He turned. “Oh, Kam, hi. I didn’t know you were there. Your dad is on the phone with Shelina upstairs.”
Kamila actually had to steady herself so her knees would hold after hearing his voice. Great. Now she was practically swooning. She put Darcy down and turned around to put the volume down on the speaker, mostly so Rohan wouldn’t see how red her face probably was. She closed her eyes a moment, and willed her body to turn off this errant response it was having.
Turning back to Rohan and smiling normally, she hoped, she put the bottle of prosecco on the dining table. “So, what’s Dad’s big secret, anyway?”
Now that she could see his face…Rohan looked uncomfortable. Clearly this whole estate-planning-over-champagne idea didn’t sit well with him, either. “This is just the final paperwork—”
“Kamila, beti, you’re home!” Dad came down the stairs. “Excellent. Shelina just called. She was supposed to be here for this because it involves her, too, but she couldn’t get away from the boys.” Dad went into the kitchen and poured a box of pasta into a pot of boiling water.
This wasn’t a conversation Kamila wanted to have right now. She didn’t want to talk about Dad dying. Not when he was doing so well.
But watching Dad stir his pasta, Kamila could see his lightness. He’d been like this since coming back from the hospital. His blood pressure was lower—he’d been testing it himself every morning. And he was happier than she’d seen him in a long time. Maybe Asha was right, and it was this estate planning that was making him feel better. Less anxious. If this was putting his mind at ease, then Kamila should be excited for him, not dreading the conversation. She was being selfish.
“You okay, Kam?” Rohan asked.
She could do this. Keep Dad from seeing how much she didn’t want to talk about this and keep Rohan from knowing that minutes ago she’d almost been knocked to the ground by a wave of intense attraction to him. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
“I’m absolutely fine.” She smiled, putting on her same old Kamila face. She breezed by to get champagne flutes out of the sideboard. She even did her trademark lip bite and swept her fingers over Rohan’s forearm as she passed him. Yeah, that was a mistake. Inappropriate flirting was her modus operandi, but she should probably not be touching his forearms when she was so inconveniently obsessed with them right now. His skin was cooler today but still soft. Solid. Rohan was so solid, and she was on the verge of falling apart because of it.
She exhaled a shaky breath and poured two glasses of prosecco.
Dad put the big pasta bowl on the table. “Okay, let’s eat.”
The pasta was pretty good. The noodles might have been a touch overcooked—but the bitterness of the broccolini and the rich saltiness of the cheese went well with the dryness of the wine. The conversation was great, too. Dad didn’t bring up his news yet. Instead, they talked about the Aim High party in two days. Kamila had received confirmation today that two reporters from newspapers and one from a news website would be coming, and the guest list was shaping up to include an impressive list of important names in Toronto.
“You’ve done a wonderful job, Kamila,” Dad said. “I’m very proud of how well you’re doing on Anil’s team.”
Kamila smiled. She’d enjoyed working on Aim High more than she thought she would. She’d still ensured Anil only saw the respectable and professional side of her, but he was a lot more fun than she thought he would be. And inconvenient attraction aside, she and Rohan worked well together planning this party. But the point of all this was to show Dad, and Rohan, too, that she could be “fancy accountant” enough to take more complicated clients. And she knew she’d succeeded there. Anil had no issues with the opening balance statements or the articles of incorporation she’d drafted. She had no doubt that when the board met next week, they would agree to retain Emerald as their financial partner. She even thought she had that Marlene lady’s vote.
“It’s been great,” Kamila said. “I’ve found the case to be straightforward, and Anil already signed off on all the documents I prepared. Hopefully, you’ll see that clients like this are no problem for—” Her text tone rang. It was Asha, saying she needed to talk to her. “Hang on.” She texted Asha back telling her she was having dinner, and she’d call her later.
“It’s been a lot of work for you, though, beti,” Dad said.
“It’s been fine! But yeah, I’ve been busy. After the prom is done, I’ll be a lot freer—at least until we plan next year’s event. Did I tell you Tim wants to do an eighties-and-nineties theme next? I don’t know—”
“Ah, but maybe I can ease some of your burden now…” Dad interrupted, a wide smile on his face. He looked at Rohan. “I think it’s time to tell her.”
Kamila smiled, but she could feel her hands clam up. “Tell me what?”
Dad got up and grabbed a file folder from his briefcase and sat back down. “Now, beti, I know you worry about me very much—and I’m blessed that you care so much.” He smiled. “I feel like you’ve been a different Kamila lately. I have never seen you work so hard—at Emerald, at the shelter, and now with Anil and the incubator project. You’ve grown so much. But you’ve sacrificed too much for me.”
“No, Dad, I—”
“Just listen, Kamila. I know why you’ve become who you are.” His voice gentled. “The way your mother treated you was wrong, but I didn’t know how much it was hurting you until it was too late. I’ve told you so many times, and you’ll hear it again—I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you more. I was so busy with Hussain, Nasser, and Suleiman that I neglected my family. I failed you. But now I can make things right.”
“Dad, you haven’t failed me. I—”
“Ah! Let me finish. Look what all that focus on my work got me…health problems in my body.” He tapped his head. “Health problems in my head. Sometimes I feel I haven’t had one moment when I wasn’t worried or sad since your mother passed on. But these past weeks…my outlook has changed. My new drugs are working well. Did I tell you I even saw a new psychiatrist? On video call! What is the world coming to!”
Kamila hadn’t heard that he’d had an appointment with the psychiatrist. Why hadn’t he told her? She tried to ask him more about this doctor, but Dad but his hand up to stop her.
“You’ve been right the whole time, beti,” he said. “I need to take care of myself. I need to step away from so many responsibilities.”
Tonight was about good news! He was agreeing to go part-time even before the board met! This was exactly what she wanted. Kamila grinned and turned to Rohan, but he wasn’t smiling. Or, he was, but she could see it wasn’t a real smile.
She felt a chill go through her. “So, what exactly are you saying?” she asked slowly.
Dad grinned. “It’s time to give all this up. I’m retiring. I purchased a unit in the same condo as the Nassers. I’m going to spend my winters in Florida.”
