Page 73 of A Discovery: Love and Other Things

“I...um...” I was at a loss for words. All these years I had spent dreaming of this very moment when I’d meet my dad’s family, imagining what I would say, what I would do...And now that it was actually happening, my mind was paralyzed.

James came to my rescue. “Hello, I am James Campbell. And this is my girlfriend, S—”

“Sanura,” the man whispered. He studied my face, registering all the commonalities we shared just as I had. “Is that really you?”

I nodded. “Yes.” Mist clouded my eyes, but there was no mistaking the glassiness that had overtaken his, too.

“You look so much like Babu,” he breathed out.

Babu.My father’s nickname. My mother always referred to him as Babu whenever we spoke about him at home.

The little boy looked up at my uncle expectantly. “Baba, who is she?” When we had spoken on the phone, my uncle had only mentioned my cousins as his “children.” I had just assumed there were only the two who were adults, whom the PI had confirmed months ago. I was surprised to see that he had a third child, who was so young in comparison to the others.

“Samir, this is your cousin, Sanura.”

Samir’s small mouth fixed into a frown. “I didn’t know I had any cousins.”

I kneeled down to his level, meeting his innocent eyes. “Neither did I. Well, not until a few months ago.”

He was quiet for a moment. I could see the wheels turning in his head. Whatever had had him thinking so hard was suddenly forgotten. “Are you going to stay to play? I have a cool Bakugan set. We can battle each other.”

My smile was honest and true. “I’d love to play.” I had no idea what the fuck a Bakugan was, but I was willing to find out if it meant I could spend time with my cousin.

Samir pulled on the hem of his dad’s shirt. “Baba, can she stay?”

My uncle laughed, and a single tear trailed down his cheek. “Yes. Come in, Sanura and James.”

We removed our shoes and followed my uncle, and he introduced us to his wife, who had cooked a lavish dinner for us. For the next three hours, we talked nonstop, making up for lost time.

Uncle Yusuf told me all about my other cousins who also lived in London. Shiraz was a chemical engineer for the government, and Shireen was a doctor. Shireen was already married, while Shiraz was engaged to be married in spring.

He showed me albums full of photos of Baba from their childhood and shared endless stories about their adventures. I found out that Baba had had an interest in archaeology, too, and had read as manyNational Geographicmagazines as he could get his hands on. It warmed me to think that if he had still been alive, he probably would have loved to visit my dig site.

James wasn’t deprived of attention, either. Uncle Yusuf and Aunt Miriam adored him. They asked plenty of questions about his career and research. If they thought it awkward that I was with a man I wasn’t married to, they never showed it. And Samir was perhaps the most smitten with him. Watching the two of them sit on the floor and battle with Bakugans, which I found out were these little magnetic balls that exploded into crazy shapes, was the sweetest thing ever. James was a natural with kids, and my uterus noticed.

Just when my face started to cramp up from all the smiling, Samir let out a huge yawn, which was our signal that the family reunion was over.

Uncle Yusuf walked James and me to the door. My hands were full with foil-covered paper plates that had been packed by Aunt Miriam. She’d insisted we take food home in case we were hungry later.

We slipped our shoes on and stepped out onto the porch.

“How long are you staying in London?” Uncle Yusuf asked.

“We leave tomorrow.” The flight here had been spur of the moment; James and I needed to get back to Egypt to wrap up our research. But I hadn’t thought about how it would feel to say goodbye to the family I had just found.

“Do you know when you’ll be in London again?”

James had a home, or rather a mini-mansion, in Oxford that we were staying in now, but after the new year, I wouldn’t have another break until spring. And I would most likely be busy during spring break preparing to present my capstone project.

“I’m not sure.”

Uncle Yusuf’s face fell. I felt his pain, too. To have found each other only to separate again without knowing when we’d be reunited seemed like a cruel plot twist.

I attempted to lighten his mood. “But you have my phone number, and we can always FaceTime. Or email. Email works, too!” I was poking around in the dark to find anything that would wipe the sadness off his face.

“Don’t worry about me, Sanura. I may have lost my brother, but I will make sure I never lose you again. We’re family, and that means we are always bonded together, even when we are apart.” He rested his hand to his heart.

My own heart felt full hearing his words. I couldn’t help but think that Babawas somewhere looking down on us and smiling, too.

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