"Junikiri came a couple of weeks ago. Hoina, beta?" Ma answered, beaming as if she'd won a prize for her pup at a dog show.

"Hajur, Aunty." Shashank watched a flush creep up Jun's flawless cheeks. Could she hate attention as much as he did? Surely not the Jun he remembered. Wasn't she once a bubbly young woman who'd been so chatty that Shashank hadn't needed to add words to have an entire conversation with her, just stare—in awe? Granted, it had been ten years since they met, but what happened to that Jun he remembered?

"She was staying with the folks she came here with," Ma rambled on in Nepali at top speed, as she often did. "But they've now asked her to move out. Can you believe that? Asking a young woman to just up and leave like that so soon? Honestly." She shook her head and dropped her handbag on the dining table. A signal that she wasn't going anywhere yet.

Great.

"Some people are so..."

Shashank saw her struggle to find the word for insensitive in Nepali and he wasn't feeling inclined to help.

She gave up and moved to the kitchen without breaking a stride. "Shashi, chiya banayenash?" and tsked at the rest of the dirty dishes still in the sink they hadn't loaded into the machine.

A fresh wave of embarrassment glowed brightly on his cheeks.

No, Ma, because the saucepan's still dirty.

"Anyway." She fished out the saucepan and began scrubbing it. "Her mum—you two remember her mum? My friend in Nepal, the one who lives in Pokhara—well, she called me and told me all about it, and the moment I heard it, I knew it. I have to help. I have."

You have to or you wanted to?

Shashank glared, tempted to shove everyone out of his hovel.

Jyo chuckled silently, heading for the dining chairs, no doubt thinking the same but loving the drama.

"So I told her I'll find chori a nice room; with someone reliable. Don't worry. It's the least I can do—I've been here so long I know people... And, honestly, I don't know why she didn't ask me first. I work in real estate. The poor thing's been trying to find a place all this time. And no luck. So I thought, why not Shashi? He's reliable, and he's eklai, here in this big house with nobody and nothing to do all day; and that room upstairs is just rotting away, unused... so I told her. I told her why trust strangers these days? One day you're pahuna, the next, they throw you out on the streets just like that—"

"That's a bit drastic, Ma." Jyo pulled a chair for Jun. "I mean, Jun's not exactly living on the streets at the moment"—she half-cringed at Junkiri—"unless you are, then in that case, let's go get your stuff right now."

You're not helping, Jyo!

Shashank eyed his sister. Honestly, whose side was she on? Ma or his?

"No." Jun shook her head, nervously eyeing Shashank and the chair in Jyo's hands. "They've given me until the end of the month to find a place—"

"End of the month," Ma spat. "That's not nearly enough time in this economy and rental crisis... You'll never find a place, dear. Heartless. The lot of them..."

"They're having a kid soon..." Jun sat gingerly on the edge of the chair and met his gaze. "They need their second room. And I don't mind."

She spun back to Jyo. "And I don't mind moving out, but... I don't know where to look. I've never lived alone."

I'm making her nervous.

A chill coursed down Shashank's spine then. Was he really so desperate to hold on to his suddenly single, and if by suddenly, he meant eight-month-old singledom, I-live-like-a-cat-lady-without-the-cats life, that he couldn't fathom forsaking his solitude for someone in need of a roof over their head? Especially if that person was a person of particular interest to him, once upon a time. Why was he still struggling to surrender and say 'Yes, Jun, that room is yours'?

"... Shashi's perfect for Jun. That way I can keep an eye on her—make sure she is okay." Ma's voice bled into his thoughts.

I'm what? Shashank wanted to ask again. Why was Ma saying he was perfect for Jun? Was she really trying to set them up? Like, for marriage? Did he want to marry Jun? Yeah, he had a crush on her while in Nepal, but that was ten years ago. Did he even want to get married after what happened?

Instead, he watched Jyo throw him a knowing glance before sitting back to front in the next chair and watch Ma put the saucepan on the stove and hunt for his loose leaf tea in the cupboard where he kept them.

"I bet Aunty is delighted at your suggestion that her daughter can stay with your son, alone, in his house?" Jyo mumbled, laughing into the back of her hand pinned beneath her chin. "I'm sure all Nepali mothers are as progressive as you, Ma." Her brows wiggled in Jun's direction.

As usual, Ma wasn't listening and replied, "Ani ta. What do you think of us Nepali?"

Shashank couldn't help but stare. Really?

He turned to Jun, in time to see a sly smile tug at her mouth, and she subtly shook her head. No. Her Ma wasn't as progressive as his ma made it out to be.

"So what did Aunty say?" he asked, unable to help himself.

"Of course, Aunty said 'yes, please set my daughter up with your son', dummy." Jyo chuckled.

"Ke bhanche?" Ma turned around, taken aback by the question.

Jun bit down on her smile.

Shashank enjoyed seeing Jun smile.

"Did she really say that?" Shashank turned to his mother. If she was going to ambush him and make him all uncomfortable, then he could only return the favour.

Ma cleared her throat, turned back to brewing the tea and lied through her bloody teeth. Shashank could tell. It's what she always did when she lied; hid her face.

"Of course. She's fine with it. Why wouldn't she be? You're my son and if you do anything, you'll have to answer to me. Junkiri is safe under my watch."

"Hang on." Shashank reared. "What do you mean, if I do anything? What will I do?"

Jyo made a lewd suggestion with her tongue and cheek, chuckling softly from her chair again.

"Hya... she's fine with it." Ma threw him a warning glance, as if to say 'Do anything and I'll kick your ass', and changed track. "Next weekend, you two take your cars around and help Jun bring her things over."

"So it's decided. Jun's moving in with Shashi next weekend." Jyo perked up in her chair.

"That's soon." Shashank partially deflated inside, not that any of the three women heard his mumble. He'd called Jyo for backup. Instead, she's somehow help move the conversation along far enough that even if he wanted to, he couldn't weasel out of the arrangement.

Ma was busy pouring four cups of piping hot tea.

Jyo had swivelled to Jun and was asking, "Do you have a lot of stuff, or can we fit it in two cars, his and mine?"

"I just have one suitcase and a bag." Jun hesitated.

Shashank shrank into the background, wondering how the morning had turned on him. One minute he was a lonely old badger, drinking himself silly, singing 'All By My Self' out of tune, scraping the last of the tiramisu out of a tub that had probably expired, wishing Shetal would come back and say, 'Shashi, I've missed, you.' And the next minute, he's standing in his own home, surrounded by three women, chattering away as if they hadn't just manipulated him to shed his solitude and agree to a flatmate. A flatmate he'd had a crush on once, so it probably wasn't a good idea, having her around lest he should fall for her again because he was miserable on his own.

"But I can find another place if Shashank isn't comfortable with the idea." Jun was peering up at him when Jyo tugged his arm, making him feel like a dick all over again.

"Nonsense. You don't need another place. We already talked about this." Ma stirred some sugar into the cups, clinking the spoon against the cups loudly on purpose. "Our home is your home. It's decided. Jyo and Shashi will help you move in next Saturday."

"Well?" Ma held out his tea, waiting.

The other two were also watching him as if the whole thing hinged on him saying, 'Yes, we'll be there next Saturday.'

"I—" Shashank swallowed. No one should have to live with a mopey romance writer, still healing from a heartbreak, a heartache that was freshly gashed open with a pretty gold envelope arriving in the mail yesterday, the one that still sat on his desk, unopened. He knew exactly what lay inside. After all, he had handpicked that very design when they played 'let's pretend we're getting married' once upon a time. Him and his ex. He could do this. Offer Jun a safe place while still keep his 'job' and thus the ridiculous nature of his life, from her. A life that was a mess every which way he looked, all because of Shetal.

But he froze. Unable to answer his mother. Or look at the other two. 

"I should probably go..." Jun placed her tea, untouched, on the dining table and rose to leave.

Jyo reached out and stopped her. "It's not you."

What if Jun doesn't enjoy living with me? What if she doesn't like me, even if platonic?

Shashank puffed out his chest, tying not to hyperventilate

"I—" he tried again, but all he could think of was, 'This is a bad time for me.' He couldn't possibly entertain a guest, even if she was someone he'd have given anything to get close to once.

And then there was Terry's email, subject line 'Need update on MS delivery'.

Shashank felt his chest tighten. Three pairs of eyes ogled at him, impatiently waiting for him to say something like, 'Yes, I'll keep Jun (Ma)' or 'No, find somewhere else (Jun)' or tell himself 'Don't be a douche, Shashank', in Jyo's voice — his default whenever he felt like the lowest being on any totem poles.

"Shashi?" His mother's voice sharpened a little.

Fuck.

"My car's dead," he blurted instead, which was true. It was currently sitting on the driveway, baking under the Aussie sun. Dead. He couldn't recall the last time he drove that hunk of metal. "I mean, I'd help you move, but my car's dead. Haven't driven the thing in months."

And now he was blubbering.

Thankfully, Ma turned to Jyo. "It's fine. Jyotsna's car is bigger and has a large dicky, anyway."

Shashank groaned, wanting to slap his head in embarrassment ala Ma-style. The number of times he had taught her the more appropriate alternative ('boot,') instead of the highly inappropriate sounding Nepali term for a car's trunk.

A/N: Might I ask you a couple of questions about the story so far?

a) Has the beginning worked/hooked you enough for you to keep reading?

b) If so, what has worked for you? If not, what didn't work for you?

c) What do you make of the MC/LI dynamic so far, and what do you expect will happen?

d) Is the writing pacey enough? If not, where did you find it slowed down?

e) If you stopped reading this at any point, where did you stop and why? (I'd love to know so I can address the issue when I start polishing this story for publication. TYSM.)

Thank you so much for your help. I love you all!

Thank you so much for reading JUST ANOTHER LOVE STORY and helping this poor writer out. If you liked this enough, do leave me comments, reactions, votes, or follow to see where this story ends up in 2025! 🖤