Azam stayed with her, helping where he could, until they were finally finished. They sat sideways on the bed, leaning against the wall. His legs were long, hanging off the end of the bed.
‘Whose room was this?’ Sonya asked.
‘It was meant to be Dania’s when she got older and moved from my parents’ room, but then…’ He sighed. ‘After my parents passed, I slept with Dania in their room, rather than move her. Then Kiri moved in, and she slept with Dania and I went back to my room.’
‘Ah.’ They fell into comfortable silence, and Sonya stretched her arms, the muscles tired.
‘Are you exhausted?’ he asked, a crease appearing between his brows.
She laughed. ‘No, it’s alright. It’s a joy to clean. To have something to do, to have a home to take care of and to feel as if there is a piece of me in it.’ Suddenly, she felt embarrassed. She had only been there two days. ‘Sorry.’ She shook her head. ‘I know this isn’t my home.’
‘I want you to feel like it is,’ he said. ‘You’ll always have a home here.’
He gazed into her eyes. They were so brown, layers and layers atop one another. She could have counted his lashes.
‘Thank you,’ she said, voice quiet. She looked down at her hands until he bumped her shoulder with his.
‘I should be thanking you,’ he said. She furrowed her brow. ‘For asking about the shop,’ he explained. ‘I hadn’t had an excuse to go in there, and a part of me had been scared it would hurt too much.’
‘Did it?’ she asked.
‘It did hurt, but in a good way,’ he replied. ‘It reminded me of how much I loved them.’
‘Why don’t you reopen your mother’s shop?’ she asked gently. ‘I could help. We could bring it back to life.’
He made a thoughtful sound, brows knit together. ‘I don’t know,’ he said, sounding unsure.
‘Come on,’ she said. ‘You can do it, I know you can.’
He smiled. ‘Well, you sure make me feel as if anything is possible.’ Then, he sighed. ‘But my job—’
‘Take leave for a few weeks!’ Sonya said, excited by the prospect. ‘Then you could see if you could get the shop up and running again. If it goes well, then you leave your job. You don’t seem very happy there.’
‘I would be happy if I was promoted.’ He ran a hand over his face. ‘That sounds like a good plan, it really does, I just—if it was just me, I could take the risk, but it’s difficult to do such a thing when there are people I need to take care of.’ He met her gaze. ‘What if it doesn’t work?’
‘But what if it does?’ she asked.
She understood where he was coming from, and she could see why he was afraid, but she also knew without a doubt that he would be successful in whatever it was he did. There was no chance of the shop failing if that was what he was determined to do.
She saw the glimmer in his eyes, the way hope rooted in him.
It had only been a few days, but sometimes a few days was enough time to know a person’s essence, their soul, and she knew Azam was a good person. He was caring and kind and gentle andgood. She saw light in him.
Azam smiled. ‘I’ll think about it. Can we go and eat now? I’m starving.’
They went down for dinner then, where they all sat together to eat kadhi chawal, a homey dish of onion fritters dunked in a savory, tangy yogurt sauce and spread over boiled white rice.
Kiri explained how Azam’s mother, Bunto, used to make the dish often, and Kiri had learned it from her. She liked to make meals Bunto used to, so that Dania could have a taste and Azam could remember.
Sonya loved the meal especially; it was something her family ate often, even though the dish was simple. It was delicious, the similar spices and flavors comfortable.
For a moment, it even made her miss home.
9
The next day, Sonya set about cleaning the rest of the upstairs, though she left Azam’s and Kiri’s rooms alone. She cleaned the bathroom and the hallways, then cleaned downstairs, emptying out the grate, brushing away the ashes, sweeping and mopping as she went.
Then, she went to work on the garden outside, which was overgrown. She trimmed the grass and picked tomatoes and dug up potatoes. Then, she familiarized herself with the herbs: rosemary, sage, basil, coriander; each of them smelling heavenly.
