The Windfall

by Diksha Basu

The point of life was not just to keep moving higher and higher. What happened if you made it to Buckingham Palace?

Unlike a lot of mothers, his mother had never abandoned her own life for his sake, and he appreciated that about her.

“How come Americans get called expats but if we move to America, we’re called immigrants?”

All the lives here were so private. Did more money mean more secrets?

he realized now that it was going to be difficult to let Mr. Chopra know that they were traveling in business class without saying it explicitly. Unless, he thought, he left the priority luggage tags on the suitcases when they returned to Gurgaon and made sure Mr. Chopra came to visit while the bags were still lying in plain view.

He was in a hotel room—a bit on the small side but nobody knew them here so it was okay—in

“Yes, maybe. But Rupak has little talent, so it is likely that he will fail completely,” Mr. Jha said. Both the men laughed heartily.