Page 68 of The Last Session

“So people—women—are using you,” she said.

“I don’t want to sound like a dick. But…” He looked down. “Most of these women wouldn’t even look at me if they didn’t know I had money.”

“Money,” Moon echoed. “From developing games? What games?”

“Well, the most well-known one isKiller Kangaroo.”

Moon nodded, seemingly unfamiliar with it. But my ex Ryan hadplayed it nonstop for a few weeks over the summer. There was a bright, random spark of excitement to tell him—I met the developer!—that quickly died out.

“So let’s focus on your childhood for a minute,” Moon said. “Tell me about it.”

“Oh.” Ramit shrugged. “I don’t know, I was born in India, in Delhi, and we moved to the US when I was seven. I’m an only child. My parents have been trying to convince me to let them hire a matchmaker. Thirty-seven is pretty old not to be married.”

“In your culture,” Moon added.

“Yeah. But I don’t feel all that connected to my culture. It just sucks that I’m disappointing my parents.”

“Even though you’re doing well in your career?” Moon asked.

“Well… they thought developing games wasn’t as respectable as other jobs. But they’ve accepted it. Now they really just want me to get married. They want grandchildren.”

“So you talked a little about your childhood.” Moon leaned forward. “But I couldn’t get a sense of what it waslike.”

Ramit shifted, seeming to settle in. “It was normal. My parents were pretty happy, and financially did okay.”

“How was school?”

“It was fine. I went to boarding school for a while when I was young.”

“What age?”

“Uh, I think I was four.”

“Four,” Moon echoed. “A sleepaway boarding school?”

“Yeah, but I’d come back on the weekends. It wasn’t that far.”

“Why were you sent away?” Moon’s brows knit.

“Well…” His voice faltered. “From what I’ve put together, my parents were going through a hard time in their marriage. They were fighting a lot. My mom was kind of depressed for a while. They didn’t want me to be around that.”

Moon was quiet.

“But it wasn’t a bad thing,” Ramit went on. “I mean, it wasn’t like I had a traumatic time at boarding school. It was fine.”

“What do you remember? Specifically?”

He squinted. “Well, not that much; I was so young.”

“Hmm.” Moon watched him.

“It’s not like…” He shook his head. “Look, I know you’re trying totell me that my parents fucked me up by sending me away that young. But that’s not true. Really.”

“Ramit?” Moon’s voice was light, delicate. “When’s the last time you were in a relationship? A long-term, solid, committed relationship?”

“I guess… high school?”

“High school doesn’t count.”