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‘How was your day?’ she asked, settling the cushions around her comfortably for she knew this was going to be a long conversation.
A conversation that was like a slow, meandering river that was in no hurry to go anywhere.
He spoke and she listened indulgently, not missing a word. Every little bit he shared with her was precious and greedily gathered. The little words, priceless little gems, spoken in that soft, serious voice she had once madly loved, cherished.
And when he asked after her, she joyfully shared bits of her day with him.
When they finished the call, Koyal looked at the clock.
Four a.m.
She couldn’t help but smile. They were back to being four a.m. friends.
Kimberly watched Koyal and Atharv from a distance, no longer able to concentrate on the conversation she was having and trying hard not to be jealous. It was the night of the annual dinner of the neurosurgery department, a black tie event held at the hospital. Each staff was allowed two guests and usually Atharv just got his mum or attended alone. This year, however, Koyal had showed up.
Kimberly had stared at Koyal’s saree as she had walked in, the fawn embroidered Indian outfit dripping with understated elegance. Her hair was done in a sophisticated knot and diamonds hung from her ears, gleaming as they caught the light.
Instinctively, her first reaction was to turn and look at Atharv. Her heart immediately sank. He was standing with his hands in his pockets, his eyes not leaving Koyal.
And then, when Koyal smiled, a shy do-I-look-okay smile, he smiled a warm wide you-look-beautiful smile that, even though it wasn’t meant for her, melted Kimberly’s heart.
Though Atharv was one of the younger surgeons, his huge success had earned him a spot on the stage, a very rare and big honour.
Kimberly, sitting next to Koyal, watched with pride as Atharv took the stage, his face shining with intelligence and genuine warmth.
‘He is just the best,’ she whispered to Koyal who beamed. ‘I say this often,’ Kimberly continued. ‘If I ever need brain surgery, I will only trust Atharv.’
‘Gosh, no, I hope you never need surgery!’ Koyal laughed.
‘No, I mean it. Do you know, we started off as doctors together in San Francisco and it’s such a joy to see how much he has accomplished in such a short time.’
‘I’m sure it has been a great journey,’ Koyal said, wishing once again that she had been a part of it.
‘No, not really, not all for sure,’ Kimberly replied truthfully. ‘In fact some of it has been down right depressing, but Atharv has come out shining.’
‘You … were around when … um … Atharv lost his wife?’ Koyal asked hesitatingly.
Kimberly took a deep breath, as if preparing herself to talk about that time.
‘She was in our hospital … in San Francisco, I mean. I saw her and him,’ she indicated the stage where Atharv was adjusting his mike, readying for the speech, ‘each day.’
Koyal stared at Kimberly and then at Atharv who was smiling a wide, happy smile.
‘It’s nice to see him smile,’ Kimberly said, echoing Koyal’s thoughts. ‘Whenever I see him like this, even now, I think about the dark days after Nili’s diagnosis. You know what angered me the most?’
‘What?’
‘They were dealing with a pregnancy and a brain cancer. Atharv is a neurosurgeon and Nili was a gynaecologist.’
‘But why did that make you angry? It must have meant that they knew exactly what treatment to take and could make the most informed decisions.’
‘Koyal, there were no informed decisions to make. All they could do was wait for Nili to die.’
‘Gosh!’
‘They had no hope,’ Kimberly said sadly. ‘Hope can be dangerous, but it can make the dark days less dark … I became a different kind of doctor after Nili,’ she said, and when she saw the questioning look in Koyal’s eyes, she continued, ‘What I mean is, I saw at such close quarters the effect of each bad report, each chemo session, each surgery … After that I could never just give a patient bad news and be done with it.’ She sighed. ‘I understand grief better.’
Koyal was staring at her, lost in her words.
