A New Light

Untitled Part 1

If it was a normal day she would have sighed and complained about the traffic while she tried to finish up whatever emails she could in the car. She would've ordered the driver to speed up, blast the AC, change the music, anything just to vent out her frustration.

This was not a normal day, she was finally home, after working tirelessly for the last several weeks she was able to reschedule her work to be followed online and move up whatever she couldn't in order to have however long she needed to stay. Her devices were nowhere near her. Instead sitting in the trunk with the rest of the luggage as the taxi swerved in the crowded streets. Her eyes were fixed on the dull scenery, barely taking anything in.

She had tried to talk to him on the phone, inadequate as it was, when it happened but she couldn't reach him. She reached for his brothers who told her he was in a state. They were upset, not knowing how to help, Rudy was in tears he was so scared for his older brother. That had settled it. She called her assistant and told her in her coldest tone that she wanted a trip back home, her meetings cancelled and whatever projects that were waiting for her could wait a little longer.

Twenty minutes after that Richard stormed into her office. Arguing and screaming like a banshee that she couldn't just up and leave everything in the air. She had just looked at him and sighed.

"It's Shev. He lost his wife."

Her partner, her friend who she built the company with, the insane workaholic who dedicated his whole life to work and had barely any grasp on human interactions instantly quieted. He knew how much her friend meant to her and he settled for moving up all the meetings within three weeks in order to keep things running. He was the one who had insisted that the only way he could help was to handle the work and he knew he needed her. "We'll work online, whenever you can, I can't do this alone and you'll come back to a firm with no clients if I stay alone."

The bastard was playing on his insecurities and he knew she'd reassure him and yield.

She hated his perceptiveness but she agreed. Got her assistant to reschedule the trip after three weeks, telling Richard in no uncertain terms that anything that stays till after can rot in hell.

He simply piled her days with meetings. Potential clients, business proposals and directors' reports. His way of helping: distraction, she appreciated it, ineffective as it was. She'd sorted most of the hanging issues by the time her flight was scheduled. During the time she called Rudy and Om twice a day. Asking about him, making sure they were holding up. She knew how much they'd loved the woman. During one call, she met their wives. Pavia was lulling the baby and her heart stilled. Shev's daughter. She must be a few months old. Om reassured her they were handling the little girl and Shev had gone into a state. He was always working now or looking after the baby. He only fell asleep when his body gave out on him.

He wouldn't listen to anyone. Gauri told her they only had the girl now because she'd slipped him a sleeping pill in his drink. It was Pavia who said maybe the shock of seeing her could faze him a little.

The memories of the last three weeks replayed in her head. Om and Rudy's worn faces, the kind women's exhaustion. Trying to dispel the images, her mind focused on her memories with Shev.

Always the big brother. The one who took care of everyone since they were kids. Even her. The newcomer in the city. He was always there for her, just like his cousins, who till this day considered him their big brother just as he saw them as his kid brothers.

He'd taken care of her as well. He thought she didn't know how he had made sure she would fit in the school, included her in his circle, threatened every boy who looked wrong at her. He was there for her just like everyone else in his life. The only difference he came to her when things become too much to handle. It was rare for him to seek her out. Proud and always in control he hated it when things didn't go his way, let alone admit to them. She'd had to coax him to talk and then slowly he learned to come vent. Just like him, she was resourceful, not as connected as he was, she doubted anyone was, even at that age, she knew how to plot and help him. She knew how to talk to the boys to get them to do something Shev wanted, to reassure the big brother they were fine, knew how to extract from Rudy whatever was troubling him that he wouldn't tell his cousin before gently giving the information to Shev.