When I woke beside her the next morning, sunlight stretching across the room and her hair spread across the pillow, I knew something important had changed.
This was not just her house anymore.
It felt like home.
Our home.
Not long afterwe moved in, Elle and Karl came to visit.
It had been something I had quietly arranged.
“I’m so happy you’ve found love again, Jiji,” Elle told her. “It was about time.”
Jiya looked at me then, her eyes shining with happiness. “I’m truly happy,” she said. “For the first time in a long time, I’m truly happy.”
Seeing that expression on her face was worth every step it had taken to get there.
As requested by Lucas, we took the ferry and spent the weekend exploring a neighbouring island. We hiked through forest trails, set up camp under towering trees, and roasted marshmallows over a small fire while the children laughed and chased each other around, with the night sky wide and endless above us.
When we returned home after the adventure-filled weekend, exhaustion caught up with me.
But that evening, I found myself leaning over the sink in the bathroom, throwing up again.
“Honey, are you alright?” Jiya’s voice came from behind the door.
“I’m fine,” I said quickly. “I think it was the food we barbecued.”
A few minutes later, she came back into the room with a glass of water.
I sat on the bed, feeling drained. My face must have looked pale because her expression shifted with concern. “We all ate the same food. I’m a little worried.”
I drank the water she handed me.
“Thanks,” I said, wiping my mouth. “I guess my stomach is starting to get sensitive.”
“Why don’t we go to the doctor and check it out?” she suggested.
I shook my head.
“No, it’s nothing,” I said, leaning forward to kiss her. “Just food poisoning.”
Then I pulled her gently back onto the bed. “Come back to bed with me.”
She curled into my arms, resting her head against my chest the way she always did. Within minutes, her breathing slowed as she drifted off to sleep.
I held her there in the quiet darkness, listening to the gentle rhythm of her breathing while my own thoughts lingered somewhere just out of reach.
41
JIYA
“Look who I found.”
I looked up from the kitchen counter when I heard Cole’s voice coming through the front door one Friday evening after he had wrapped up work for the Christmas holidays. There was a brightness in his tone that immediately caught my attention.
When I stepped into the living room, I saw him standing there with the most mischievous smile on his face, holding a small beagle in his arms.
The little dog looked up at us with wide, curious eyes.
