much nicer,” I reassured her.
Unlike the café, the zoo was cheap, even if we paid to get in. Of course, Parvati and I never did pay. Years ago we’d found a back entrance where we could sneak in for free. In the cooler months, I would take Shami and Aamaal whenever I had the bus fare. Recently, though, Shami’s illnesses had sapped my cash reserve. The large grounds were like walking through an ancient forest. The trees were twisted giants, covered in vines and moss. I imagined that many of them, like the zoo, were over one hundred years old. It was one of the few places we could go where people weren’t fighting over every inch of pavement.
Most of the cages were empty, and more animals were gone each time we visited. Only the signs were left to suggest what might once have been there: lions and rhinoceros, leopards and tigers. It must have been something to see all those animals in real life, but on the bright side, the zoo had fewer visitors now, and the animals that were left had become old friends.
“I want to see the bear,” said Aamaal, staring, bored, at the flamingos. “And the deer and the spotted dog.”
“He’s not a dog, Aamaal.” I was hoping she’d forgotten about the hyena. It was the one animal I did not like to visit.
“Do you think she’ll bring Vijender Patel?” Parvati asked anxiously. I wasn’t sure if she wanted to see him or was scared he would come—Parvati never flirted with boys anymore. She didn’t even speak to them, if she could avoid them. I used to wish she was more cautious. Now that she was, all I felt was longing for the girl she used to be.
“I don’t know. She didn’t bring him to the café.”
“And the monkeys, and the rhino—”
“The rhino’s gone, Aamaal. I explained that.”
“Did she say why he wasn’t there?”
“Did you remember the lettuce for the hippo, Noor-didi?”
“Yes, Aamaal, but I’ve told you we really shouldn’t feed him. If we got caught—”
“Do you think he’s ever been to the zoo before? With his money, I bet he can see hippos and tigers in the jungle.”
“There they are!” I said loudly. Vijender had come. I shot a look at Parvati. Her once-open face was unreadable.
Aamaal wrenched her hand from mine and ran toward Grace and VJ. I was on the point of calling her back when Shami wriggled from my arms and followed her. VJ had already dropped to his knees by the time they reached him. It was typical of his arrogance that he assumed they were running to him.
VJ swept both my siblings into a big hug. My stomach clenched to see Aamaal in his arms. I had to remind myself that not every male was a threat. I hadn’t shared my suspicions about VJ’s preferences with Parvati. Perhaps I should have. It might have put her at ease.
As we came up to them I was shocked to hear Shami burbling about a cricket match he’d watched on TV. I felt a stab of jealousy that he’d chosen to tell VJ about his new interest rather than me, but I couldn’t help smiling when VJ dissected every play Shami described, and Shami glowed with excitement. Perhaps the film star could do some things for Shami that I could not. I just hoped VJ understood that if he ever did anything to hurt my brother I’d make him sorry he ever met me.
“So, what are we going to look at first?” asked Grace.
“The spotted dog,” shouted Aamaal in Hindi. Though I’d coached her to speak English when we were with the foreigners, I was happy in this instance that she’d forgotten.
“Let’s start with the hippo,” I said, also in Hindi. “He’s much closer and we have food for him.” I didn’t add that I’d deliberately chosen our meeting place to be as far from the hyena as possible.
“Shami want to see spotty dog,” agreed Shami. Fortunately he spoke Kannada. Shami still got his languages mixed up. He was fluent in three and had begun to learn English as well.
“What’s that, little man?” asked VJ. I knew he’d cause trouble.
“Shami want to see spotty dog,” Shami repeated, this time mostly in Hindi.
“The spotty dog it is, then,” said VJ, as if he were in charge.
“Why do they have a dog in a zoo?” asked Grace.
“It is not being dog,” said Parvati.
“It’s a hyena,” I said. “But really we should leave it till later.