Roshan turned to her. “I don’t want to impose.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous.” Spending time alone with him was not the smartest idea. But as awkward as she felt around him, she didn’t want him to leave, either. She grabbed a few tomatoes while she watched him tend to the plants.
He gave them such care. He was so gentle and sure of himself. It was a beautiful thing to watch. She didn’t know why she was surprised. He had been gentle and sure of himself with her. She swallowed hard.
“Well, I’ll just finish up the salad, and you come in when you’re ready,” she said quickly. She needed some cold water.
“I’m ready.” He followed her in. “I’ll just go wash up.”
“Oh. Uh, sure.” They had been so easy with one another in the waiting room. And now? Her stomach was in knots and she felt like an awkward preteen. She didn’t know how much she could take.
He walked into the kitchen. “Tell me what to do.”
“I believe there’s some leftover tandoori chicken in the fridge. I was just going to add it to the salad, if you want to chop it up.”
“My specialty,” he said cheerily, obviously trying to lighten the tension between them.
It didn’t work.
They chopped in silence for a bit.
“Thank you. For today,” he said, his voice back to normal.
“Of course. I’ll always…” She stopped herself. “Of course,” she said with finality. She would not always be there for him.
More silence.
“I am sorry,” he said. “For the things I said at Holi, I never should have called you out for leaving. I was way out of line. And I’m not saying this to get back together—I know that I screwed that up. I mean why would you—”
Why would she ever want to get back with him?That was what he was going to ask. The question should be—why would he want her?
If he knew the truth, he wouldn’t even bother apologizing. Her anger was not in the words he had thrown at her. Her anger was in the truth behind them. It wasn’t that she simply abandoned the people who needed her.
She was running from the truth.
* * *
“Come on, Dad. Let’s go see the girls.”
Roshan and his father went to Malini’s place on his way to work the next morning. They’d splinted her arm and given her some heavy pain meds a few hours after Roshan had left. Her surgery was scheduled for the next day. Their parents had tried to bring her to his house, but she had insisted on going back to her apartment. Her mother stayed and slept on the sofa. His father had stayed at his place. They had had some time to talk, just the two of them. It had been cathartic.
His sister was awake, and their mother had just made chai.
“How are you?” he asked.
“Bored.”
“So sorry.” He chuckled.
“No, you’re not.” Malini shrugged. “At least it’s my left hand, so I can still do my lesson plan.”
Roshan sighed deeply and poured himself and his father some chai. He joined Malini on the sofa, and his father drifted out to the balcony, where his mother was. The first sip of chai hit the spot, spicy and milky and sweet. He looked around. This really was a cute little place. His sister had decorated some, so there was homey feel to it.
“Nice place, Malini.”
His sister raised an eyebrow at him.
“Seriously. I like it.” He chuckled.
