It's strange to wait for the past I have turned away from.
I am part relieved, part tensed as Keshav enters the lobby. He's dressed in a business suit, and I wave at him. He waves back and strides towards me. "How's Nia?" he asks, stopping a meter away as if there's an invisible wall between us.
"They are operating." We walk toward the OT.
He peeks through the glass on the door and shakes his head. "When?"
"Revati called me around half-past six."
He walks to Revati and Ehraan, standing next to the steel chairs. "Thanks a ton, Revati." He extends his arms and cups her palms. "Thank you, thank you."
"It's fine, Keshav," Revati says, looking at me and back at him.
He draws a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his eyes. I haven't seen him this vulnerable before. When was the last time I saw him? Last year? Nia's birthday? He looks so...tired. "Would you like to sit, Keshav?"
He nods, and we sit. I don't know when, but I grab his palm. "Nia will be okay, won't she?"
He nods. "Why was she on the scooter?"
"On her way to college."
"And you?" He wriggles his hands out of mine.
"I was...in a meeting."
"Meeting?" He shakes his head. "Always busy, aren't you?"
Revati interjects, "Keshav, this is Ehraan."
"Hello, Ehraan." Keshav extends his arm. Ehraan nods and shakes his hand.
"And he is...?" Keshav steers his gaze at me.
"A client," Ehraan says.
"Client?"
"We were at home to talk about my painting when she got the call."
"Your home?" Keshav says, alternating his gaze between me and Ehraan.
The OT door opens, and we all rise. A nurse bolts towards her left, and I try to peer inside, only to find another door. Our gaze is fixed on the end of the corridor. The nurse reappears with a doctor, seemingly senior by his white beard and glasses.
"How's she doing?" I ask, but they rush inside the OT without looking at me.
"What's happening?" I ask Keshav.
He shakes his head, helps me sit, and sits beside me.
"Thanks for coming, Keshav."
"She's my daughter," he says without looking at me.
I clear my throat, "They had to call in a specialist for the surgery."
"Hmm," Keshav draws his phone and scrolls.
"She'll need to be here a few days."
"I know."
God! "I...we might need to share the expenses."
He looks at me and taps the armrest. "No."
"No?" I look at him.
"I'll bear all the expenses."
"You will?"
"Of course." He says with eyes fixed on his mobile.
"Thanks." I gulp.
"But..."
"But?"
He rises, walks to the ICU door, peeks through the glass, and returns, "You'll give an undertaking that you requested me to bear the expenses."
"Undertaking?"
"Because you can't." He cracks his knuckles.
"What?"
"Nia's future is at stake. She needs a parent who can —"
"You want to claim custody?" I rise, anger boiling inside me. "Nia made her choice."
"You always assume," he says, rising. "Let me pay the alimony."
"I don't need —"
"But she does." He wipes his eyes. "I am sorry, Reena. But this is what's best for Nia. For you." He trudges towards the lobby and drops into a chair.
***
