answer was never.”

“But you should come before the wedding,” Ram said.

“Wedding?” What were they talking about? “We haven't planned anything.”

“I'm thinking a Delhi wedding,” Tahir mused. “I've asked Ram to officiate. Do you know we met before? I didn't realize it until now, but Ram and I were on the same flight to LAX.” Tahir's eyes narrowed. “Were you the one who burned a stick of incense in the lav?”

So that's why Ram and Sanjay jumped me at LAX. I was wondering why they'd chosen such a public place. I cleared my throat. “Back to this wedding business—I was thinking more Dana Point and not Delhi. We can book the Ritz.”

“I was meditating,” Ram explained.

“You can't go burning incense on a plane,” Tahir pointed out. “It's dangerous and against regulations.”

“Where is it written?” Ram argued.

Ugh.

Malevolence was on the move.

It was getting to the point where I didn't have to be in close contact. A fifteen-mile radius was my limit.

But I was getting better every day.

Ugh.

“I have to go.” I brushed past them, mentally checking that my sword was in the car.

“Maya,” Tahir said, catching up to me.

“It's going to be like this,” I said. “Malevolence doesn't care about convenience.”

Tahir leaned over and kissed me. “Go. I'll save you a piece of cake.”

“Two pieces.”

Ram waved. “See you in India!”

We were really going to have to talk about that.

And then I was running out the door.