“This is such a cute property,” Ruby said. “I understand your husband bought it for you to retire in?”
Farida nodded. “Hakimsaysit’s for me, but he’s happy to be out of the city, too. We’re both working, though. We’re far from retired. But home base can be here instead of in London thanks to high-speed internet. And, of course, Ayesha is taking on more and more every year. She’s essentially running the Raj hotels on her own.”
Ruby looked out the window at the family again. She could make out the two small horses with riders in the middle of the group of people. Everyone had their phones out to take pictures. When the bartender brought over a steaming mug of chai, Ruby inhaled. Farida was right—this smelled perfect. The scent of cardamom and cloves was strong.
“I gave him my mother’s chai recipe,” Farida explained. “He keeps a pot on all day. The kitchen also makes excellent Indian food. I didn’t have to teach them—there was already an Indian head chef. He has such a way with aubergine. We’re hoping to open a tearoom soon and start serving an Indian-inspired afternoon tea.”
“I thought the food yesterday was delicious.” Ruby sipped her tea. “And this hotel is delightful. I can see why you love it so much.”
“Is this the kind of property you and your mother dreamed about?”
Ruby shook her head. “Something smaller. We envisioned operating it just the two of us… or maybe with one or two employees.” The Weeping Sparrow was much bigger than it seemed from the outside. There were even two restaurants—the pub and the dining room, plus the planned tearoom.
Farida nodded. “It’s a challenging business, but it’s rewarding, too. Smaller properties can be difficult, though.” She paused, frowning. “I don’t know much about your mother. I understand she passed when you were quite young?”
“Yes, of cancer. I was twenty.”
Farida tilted her head with sympathy. “Such a difficult time for you to lose each other. She missed so much—she never got to see you as an adult.”
Ruby blinked. She’d always thought about allshe’dmissed by losing her mother but hadn’t really considered what her mother had missed out on. Would Mom have been proud of the adult Ruby had become?
“Hakim and I wanted our kids to follow in our footsteps,” Farida said. “We dreamt they would all join us in the family business, but Ayesha was the only one interested in the hotels, once she’d sowed her wild oats. My other two are the black sheep. Imagine! Skin doctors! AndCanadians!” She smiled with a hint of mischief in her eyes that was pure Ayesha. Hakim and Farida were probably the only Indian parents in the world that didn’t want their kids to be doctors.
Ruby smiled. “But you must be proud of them.”
She laughed. “We’re exceedingly proud of them. I wasn’t surprised that Rashid and Jasmine wanted to be in a caring profession. Ayesha has the mind for cutthroat moneymaking.Jasmine and Rashid are my softies.”
“Rashid said Jasmine used to bring home stray cats and injured birds.”
“They both did. Rashid would never admit it, but he’s even softer than Jasmine. My sweet boy—the way he used to take care of his little sisters! Remind me, I have pictures. Rashid hides all his sentimentalism under that gruff exterior, but he’s got a heart like a gulab jamun. Soft and sweet.”
Ruby chuckled. She’d never heard anyone compare someone to a gulab jamun before. And she’d never heard anyone call Rashid soft and sweet.
But hewassoft and sweet. She’d seen that side of him at Christmas when he’d patiently talked to the girls to get them out of their shell, and when he helped Ruby skate. Hell, their whole deal in December was so he could give Tara and Noor a Christmas, even though he himself hated the holiday. He’d moved from Calgary to Toronto and figured out how to get his medical license transferred because his sister needed him. And he found Neelam Premji for Ruby, giving her a defense against the lawsuit so Ruby wouldn’t lose her mother’s inheritance. Rashid was so caring. All the people he cared about were so, so lucky to have him in their life.
Ruby felt a prickle behind her eyes. She quickly looked away so Farida wouldn’t see. She didn’t know how much Farida knew about Ruby and Rashid’s relationship—she assumed not a lot, because otherwise Farida would be planning their wedding.
Ruby changed the subject by asking where the planned tearoom would be. Farida pointed out a room off the pub withlarge windows and told Ruby her vision for the space. When the conversation slowed, Farida smiled at Ruby. “Forgive me if I’m overstepping, but, as a mother… I feel I need to say this. I can see that you loved your mother very much, and I have no doubt that she would be very proud of the adult you are now. None of my kids are the people I thought they’d be when they were kids, but that doesn’t mean I’m not incredibly delighted with the people they are now. I would never want my children to chase my dreams instead of their own. Now, if my dreams and their dreams were aligned, that would be wonderful. Hakim and I already have our own dreams. It is so much more interesting for our family if our children have their own unique aspirations.”
Ruby looked at Farida, blinking. That wasn’t far off from what her son had said to Ruby back in December when they broke up, that Ruby was chasing her mother’s dreams instead of her own. It was also something Marley mentioned on New Year’s Eve. Both times, Ruby had been adamant: This dream wasn’t only Mom’s; it was Ruby’s, too.
And now that she’d been in the UK for a while, it was the best time to answer that question. Ruby was learning all about the hotel industry, working in Surrey, and she could see herself staying in the industry. She enjoyed it—more than retail, actually. She liked making guests’ visits comfortable. She liked meeting people while they were traveling. There was less drama than luxury stores, and less chaos than retail. The well-oiled machine of a hotel was so satisfying. And this weekend had shown Ruby that the English countryside was everything she had hoped it would be and more. She’d never been moreat peace in a place. She’d been here less than two days and couldn’t wait to come back.
“I apologize,” Farida said. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said that. I’m meddling.”
There was that word again.Meddling.Ruby only saw it as loving. She smiled at Farida. “No, I appreciate the advice. I love the way you all meddle. It shows you care about each other. No one meddles in my life. I’m so grateful for all you and your husband have done for me, have shown me. I love working in the hotel. And…” Ruby paused. She didn’t know how to tell this woman how complicated this dream was for her. That walking away from it felt like walking away from her mother. Especially now, after learning how Mom got the money for the dream.
Farida put her hand on Ruby’s. “It’sgoodthat you’re taking your time to research and think about what you want to do. I hope you’ll do what’s best for Rubina, and not for anyone else.” She smiled as she took her hand off Ruby’s. “And it’s a great honor to be on the receiving end of the Hakim meddling. Call me anytime you want someone to butt into your life. We’re great at fussing, too. Did that son of mine get you lunch, or have you not eaten since breakfast? Because I can have Ernie put together a ploughman’s lunch for you. We do a halal one with turkey sausage.”
Ruby smiled. “That sounds perfect.”
After a less elaborate but equally tasty dinner in the restaurant that evening, Farida and Hakim took the twins to get ready for bed while Ayesha dragged Rashid, Jasmine, and Ruby into the pub to get drinks and play cards, since Ruby had mentioned over dinner that she’d thought Jane Austen made up the card games in her books.
“I cannot believe you thought whist wasn’t a real game,” Ayesha said after they all had pints of English ale. “We’ll teach you.”
Ruby frowned. “You guys know how to play?”
Jasmine laughed. “Oh, the Hakim kids knowallthe card games. Comes from growing up in hotels—we would run wild and free while Mum and Dad worked late hours. I think it was that bartender José who taught us whist, right?”
