Chapter Eleven
Roshan was grateful for his sunglasses as he drove to the airport at the crack of dawn.
The sky was light purple, orange and yellow as the sun insisted on rising bright and happy, at odds with the hollow that was being carved out in his stomach.
Nimi was chatting nearly nonstop in the seat beside him, her voice animated as she gave him more sightseeing suggestions and restaurants recommendations.
He hadn’t heard this much energy in her voice—ever.
Not that Nimi wasn’t energetic. It was just more today. Forced.
They had spent last night soaking up the last minutes of their time together, and now he found himself without anything to say.
No. That wasn’t true. He had plenty to say.
Let’s not end this. Where do you live? We can make this work.
I think I’m falling for you. But she needed to fix things with her family so she could stop running.
He still had work. And Malini. He simply was not going to say it. They had an agreement. Vacation only.
“Nimi,” he said softly as he took the airport exit. Damn but the airport was close by. “We have your very detailed itinerary. We’ll figure it out.”
“Right.” She nodded. “Of course.” She paused for a moment, then turned her body to him. “Just remember that the dessert at Merriman’s is totally worth it—”
He turned his head slightly with a raised eyebrow.
She smiled with chagrin. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll stop.” She faced forward in her seat. Silence fell between them, heavy and tense. “That’s me.” She pointed toward the right door.
All around, people loaded and unloaded luggage, hugged their loved ones with excitement and dread, cried tears of joy and sadness.
Buses dropped off and picked up their passengers, brakes squealing.
Airport police patrolled in cars and on foot despite the fact that the crowd seemed small at this hour.
Overhead, the sound of planes taking off and landing added to the symphony of the airport.
He pulled over to where she had indicated. She was taking one of the major airlines out, and not Wanderlust. That didn’t tell him much, like where exactly she was headed. He knew she planned to see her sister, but then what?
Not that it mattered where she was going. Whatever this was, it was over. He got out of the car and grabbed her bag from the trunk without saying a word. There was no way to trust what would come out of his mouth.
“Thanks,” she said with her normal voice. “I could have gotten that.”
“I know. I just wanted to.” He reached up and closed the trunk.
“Trying to get rid of me faster?” she teased.
“Yes.” He grinned at her. “My next fling is waiting for me.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Well, you tell her that I tired you out last night.”
He moved closer to her. “That you did.” He was close enough to catch her perfume, light and floral. She was looking at him, something new in her eyes. Was it dread? Did she not want to leave? Well, who ever wanted to leave paradise?
She looked up at him, soft brown eyes resting on him. What was behind those eyes?
He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the mouth. Coffee and mint. “Safe travels.”
“Bye. Have fun.” She stepped back and grabbed her bag. “Tell Vishal and Karan I had a great time and thank them for their kindness.”
He nodded. They were going to miss her, too. That never happened. Vishal and Karan had never liked any of the women he dated. It figured that the one they liked only wanted a fling.
He opened his mouth to tell her to text when she landed, but he caught himself. That was what people in relationships said. Not flings. The pit in his stomach hollowed out. He watched her enter the airport and followed her as long as he could see her. If she looked back, it was a sign.
“Sir.” An airport police officer approached. “I’m going to have to ask you to move along.”
“Of course.” Roshan nodded at the officer, his eyes still following Nimita.
“Sir.”
What if she looked back?
“Sir! Move along.” The officer’s voice was no longer friendly.
Roshan turned and got into the car. When he looked back into the airport, she had been swallowed by the crowd.
She never looked back.
* * *
The car ride to the airport had been more painful than she might have anticipated.
More than once she had opened her mouth to tell Roshan to turn around and take her back to the hotel.
Or to ask him where he lived. To feel out what his intentions might be.
Every time, she talked about the itinerary she had left them instead.
They had agreed that whatever they had in Hawaii was only for Hawaii.
Besides, she had things to fix once she landed.
And there was no guarantee as to whether or not she would be successful.
Roshan’s life was exactly what he wanted, and he carried the weight of his sister’s health on his shoulders, too.
She’d only add chaos, and they both knew it.
She had hoped he might ask her to text when she landed. He did not. Though why would he? She had made it clear they were just hooking up. Of course there wouldn’t be any last-minute romantic airport drama.
He had kissed her, light and sweet, and she had left. She had forced herself to not turn back and look at him. She failed. But when she turned back, he was talking to the airport police and getting in the car.
She headed to security and got on the plane. She would not be returning to Hawaii anytime soon.
It would be too painful.
Nimita landed in San Diego an uneventful six hours later, using the journey to catch up on the sleep she’d missed while she’d been with Roshan.
But images of Roshan kept intruding. He had looked like he wanted to say something as she left.
Better that he didn’t. She didn’t have the space for anything more than what they had. It was better this way.
Right?
Had he gotten under her skin? Maybe a little. But that certainly didn’t mean anything. She needed to focus on fixing her relationship with her family. She didn’t have time to deal with why there was an ache in her heart.
Warm air and sunshine greeted her as she waited for her Uber. The car ride was quiet and brief, allowing her a few extra minutes of peace to prepare herself before seeing her family.
No sooner had she entered the house than she was nearly knocked over by her niece.
“Nasi!” the young girl squealed, toddling then falling into Nimita’s arms.
Nimita had not expected a mini-love bomb.
Certainly the few FaceTime calls they’d shared hadn’t endeared her to her niece.
She covered her surprise and knelt down in the hallway and hugged Naya tight, pulling back only to present her with a stuffed toy.
The first of many gifts she had acquired in her travels.
It was bribery to be sure, but she had to start somewhere.
“Say thank you to Masi,” Reena coached her daughter as she approached them.
Nimita felt the tug of being introduced to her niece in person as opposed to having already been a part of her life. “She’s quite friendly,” Nimita said to her sister.
Reena sighed. “She loves people, loves giving hugs.”
“Nasi!” Naya giggled as she hugged the stuffed pineapple, and Nimita’s heart just melted.
“Yep. It’s Nasi.” Not Masi. Clearly Naya could not say Nimita Masi, so Nasi she was.
Nimita took in the still baby smell of her, but she was so much bigger than when she had last seen her niece on a FaceTime call. Naya pulled back and screeched as she showed her mother the toy before toddling off to play. Nimita stood and hugged her sister briefly.
“She’s running already! She’s not even one yet,” Nimita mused.
Reena inhaled deeply. “She’s a handful.”
Nimita took off her shoes, and they walked to the kitchen. “How are you? Where is Hiral?”
“He’s still at the hospital. The residency was rough,” Reena said, walking around to the stove. “Being a hospitalist is better, but the days are long.”
Familiar scents of dhal and spiced vegetables hung in the air. A stack of freshly made rotli sat already made. “You look like you got some sun.” Reena flicked her gaze over Nimita as she pulled out a bottle from the fridge.
“I did. Been waiting in Hawaii for the flight,” Nimita said, feeling only a little bad about the fib.
Ran into an old friend, had a great time.
And now I miss him. They used to be the kind of sisters who told each other everything, but that had changed when their mother died.
“Smells amazing. Like Mom’s food,” Nimita said.
“I learned from the best.” Reena shrugged. What hung in the air was what she didn’t say. That Nimita had never bothered to learn to cook. But her eyes said it loud and clear.
“Where’s Papa?” Nimita asked.
Reena glanced at the clock. “He’s napping. Or he was. I’m sure Naya took her pineapple in to show him.” She pulled out a familiar small stainless steel pot. “How about some chai?”
“I can make it.” Nimita stepped forward.
“No. That’s fine. I’ll do it,” Reena said.
“I can make chai,” Nimita insisted. She went closer and examined the pot. “This was Mom’s.”
Reena nodded. “You just got off the plane. I’ll make the chai.
” She filled the small pot with water and set it on the stove on medium heat.
She added chai masala and tea leaves and let it simmer.
“Papa insists chai only tastes good from this pot.” She gave Nimita a small smile. “He’s probably right.”
“He’s absolutely right,” Nimita agreed. She didn’t really drink chai anywhere else. It was always coffee.
Reena leaned against the counter next to the stove and waited for the water to boil. “So. What’s going on?”