“Sir.”
What if she looked back?
“Sir! Move along.” The officer’s voice was no longer friendly.
Roshan turned and got into the car. When he looked back into the airport, she had been swallowed by the crowd.
She never looked back.
* * *
The car ride to the airport had been more painful than she might have anticipated. More than once she had opened her mouth to tell Roshan to turn around and take her back to the hotel. Or to ask him where he lived. To feel out what his intentions might be. Every time, she talked about the itinerary she had left them instead.
They had agreed that whatever they had in Hawaii was only for Hawaii. Besides, she had things to fix once she landed. And there was no guarantee as to whether or not she would be successful. Roshan’s life was exactly what he wanted, and he carried the weight of his sister’s health on his shoulders, too. She’d only add chaos, and they both knew it.
She had hoped he might ask her to text when she landed. He did not. Though why would he? She had made it clear they were just hooking up. Of course there wouldn’t be any last-minute romantic airport drama.
He had kissed her, light and sweet, and she had left. She had forced herself to not turn back and look at him. She failed. But when she turned back, he was talking to the airport police and getting in the car.
She headed to security and got on the plane. She would not be returning to Hawaii anytime soon.
It would be too painful.
Nimita landed in San Diego an uneventful six hours later, using the journey to catch up on the sleep she’d missed while she’d been with Roshan. But images of Roshan kept intruding. He had looked like he wanted to say something as she left. Better that he didn’t. She didn’t have the space for anything more than what they had. It was better this way.
Right?
Had he gotten under her skin? Maybe a little. But that certainly didn’t mean anything. She needed to focus on fixing her relationship with her family. She didn’t have time to deal with why there was an ache in her heart.
Warm air and sunshine greeted her as she waited for her Uber. The car ride was quiet and brief, allowing her a few extra minutes of peace to prepare herself before seeing her family.
No sooner had she entered the house than she was nearly knocked over by her niece.
“Nasi!” the young girl squealed, toddling then falling into Nimita’s arms.
Nimita had not expected a mini-love bomb. Certainly the few FaceTime calls they’d shared hadn’t endeared her to her niece. She covered her surprise and knelt down in the hallway and hugged Naya tight, pulling back only to present her with a stuffed toy. The first of many gifts she had acquired in her travels. It was bribery to be sure, but she had to start somewhere.
“Say thank you to Masi,” Reena coached her daughter as she approached them.
Nimita felt the tug of being introduced to her niece in person as opposed to having already been a part of her life. “She’s quite friendly,” Nimita said to her sister.
Reena sighed. “She loves people, loves giving hugs.”
“Nasi!” Naya giggled as she hugged the stuffed pineapple, and Nimita’s heart just melted.
“Yep. It’s Nasi.” Not Masi. Clearly Naya could not say Nimita Masi, so Nasi she was.
Nimita took in the still baby smell of her, but she was so much bigger than when she had last seen her niece on a FaceTime call. Naya pulled back and screeched as she showed her mother the toy before toddling off to play. Nimita stood and hugged her sister briefly.
“She’s running already! She’s not even one yet,” Nimita mused.
Reena inhaled deeply. “She’s a handful.”
Nimita took off her shoes, and they walked to the kitchen. “How are you? Where is Hiral?”
“He’s still at the hospital. The residency was rough,” Reena said, walking around to the stove. “Being a hospitalist is better, but the days are long.”
Familiar scents of dhal and spiced vegetables hung in the air. A stack of freshly made rotli sat already made. “You look like you got some sun.” Reena flicked her gaze over Nimita as she pulled out a bottle from the fridge.
