“Yes, but she’s in remission.”
“But you just don’t know, do you?” Reena nodded, glancing at her father.
Roshan followed her gaze. “You really don’t.”
“It can be a full-time job,” Reena said, and he felt a moment of understanding with her.
Roshan and Malini had each other on their Find My Phone app in case of emergency. Roshan was under strict orders never to use it except for emergencies. He supposed this counted. He pulled up the app and saw that she was at a fitness studio about a ten-minute walk away. It was a beautiful day so he took Finn with him to check it out. Sure enough when he walked up he saw her car. Though a fitness class wasn’t really a work thing, was it?
Weird. She could have walked from the house. He shrugged and headed for home. He was sure his parents were freaking out for no reason.
Chapter Fifteen
If cloud nine was a place where you were happy and giddy and felt like you could do anything, Nimita was there. She and Roshan saw each other as much as they could. Roshan was back at work, and Nimita was busy with Naya, her father and Reena, not to mention her job search. Her expenses were low, and she was lucky to have saved some money over the years to tide her over now.
Her father—and, as it turned out, Hiral as well—looked forward to the days Roshan came by to check on the garden. He usually stayed for dinner on those days.
Reena kept her distance, though she didn’t seem to hate him anymore. Maybe because Naya was smitten with Roshan as well as Finn. Their father seemed happier after interacting with Finn, too.
The one thing that showed no sign of changing was the fact that Reena constantly found fault with Nimita. It didn’t matter what Nimita did, it was not the right thing. She fed Naya the wrong food, gave their father too much independence, wasn’t around enough or was always home. If possible, Reena was worse than their mother. Rationally, Nimita knew her sister was lashing out at her because of Nimita’s prolonged absence, but it still hurt. In those times, it was nice to have Roshan to lean on, to have that happiness. The contentment and peace she hadn’t felt for a long time.
Naya’s first birthday was coming up, a few weeks before Easter and Holi.
“Reena, let me take care of Naya’s birthday party. It’s the least I can do for not being around all this time.”
Reena eyed her with suspicion.
“Seriously, you tell me what you want and give me a guest list, and I’ll make it happen,” Nimita insisted. She loved her niece, and she wanted to do this for Naya. But even more, she wanted to do it for Reena. To show Reena that she could.
“You know what, okay. I have a big case I need to work on, anyway. It would be a big help,” Reena capitulated, her smile forced. The unspoken meaning was clear:Don’t mess this up.
They had some friends who also had small children and of course, their foi and cousins, especially Neha. All in all it was about sixty-some people and about ten children under five. The party would be in Reena’s backyard, which was big enough for a small tent. Nimita baked a special smash cake for Naya and another cake for the guests. For entertainment, she had procured a local balloon animal artist. She had gotten quite the deal. Which in retrospect should have been her first clue.
“You just dress your little angel, and I’ll do everything else,” Nimita said to Reena on the big day. The party could not make up for three years of not being around, but Nimita was hoping that it would show Reena she was serious about being back. Her sister swept past Roshan as he appeared in Nimita’s doorway.
“Hey, Nimi.” He’d come to her room to find her. This was not unusual—Roshan was here for dinner half the week.
“Hey, yourself,” she said as she brushed out her hair and tied it up in a slick ponytail.
“The house and tent look fabulous.”
She grinned with pride. She and Reena had decided on Berry First B-Day as the theme. So Nimita had spent two days putting up strawberry decor around the house. She’d made a balloon arch with pink and red balloons, and there were little strawberry caps for the kids. It was nice, planning a party with her sister again.
“Butyouare gorgeous.” He stepped into her room and stole a kiss. “I can’t wait to be doing all this for our children.”
She froze. He froze.
“What did I just say?” His eyes widened.
“I don’t know, what did you just say?” She stared at him. Her heart hammered in her chest.
“I said ‘our kids.’” He softened and looked at her. “I’m not going to lie. I think about that kind of thing, with you.”
“You do?”
“I never have before. And I’m not saying anytime soon, but I have thought about it. And I’m not sorry.” He watched her closely.
She was surprised and maybe even a little excited. Maybe it was possible. He hadn’t seemed obsessed with work since they’d started going out, so maybe he was making room for other things in his life. She waited for the panic to set in, but it did not. She smiled at him. “Okay.”
