Amy's Dilemma. (Book 4 Of The Arlington Series) (complete )

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

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Amy stretched, opened her eyes, and looked around. For a moment she didn't know where she was, but then memory flooded back. She was no longer in her room at the Worthington's. She had moved in with Karishma the night before.

Joshua and Natalie were sad to see her go but they understood her reasons. They realized that girls were different these days. They were going to college and learning to stand on their own. Jacob was another matter. He told her that she was making a big mistake and would regret it. Amy simply told him that he needed to stop treating her like a big brother because she had enough of those. When he tried to argue further she told him that she didn't want to discuss it anymore, and that time would tell. He stormed out angry, so angry he didn't even speak to Karishma.

Sitting up and slipping her feet into her slippers she headed off to the bathroom. A strange but delicious aroma met her nose when she opened her bedroom door. Karishma had got up before her and was fixing breakfast. She quickly went through her morning routine in the bathroom and dressed in record time. Then she went to the table where Karishma was already sitting, two plates of what appeared to be scrambled eggs and rice on some sort of bread already on the table.

Sitting down at her place she said; "Yummy, this smells delicious. What is it?"

"Oh just scrambled eggs with rice on chapatti bread."

"It doesn't look like any scrambled eggs I've had. The rice looks different too."

"This is the way we fix them in India. I thought you would enjoy a special treat today since it's your first day from under the guardianship of the Worthington's. You simply scramble eggs, milk, chopped onions, chopped red or green chilies, diced tomatoes, fresh ginger, and ground turmeric, finely chopped coriander leaves, ground cumin, then salt and pepper to taste. We cook them on the stove just as you do. I've garnished them with chopped coriander and a green chili pepper, seeded and thinly sliced and rice fried with cilantro and saffron. I hope you like it."

Amy took a bite and said between mouthfuls; "This tastes amazing. I'm going to have to send the recipe to my family. I think they would really enjoy it."

Karishma said with a smile; "I'm glad you like it."

The girls finished up breakfast and cleaned up. Then it was time to go to school. Amy was driving that morning. To help save money they had agreed to take turns driving unless one or the other had something to do before or after school on the days that they had classes together. Because they lived close enough to PJ's Market Amy walked to work saving that much more.

A couple of months went by and everything was working out very well. Amy and Karishma took turns cooking and both delighted in surprising the other with traditional dishes. Their study group was often invited and never knew what was going to be served, American or East Indian. One thing's for sure it was adventure eating and they never went away disappointed.

Karishma had opened her salon and there was a steady flow of customers. At first they came out of curiosity because of the exotic way she had it decorated. They came back because they liked her work. Word spread and Karishma was soon faced with a dilemma, either she start turning customers away or hire someone. She didn't want to turn people away but she wasn't sure if she was ready for that kind of responsibility.

One evening over supper Karishma talked to Amy about her problem. She wanted Amy to help her make a decision. Amy refused because she didn't want to be blamed if something went wrong. Karishma pressed anyway so she finally told her;