The meeting with my boss had gone fairly well — she wasn't very happy that I was taking a month off and wanted to know when I'd be back.
She wanted me back just as much as I wanted to be back. I had figured doing a short uni course would be easier to tackle and a much-needed distraction away from what was going on in my sort-of-past-successful-life-now-turned-to-shit but it only added onto stress.
The door knocked and I opened it. Susanne held a tray full of food. "I heard Jose was in the hospital. How is he feeling?"
"Much better." I opened the door wider and stepped aside. "Please, come in. I think he'd really appreciate you checking up on him."
"I hadn't even realised this was something that had happened until my husband called Jose on a whim."
"Yeah, it was kept on the down low, to be honest. I'm glad you came over. I think he's sick and tired of me hovering over him."
Susanne chuckled. "He mentioned that to my husband, as well."
"What did he say?"
"That you hover and complain like he's your son a lot."
I snickered. "That's because he acts like he's my son more than my uncle." I ushered her to the room Jose uncle was in. He put his iPad down and beamed.
"Thank God, I was going crazy by myself," he said.
"I brought you some homemade gajar ka halwa and some pani puri's."
"You are a Godsend, really, Susanne."
I took the box from her and opened the bowl of halwa. I grabbed a spoon and hurried back, ready to feed him when he turned his head. "My arms are fine, Arshia."
"Your arms are bruised and cut. You shouldn't be moving them around too much."
"It's not broken."
"Oh, am I embarrassing you?" Susanne snickered and he narrowed his eyes at me. "I don't trust you with anything by yourself."
He swatted me away and took the bowl from me. He wasn't actually mad, though, because I could see a slight quirk on his lips.
"Your daughter-in-law is quite amazing," I heard Susanne say as soon as I left the room. I don't know why but hearing a stranger say something good about me made my chest lighten.
I shouldn't care what others thought, to be honest, but I did. And it felt nice when I was being validated. I sighed. I craved that too much. Settling down to watch a movie on the television, I heard the front door shut. From the reflection of the black loading screen, I saw Romir make his way over.
"Someone visiting?" he asked. At first, I thought he was talking to Jose uncle but from the reflection, I saw that his head was turned in my direction.
"Susanne's here." I ignored him otherwise. A few minutes later, I watched as Susanne left the apartment and Romir take Jose uncle to the bathroom. A phone began ringing quarter way through my movie. I panicked thinking it was mine, but the sound wasn't close by.
It was on the kitchen island. Romir's phone.
It rang and rang and rang. Like five or six times repeatedly. Lulling my head back against the sofa didn't help the situation, so I got up and grabbed it. I went over to the bathroom. The sound of water hitting a bucket and then a few splashes here and there helped me realise that Romir was probably helping Jose uncle shower because of his arms.
I knocked. "Romir, someone keeps calling repetitively."
"All right. Put it on the island. I'll be out soon."
At least now we were amicable with the way we spoke with each other. I didn't dread being here all the time. I placed his phone on the island and as soon as I sat down on the couch, the ringing began again. I groaned and increased the volume on the TV.
It didn't take long for Romir and Jose uncle to come back out. When they did, Romir went with Jose uncle to help him change and then came back out to grab his phone. He picked it up, stopping that incessant ringing, and hummed a couple of times before rubbing his forehead.
I paused, watching his face become graver by the minute. "All right." He hung up and cursed under his breath. Looking up, our eyes made contact. I was going to look away when he did the unthinkable.
"My aunt's planning to come over. She's having a fit."
He actually confided in me. He did hesitate, don't get me wrong, but he still told me.
"Aunt?" I repeated.
"Jose uncle's wife. She moved away to take a break after the accident. I called her to tell her about what happened the other day." Then it clicked. The wife that Jose uncle had told me about. The one that he was still completely head over heels in love with. She called? Did she want to come?
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"Don't know. She wants to take him with her, now. Says she wants to be the one to take care of him."
"Are you going to tell Jose uncle about this? What if he wants to go back? His needs are the most important."
He slapped the phone repeatedly against the palm of his hand, gaze at the floor. "That's the plan."
Jose uncle wheeled in a few moments later and looked between us. We stayed mum and stared at him, not knowing how to approach the subject. Really, it should be simple. Tell him that his wife wants to come back and take him with her.
But it felt like something deeper. I mean, Romir's uncle was going to be taken away and the wife sounded like she'd been away from them for a long time.
What would Jose uncle do? What would Jose uncle want?
"You two friends now?" joked Jose uncle.
"What do you think?" he asked.
"I think you are. Does that mean my plan to injure myself worked?"
Romir's face hardened. "Tell me that was the case and I'll injure you myself."
"Okay, okay, I was joking." Jose uncle tipped his head back and laughed. "Oh, it's great to be home." He looked so genuinely happy to just be here.
"Don't go doing things without one of us around," ordered Romir.
"No more solo work for me." He looked between us. "Really, though, I'm glad you're both trying now. This must have been a reality check, hmm?"
Romir and I shared a glance. He was right but that wasn't what my mind was focused on. "Tell him," I whispered. He gave me a look. Jose uncle saw this and came closer to us.
"What is it? Why are your faces like that?"
Romir sighed and crossed his arms as he leaned against the kitchen island. "Tamara aunt called me a few minutes ago. She's coming over."
Jose uncle's brightly lit face dimmed. "Oh." He then went into his room and didn't come out that night.
***
The doorbell rang after I had bought some food for Jose uncle and me to snack on during lunch. I opened it and saw that it was a completely unfamiliar woman standing on the other side. She was wearing a dark green saree with a red blouse and her thick salt and pepper hair donned into a tight low bun.
She turned her nose up at me as she looked me up and down. "Who are you?" She didn't wait for my answer because she shoved past me and stormed inside.
"Hey—wait, who the heck are you?!"
She whirled on me, nearly causing me to crash into her. "Where's Jose?"
"He's taking a nap but more importantly who are you? You have no right to just stroll in like this."
Romir came out from our room in a blue hoodie, a black baseball cap worn backward, the seam ending just above those enviously thick, shaped black brows. Seeing who was in front of me, he straightened up, lips thinning.
Robotically, he waved his arm toward the couch. "Sit," he said.
"Thank God someone around here has manners," she mumbled. I scoffed as she sashayed over to the couch and plopped down right in the middle. Romir and I made way to stand in front of her, like teachers with their students.
Except the situation wasn't exactly educational.
"What do you want, Tamara aunt?" asked Romir, not wasting any time.
This was Tamara aunty? Damn, she was awful! But seeing the way her pale face went dark I nearly snickered. Who has manners now? I thought snarky. Her light eyes flashed toward me. "First I want her to get out." How dare sh—
"She stays," snapped Romir.
This startled both me and Tamara aunty. I mean, the guy was defending me! Then my body relaxed. This was the facade we agreed to, duh.
Besides, we needed to do this otherwise our fighting and not getting along would be more reasons for this woman to take Jose uncle away from us.
She began to speak after opening and closing her mouth for what felt like years. "You didn't have to call me, but you did. Why?" she asked instead.
Romir told her about what happened with Jose uncle?
"As his wife, I figured you deserved to know. The hospital would have done it, anyway."
She hung her head and let the venom from before seep out of her. "Whatever the reason, I realised how selfish I'd been. I was the one supposed to be here, looking after him and making sure this would never happen. Instead, I was more focused on being stuck in the past because it was more convenient. It was easier to blame everything that happened on him and you and Reshma than being understanding and moving on together."
"Why?"
"Because we were having issues. But I miss him. I've missed him for years. My ego...I couldn't do it. Now I have a reason to come back and I'm here for good. The guilt of being a bad wife and a bad aunt brought me here." She stood up and clasped Romir's hands. "I can't prove my words to you but please, trust me. Trust that I will never hurt Jose like that again."
Romir didn't say anything for a long time. He pulled his hands away from under her grasp and shoved them into the pockets of his hoodie. "I'll ask him. This is his life. He can decide what he wants to do. If he says no," he leaned in toward her, "you'll go for good. Do you understand?"
Tamara aunty gulped and sat back down slowly. "Understood," she said, mousy. Romir and I shared another glance and we both nodded. I went to grab Jose uncle who was taking a nap.
I sat down on the edge of his bed and shook him. He stirred. "Guess who's here?" I whispered.
"Who?" he asked. I helped him up on the bed and then into his wheelchair.
"Tamara aunty."
I waited for some type of response. An array of emotions flashed through his face but only one stood out.
Hope. Had he taken the time from before to think?
"Take me to her," he said, firm.