The Boy Toy by Nicola Marsh

Author:Nicola Marsh [Marsh, Nicola]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2020-11-17T00:00:00+00:00

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.

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