Time to Say Goodbye (Michigan Sweet Romance)

by Parker J Cole

  Later that day, as she sat at the computer while doing her research, the phone rang. No one ever called her besides her papa and Miguel. Surprised, she took a quick glance at it and then stilled. A familiar number appeared. One she hadn’t seen in a long time.

  She bit her lip, her gaze mesmerized by the flashing icon. Should she ignore the call, or go ahead and take a chance?

  “Silly girl,” she spoke out loud, and swiped the phone to answer. Before she could open her mouth in greeting, a tentative voice spoke first.

  “Hello, Gargi.”

  Gargi’s fingers tapped the edge of the keyboard “Hi, Savannah.”

  What else could she say to the woman who had been a good friend until she felt she couldn’t be anymore?

  “I’m glad you picked up the phone.” Savannah’s voice contained a note of breathlessness. Was she just as nervous as Gargi? “I thought you wouldn’t answer. I longed to call you so many times but wasn’t sure if you would have spoken to me.”

  Gargi’s fingers contracted on the phone. “I wasn’t sure if I should speak to you, either.”

  Savannah sighed. “That’s fair for both of us.”

  The silence hung between them. Would this edginess continue? Gargi hoped it wouldn’t last. Unlike the other people who left Dev and the rest of the family high and dry when scandal fragmented their lives, Savannah Wood’s friendship remained firm.

  Until the evidence against Dev appeared irrefutable, and Savannah believed the lies. The last argument they’d had played in her mind. The bonds of friendship unraveled by ugly, hurtful words.

  Four years had passed since then.

  “I called to say hello. To see how you were doing.”

  A knot of tension eased. No apology, but Gargi didn’t expect one. Savannah’s overture was more than enough. “I could be better, Savvy,” she answered, using the nickname everyone called her.

  “Tell me what’s happened.”

  The events of the past month flowed out of her mouth like a waterfall. Along with the retelling of events came a release of a burden she hadn’t been aware she carried around. Her shoulders relaxed and she twirled her hair around her finger.

  “Oh my, Gargi. How awful for you! You’ve been through a lot! Are you okay? What do you need from me?”

  Gargi’s vision blurred with unshed tears. “This is what I needed, Savvy.” It was nothing but the truth. A chance to talk to someone about her woes. Although Savannah still believed her brother guilty, there was no ill will behind her conviction. “I needed your friendship. That’s all.”

  “I’m so sorry for not talking to you this long.” Savannah’s voice wavered. “I’ve had my own struggles since we last talked.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do you remember my sister, Fiona and my brother-in-law, Bart?”

  A vague memory of a couple formed in her mind. A giant, dark man with a pale, tiny woman leaning into his strength. Bart reminded her of Leon as both men had the same wide girth.

  “I remember.”

  “They passed away. They were killed by a drunk driver.”

  “Oh no!” Her hand drifted to her throat in instant sympathy. The hazy figure of her mother tried to materialize but with a vicious shake of her head, she squelched it

  Savannah’s tale of sadness catapulted Gargi from her own problems for the first time in a long while. This is what she’d missed—the sharing of sorrow and happiness. The companionship of friends.

  When Savannah finished her story, Gargi let loose a sigh. “We’ve both been through the ringer, haven’t we?”

  “You can say that again. Through it all, I’ve learned not to be so hard on people like I was with Dev. I should have been there for you regardless, and I wasn’t. I hope you can forgive me.”

  “Shut up,” Gargi answered in a hard voice, but she tried to muffle the mirth that almost bubbled out.

  Savannah’s voice grew wary. “What did you say?”

  “Shut up,” Gargi repeated. “You had me at hello.”

  A short, pregnant pause hung between them. Then, at the same time, she and Savannah laughed out loud.

  “Oh, Gargi, how I’ve missed you. You and your movie one-liners.”

  She laughed even louder. The sound of her own merriment settled around her like a blessing. How long had it been since she’d succumbed to humor? Gargi searched her memory and came back empty. Life had been an exercise focused on the Kapoor pride and the search for a way to free her brother.

  When was the last time she’d seen a movie at the theater? Or watched the old movies she loved? Everything had revolved around Dev for the past few years she’d forgotten about her own needs.

  “I’m glad you called, Savvy.”

  “I am, too. I won’t be a stranger again. I promise. I do hope things work out for Dev.”

  Gargi’s throat tightened. “Thanks, Savvy. I gotta go, but please call me again.”

  “Where do you live?”

  Gargi leaned back in the chair. “I’m staying in Tawas right now for the duration.”

  Savannah coughed on the phone. “Are you serious? You’re in Tawas?”

  “Is there something wrong with that?”

  “Of course not! I’m staying in Tawas, too. I forgot to mention I’ve moved back here.”

  Gargi sat up straight. “Do you mean…? I can see you?”

  “Yes, oh yes! We’ll work it out somehow, because I know you have to take care of Dev, but I’d love to see you again.”

  “You’ve got my number. We’ll make a date.”

  The call ended and Gargi sat there in the midmorning sun. Though tears trickled from her eyes, for the first time in a long while they were happy tears. She laughed for the sheer joy of laughing. Soon, she’d be able to see her dear friend again. Drying her eyes with an impatient hand, she clicked on the next link of articles in search for the missing piece sure to lead her to her brother’s freedom.

  The sound of Gargi’s laughter drifted down the stairs. Leon paused in his ministrations of Kapoor and tilted his ears. In the time they’d known each other, he hadn’t heard her laugh before. She seemed limited to glares and standoffish signals.

  “I haven’t heard my sister laugh in a long time.”

  Leon blinked. Without being aware of it, he’d stopped the massage on Kapoor’s legs. Surprised the sound of her laughter could do that to him, he started back up again. Just another thirty minutes or so, and he could escape this place that constantly left him in emotional tangles.

  “She’s got a great laugh, doesn’t she?”

  Silently Leon agreed. The high-pitched tones resembled the tinkling of bells.

  “I wouldn’t know,” he decided to say instead.

  “Well, she does, you know. I’ve forgotten how much I appreciate it. She reminds me of a child swaying on a swing. Completely unabandoned and enjoying herself.”

  Leon didn’t say anything. The image Kapoor’s words brought to mind arrested him. He imagined Gargi’s smile as she swayed on a swing under a giant, widespread tree. Her long black hair flowing behind her on the wind. Her chuckles riding on gusts of wind like feathers.

  “Leon?”

  He jerked. “Yes?”

  “Did you hear what I said?”

  He’d forgotten the man was even there he was so caught up in the fantasy. “No, I’m sorry. What did you say?”

  “I asked if you have any sisters or brothers.”

  “Oh.” Leon dug his fingers into Kapoor’s calves. “No, I don’t. My mother had complications from my birth, so she and my father were unable to have any more children.”

  “Really? Sorry to hear that.”

  Leon sighed. “Me, too. I didn’t find out about it till years later. When I did, I felt guilty.”

  Kapoor grunted. “I don’t understand why you would feel guilty.”

  Leon compressed his lip together. After all, why would he open up to this swindler who had no clue what guilt meant? Plus, how could he make anyone understa
nd the feeling? It wasn’t logical, but it was the truth. His birth ceased the birth of any brothers or sisters he could have had.

  Was it God’s will? He didn’t know.

  Though he grew up in a trailer park, he’d grown up in a close-knit community. Yeah, some of the folks he knew thought a sign of affection involved drinking their love interest’s bathwater. Others, as his daddy would say from time to time, couldn’t help being ugly, but they should have had the common decency not to wander about in the daytime.

  Then there was the ignorance and the racism, which he knew plenty about. His mother and father, despite their lack, made sure to send him to college when a tenth-grade education would have done nicely for most folks.

  “Awfully quiet there, Leon.”

  He exhaled and gathered himself together with a roll of his shoulders. “I don’t have much to say.”

  “You still believe me guilty. Is that why you stopped talking to me?”

  “I stopped talking because I don’t have anything else to say.”

  It was more than that, though. Something mounted within him the longer he continued to work in this house. Every time Gargi entered the room, his body tensed in reaction. He knew he wasn’t attracted to her, but there was something about her that drew his attention. Was it a man’s predisposition to notice a beautiful woman?

  But he’d seen and worked with lovely women before. They hadn’t affected him like this at all. What coursed through him whenever he saw Gargi had less to do with her looks and more to do with the feelings she aroused. They whirled around inside like debris caught up in a tornado.

  Disdain for her gullibility of Kapoor’s innocence despite evidence to the contrary. Respect for the defense of her brother. Amusement for her bite-sized ferocity which always made him think of Bugsy. Then there was something else. A misty element mixed in with the awareness of her.

  “For what it’s worth, Leon. I didn’t take your mother’s money.”

  Leon stilled. “I do believe we made a decision to not discuss this anymore. I’m only here to help you get well.”

  Though Kapoor’s head was turned away, his voice carried clear. “I’m completely at your mercy, Leon. I have nothing substantial to gain by lying to you.”

  “I have nothing to gain by listening to your lies, either. Let’s just drop the subject.”

  “Look, Leon, like I told everyone else, there were others involved in this scheme. I was simply the dummy who got left holding the smoking gun. I liked Alma. When she entrusted me with her funds, I took the responsibility to help her quite seriously.”

  Leon felt his control slipping. His gritted though his teeth, “I’m going to tell you this only once. Don’t speak my mother’s name in front of me. Do I make myself clear?”

  “I meant no disrespect.”

  Leon lifted his hands from the man’s body. He was in danger of finding out if Kapoor really could feel his legs being broken. The words he’d locked in his mind but never spoke tumbled out.

  “Meant no disrespect? You have no idea what you did to my mother. You ruined her life. We’re not talking just upset her: you ruined her life.”

  “I didn’t—”

  “I’m not your sister or your father, Kapoor.” Leon walked to the side of the prone figure and stared down into the dark, sunken eyes. “I don’t believe your lies. I heard the wire taps during the trial. The prosecutor showed the false reports and statements you created.”

  “I know what it seemed like, but you have to believe me. I didn’t—”

  They had to stop talking about this. Now.

  “Enough, Kapoor.” Leon slashed his hand in the air as if they cut off the rest of what the liar would say. “You really need to shut it. I’m not going to tell you again.”

  Kapoor glared. “You’re only doing this because I’m paralyzed, aren’t you? If I were able to stand and walk, there’d be no way you’d talk to me like that.”

  A hot wave flushed Leon’s system. “You’re lucky you’re lying here helpless.” Leon’s voice dropped an octave as the memory of his mother’s tears overshadowed everything. “You made my mother cry. My mother! Be very glad there wasn’t anything I could do back then.”

  Kapoor let out a harsh breath. “Well, what about now? What about what’s happening right now?”

  “What are you referring to?”

  “This whole…farce you call therapy.”

  The anger dissipated as Leon’s face scrunched like a paper ball. “What are you talking about?”

  “This! These exercises and sessions. Why aren’t they working?”

  Leon took a step back. Until the moment Kapoor articulated the thought, his subconscious had pretty much been saying the same thing. Why hadn’t they seen any type of improvement with Kapoor?

  “Day in and out, for the last three weeks, you’ve been here, supposedly doing your job, and there’s nothing to show for it.”

  Was there truth to Kapoor’s claims?

  “I’m doing this job to the best of my ability,” Leon remarked in a deliberate tone. “Mr. Cresswell, the director of Sunstone Healthcare, definitely hopes you get better as soon as possible.”

  “Correction, Leon. Your boss is hungry for a fat contract with the state, while the state is keeping this little hiccup to themselves.”

  He froze. “How did you know?”

  Kapoor rolled his eyes. “I’m not stupid. A plus B equals C, Leon. It never changes.”

  The collar of his polo shirt choked his neck. Should he rebut it? After all, it was only the truth.

  “Regardless, I’m doing the best I can with your treatment. I can only assume the disease, even though treated with the antibiotics as noted in your file, must have had an effect on your immune system, which may be why you’re taking longer to recover.”

  “Then why aren’t I getting any better?” The question flew out of Kapoor’s mouth while his eyes leveled an accusing stare. “I’m starting to feel worse some days.”

  “Worse?” Despite his hostility, Leon’s scalp prickled. A chill doused his body. What did Kapoor mean by ‘worse’?

  “Despite being paralyzed, there’s a certain lethargy that comes over me. It makes the paralysis harder to deal with.”

  Leon threw his hands in the air. “Then why in the world didn’t—”

  “Because I’m a convict!” Kapoor spat out. “No one gives two cents about me. They believe I stole their money. Who cares?”

  His earlier memory of gratification at Kapoor’s illness leapt up in his mind. He recalled how it pleased him to see this worthless scum get his just desserts.

  “I hope you rot.” Those words echoed in his brain, and a thickness ballooned in his throat. Back then he’d felt no remorse for his desire for Kapoor’s suffering. But now, now…

  Kapoor’s health had been placed in his hands and, despite everything, he did want the man to get better so he could finish his sentence. It was his job to do what he could to make his patients well again. Yet, could his treatment be the cause of Kapoor’s decline?

  Leon contemplated at the floor. He had to fix this.

  He’d have to connect with the prison official and then Sunstone, and apprise them of the situation.

  “I’ll contact Dr. Manchester and—”

  Kapoor practically snarled, “Don’t you dare bring anyone else into this!”

  Leon glanced up to see the flash in Kapoor’s eyes. “Why not?”

  “Because Gargi has suffered enough. I refuse to let her worry any more than she has to.”

  “But—”

  “I’ll tell you this. Gargi almost replaced you, but my insistence kept you here. I thought the force of your dislike of me would be the catalyst to getting me well. It seems as if I miscalculated.”

  Leon backed away. “Keep your favors. I’ll leave right now, and your sister can find whatever yahoo she trips over to finish your treatment.”

  As soon as he uttered those words, he knew they were a lie. He didn’t want to not see G
argi again.

  What in the world does that mean? You don’t care about that woman!

  “You’re a liar, Leon.” The man’s dark eyes narrowed. “I know for a fact you’re attracted to my sister.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  An invisible fist slammed into the center of his chest. Leon’s lungs fought for air as Kapoor’s knowing gaze glued him to the floor.

  His voice squeaked like a little girl’s. “What?”

  “Don’t play dumb, Leon. I know you’re attracted to Gargi.”

  He splayed his fingers in a gesture of capitulation. “You’re dead wrong. I’m not interested in your sister.”

  “I’ve seen you watching her every time she comes near you. You can’t take your eyes off her.”

  Leon gave a shaky, little laugh. “That’s not true.”

  “I may be sick, but I’m not stupid.” A look of incredible irony crossed Kapoor’s features, while his mouth turned down at the corners. “Let’s just say I know something about it. At any rate, at the very least my sister is quite easy on the eyes.”

  The conversation had gotten out of hand. Leon didn’t know what to do or say. His mind had gone blank with shock.

  “Gargi and I are very close. There’s nothing she wouldn’t do for me, and I do my best to protect her. For some reason, she and I believe you’re the only person who can help me. It doesn’t make any sense whatsoever, but it’s the truth. Then, too, perhaps in her own way, she’s drawn to you. I don’t know.”

  Drawn to me? The idea seemed preposterous. No woman as…lovely as Gargi would ever give him the opportunity to make her happy.

  Make her happy? Where was this coming from? He barely knew the woman!

  But what I do know, I like.

  “I can’t tell her I’m not getting better.” Kapoor’s voice dragged him from his unwelcome deliberations. “The reason I’m telling you is because we have to work together to get me well. I can’t have her spend more money on me and not have anything to show for it.”

  Leon coughed. There was no way in the world he would respond to the man’s claim about the so-called attraction he had for Gargi, so he responded to what was important at the moment.