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Intro
Laxmi tells her coworker Miranda about an affair that her cousin’s husband is having with a much younger woman. Miranda distractedly thinks of an affair that she herself is having with a man from Bengal, the same state in India that the husband of Laxmi’s cousin is from. Miranda recalls how she first met Dev at a department store where both were purchasing cosmetics, he from a list. Dev approaches Miranda after they leave, telling her that part of her name is Indian (“Mira”). Prior to meeting Dev, Miranda knew little of India and assumed Bengali was a religion. During the two first two weeks of their affair, they are with each other every night while Dev’s wife is on a visit to India. When Miranda and Dev are not at her apartment they visit places around town including, on one memorable occasion, the Mapparium, a three-story globe at the Christian Science Center in Boston. Dev wows Miranda by whispering to Miranda from a distance inside the globe, “You’re sexy.” Miranda thinks about how he is the first lover who has ever said this to her.
Miranda goes shopping for clothing she imagines a mistress might wear and buys a cocktail dress and a silk robe. Dev now visits Miranda on Sunday afternoons. When Miranda greets Dev wearing the silk robe, Dev tells her that he prefers to see her long legs; she never does wear the cocktail dress. Miranda listens to Dev tell stories about his youth while they are in bed together. Dev, on the other hand, only seems interested in wanting to know about Miranda’s past lovers. Miranda considers that Dev and Laxmi are the only two Indians she has known apart from an Indian family she knew in her youth, the Dixits. The Dixits were looked upon by their neighbors as odd, and Miranda recalls an unsettling experience she had while attending a birthday party at their house for one of their children. Miranda thinks of Dev’s Indian background in a much more flattering way. Miranda begins to learn as much as she can about Indian culture and attempts to learn the Bengali language. When Dev tells her that his wife looks like an Indian actress, she seeks out videotapes featuring the actress.
Laxmi, in the meantime, updates Miranda on her cousin’s marriage; after a brief attempt at reunion, the cousin’s husband files for divorce. Laxmi asks Miranda if Miranda can look after her cousin’s child on a Saturday while Laxmi and the cousin go on an outing together. When the boy is dropped off, Miranda notices that he has dark circles under his eyes. The boy has Miranda quiz him on the capitals of countries and asks her to serve him coffee. Later in the visit, he rummages through the items on her bathroom shelf and then through her bedroom closet. When he discovers the never worn cocktail dress, he urges her to put it on. When she does so he tells her, “You’re sexy.” Miranda, disturbed by the comment, asks him what he thinks the word means and he tells her, “It means loving someone you don’t know.” While the boy naps on her bed Miranda weeps, thinking of her own affair and of the affair that the boy’s father is having. When Dev calls the next day, Miranda makes up an excuse not to see him and the affair fizzles out. One day Miranda goes for a walk and finds herself sitting on a bench across from the Mapparium thinking about Dev and their time together.
