She heard Naya behind her as she grabbed her shoes and headed out the door. It was November, but she hadn’t brought a coat, so she shivered in the moonlight. All of her bravado was gone, and the reality that she had lost her baby hollowed out her body so her baby’s absence was a physical thing. She thought she was over it, but here she was, crying about it for the second time in a few weeks. She felt for the hospital band in her purse. Would it ever stop hurting? And now humiliation was added to the fire. She turned to Naya.
“How? How did they find out?” A sob escaped Annika as Naya wrapped her arms around her. She didn’t give a rat’s ass about the gossip, but she knew her parents cared. She knew one thing the aunties had said was true: if her parents wanted her to marry inside the community, it would be hard if the truth was out. They would be mortified, knowing that everyone knew their daughter had been pregnant before she got married.
“I don’t know, honey. But the community is small, and it just takes one candy striper to have seen you in the hospital to figure it all out.”
“They’re right, you know,” Annika cried into Naya’s shoulder. “I made a colossal mess of my life, trying to follow my dreams and be this independent woman. I’m better off without Steven, but I never would have seen that if it weren’t for...”
“Stop that talk right now.” Naya grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her back so she could look into her eyes. “You would have seen through Steven sooner or later—and miscarriages are losses that you have to grieve, not punishments for bad judgment. You did nothing wrong—you deserve to be happy just like everybody else. Those aunties could use a punishment of sorts, though.”
“Now everybody knows.” Annika’s shoulders sagged in defeat.
“So what? The people who care about you don’t care.”
“My mom and dad care.” More tears threatened at the thought of her parents finding out people were gossiping about her.
“You can’t be worrying about all that.” Naya was steadfast.
“I can’t be worrying about failing my parents on every front?”
Naya rolled her eyes. “You aren’t failing your parents. You made your choices. Some of them didn’t work out. But some did. You’re a fabulous teacher.”
Annika smiled in spite of herself. “I am.”
“See? Come on. Let’s go home and order pizza, eat ice cream out of the carton and drink wine out of the bottle.”
“Can I pick the ice cream?”
“Fine, but then I pick the wine.”
“What about Ravi?” Annika glanced at the house.
“I’ll text him. He’ll understand.” Naya pulled out her phone as she spoke.
The door behind them opened and Sajan stepped out. “Hey.” He looked right at Annika, a softness in his face. “Are you okay? Those aunties—” he pursed his lips, a darkness coming across his eyes “—are totally out of line. I just gave them a piece of my mind. Of course they had no idea that Poorvi Shah’s son was standing there the whole time.”
“I’m okay.” Annika was grateful, but she didn’t want to talk to him about all this. “Thanks for checking.”
“We’re having ice cream and wine. Want to join?” Naya turned toward Sajan and ignored the glare Annika shot her.
Sajan smiled. “Sounds great, but I have to get back to the hospital.” He looked at Annika. “Maybe another time?”
“Sure. She’d love that,” Naya answered for her.
“Awesome.” Sajan’s eyes never left Annika. “Well, I better get going.” He brushed past her and turned after a couple of steps. “You should just ignore them. They simply have nothing better to do.”
“Will do.” Annika waved him off. He really was very kind. And not bad to look at. Maybe she really needed to give him a chance. She shivered in the cold and started walking toward her car. “It’s freezing out here, come on.” Naya followed.
They settled into the car and started the drive to Baltimore. “You should’ve seen Sajan’s face when those aunties were talking.” Naya side-eyed Annika as she drove. “He looked about ready to punch them.”
Humph. Interesting. But instead of Sajan, it was an image of Daniel that entered her mind. Daniel comforting her at the base. She pushed it aside, too drained to think about either Sajan or Daniel. Her father’s words came to her.Love will grow over time.She closed her eyes, leaned her head back, and released a sigh.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
DANIEL
“DANIEL! YOURGRANDMOTHERis asking you to do this.” Emma didn’t usually get bossy, and she generally accepted Daniel’s excuses to not see Charlie, but their grandmother was aging, and she asked very little. Not to mention that she had helped raise Daniel and Emma while their parents worked. “If she wasn’t eighty-four years old and nursing a broken foot, she would go herself.”
His stomach fell into knots. He really did not want to go to a wedding. “There’s no one else to go and represent the family?”
