Page 16 of Someone I Chose

Again, Jay got between them. “Sir, I do acknowledge Neha is your daughter. But she is my wife now and I will not have her spoken to like this.”

Before Neha knew what to make of a declaration like that, her father charged at Jay like a bull, headfirst to the gut. Jay warded him off and tried to get hold of him, but Neha’s father slipped away, only to charge again.

Neha and her mother both yelled and tried to hold her father back, but other than adding to the noise and chaos achieved nothing. From outside, Neha heard tires screeching and right after, a young man rushed in. He pulled Neha’s father to the side. For a moment, it seemed like the situation was under control, but then the complexion of Neha’s father suddenly changed to gray, and he clutched his shirt in the front.

Jay said, “Heart attack.” He switched to a very calm, self-confident demeanor. “Call nine-one-one,” he told his friend and reassured Neha’s father. He made him sit on the floor, with his back propped up against the wall, and helped him open the buttons of his shirt and his belt.

“Why you?” Neha’s mother asked. “Why is it you who has to help? He just hit you.”

“I’m okay,” Jay asked and felt for the pulse.

Her mother scoffed and said, “Of course you are. But are you truly willing to help my husband?”

Jay stepped back. “Drake, would you please…”

So the stranger was Drake. Neha felt stupid for not having met her husband’s best friend before. Said friend ended the phone call, leaned on the wall, and smirked. “Me? Nah, I’m only good at putting people to sleep. You’re the cardiologist.”

“For crying out loud, help me,” Neha’s father wheezed, and Jay recommenced his examinations.

Soon after, the ambulance arrived, and Neha’s father was put into it in a very short time. As Jay was on call anyhow, he rode in the ambulance. Drake offered to take Neha and her mother to the hospital.

On the short ride there, Neha’s mother griped. She was scared for her husband’s life and started blaming Neha. “None of this would have happened if you were a better daughter.”

“I am not your property for you to give away. I have any right to choose where to live, so don’t even dare to tell me I’m to blame.”

That sounded about right. But was it? A nagging doubt settled in the back of Neha’s mind. Could she have averted the situation? The heart attack?

CHAPTER TWELVE

“Here you are.” Vivian set two more beers in front of them. The glance she shot at Jay’s jaw was not as surreptitious as she might have hoped. She was the owner of Black Crow Brewing and on busy nights, she took on the role of the barkeep herself. The way she now kept staring at him made Jay consider never to be back. His father-in-law had quite the punch—Jay’s jaw had been black for a few days and now slowly turned a vibrant purple. People kept taking double-takes at seeing it. He even had been asked to take time off until he looked “trustworthy again,” as the HR admin had put it. And not only did it look bad, it hurt more than he was comfortable admitting, too.

He told Vivian to keep the beers coming. Drake waved his hands, but Jay insisted. Getting drunk was a good idea. This was the first time he had Drake to himself, and he wanted to bask in his friend’s compassion and consolation. Drake listened to him rambling about what had happened. At least someone did him right.

“As soon as her father was deemed fit to fly, they were off. Nobody even asked me. But what would I know? I’m just the cardiologist.” Jay took another big gulp of beer and wiped his mouth. He flinched as he had been too rough on his jaw. “The house is so empty. And every time I pass that stupid syringa tree, I could cry. She tried to make this her home. And then?”

He looked at Drake, demanding an answer. When his friend remained silent, he continued, “And then she left me.” He let his hand land heavily on the table. “Ouch,” he cried out and rubbed his palm with the other hand. “Now my hand hurts. That’s not fair.” He got into Drake’s face. “Isn’t it enough that my heart hurts? Eh?” He tried to empty his glass in one big gulp, but there was a bit too much in it and beer ran down his cheek. He wiped at it impatiently. “And I wanted to commiserate with my brother, and he has gone to Vegas. What for? He doesn’t even gamble anymore.” His speech was not only slurry now, but it had also become whiny, too. “I didn’t even get a chance to see her duckies!”

Vivian and Drake exchanged a look that Jay could not interpret. They helped him up. “Nuh uh, I want another beer,” he protested, but they pushed him towards the door. He yielded and fumbled for his car keys. Vivian snatched them and ordered Drake to take him home. “No!” Jay wailed.

Vivian shot him a mean glance that shut him right up. Under her breath, she muttered, “Wallowing in self-pity.”

Drake helped him into the truck—and that was the last thing Jay remembered about that night.

The following morning, he awoke to birds chirping. On his nightstand, he found a large glass of water and some ibuprofen, together with a note from Drake. “Your truck is at the Black Crow. Keys with Vivian. I’m on duty until tomorrow. PS: You are a whiny drunk.”

Jay made himself a breakfast of scrambled eggs with pickles, his go-to hangover breakfast. And coffee, lots of coffee. Not only was his head clouded with confusion and hurt, but now a hammering headache had taken possession of it, too. He decided to go for a hike—the fresh air and the exercise would do him good. As he opened the front door, he almost stepped into a casserole. Somebody made him mac and cheese. He lifted the cling foil and sniffed at the dish. Even in his state of hangover, it smelled enticing, and he looked forward to dinner. Who would have done this for him? Not Mrs. Brennerman for sure?

He chose the long, steep route that led through the firs and ended in a big clearing that allowed him to see into the distance. He hated the funk he was in and tried anything to get it out of his system. But no matter what he did, he never stopped missing Neha—not for a single step.

When he stepped out into the clearing, he was exhausted and sat on a boulder. He chugged greedily from his canteen. This high up, he had a spectacular view of the mountains that seemed to stretch endlessly. He heard some rustling, and a handful of pebbles rolled downhill not too far from him. As he turned slowly to not scare off whatever there was, he first saw nothing but rocks of various sizes and patches of grass. But, just as he was about to turn his head back, there was movement. A single marmot scratched at the ground. Having grown up in the mountains, Jay knew marmots were gregarious and lived in groups. He always had to smile at that, as a group of marmots was called a “madness.” Who came up with names like that? Patiently, he scanned the rocky terrain and soon noticed more of the small mammals. Suddenly, there was a loud whistle, and the marmots scattered away. An eagle flew low over the clearing, drawing circles majestically.

Seeing the eagle, Jay remembered the wonder in Neha’s eyes when she had watched one for the first time. And he realized he had not thought of her for a while, not since walking into the clearing. Relief flooded through him and warred with his longing. So it was possible to not think of her—he did not have to be miserable until the end of time. Almost instantly, a great clarity came over him. Last night, Vivian had mumbled something about self-pity. She had been right. All this time he had been gloomy about himself— his heartache, his hurt, his loneliness… He had considered Neha to be the one who had left him. But had she? Maybe her parents had forced her, or at least coerced her? Was she safe with them?

Jay felt childish and self-centered but pushed those emotions aside. He would go to check on Neha and not leave until he was certain she was right where she wanted to be. He hurried down the mountain as fast as the terrain allowed. As soon as he got cell reception, he booked a flight from Denver and called his brother to get a lift into town. But Kevin rejected the call, just as he had done with the last few. Jay called Marcus Gray instead and soon was on his way to the Denver airport.

* * *

Neha returned to her parents’ home alone.