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Kendra met the Hosseinis for dinner at the Pacifica Hotel.
This was unusual, to say the least. Taarof – Persian hospitality – usually demanded that the hosts invite a guest into their home and cook a meal for them.
However, after recent events, Kendra could understand why the Hosseinis couldn’t return home to Remuera. It was now a place of haunted memories. Where innocent blood had been shed.
The trauma was still fresh.
So staying at a hotel was the best option.
For her part, Kendra was nervous about meeting Leila and Saeed again. She wasn’t sure what they would think of her, especially considering the acrimonious history they’d shared. So she had fussed over her hair and make-up. She wanted to look soft and demure. She figured the Hosseinis liked soft and demure.
In the end, though, Kendra didn’t have to worry about surface appearances at all.
Leila and Saeed seemed genuinely excited to meet her, and they were quick to embrace her and kiss her cheeks. They were warm and obliging, and as they sat down for dinner and the wine and conversation flowed, all Kendra’s doubts and fears melted away.
It was obvious that the Hosseinis had changed. They were now more mellow, less judgemental. Eager to give her the acceptance and respect that she had craved for so long.
At one point, Leila even reached across the table and held Kendra’s hand. ‘Astaghfirullah. We misjudged you. We should not have. We are in your debt.’
Kendra could only smile. ‘There is no debt. This is what friends do.’
Saeed gave a hearty chuckle and tapped the table. ‘Only the best of friends.’
Ryan raised his wine glass. ‘Well, then. To friendship.’
Kendra raised her glass as well. ‘To new beginnings.’
And with that, they clinked their glasses together, turning a new page in their relationship. The past didn’t matter anymore. Only a better future.