Olivia waited with Chris at the bus station, watching for Mukesh.
“This reminds me of when I came to pick you up,” Chris said. “And if someone had told me that day what a firecracker you would turn out to be, I never would have believed them.”
“Firecracker? Does that mean troublemaker?”
“No, not at all. You were so subdued and withdrawn at first though, I never would have believed you’d be so outspoken when something upset you.”
She couldn’t help but take that as a compliment. Chris always made her feel good about herself. “Hasn’t exactly made me any friends.”
“Hey. That’s not true.” He turned to look at her, a genuine pout on his face. “Are you saying we’re not friends?”
“No, of course not. But everyone else is either upset with me or ostracizing me.”
“Not everyone,” he reminded her. “Just a few.”
“Enough to cause problems and slow us down.” Even knowing this, she couldn’t ignore the little quiver of happiness in her stomach, knowing he had stuck by her and continued to advocate for her across town. Aditi’s father and his brother were leaning on Rahul not to sell his property to her. She didn’t think they even knew what she intended to do with it. Their negative attitude seemed based solely on spite and disapproval of her gifting books to Aditi.
Aubra’s dire predictions that they would all be deemed untouchables had turned out to be false—an extreme exaggeration and nothing more. No one gave them a wide berth on the streets, no children had been abruptly yanked from the school, and shop owners and street vendors still gladly continued to accept payment for goods from all of them. Aubra seemed inclined to doom and gloom, a negative outlook, quick to believe the absolute worst. No wonder Chris had called it off. Why he had dated her in the first place was the real mystery. Then again, she was extremely attractive and smart. Never married, childless. It sounded like she came from money and her father was apparently well connected. In a lot of ways, she was far more desirable than Olivia.
“Hey!” Chris said.
She nearly jumped out of her skin. Had he been reading her thoughts? But no, he was leaning out of the window waving to Mukesh, who had just exited the bus station. She hopped out of the car and waved until he spotted them. Chris helped him stow his bag in the trunk. She insisted he take the front passenger seat and climbed into the back.
“How was the trip?” she asked. He seemed so relaxed and laid back, unlike her following a lengthy bus ride.
“Good. No problems. I am here, so it was a good trip.” His infectious smile lit the car.
How long would his good mood last when she shared her bad news? “I’m afraid I have some bad news. I have found someone willing to sell me his property. The building has water and electricity, like you told me the machine will need. But he hasn’t actually sold to me yet, so things aren’t ready. I know the machine is about to be delivered and you need to train the women, but I only have one woman so far willing to work and I—”
He held up a hand, tossing his head to the side. “Madam, when I book my travel to install a machine, I only go one way. Never return trip. I never know how long these things will take. Please do not worry. It will all work out.”
She sighed deeply. “Okay, good. Thank you.” A weight lifted from her shoulders, and she relaxed into the back seat. She’d been so anxious he would be upset with her for not having everything ready, or at the very least clearly disappointed. She hadn’t expected such a no-big-deal response.
Chris drove them back to the guest house at the school. The town was too small to offer a hotel or any guest accommodations. As always, Chris had come to the rescue and spoken with Mrs. Gupta about the possibility of Mukesh staying in the guest house with the other teachers. They had arrived at a deal so that Mukesh was officially “hired” on for a month, more consultant than teacher, and would speak to the children about personal hygiene as well as share his experiences and how he had invented a new machine. Since Mukesh had recently been invited to speak in a number of capacities around the country, it wasn’t unprecedented to consider him a guest speaker and allow him to stay. And now Chris would have some company in the men’s dorm. She was glad he would not be over there all alone for the next month.
When they arrived at the school, all the women came outside into the courtyard to meet him, even Aubra who she suspected let curiosity get the better of her. Although the younger teacher had mellowed out some since her terrible predictions fizzled out. Then again, it was nearly dinnertime, so perhaps she was simply hungry.
Chris blew through introductions, which Olivia knew from experience would not stick.
“Don’t worry. You’ll learn them all eventually,” she said.
“We’re a lot at once, I know,” Tisha said, “but you’ll learn all our names soon enough. Olivia managed just fine.”
Mukesh threw back his head and laughed again, something she was starting to suspect he did a lot. “I am nomad. No home. New faces every time I go.”
Chris led Mukesh to the men’s side dorm. “Come on! I’ll show you to your room. Finally, I’ll have some company over here.”
Olivia drifted into the dining room, finding comfort in knowing Ms. Vanya was on the other side of the swinging door, rattling dishes, bustling about. Her mouth watered as the scents of cooking dinner reached her. She doubted her ability to recreate the dishes at home and wondered what she’d do when she left. The thought left her with a sudden chill. No more Ms. Vanya cheerfully serving them scrumptious meals, no more Chris propping her up with his endless positive outlook as he shuttled her about, no more Tisha and her gentle words of wisdom, determined to mend her broken parts, no more girls’ nights, sharing, laughing, goofing off. In such a short time, this place and these people had filled something empty in her and come to feel like home.
Home. She realized with a pang of guilt that she had never answered her mother’s last email, and in fact hadn’t even thought about Mom in several days. Wasn’t home with her mother? She was supposed to get her crap together, go back a new woman, find a job, get a new house . . . Yet none of those things appealed to her now. What had happened? The idea of a full-time job teaching at the community college, which had once been her sole dream and expectation, curdled in her thoughts, leaving a sour taste in her mouth. But if she didn’t do that, what would she do? What job could she get? Where was her home now? Where did she belong?
Thoughts raced through her mind, berating her, pummeling her. She didn’t know the answer to anything anymore. Her eyes watered and she struggled to remain in control of what she had learned was a panic attack, brought on by anxiety. She was still worrying too much about things she couldn’t control. She breathed deeply as Tisha had taught her, in and out.
She felt a hand on her arm. “Good,” Tisha said, “just like we practiced. What set this off?”
“I just realized how much I’m going to miss all of you when I go home.” Her voice cracked.
“That’s a long time from now,” Tisha reminded her. “We’re here now, and we’re not going anywhere.”
“I know. It’s just so much. It’s all so much, and I don’t know what’s going to happen next.”
“You don’t need all the answers to everything right now. Let’s just focus on today. Maybe start thinking about tomorrow.”
She nodded, snuffled, and swiped away the lone tear that escaped down her cheek.
Chris led Mukesh into the dining room. “And here’s where we eat. Breakfast and dinner. You already know where the market is—that’s where we met you. But let me know if you ever need a ride anywhere.”
They took seats, and Ms. Vanya began a long parade of food, platter after bowl after tray. When she finally deposited the giant stack of steaming chapatis, the indication she was finished, she folded her hands and bowed her head to Mukesh, almost reverently.
They marveled at the quantities of food. Ms. Vanya had outdone herself.
“What’s with the feast?” Chris asked. “Is this all for Mukesh?”
“And Miss Olivia.” The woman beamed at her and rushed back to the kitchen, eyes glistening.
Every face at the table turned toward her.
“What in the world was that about?” Delilah asked.
“Remember when I mentioned that Ms. Vanya helped me find the building?”
Heads bobbed, along with murmurs of mmm-hmmm.
“Well, I didn’t tell you about her daughter and granddaughter.”
“She has a daughter?” Melanie asked.
“And a granddaughter?” Delilah added.
“And you didn’t mention that?” Aubra sounded personally slighted.
“It seemed so personal, like it’s not mine to share. You know, like I don’t necessarily want everyone I meet to know about my divorce or that I lost a baby. But in her daughter’s case, she can’t hide it.” She looked directly at Mukesh. “And I understand now why you were so eager to give women something of their own. I can see the impact your machine will have.”
She told them the entire story. No one took so much as a bite while she described the grisly treatment Navya and Jaanvi had suffered and how both of them were forced to rely on a male relative since Navya was considered unemployable. When she finished, Chris’s hands were clenched, Tisha’s hands covered her mouth, Delilah dabbed at her eyes, Melanie shook her head, and Aubra sat stock-still, staring at the table.
“I found a doctor willing to try to help baby Jaanvi. I just hope he can. And without surgery.” She lost it at the thought of that baby girl being wheeled into an operating room, tiny, helpless, alone, and scared. The pad machine and the location to install it, once she actually purchased it, would nearly deplete her funds. She also intended to fund production for the first year to give the women time to get on their feet and start turning a profit. Purchasing a year’s worth of supplies would take another bite out of her dwindling money. But somehow, if Jaanvi wound up requiring surgery, she would ensure she could have it. If she had to take on more tutoring and go without sleep to earn enough, so be it.
“Olivia, this is too much for you to handle alone,” Tisha said. “How can I help?”
Startled, she gaped like a fish out of water. “Well, Mukesh will oversee installation. But I think we will need some more guys to help with the heavy lifting.”
Chris curled his arms, showing off the muscular biceps he didn’t have. “I’m on it! Consider me and my guns in your service.”
Delilah eyed him critically but with a gleam in her eye. “Those aren’t more than twenty-twos, but we need all the firepower we can get.”
The table erupted into laughter, breaking the tension.
“Wait till I can get to a gym and bulk back up!”
He had ample muscles, as far as Olivia was concerned. “Since we’ve got Hulk Hogan over here to help move equipment, my main concern is that Navya can’t handle the entire operation herself. We have to find more women willing to work it. I didn’t exactly expect to have hordes of women beating the door down, clamoring to work, but I did think I’d have slightly more interest than this.”
“Who all have you asked?”
“Well, that is a problem. I can’t just waltz up to someone and be like, hey, want a job? I don’t even know how to approach anyone. I can’t help but think Meena would be perfect for this, but I have no idea how to find her.”
“Ms. Vanya?” Chris called.
The door swung open, and the woman appeared.
“Do you know how to reach Meena?”
“Yes!”
He turned to Olivia. “Done. What next?”
Olivia rubbed her temples and glanced at her watch. The night was slipping away but she had a few more assignments she had to complete before she called it quits and got a few hours of sleep. She stretched and went back to correcting an essay for her student.
When she first heard a tentative tap at her door, she shook her head, believing she’d imagined the sound. But when it repeated, louder and more emphatic, she knew someone stood at her door. She just couldn’t imagine why. She glanced again at the clock to confirm the late hour.
Aubra stood at her door when she cracked it open. Her confusion deepened. “Yes?”
“I know it’s late. I saw your light on.”
“It’s okay. I’m awake.” And completely confused. What could she possibly want? If she’d come to apologize, Olivia wished she hadn’t. The awkward and uncomfortable tension between them was bad enough without an awkward and uncomfortable apology she’d have to accept.
“I just spoke with some old friends of mine in England. People I went to school with.”
Okay. Not seeing why Aubra felt the need to race over and tell her this.
“They’re working toward a graduate degree in film. I had invited them to come to India to shoot a documentary on the English school. But I just told them I have a better idea than the school. Something far more important, that people need to hear about. I suggested they document you setting up your machine.”
She sucked in a breath. This was so unexpected, she took a moment to comprehend what this could mean. “I . . . I don’t . . .”
“And Mukesh. They can interview him and tell his story since he’s here. I can’t promise anyone will ever see it, but maybe this will bring attention to the problem you’re trying to fix.”
“I don’t know what to say. I don’t feel like I have a story to tell. Were they interested?”
“They got so excited.” Aubra offered a watery smile.
This was clearly as close to an apology as Aubra would get. But that was okay. This was far better than a stumbling and half-hearted, muttered string of words that Olivia would have had trouble believing anyway. She had another ally, of sorts, one who was ready to take action to help the best she could. And perhaps something really good would come from this.
She forgot how late it was, forgot her headache, forgot even the nearly insurmountable tasks remaining before her plan could reach implementation. “When can they be here?”