‘Wait for me,’ she said.
Before he could ask if she was okay, she walked away with her mother.
‘Kaavi.’ Her father’s voice was weak and he looked frail. Nothing like the man who’d terrorised them.
‘Hello,’ she said. What else could she say? I love you, Daddy. Hell no.
‘I’m sorry,’ he croaked.
Kaavi stepped back.
‘No. No. Don’t do that. You don’t get to be the bigger person here,’ she snapped.
He didn’t reply. He simply looked away. Her mother was crying. The nurses pretended they were not eavesdropping.
Finally, they said it was time to go.
Kaavi watched the bed he was on being wheeled towards the huge double doors.
Her mother wiped away tears. Kaavi turned on her heel and walked back to Neel.
He stood the moment he saw her, crossing the room in a few quick steps. Without a word, he reached out and rubbed her shoulder, gentle, familiar, like he’d done it many times before.
‘Okay?’
She nodded.
‘Kaavi, babygirl, come here,’ her grandfather said.
She nodded and went to him, taking the seat beside him.
‘Me, you, Senthil. We are the same. Fierce. Proud. Senthil at least uses more common sense than us. But we, you and I, we can’t see anything else other than what we are feeling.’
Her mother was crying silently, listening. Even her aunt wiped away a tear. Kaavi was acutely aware of Neel next to her, also listening to her grandfather.
‘I know, babygirl. We all know. We can’t change it.’
Kaavi nodded.
‘Granddad, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. I value your advice. I truly do. But there is no forgiveness in this situation.’
‘As I said, you’re exactly like me,’ her grandfather replied and tapped her hand.
Kaavi blinked away tears.
‘How long is the surgery?’ she asked her mother.
‘Eight hours, or it could be longer.’
She couldn’t imagine sitting in the hospital for that long. And what for? She wasn’t there to support anyone. She wasn’t there for him. She came back for her last act of defiance, yet she didn’t tell him she was married. She didn’t know why, but in the moment she was supposed to say ‘in your face’, she choked.
‘Babygirl, if you two want to head back to the house to wait instead, it would be okay,’ her grandfather said. He was so perceptive.
‘We’re not staying at the house. We’re staying …’ she started.
‘At our house,’ Neel added, reaching for her hand.
‘We’re staying at a hotel,’ her aunt added.
