Chapter 14
JIYA
Aweek and a half before the grand opening, something unforeseen happened.
That morning, I drove Lucas to school and then stopped by the restaurant before Marcus, Delia, and the rest of their team arrived.
As I walked in, I noticed a bag of trash sitting right in the middle of the restaurant floor.
Frowning slightly, I picked it up and walked toward the back door that led into the alleyway.
Halfway down the alley, I stopped abruptly.
Someone was sleeping next to the garbage bin.
I could not tell whether it was a man or a woman. My heart began to beat faster. I was not about to wake a stranger in an alley while I was pregnant and alone. The thought of putting myself in danger made my instincts kick in immediately.
Slowly and quietly, I backed away and returned to the restaurant. My hands trembled slightly as I pulled out my phone and called Jack. When he answered, I explained what I had seen, and he immediately told me to wait until he arrived.
I paced in the parking lot while waiting for him. When Jack arrived eight minutes later, he stepped out of his car carrying a baseball bat. He moved ahead of me like a protective father, clearly determined to make sure nothing happened to me.
Together we tiptoed into the alleyway.
A sharp metallic clang made both of us jump.
Jack had accidentally kicked a tin can that he hadn’t noticed.
The person sleeping on the ground woke up instantly.
It was a woman.
Her face was badly bruised. One eye was black, and there were cuts and marks across her cheeks.
She blinked rapidly. When she saw Jack standing there with the bat in his raised hands, her lips began trembling.
She scrambled to her feet, holding her hands out in front of her as if trying to shield herself.
“Please, no hit! I sorry. Please no hit.”
Her voice broke my heart.
Jack immediately lowered his hands and placed the bat aside.
“I’m not going to hurt you. We are not going to hurt you,” I said gently.
She began backing away nervously as I slowly stepped toward her. I glanced briefly at Jack before looking back at her.
“I just want to know if you’re okay and if I can help you.”
Her eyes widened even more, and she shook her head violently.
“Can I take you to the hospital or a doctor and get you checked up?”
She shook her head again. “I go. I’m sorry. I go.” She grabbed a small bag lying beside her and began limping away.
I looked helplessly at Jack.
He simply shook his head.
I knew that Jack had not known me very long, but he knew me well enough to understand that I would not just walk away from someone who needed help. “Let me take you to the doctor at least,” I called after her.
She shook her head again.
I gently touched her shoulder. “I promise you, I won’t hurt you. You’re safe with me.”
Something in my voice must have reached her. Because the next moment, she collapsed onto the ground and burst into tears. I dropped down beside her and wrapped my arms around her, holding her tightly as she cried.
Jack stood nearby awkwardly, unsure what to do.
Still hugging the trembling woman, I said, “I wish we could stay here a little longer, but there are going to be renovation crews coming in soon. Let’s get you somewhere more comfortable.”
She nodded weakly and wiped her tears.
Jack picked up her bag and placed it in my car. Then he followed us back to my house.
During the drive, I tried to make conversation, but I was not sure if she understood English well enough to respond.
“My name... Geeta Namati,” she said slowly.
“I from Nepal.” Her voice was shaky. “I come here and work as maid. I work in Port Renfrew with Indian family.” She sniffled and wiped her face.
“After two years, I asked for salary to send money home. Madam and Sir beat me.” Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.
“They threw me out of house. I got money from friend and got into bus. Bus dropped me here at night. Nowhere to go. I slept here and thought morning I go to Vancouver. Cousin’s house there. He help me go back home.”
Anger coiled tight inside my chest.
“Let’s go to the police,” I urged her. “You can file a report. You can get your money back, and they can be put in jail for what they’ve done to you.”
“No... no police,” she said quickly, squeezing her eyes shut. “I go cousin place. I no want money. They no give me my work papers. They burn it.”
Understanding washed over me instantly.
She believed she was now an illegal immigrant.
“Okay,” I said gently. “First, we go to my house, then to the doctor, and after that you can go to Vancouver.”
When we pulled into my driveway, Oreo began barking loudly inside the house.
Geeta hesitated before stepping out of the car.
I reached for her hand. “Trust me,” I said softly.
Her chin trembled, but she followed me inside.
Oreo immediately approached us and sniffed her hand. Within seconds, he sat down and began wagging his tail enthusiastically.
Geeta stepped into the house behind me while Jack followed, carrying her bag.
I took Geeta upstairs and handed her some clean clothes. “Take a shower and change,” I told her. Then I returned downstairs and made tea while Jack poured himself coffee.
“I don’t think this is a good idea, Jiya,” Jack said quietly. “You don’t know her.”
I looked at him. “You didn’t know me either, yet you took a chance and were kind to me. I would like to pay it forward.” I began preparing breakfast for the three of us. “She’s beaten up pretty badly. What could she possibly do to me?” I added, pointing to my pregnant belly.
A few minutes later, Geeta came downstairs.
I guided her to the dining table and placed a plate of food in front of her. She ate everything in minutes.
After breakfast, Jack drove us to a nearby family clinic.
Dr. Maya Gurung greeted us warmly. “How can I help you today?”
“Well, actually,” I said, glancing at Geeta, “I was hoping you could help my friend here. Could you do a quick check-up for her?”
The doctor nodded.
“Where are you from?” Dr. Maya asked Geeta.
“I from Nepal.”
The doctor began speaking to her in another language.
I watched Geeta’s face light up with relief. During the examination, when Geeta’s sweater was lifted, I saw the bruises covering her stomach and sides.
A chill ran through my body.
Memories I had tried to bury came flooding back.
The bruises I once carried, given by Jeremy and Dorothy Lipster, looked exactly like Geeta’s.
I still had not healed from that past.
Perhaps I never would.
After the examination, the doctor spoke to me privately. “Did she tell you how she got those bruises?”
“Yes. Her employer beat her and threw her out.”
“That’s correct,” the doctor said. “It wasn’t the first time either.
She is very frightened. Luckily, nothing is broken.
I will give you medicine and ointment. She should take them after food.
” Then she paused before speaking again.
“I do not think she has anywhere to go. Would it be okay if she stayed with you temporarily for a day or two? I can contact a shelter nearby and arrange for transportation to Vancouver to her cousin.”
“Of course,” I replied.
“That is very kind of you,” the doctor said, handing me her phone number. “If you need help with translation, call me.”
After thanking her, I took Geeta to the pharmacy next door to collect the medication.
As Jack drove us back home, I noticed Geeta staring silently out the window.
My heart hurt for her. No one deserved what she had endured.
That afternoon, I introduced Geeta to Lucas properly before the two of them went outside to play with Oreo and the neighbourhood children.
The moment Oreo saw Geeta step onto the driveway, his tail immediately started wagging.
“Oh! Oreo!” Geeta exclaimed with a bright smile as the dog trotted straight toward her.
Lucas laughed. “See? He likes you.”
Geeta bent down carefully to pet him while Oreo pressed his head against her leg happily.
“Very friendly dog,” she said in her accented English.
“Usually he’s crazy,” Lucas replied proudly.
“I think he still crazy,” Geeta teased softly just as Oreo grabbed his tennis ball and dropped it near her feet.
Lucas gasped dramatically. “That means he really likes you.”
Geeta laughed before picking up the slobbery ball with obvious hesitation. “Eww… dirty.”
Lucas grinned. “Throw it!”
The moment she tossed it across the lawn, Oreo sprinted after it while the other children ran behind him, laughing loudly.
A few seconds later, Oreo came charging back proudly with the ball in his mouth before dropping it back at Geeta’s feet again.
“Oh no,” she said, laughing harder now. “Again?”
Standing near the doorway, I found myself smiling despite everything weighing on my mind. The sound of Lucas laughing while Geeta played with Oreo blended so naturally into the warmth of the afternoon that, for a fleeting moment, the heaviness inside my chest eased.
That night, I showed her the guest bedroom downstairs.
The next morning, however, I found her sleeping upstairs on the floor outside Lucas’ room. “What happened? Why are you sleeping here?”
She wiped her eyes. “I get scared. I sleep here but not down.” Tears rolled down her cheeks.
Something terrible must have happened in her previous home.
I could not let her sleep on the floor. I borrowed a futon from Jack that same day, and he placed it in the baby’s room.
The gesture made Geeta cry again.
The next day, after picking up Lucas from school and checking on the restaurant, I returned home to find the house spotless. The smell of food filled the air.
“Madam, can I serve you food? I make chicken curry,” Geeta said eagerly.
I laughed and shook my head. “Madam? No. My name is Jiya.”
“No, no,” she said quickly. “No calling by name.” She tapped her lips thoughtfully before snapping her fingers. “Didi. I call you Didi.”
I frowned.
“Didi means sister.”
I smiled. “That is much better. I like that more than my name.”
We both laughed as Lucas set the table for dinner.
The house felt warm again, as if life had quietly returned.