Page 80 of Isn't It Obvious?
“Do you want milk?” she asks. “We have oat, soy, and, I think, macadamia.”
“But no dairy?”
She smiles back at him. “I think you know the answer to that.”
“Black’s good for me,” Ravi says. While she pours, hefinally looks at his phone. A missed call from Suresh. “Shit,” he says.
“What?”
“Ah—it’s my brother. I need to call him back.”
“You can hide in my bedroom if you don’t want me to listen,” she says.
Ravi hesitates for a moment. He’s not sure he really cares if she hears, but he also doesn’t know what Suresh is going to say, and he doesn’t want to be airing someone else’s private business. “Thank you,” he says, and he presses call before going to tuck himself away.
“Ravi?” Suresh answers.
“Hey.”
“Margot’s leaving early,” Suresh says, with such little emotion in his voice that Ravi is certain he’s devastated. “We heading back now.”
“Okay,” Ravi says. “Did something happen?”
Suresh is quiet for a few seconds too long. “I’m in the car,” he says. “Mia’s here with me.”
“Do you need anything?”
“Are you home?” Suresh says, another nonanswer. Ravi’s stomach clenches with worry—for Suresh and for Mia.
“No, I’m not, but I can be soon.”
“We’ll be back in an hour twenty,” Suresh says.
“See you then,” Ravi says, and the call disconnects.
He finds Yael back in the kitchen, coffee mug in hand. She nudges another one toward him, and he takes it.
“Everything okay?” she asks.
Ravi rubs his hand over the fresh stubble on his chin. “I’m worried that you might not trust that I’m being honest here,” he starts, “so, first, I want to say that I’d like to see you again, if you’re willing.”
Yael stares at him for a moment before nodding.
“And I have a family emergency, and I really need to go,” he continues. “I’m sorry.”
She waves him off. “You don’t have to apologize. I believe you.”
“Thank you,” he says, and he heads back to the bedroom to dress and get his things together as quickly as he can. When he emerges, Yael is leaning against the part of the counter closest to the door, her phone in hand. She looks up as he crosses the room. There’s something a little sad in her eyes, and it makes his chest tight. As soon as he reaches her, he pulls her in for a kiss, savoring the way she sighs into his mouth, how she melts against him.
Her phone buzzes, and they break apart. “NowIhave to take this,” she says. “It’s my parents. They’re hiking the southern part of the Pacific Crest Trail, and they rarely have cell service.”
Ravi nods. “I’ll see you Tuesday.”
He slips on his shoes and jacket as she answers to a chorus of “Hiiii, Ellie!” that even he can hear. He’s already in the hall, the door slowly closing, when he catches her response.
“Hi, Dad! Hi, Pops! I missed you guys,” she says, and the door clicks shut behind him.
Ravi stops where he stands, his pulse thundering in his ears, every thump of his heart sayingElle.
