When Dimple Met Rishi

Celia finally texts Dimple back and meets them at the restaurant looking glamorous and anxious. Celia asks Dimple to go with her to the bathroom, and once there, Celia reveals that she and Ashish hooked up. At the table, Ashish tells Rishi the same piece of information, explaining he met Celia at basketball camp last summer and reconnected with her that afternoon. Both Dimple and Rishi are shocked. Celia explains to Dimple that she and Ashish had a connection when they first met but that she had had a girlfriend then.

Now, Celia feels guilty because she’s dating Evan (in spite of the fact that he treats her badly) and because she’s worried Ashish views his hookup with her as something more serious. Celia says they’re in different worlds, because Celia is about to start at SFSU whereas Ashish is still in high school. Dimple encourages Celia to tell Ashish the truth.

While Dimple encourages Celia to talk to Ashish, Rishi counsels Ashish not to talk to Celia at all, especially since he seems to really like her, in the hopes the awkwardness will blow over. Celia and Dimple return to the table, and Celia asks Ashish if they can talk after dinner. Ashish says he’s “over it.” Dimple realizes Rishi has been interfering and encourages Celia and Ashish to go talk, which they do.

Once he and Dimple are alone, Rishi says he’s excited to make it work long distance, and there’s a moment where Dimple wonders if Rishi will say “those three little words” (280). She realizes she wants him to say them, because she feels the same. During dinner they talk about their parents. Dimple reveals that her papa’s father would drink and go into rages and that her grandmother, her daadi, would purposely anger Papa’s father so that the father would beat her instead of her son, Papa. Her daadi had died when Dimple was a baby. While Dimple says her papa is a “soft, gentle soul,” she says her mother “doesn’t give a crap about my personality or my brains” (282). Rishi doubts that and wonders if there’s another part of her mother that Dimple doesn’t know yet.

Rishi reveals that his father’s parents died in an accident when his father was young, and that then his father worked to put himself through college. When he wanted to marry Rishi’s mother, he promised her parents he’d work enough to give her a good lifestyle. Eventually Rishi’s parents came to the States, which Dimple describes as “the American dream” and Rishi describes as “the Indian dream” (284). Rishi thinks his parents have a “fairy-tale marriage,” and though he wanted a practical partnership, now he thinks that, with Dimple, he’s found the fairy tale as well.

After dinner, Rishi and Dimple eat Pocky and kiss in an alley. They broach the possibility of sex, but Rishi thinks they should think and talk more before they go further. Dimple agrees to think about it and feels “confused and frustrated and all manner of things she couldn’t even begin to untangle” (288).

On Tuesday, Ashish continues to help Dimple and Rishi with their dance by videotaping their practice sessions. His talk with Celia does not seem to have gone well, but neither Ashish nor Celia will discuss it. While practicing, Dimple reminds Rishi and Ashish how much she wants to win both the talent show and Insomnia Con because she’s sure her app will help her papa and people like him. She’s also very focused on the huge opportunity that would come with meeting Jenny Lindt. They recommit to practicing the dance and Ashish is grateful they’re taking practice seriously.

After a sweaty dance practice, Ashish leaves to get some food and Rishi and Dimple begin to kiss on the bed. Dimple says she’d like to have sex, because they’re consenting adults and they’ve thought about it. Rishi worries about their parents, explaining that his parents would be disappointed if they had sex before marriage. Dimple says it’s her and Rishi’s decision, and Rishi agrees with her. They agree to have sex, and Dimple asks Rishi if he has a condom. He undresses her and when she’s naked, he calls her “lajawah.” They fall onto the bed, and it is implied that they have sex.

Dimple returns to her dorm room to find Evan half-naked in Celia’s bed and Celia in a short robe. Dimple tries not to judge Celia but points out that Evan has made her unhappy. Celia insists she’s a “big girl” and reveals she’s agreed to do the bikini dance with them at the talent show. When Dimple reminds Celia how unhappy that idea originally made her, Celia retorts that Dimple just wants Celia to get together with Ashish. They fight, and Dimple leaves.

At dinner with Rishi and Ashish, Dimple is in a terrible mood and tells Ashish to forget about Celia. Ashish is upset and leaves dinner. Rishi assures Dimple that Ashish always lands on his feet.

The night of the talent show arrives, and backstage, Dimple is extremely nervous and wants to back out. Dimple is impressed by the other students’ costumes and makeup, in contrast to her and Rishi’s simple costumes. She puts on a bit of makeup while another student explains that the audience is comprised of a mix of students from the art and theater summer camps. Right before Dimple and Rishi take the stage, her nerves almost get the better of her, but Rishi manages to remain calm.

Rishi doesn’t understand why Dimple is so nervous, because he knows she’s such a talented dancer. Right before they go onstage, he whispers a line from the film their song appeared in, which means, “I see God in you.” Then Rishi tells Dimple he loves her. Onstage, Dimple is elated and dances well, to much applause. They rush offstage and Dimple tells Rishi she loves him, and they kiss “with a fevered hunger” (309). Ashish meets them and shows them a recording of their dance, and Rishi is blown away by Dimple’s talent. Dimple feels a rush and begins to understand the high that comes with performing.

Evan and Hari arrive, as well as Celia and Isabelle in their bikinis, “clearly drunk on something besides life” (311). Evan makes a rude comment about Dimple’s body and Rishi rushes to defend her, but Dimple tells him it’s not worth it. Ashish grows upset upon seeing Celia and leaves, and Dimple realizes Ashish really likes Celia. Rishi agrees and follows his brother out.