Page 89 of She will Always be Mine

The loud ringing tone inside my car cuts through my fantasies and when I see it’s my mom, it’s like a cold shower minus the water. Connecting to the Bluetooth of my car, I pick up her call.

“Mom,” I say.

“Hi,beta,” she greets, then asks, “Are you busy?”

“I have time. Is everything okay?”

“Of course. How did it go with Nyra?” I hear the excitement in her voice. “Was she happy to see you?”

Shocked, scared, breathless, but beneath all of it, I also saw relief, yearning, and love. While her pretty mouth pushed me away, the truth was in her eyes… She was more than happy to see me.

It was in the way her breath hitched every time I touched her and the way she fell asleep curled up in my arms and stayed pressed up against me till the morning.

I know this because all night long, I watched her like I was afraid she might disappear if I closed my eyes. It was early dawn when I finally fell asleep and woke up when my second alarm went off.

“It was perfect, Ma,” I finally reply with a grin on my face. “But Auntie Sara is still against us and her dad is clueless. Not to worry, though. Once I convince Nyra we can still be together, I'll talk to her parents.”

If my mom can agree, I have to believe I can get her parents’ blessing too.

“Let me talk to them. You’ll have a better chance then.”

“I appreciate your offer, Ma, but it’ll be better if Nyra and I do it together.” I try to let her down easy and before she gets any ideas, I request of her, “And please do nothing behind my back, okay?”

“Okay, fine,” she says with a sigh.

“Thank you. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Wait… Come for dinner this weekend and bring Nyra. It’ll be nice for you both.”

“We’re both busy this weekend. How about the next one?”

“Sure. I’ll be waiting,” she says softly. “Bye,beta.”

I hang up and drive faster while knowing Nyra will not so easily agree to the dinner. It will be nice for her to be around someone who won’t treat her the way her mom did.

Maybe it will be a chance for me to show her the future we can have if she trusts me.

Half an hour later, I’m at the college and walking down the hallway to the dean’s office while students rush past me in a hurry.

I think of all the trouble I went through when I was their age and often came to this campus for basketball tournaments. They were the best days of my life and I made sure to live them to the fullest.

The dean’s assistant informs me that the dean is waiting for me and I waste no time entering the office. He stands up and rounds the desk when I approach him. Older than my father’s age, he’s still in very good shape, his face sharp and strict.

“Mr. Ahuja. It’s good to see you.” He greets me and we shake hands. “I hope the preparations are going well.”

“Everything is running smoothly,” I reassure him, then sit across his desk. “Just some security-related details I want to go over.”

The rest of the meeting goes by perfectly but I’m more eager for the next one which will be much more fun and entertaining. I just want to capture the look on Nyra’s face when she sees me.

“I also wanted to discuss one more thing,” I say to the dean. “I have chosen one volunteer from the management team to work with me closely. Think of her as a liaison between my team and the volunteers. I hope that is all right with you.”

“Of course. As long as it doesn't interfere with her studies.”

“I’ll make sure it doesn’t.” I smile politely as I answer.

He walks me to the door and after shaking his hand one last time, I make my way out and check the time on my watch. I still have a few more minutes until she’s here.

I ask the assistant to point me toward one of the empty classrooms to wait and to let Nyra know to find me there.

---