When Dimple Met Rishi: Chapters 28–42

by Sandhya Menon
Dimple Shah is thrilled to be spending her summer studying web development at Stanford University — but she doesn't know that her traditional parents are planning for her to meet (and eventually marry!) fellow student Rishi Patel.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–6, Chapters 7–15, Chapters 16–27, Chapters 28–42, Chapter 43–One Month Later
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. kismet
    fate or fortune
    “No.” Rishi rubbed the back of his neck. “Still crazy.” Softly, he said, “Kismet.”
    She looked at him, big eyes luminous and almost black in the light from the phone. “Kismet.”
  2. dub
    give a nickname to
    It was the Friday after the Big Kiss, as Dimple and Celia had dubbed it.
  3. vindication
    the justification for some act or belief
    She also couldn’t stop the surge of vindication when all she saw was annoyance splashed across his every feature.
  4. garner
    acquire or deserve by one's efforts or actions
    Dimple could see her trying to fit the two pieces together: The respect that Rishi’s dad obviously garnered combined with the fact that Rishi was absolutely the dorkiest guy she’d ever known.
  5. broach
    bring up a topic for discussion
    She’d tried to broach the subject with Celia, but Celia just changed the subject, as if she willfully didn’t want to know.
  6. willful
    done by design
    She’d tried to broach the subject with Celia, but Celia just changed the subject, as if she willfully didn’t want to know.
  7. ensemble
    a coordinated outfit (set of clothing)
    “I just want you to have a good time. And I know you’re going to rock his socks off as you are, but this would really complete the ensemble.”
  8. jowl
    a looseness of the flesh of the lower cheek and jaw
    He immediately began to think of Nani, his grandmother with the hairy mole on her neck jowls.
  9. mar
    cause to become imperfect
    The ugly gray walls did nothing to mar her perfect cinnamon complexion, although it made most people look like walking zombies.
  10. mirth
    great merriment
    He burst out laughing, and her heart lifted in mirth in spite of her still bubbling irritation.
  11. acrid
    strong and sharp, as a taste or smell
    Dimple took a deep breath, acrid smog and wet mist and herby eucalyptus all mixing together in her lungs.
  12. ubiquitous
    being present everywhere at once
    The glitzy car dipped and reached, engine purring as it climbed the ubiquitous San Francisco hills.
  13. subtly
    in a manner difficult to detect or grasp
    Rishi rubbed the back of his neck and somehow shifted subtly forward.
  14. impassive
    having or revealing little emotion or sensibility
    Dimple's pulse raced. Did Rishi feel the same? His face was impassive; she couldn’t say.
  15. coalesce
    fuse or cause to come together
    But if you looked closely, like Rishi was doing, it all began to coalesce into this design.
  16. intersperse
    place between or among
    Wavy lines of white houses and a bridge (he thought it was the Bay Bridge, but he wasn’t familiar enough with San Francisco to say for sure), rectangular strips of buildings interspersed with strips of green-black trees, the Pacific in the distance, encroaching on it all.
  17. ambivalent
    uncertain or unable to decide about what course to follow
    “Rishi, I’m sorry if I seemed ambivalent at the restaurant before. What you did, that gift...” She shook her head. Her eyes burned into his. “It's the most thoughtful thing anyone's done for me. I really liked it. I really like...you.”
  18. pundit
    an expert who publicly gives opinions via mass media
    “Are you serious? Jenny Lindt is a pundit. A beacon. A herald of the coming age of Women in Tech.”
  19. herald
    a sign indicating the approach of something or someone
    “Are you serious? Jenny Lindt is a pundit. A beacon. A herald of the coming age of Women in Tech.”
  20. wry
    humorously sarcastic or mocking
    Rishi smiled wryly at her before looking back down at his drawing.
  21. arresting
    commanding attention
    He’d drawn the entire thing sort of smudgy, to reflect how he saw her through the curtain of fog around them. Still, the details were arresting. There was a glow about her cheeks, a soft sparkle in her eyes.
  22. gilded
    made from or covered with gold
    When they pulled apart, he was looking at her, with his hands wrapped tightly around her, like he couldn’t believe his luck. Like she was a gilded winged apsara he’d just come upon in the woods.
  23. inception
    an event that is a beginning
    “I went back ten years—since the inception of Insomnia Con—and plotted out all the winners of the talent show. Look: 2007: dance; 2008: dance; 2009 and 2010? Dance. 2011 was a singing year, but 2012 again was dance, followed by magic in 2013, but in 2014, we have another dance! 2015 and 2016 were juggling and singing, respectively.”
  24. respectively
    in the order given
    “I went back ten years—since the inception of Insomnia Con—and plotted out all the winners of the talent show. Look: 2007: dance; 2008: dance; 2009 and 2010? Dance. 2011 was a singing year, but 2012 again was dance, followed by magic in 2013, but in 2014, we have another dance! 2015 and 2016 were juggling and singing, respectively.”
  25. testament
    strong evidence for something
    Dimple punched him in the ribs, and it was a testament to him having acclimated to her that he didn’t even flinch.
  26. lithe
    moving and bending with ease
    Rishi hopped up, lithe as a lion.
  27. convulse
    move or stir about violently
    Dimple moved her arms around and hoped to God she didn’t look like she was convulsing.
  28. deftly
    in an agile manner
    He yelled out “Ow!” and instead of catching Dimple, used his arms to fend her off with a deftly executed karate chop.
  29. penchant
    a strong liking or preference
    Dimple wasn’t sure she cared anymore for his penchant for finding humor in every situation.
  30. ingratiating
    calculated to please or gain favor
    “You don’t mind, do you, bhaiyya?" He said bhaiyya ingratiatingly, cloyingly, making it a mockery of the word.
  31. cloying
    overly sweet
    “You don’t mind, do you, bhaiyya?" He said bhaiyya ingratiatingly, cloyingly, making it a mockery of the word.
  32. smarmy
    unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating
    Ashish smiled again, that smarmy, full-toothed shark smile.
  33. reverie
    an abstracted state of absorption
    Ashish cleared his throat loudly, shaking them both from their reverie.
  34. amble
    walk leisurely
    He stood and ambled out of the room.
  35. aberration
    a state or condition markedly different from the norm
    “Yeah, he’s somewhat of an aberration. I’m pretty sure someone stole our nice, sweet boy and replaced him with..." He gestured at the door.
  36. modicum
    a small or moderate or token amount
    “Oh yeah, I’m so selfish for wanting to live my life! For wanting to have a modicum of space without my parents breathing down my freaking neck all the time! So sorry, bhaiyya, but not all of us can be self-sacrificing, dutiful sons who belong in one of Ma’s cheesy Ramayan sagas!”
  37. lope
    run easily
    He loped across the lobby, not waiting for Ashish anymore.
  38. wizened
    lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness
    “That’s just Karl,” Dimple and Rishi said casually at the same time, like wizened San Franciscans.
  39. affront
    treat, mention, or speak to rudely
    He said it all affronted, as if Rishi had purposely conjured up the fog to ruin his visit.
  40. abrasive
    sharply disagreeable, unpleasant, or harsh
    Ashish’s attitude was as annoying as getting your sleeves wet when you washed your hands, but somehow with Dimple there, it didn’t really bother him. It didn’t feel as abrasive, as unforgivable.
Created on Sat Sep 22 20:23:49 EDT 2018 (updated Tue Nov 06 13:55:05 EST 2018)

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