Epilogue
Piper - Six Months Later
“ R ome, sweetheart, look up or you’ll miss most of the game,” Sarina says with a mix of exasperation and affection in her voice.
Rome reluctantly lowers the hardback in his hands, “Spacey Cadets Space Facts,” squinting against the bright sunlight to look at the baseball pitch. He’s wearing his favorite NASA hat, with its bill far too low on his forehead, and glasses that depict Mercury today, along with a Bay Area Blazers jersey Dev bought for him.
We’re all wearing the team’s jerseys, in fact, sitting on our plush recliners—Sarina and I flanking Rome on each side, with Dev on my other side—right behind home plate in the owner’s box, courtesy of my husband, who is now a minority stakeholder for the Bay Area Blazers.
Dev’s thumb caresses mine before he brings our entangled fingers to his lips and presses a soft kiss on my ring.
A ring I hold dear, not only because of the man who gave it to me, but because of the woman it originally belonged to. A woman who we’ll forever miss for as long as we live.
After saying her goodbyes to her children like she’d wanted to, Claire passed peacefully with all of us at her side .
But there’s not a day that goes by where we don’t miss her.
For weeks after her passing, there were nights I’d cry myself to sleep on Dev’s chest, and days I’d hold him while he sobbed into mine.
She’d taken a piece of our souls with her.
But she’d given a piece of hers in return.
I used that piece of her soul, and all the love she gave to me in such a short amount of time, to create my own rose garden in our backyard this spring.
In fact, just like Claire’s, I can see it through our kitchen and have spent many of my mornings out there, drinking tea just like she used to, thanking her for everything she did for me.
Who knew that her one wish to see her son married would become a wish I didn’t even know I had—to find the greatest love of my life? Whether intentionally or not, she willed my happily-ever-after into existence, and I’ll always be grateful for that.
Deepak and Deena were wrecked after Claire’s passing but have slowly found a way to move forward. And though it took Deepak a while to emerge from his grief, he never forgot the promises he made to his wife at the end—to love and be there for his children.
He’s spending more time with both of them, making a conscious effort to be present. With Deena, he’s learning to balance being both a mother and a father, giving her the emotional support she needs as she heads into adolescence. With Dev, he’s working on mending their previous relationship and establishing new traditions, like weekly long hikes where they talk more as friends, rather than father and son.
Recently, he’s taken his hands off Menon Inc. —working only as an advisor to Dev—and using his time to get more involved doing community projects and charity work.
We’ve started weekly family dinners, which have helped us all stay connected. Deepak hasn’t just made a big effort to reconnect with his kids—something I know they appreciate—he’s also been incredibly caring and supportive of me, which is a far cry from what I can say about my own father. The last I heard, he ended up in jail, serving a long sentence for embezzlement and fraud.
I turn to connect my eyes with the man I love more than life itself, giving him a smile that he returns before he leans in for a kiss.
“I love you,” I say, because those are three words I’ll never tire of saying to him.
“I love you, too, meri jaan .” He plants another kiss on my lips before our gazes are snagged by Rome turning another page in his book.
Now, I’m not a huge baseball enthusiast myself, but Dev’s helped me learn the game better over the past few months, given he’s always loved it. But more recently, he’s been trying to get Rome excited about baseball as well, given Sarina has expressed her concerns that her son wants to do nothing but read all day. She’s worried he doesn’t get enough time in the sun and wants him to learn a sport.
Dev leans around me to grab Rome’s attention. “Hey, buddy. Want me to explain what’s happening? Don’t hesitate to ask if you’re wondering what’s going on.”
Rome shrugs, but I don’t miss the flicker of curiosity in his eyes when he lays the book back down on his lap to watch the players take their positions.
“Is that Troy Winters pitching?” my nephew asks, pointing at the man jogging toward the pitcher’s mound. “The player whose jersey I’m wearing?”
Dev beams proudly, his adorable dimple in full display. “Yep! You’ve been memorizing those baseball cards I got you!” He nods, looking back at Troy. “He’s one of the best pitchers in the MLB. ”
Rome nods. “He had two-hundred-forty-one strikeouts last season and pitched one-hundred-ninety innings.”
Both Dev and I exchange wide glances before I look over at Sarina with the same look of amazement.
“Holy moly, little man!” I say, poking my nephew on the side of his stomach and making him giggle. “How are you such a little encyclopedia of everything?”
He just shrugs again before we all watch Troy throw his first pitch.
One after another, Troy sends the ball flying toward the batter, only for them to strike out, making the crowd inside the stadium roar.
But the most interesting reaction to take place inside our little space in the owner’s suite isn’t the way Rome drops his hardback on the ground and jumps with both hands up, cheering for Troy, but the look on Sarina’s face as she stares at the picture that just appeared of the Blazers’ pitcher on the TV monitor. Her face is drained of color as if she’s seen a ghost.
My brows draw together. “Sarina? Is everything okay? Why do you look the same way you did before I made you go skydiving with me?”
Her startled eyes collide with mine. “Is that really Troy Winters ?”
I nod, flicking my gaze from the TV to hers. “Why?”
Her elbows find her knees before she rubs her face, but I don’t miss the way her lips form the word, “Shit” so that her son doesn’t hear.
“Sarina?” I say again, worried I’m missing a clue I should have seen earlier. “What’s this about?”
She shakes her head just as the crowd goes wild again, along with Dev and Rome, for another play, not paying attention to us. “I’ll tell you later.”
The innings go on until the final out is called, with the Blazers clinching a narrow victory. Dev and Rome exchange high-fives, and I know I definitely show my enthusiasm too, but my mind has been whirling around my best friend and what she hasn’t told me. Throughout the game, she’s been biting her thumbnail like it’s a snack.
As we all get out of our seats, I’m hoping to ask Sarina more about why she’s acting like a freak when Dev turns to Rome and says, “So, what do you think about meeting the players up close?”
Rome’s eyes light up. “Really?! Even Troy Winters?”
Dev shrugs. “I mean, you are wearing his jersey, after all.”
Rome starts to bounce on his feet when Sarina interrupts, “Actually, it doesn’t look like we have time. I have something I need to get back for, so maybe next time.”
I squint at her. Yeah, she’s not telling me something, and it clearly has something to do with the pitcher for our MLB team. “What do you have to get back for?”
She swallows. “Uh, cheerleading practice.”
Dev, Rome, and I all stare at her with various expressions of surprise and concern.
“Cheerleading practice,” I repeat without much inflection, trying to keep myself from smiling. “Since when did you start cheerleading?”
She props her purse over her shoulder before waving her hand dismissively. “Since yesterday.” She nods. “Yeah, I, um . . . wanted to get more active. You know how much I always wanted to be a cheerleader. Even in high school, I’d try to practice jumping in the air and touching both my feet. Well, I’m trying to do that now, you know . . . going after my dreams and all.”
What the ever-loving fuck is she going on about?
“Anyway,” she says, hiking her purse strap up even higher and taking Rome’s hand. “Honey, we should get?—”
“But Mom!” Rome protests. “I want to meet Troy! You’re the one who told me to get interested in a sport, and now that I am, you’re making me leave early?”
I give her a look that says, “ Yeah, what’s the dealio, weirdo? The kid has a point, ” to which she just glares back at me.
“Well, like I said, I’m running late for?—”
“Troy!” Rome blurts out, his mouth spread in a huge smile, looking from Dev to the Blazers’ pitcher, who’s coming into the owner’s suite with a couple more players on the team. “Dev, look! It’s Troy!”
To my best friend’s chagrin, my nephew’s energy is palpable. Apparently, his voice loud enough to reach said pitcher’s ears as well, because not even ten seconds later, Troy Winters is standing in front of us.
Interestingly, the person no longer standing in front of us? The one currently pretending to look for something underneath the chairs, her head entirely burrowed under one? Yup, my best friend, Sarina Arora.
“Hey, Dev!” Troy says, shaking hands with my husband. “How’s it going?”
“Good! Congratulations! What a great game today!” Dev responds.
“Thanks!” Troy rocks back on his heels, his silvery-hazel eyes flicking from Dev to me to Rome under his baseball hat. “Is this your wife and son?”
Now, I’m not going to lie. Troy Winters is a beautiful man. He’s not quite my type, since I’ve recently learned mine comes in the form of a six-foot-something, tanned complexion, dark eyes, a dimpled cheek, and with an ass to make angels weep, but he’d be someone’s type. A lot of someones, in fact.
“This is my wife,” Dev says, introducing me, to which I give Troy a quick handshake. “And this is my . . . nephew, Rome.”
My heart flutters at the term my husband just used to describe Rome. God, there is no end to the way he makes me fall in love with him every day.
“Hi!” Rome reaches out a small hand to grasp Troy’s, his eyes glimmering with awe. “I’m Roman Kabir Arora-Weston, but you can call me Rome.”
“Whoa!” Troy reels back, eyes wider than Rome’s. “That’s quite a name there, Rome! Thanks for wearing my jersey!”
Rome gleams, and I only half-listen to Dev tell Troy about how Rome’s gotten into baseball recently—omitting the fact that the interest may have spurred during this game, in fact—because I’m too busy watching my best friend, who’s still crouching in front of the seats, pretending to look for an item she never lost.
Seriously, what in the world is happening to her?
“Oh, and this is my mom!” Rome exclaims, pointing to the woman in question.
Sarina’s head pops up and a mix of panic and embarrassment flash across her face.
“Found it!” she says, jumping with her hand in the air, pinching an imaginary item before then putting it into her mouth.
Yes . . . in her mouth.
What. The. Hell?
She pretends to chew it thoughtfully for an entire five seconds before jutting her hand out toward the pitcher. He’s looking at her with a similar but different shocked expression than the rest of us. Honestly, I have never seen this person before—this version of my usually composed and quick-witted best friend—and I’m not sure how to feel about it.
“ Rina ?” Troy says, eyes turning to saucers as he takes her hand. “Wh–what are you doing here?”
“Hey, Troy Trojan .” She chuckles awkwardly. “Long time, no see. ”
THE END!