“Thanks,” he said, stepping off the stage and heading toward them.
“We’re making a decision shortly, so you’ll hear from Chris later today.”
“Great.” He shook their hands. “Thanks for the opportunity.”
“I’m sure we’ll be seeing you again,” Sherman said, and Rory wondered if he imagined the meaningful glance the two men exchanged before he headed for the door.
He had a good feeling about this, but he wouldn’t be counting his dollars until he got the call from Chris.
Until then, he needed a distraction.
He knew just the person to provide it.
Twenty-Five
After lunch with her mom, Samira headed back to the health center. She had a stack of patient files to catch up on. Her most loathed task, usually; she’d much rather be treating patients than writing about them. But the monotony of it would be a welcome distraction after the chat with her mom. She really hoped she’d finally got through to Kushi, but she doubted it. Her mom may profess to understand, but she’d seen the gleam in her eyes after she’d hugged Manish goodbye.
Kushi wouldn’t give up easily.
She’d been this way with Avi too. Despite her initial protests, her mom kept instigating meetings, and Samira had let his charm get to her a little. That had been all the encouragement Kushi needed, and before she knew it, they’d been dating.
Never again.
Her stomach gurgled, and she pressed a hand to it. She’d been feeling a tad off lately, plagued by intermittent nausea and wooziness, worse than her usual hormonal swings. She hoped she hadn’t picked up a gastro bug of some sort; if it didn’t let up, she’d have to see the practice’s doctor.
“Knock, knock, got a minute?” Pia rapped on her door and stuck her head around it, and Samira beckoned her in.
“Sure. What’s up?”
The moment Pia stepped into her office and closed the door, Samira knew this wasn’t about work. Her cousin’s somber expression and rigid posture sent a skitter of fear through her and had her shooting to her feet.
“Are you okay?”
Pia nodded and managed a wan smile. “I’m fine, but I have to tell you something.”
A million awful scenarios flashed through her mind in a second: Dev had a terminal illness, Aunt Sindhu had been in a car accident, her mom had fallen . . . The thought of Kushi gave her a quick wake-up call. This was exactly the kind of thing her mom would do, envisage the worst, predicting the direst consequences without hearing what the other person had to say.
“Come sit.” Samira pulled up a plinth, and they sat side by side like they used to on the bench outside Dosa Villas as kids, waiting to be picked up after stuffing as many idlis as they could fit into their stomachs after school. She’d never really liked the steamed rice cakes, but Pia had loved them. “What’s up?”
“You know how I mentioned our last IVF attempt had failed and we’d wait awhile before trying again?”
Relief filtered through her. Nobody was dying, but by the worry in Pia’s eyes, she knew the seriousness of not being able to conceive was just as devastating.
“Yeah?”
“Well, I convinced Dev to try again, so our next IVF attempt is scheduled for late next month, but I want to take some time off beforehand to try alternative therapies to enhance our chances.”
“And you want me to step up and manage this place while you’re away?”
Pia nodded and reached out to grab her hand. “I know it’s a big ask when you’re so busy, but I really need to do this.”
“Of course I’ll do it.” Samira squeezed her hand, wishing she could make this whole process easier on her cousin. “So what kind of alternative therapies?”
A sheepish expression replaced Pia’s gravity. “It’s a wellness retreat for infertile couples, focusing on preparing the body for pregnancy, so they do hypnotherapy, acupuncture, reflexology, meditation, massage, mindfulness . . . crystals.”
Samira barked out a laugh. “I know you trying to conceive isn’t funny, but crystals?”
Pia laughed too. “I know, the science-trained logical person in me can’t believe I’m hoping crystals have electromagnetic charges that encourage a body’s processes and therefore help conception, but hey, at this point I’ll try anything.”
“You know I’ll support you through this.” Samira leaned forward to give Pia a hug, and as she did so, the room spun, the edges of her vision darkened, and the weirdest floating feeling washed over her.
The next thing she knew, she had Pia and the practice’s doctor, Kate Beck, leaning over her as she lay on the floor.
“What happened?” She struggled into a sitting position and blinked several times to clear the fuzziness clouding her head.
“You fainted.” Pia slid a supportive arm around her shoulders. “And scared the living daylights out of me.”
“Is this a common occurrence?” Kate took her pulse and glanced at her watch, counting the appropriate beats.
“No, but I get crazy hormonal swings that can lead to vomiting, dizziness, that kind of thing. And it’s been worse than usual the last few weeks. Or it could be a virus?”
“Possibly,” Kate said, releasing her wrist. “But if you think your hormones are haywire, and worse than usual, let’s do a few simple blood tests to make sure you’re okay.”
If there was one thing Samira hated more than her mother’s matchmaking, it was needles, but she nodded.
“Come through to my office now, and I’ll get it done.”
As Kate left the room, Pia continued to eye her with concern. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Samira stood slowly, determined to hide from her cousin exactly how wobbly she still felt. Pia had enough to deal with at the moment. “It probably is some stupid virus. You know I always catch something when I come back to Melbourne.”
Considering she’d only been back once in twelve years, it was lame, but thankfully, Pia didn’t push it.
“If you’re unwell, maybe now isn’t the best time for me to be taking leave—”
“Stop right there.” Samira held up her hand. “You and Dev have been trying everything to have a baby, and the fact you’re resorting to putting crystals on your chakras or wherever else you’ll stick those things means this is important.”
Pia barked out a laugh, and Samira patted her arm. “I’ll be fine.”