by Leah Kay
Nathan and Isha nod hello to each other, and together they walk towards the campus. Strolling down Locust Walk, Isha informs Lily of Penn’s history and traditions and learns more about her interests. Lily is considering biomed, which comes as no surprise to Isha that she wants to follow in her dad’s footsteps. She also closely resembles Nathan; their mannerisms, sense of humor and drive are identical. Lily asks several questions throughout the tour and slips in a few personal questions to learn more about Isha in the process.
Seeing them together engrossed in a conversation, Nathan feels quite pleased with himself. He was certain they would get along, except an hour into the tour both of them join forces and are bonding at his expense. Pretending to be bothered by their mutual attack on him, he gives them space to get to know each other. Isha excuses herself and makes a quick phone call before joining them.
“Lily, this is completely last minute. But I was able to get you in for a class visit for Intro to Bioengineering. If you are interested, I can introduce you to the professor, and you can actually sit in a class,” Isha asks to see if this is something Lily would like to do.
Lily’s eyes grow wide listening to Isha’s offer. “Are you serious?”
Smiling at her excitement, she tells her, “I wouldn’t lie to you.”
Throwing herself at her, Lily can barely control her excitement. “Thank you! That would be awesome!”
Isha walks over to the Towne Building, taking Lily along with her to meet the professor. Seeing that he is finishing a conversation with a student, Isha steps in to say hello and is instantly recognized by him. Professor Goodman is delighted to see Isha, and they reminisce about her days on campus. Isha makes an impressive introduction of Lily, showcasing her as highly outspoken, a bright talent that belongs at Penn. With a strong vote of confidence from Isha, Professor Goodman accompanies Lily into his class. Mouthing thank you to Isha, Lily anxiously follows the professor to her first ever college class at an Ivy League university.
Isha turns around to see Nathan standing in the corner watching her do what she does best. It didn’t even occur to him to set up a class visit for Lily. Isha is incredibly perceptive of people’s wants and needs. The astonished look on Lily’s face fills his heart with immense joy and to know that Isha is at the heart of it makes him adore her even more.
Isha walks towards Nathan to join him. “We have an hour to kill, want to grab a bite?”
Leaning against the wall, with his head tilted to one side, he says, “I adore you,” holding his gaze to hers. She feels a sense of warmth looking into his eyes, forgetting all about being just a friend to him. She grabs his hand and walks out to the courtyard without saying a word.. They spend the next hour enjoying crepes at the Pari Café Creperie in the Perelman Quad, and she takes him down memory lane and fills him in on her favorite moments on the campus. They make it back to the classroom to pick up Lily, who is beaming coming out of the room.
Isha hurries to her. “How was it?” she exclaims.
Holding onto Isha’s hand, Lily replies with genuine affection towards her, “It was the best experience I could have asked for. Thank you for doing this.”
Professor Goodman steps out a moment later. “Isha, you were right. She has potential.” He looks over at Lily. “I hope you are considering Penn. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me.”
As he exits the building, Lily stares at her dad with her mouth wide open. “Dad, did you hear that?”
Laughing at her excitement, he says, “I did, Lil,” and looks over at Isha. “Looks like somebody is interested in Penn.”
“That’s exciting!” Isha exclaims.
Looking at Isha, Lily asks meekly. “Would you mind if I reached out to you with a few questions? I promise I won’t bother you too much.”
Wrapping her arm around Lily’s shoulder, Isha replies, “You can write to me as much as you would like. Besides, I am on the alumni interview panel, and I can prep you as well.”
Not having considered an Ivy League university in her future, Lily’s squeals with excitement at the possibility. “This is the best day ever!”
After exchanging contact information with each other, Isha wishes her a good rest of the trip and heads back to work. As she gets in a cab, her phone lights up with a message from Nathan. “Thank you for everything.”
And he checks off another fear off his list.
Friday evening, Claire does her best to stall Isha from going home directly and insists on having birthday drinks with her first. She follows her home with the pretense of borrowing one of Isha’s dresses for her date night with Molly tomorrow. At 6:03 p.m., Isha walks in to a huge crowd screaming in unison, “Happy Birthday!” in her living room. She is completely taken by surprise and notices Liam standing at the front of the crowd, holding a red velvet cake with lit candles on it.
Isha hurries to Liam, planting a kiss on his lips and before she can blow out the candles her friends ask her to make a wish. Isha closes her eyes and the first thing that flashes across her mind is Nathan and how she wishes he was here. Letting out a helpless sigh at her inability to keep Nathan off her mind, she blows out her candles. Surrounded by her friends, she cuts the cake and feeds the first slice to Liam. As Liam leans in for a meaty bite followed by a messy kiss on her cheek, Isha notices Nathan and Lily standing in the corner. She studies the surreal imagery of the situation while her heart hopelessly skips a beat at the sight of what may seem to be its favorite object. Liam turns the music back on and their friends mingle and enjoy their beverages. Isha walks up to Lily giving her a warm hug and thanks her for coming. Leaning closer to Nathan, Isha whispers to him, “This made my day and I don’t understand it.”
Breathing in her scent, he whispers, “Happy Birthday.” He takes in the sight of her helpless eyes and sympathizes with her. He has been privy to his unseemly feelings for her for quite some time now and he can tell that she has become aware of it herself. When he received a text message from Liam, inviting him and Lily to Isha’s birthday party, Nathan felt despicable for his actions and feelings towards another man’s wife, except he is slowly reaching a point where he can barely rein in his feelings for her.
Throughout the night, Lily notices a rhythm between her dad and Isha, they seem blissfully content in each other’s company. Having witnessed the tumultuous path her parents have been on for over a decade, she has long made a wish for them to be happy again, even it means going their separate ways. The concept of parents who stay together for the sake of their children has long appeared to be an unsubstantiated play to Lily. The life of a child is best developed when it’s woven through a fabric of positive relationships, helping them form a strong foundation to build their lives upon. Being forced to live amongst obligatory relationships defies the purpose of the sacrifice made by the parents in the first place. Although she doesn’t want to admit it, Lily is jaded by her parents’ marriage and has long vowed to break the pattern when it’s her turn. When her dad moved away, she hoped for a miracle but deep down she knew they would be happier without each other. And tonight she feels hopeful seeing her dad with Isha. But, she can’t fight her judgment towards her dad for falling for a married woman. Her dad is a man of character and strong principles whose life of accomplishments and acts of tenacity have been a guiding light for her. However, she finds it unsettling watching her dad behave out of character with Isha for a desperate chance at happiness once again in his life. As a loving daughter, she wishes nothing more than happiness for him and her mom, but as a piece of her dad’s conscience, she cannot accept his actions impacting another marriage. She can tell Isha is into her dad and hopes she also takes an honest route and doesn’t hurt those who deserve it the least.
Towards the end of the night, Lily grabs Isha and pulls her to one side. “My dad and I brought you a present, is it okay if I give it to you now?”
“You didn’t have to, Lily, but
yes, I would love to take it now.”
Lily hurries to the coffee table where she left it and runs back to Isha with a beautifully wrapped gift in her hand. Isha unwraps it carefully and gasps at the sight of a Chinese lantern underneath the wrapping paper. Pulling Lily in close, she says, “Thank you! These are my favorite.” Isha hugs Lily and looks over at Nathan with an ear-to-ear grin.
Noticing that the party has slowly moved to the back patio where Liam is enjoying the night with a few friends of his, Isha excuses herself from the winding down crowd in the living room and takes Lily to the rooftop. Nathan follows them.
And together they light the lantern and release it into the sky, watching it billow away. She looks over and notices Nathan standing at the entrance to the rooftop watching them together. Suddenly, he feels as though a veil of darkness has been lifted and things appear crystal clear. I am going to tell her.
Making their way downstairs, Nathan asks Lily to go ahead and stops Isha at the entrance to the rooftop.
Grinning with excitement at his newly attained clarity, he asks, “Have coffee with me tomorrow?” with a shaky voice, feeling her hand tremble in his.
Holding his hand tightly, her eyes blink away tears. “I am scared…”
Letting out a shaky breath, he replies, “Me too, but I need to tell you something. Please hear me out Isha. See you at nine a.m.”
Watching them rejoin the party, Liam is taken aback by their closeness. He continues to notice their rhythm for the rest of the night and is confused by it. Since college, Isha has never been into anyone but him and he finds her response to Nathan baffling. He vehemently denies the idea that there could be something between them. Finding himself in strange territory for the first time, he observes Nathan for a moment and sees just an old married man with a kid who has no business threatening Liam. Nonetheless, their chemistry sits disturbingly in his thoughts for the rest of the night.
Leaving their house, Nathan and Lily take a stroll through the tree-lined streets back home. Lily is unusually calm and Nathan worries if the party was tiring.
“Are you tired Lily?” He wraps his arm around her shoulders.
Clutching to his arm over her shoulder, she gazes into his eyes. “Dad… She is married.”
Her judgment cuts through his excitement for tomorrow. “Lily… I am sorry.” He stops and faces her.
“I did not plan for this, Lily. Please believe me.” His eyes glisten with tears for disappointing his daughter.
“Please make it right, Dad. I can’t be in a world where my only moral compass points south. Mom and Liam deserve that respect from you and I’d like to believe my dad is better than this.” Her words leave him in gut-wrenching pain for letting her down. Promising her to do the right thing moving forward, he begs for her forgiveness.
Having the home to themselves after saying goodbye to the last guest, Liam changes the music to slow tunes while Isha clears the kitchen island. Liam walks over to her, wrapping his arm around her waist, and pulls her close to him.
Shoving her face into his strong chest, she kisses his neck. “Thank you for tonight.”
“I love you Isha.” He spins her around.
“I love you,” she replies, going back to leaning on his chest.
“Do you have something you would like to share with me?” he asks, lifting her chin up to meet her eyes.
His words knock the wind out of her sails and she stutters, “What do you mean?”
“Is something going on with you and Nathan?” he asks her point-blank.
Blood drains from her face and she tries to come loose from his arms, but he holds her in strongly.
“You are being silly.” She brushes it off, looking away from him, trying to gain her composure.
“I saw something between the two of you tonight. If you tell me it’s friendship, I will believe you, but please don’t lie to me.” His words shoot like a straight arrow.
“He has become a very good friend to me this year and I care for him tremendously.” She chooses her words carefully. “There is a connection I share with him that has startled me as well at times. But over time I have come to the realization that it is just a close bond between two people who care a great deal about each other.” Isha lets him in on the only truth that she herself is aware of at the moment.
“Should I be worried about this connection coming between us?” Liam’s anxiety slows down its pace.
“Never.” Isha meets his eye and caresses his cheek gently.
Waiting for her words to calm his former anxiety, he drops his head on to her shoulders. “I am sorry if I offended you. For a moment I thought I was losing you and I couldn’t bear the thought of it.”
Kissing his ear, she says, “You are not going to lose me,” and prays for this chapter with Nathan to be over.
Next morning, the barista calls out an order of coffee and chai and Isha, dressed in an ivory knit sweater with jeans, walks over to pick it up. Nathan takes a seat at the lonely table in the alcove towards the rear of the coffee shop, giving them some privacy from the others. Thoughts of their impending conversation have kept him up all night. He is determined to follow his heart and fight for his happiness. Watching her walk towards him, he has never felt so sure about anything else for a very long time. She is his and he is hers.
Isha tossed and turned all night in anticipation of this conversation with Nathan. Liam’s confrontation brought a necessary realness to her issue at hand, making her feel exposed. She never stopped loving Liam but a part of her belongs to Nathan and no matter how hard she tries she can’t seem to take it back. She is oblivious to Nathan’s plans for them and feels like an autopilot has taken control of her life and she is merely existing through the motions of it. She desperately seeks resolution to this story between them that can rid her of this painful guilt burning through her body.
With tired yet eager eyes, she takes a seat across from him. “Morning.”
“You look beautiful.” He smiles warmly, looking into her eyes. She gives him a weak smile as her heartbeat picks up pace.
Seeing that she is nervous, he reaches across the table and holds her hand. “I am scared too but I need you to let me finish what I have to say…” He clears his throat and straightens in his chair.
Holding her hand between his, he continues. “I am in love with you, Isha I have been for quite some time. Before I met you, I was a wrecked man fleeting through life, wondering if happiness is a myth. My only purpose in life was to be a good father to Lily. And then you came along spilling light into my hopelessly dark world and secured a residence in my heart without even asking me. I caught myself smiling more, and your company made me hopeful that everything is not lost after all. My haunted memories and regrets were being replaced with a wish for a life with you. Throughout my life, my principles formed foundational building blocks to my character and I have taken a devastating hit to my conscience by falling for a married woman. I am ready to make this right. Isha, I will be the best partner you deserve and if you can find it in your heart to give me a chance, I promise to never let you down.” His voice trembles with hopeful excitement.
Isha’s throat tightens listening to his words while an aching pain takes over her heart. Her life hasn’t been the same since the dream. Her worst fear has come true, and the stranger from her dream has now become an inseparable part of her. Her best efforts to circumvent a disaster have led her straight to the eye of the storm, reminding her constantly of the mayhem yet to ensue. As her connection with Nathan has grown, her resentment towards herself and the overwhelming guilt that followed each time she saw Liam have left Isha in a continuous state of uneasiness. In less than a year, Nathan has made an irreversible impact on her and she forces herself to evaluate her choices and feels sick at the very thought of deceiving Liam.
Squeezing his hands for support, she responds to him truthfully. “Nathan, y
ou have become a very important part of me this year and even to this day I can’t comprehend how it all happened so quickly. It makes me happy to know that I am able to erase some old wounds caused by someone who promised to be by your side throughout your life. But the one to whom I made the promise of a lifetime did not hurt me or give me a reason to leave him. I cannot label my feelings for you but the thought of betraying Liam is destroying me.”
A part of him is happy to see that she didn’t deny him completely. Fully recognizing her agony, he replies with conviction. “I understand this is a lot for you to process and I am not asking you for an answer today. Liam is a good guy but you deserve so much more than him. I know what it feels like to not have a partner in life and to be the grown up every single day. I will be a solid partner to you, Isha, grow with you, learn with you and build a home with you. Please take some time because, deep down, I know this is real between us. And if I even remotely stand a chance, I will crawl through broken glass for you and cherish you every single day for the rest of my life.”
Her heart melts listening to the depth of his feelings for her. But the thought of breaking Liam’s heart, a man who has loved her unconditionally, a man she has no reason to leave except she has unexpectedly, despite her best attempts to avert it, developed feelings for someone else… Whether it will last or if she will make the biggest mistake of her life, only time will tell, except she is not ready to turn her world upside down, not yet. She needs time, to either start a new chapter or destroy her world.
Taking a deep breath, she pleads with him. “I need more time…”
Holding on to her hand snug between his, he answers with blatant confidence she wishes she possessed. “As long as you need…”
With the holiday season around the corner, she promises to give him an answer in Ireland during their last leg of the implementation tour, scheduled in less than six weeks. Until then, she requests space to help her make the decision. He obliges immediately and suggests staying a day longer in Ireland after the workshop to either let him down gently or make him the happiest man on Earth.
