“Also, Neha has started dog walking for money, but she has finals this week and needs a hand.”
Nimita nodded. Neha was their youngest cousin, and she was in med school at UC San Diego. She lived around the corner. Had insisted on living alone so she could have quiet to study. According to Reena, Neha was also happy to babysit in exchange for a homemade meal.
“Is that Nimita?” her father’s voice called from the family room. She turned to find her father slowly walking toward them with a cane. The cane was new.
“Papa! What is this new toy you have?” she asked as she hugged him. Was it her imagination or was he thinner than before?
He hugged her tight before pulling back. “Ah. You know MS takes things. Sometimes I need help when I get up from my nap.”
“Dadu!” Naya came up behind her grandfather.
Nimita feared that the little girl would knock her grandfather over, but even the toddler knew to slow her pace and handle him delicately.
“Ah. There’s my baby.” He gazed fondly at his granddaughter. “What brings you to visit?” he asked Nimita.
Her heart sank. This was her own fault. This was technically her home, yet everyone assumed she was visiting. Even now, when she’d planned to come here to make amends, she’d put it off for days to regroup in Maui. “I’m home for a while.” She side-eyed her sister with a smile. “Unless Reena turned my room into a gift-wrapping station.”
“As if.” Reena rolled her eyes, but Nimita saw her smile. “We use gift bags.”
* * *
All that first day without Nimita, Roshan had tried to keep it light, casual. Parting was what they had agreed on. Was all either of them had been ready for. So all good. She had not texted him that she had landed safely. He had no reason to expect her to. Nimi was probably in the thick of her family, reuniting and all that.
Whatever happened between them was over. That was the beginning and the end of the story.
So what was this ache in his heart?
He wasn’t looking for a relationship. Not while Malini still needed him. She’d been in remission for nearly four years, and while that was good, it didn’t mean they were out of the woods. She’d made it to four years before, and then she’d relapsed. Leukemia could be like that. It was why her blood cell count was tested every three months even though she felt healthy. If she reached the five-year mark cancer free, then they could relax.
Maybe.
More than ninety-five percent of leukemia patients who achieved that milestone survived. After that, Roshan could reconsider.
In the meantime, he still had a few days with Vishal and Karan. Nimita’s itinerary for them today was Molokini Crater and snorkeling at someplace called Turtle Town. Karan had taken over driving the Jeep, and Roshan had not felt like fighting him. Vishal was in the passenger seat, and he and Karan were discussing something, but Roshan was finding it hard to focus.
“Don’t you think?” Karan asked into the rearview mirror. “Roshan?”
“What?”
Karan shook his head. “You okay?”
“Yes. It was just a fling. Vacation sex. In Hawaii,” Roshan said, not looking into the mirror.
“We didn’t ask about Nimita,” Vishal said.
“What did you ask?” Roshan asked, chagrined.
“Not important. You sure this was just a fling, Ro?” Karan asked into the rearview.
“Yeah. Yes.” He sat up. “That’s what we said. She was fine with it. I’m fine with it. I didn’t even ask where she lived,” he said as if they should be proud of him for that.
Karan gave Vishal a look. Roshan had seen it before. “This is not Simmy.”
“Exactly,” Vishal said. “She’s way better for you than Simmy.”
He hadn’t compared them. Simmy was way in the past. They had wanted different things. Simmy didn’t understand how close he was to his family. She hadn’t understood his relationship with Malini or his need to be at the top of his game. Or how close he was to Vishal and Karan. In the end, they had mutually decided to move on. No hard feelings.
“Not a comparison,” Roshan said.
