When I walk in, Sadia’s got her glasses perched on her nose as she flips through sheets of paper. It takes her a moment before she looks up, and when she does, she seems startled.
‘Poppy, I didn’t expect to see you today.’ She takes off her glasses and places them on her desk. ‘Did your mum not tell you that you didn’t need to come in today?’
She doesn’tsoundmad, at least.
‘She did, but I couldn’t bear not explaining to you what happened yesterday.’ I sit on the chair opposite her desk, my body vibrating with all the things I need to get off my chest. ‘I know I should have been paying more attention, but I wasn’t, and it’s all my fault that the fire started in the first place. I’m a klutz and I shouldn’t have offered to do the final walkthrough of the cabin on my own before we left, because if I hadn’t then none of this would have happened. And I’m just so, so sorry. I can’t imagine how much we need to pay for the damage, but whatever it is please take it out of my pay, and –’
‘Poppy,’ Sadia interrupts, raising a hand to stop me. ‘Breathe, I insist.’
I take a deep breath and try to centre myself as I prepare for a bollocking.
‘I’m just so sorry,’ I say, holding back the tears that threaten to escape. ‘If I could go back –’
‘But you can’t,’ she says, and I feel the strings holding me together snapping. But then she says, ‘And that’s OK.’
‘It is?’
Sadia offers me a small smile. ‘I’m just glad that you’re OK, and that Akash and Samira are OK. That’s all that matters. These kinds of thing happen.’
‘They do?’
‘Yes! When I started Eternally Yours, there were a lot of things that went wrongwiththe clients there.’ Sadia shakes her head with a chuckle. ‘Once, I mixed up client profiles and sent a vegan on a date with a professional BBQ master .?.?. who was vehemently against tofu. Another time, I arranged a private boat trip, but I’d forgotten that one of them suffered from violent seasickness. And then of course there’s the time I hired a violinist who played heavy metal instead of classical music .?.?.’
Sadia lists all the times she’s messed up in her twenty years of running the business. I don’t know if they actually happened, or if she’s making them up to make me feel better, but I’m glad either way because by the end of the conversation I feel lighter.
‘All this is to say,’ Sadia says with a smile that puts me at ease, ‘it’s all part of the learning process, and you shouldn’t worry. It’s not like you did it on purpose, did you?’
I shake my head. ‘Absolutely not.’
She smiles. ‘Then that’s that. So, no need to worry about it any more, OK?’
‘Thank you, Sadia.’
‘Now go home, will you? I don’t think your mum will be very happy with me if she finds out you’re in the office rather than at home, resting.’
I get up to leave but Sadia stops me. ‘But actually .?.?. before you go, there’s something else I’d like to talk to you about.’
‘Oh?’ I lower myself again, waves of anxiety rushing through me, wondering what she wants to talk to me about.
‘Salman told me about your mum. About her feeling ready to date again.’
‘He did?’ I ask calmly, as if I’m not furious that he’s told our boss aboutmymum – and, really, the reason I’m working here. Even if he didn’t say the words outright, Sadia isn’t a fool. She’ll put the pieces together.
‘Yes, he did.’ Her features soften, her eyebrows drawing together with empathy. ‘Of course I’ll add her to the list.’
I cover my mouth with my hand, unable to believe what I’m hearing. ‘You will?’
‘Of course.’ She holds eye contact. ‘I can only imagine what strength it must have taken for your mum to get to this point. Grief is never easy, and for some people it will always have a space in their hearts.’
I don’t know if I imagine it, but I think I see tears in Sadia’s eyes. I remember the conversation we had after our meeting with Habib, and how Sadia said she’d never quite managed to date again after her own husband passed.
Sadia clears her throat, her expression brightening until she looks like the version of her that I see on a daily basis. ‘Tell your mum that she’ll hear from me soon.’
‘Thank you, Sadia,’ I say. ‘It means a lot to me.’
‘Now, go, please. Rest.’ She waves her hands at me, shooing me out. ‘Watch some terrible television. Don’t have another thought about Eternally Yours until you feel better, OK?’
I nod and leave her office, gently shutting the door behind me. I can’t believe what just happened. Not only did I not get fired, but Ma’s going to be on Sadia’s list! Sadia, the matchmaking queen herself, is going to help Ma find her match.
