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“And their father?” she presses. “You mentioned that the two of you had a conversation in Pakistan.”
I tilt my head to the side. “That’s the one thing that’s still sort of strained. But...” My lips curl up at the corner. “They had a sit-down a couple of weeks after they got back from Pakistan. It looks like things might be on the mend for them.” I cross my arms over my chest. “It’s rocky, and it’s not perfect, but if this trip has taught me anything, it’s that nothing in life is perfect, no matter how you try to frame the world. But sometimes you find friends in places you would never guess, and sometimes you have great family members, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll meet an important person in the way you least expected.”
She shakes her head in awe. “That all seems like such a wild coincidence.”
“But that’s the thing, Dr. Khan. Maybe...maybe it wasn’t a coincidence. Maybe it was fate.” At her inviting stare, I keep going. “I mean, my whole life I’ve lived as if I was cursed with bad luck. No matter what I did, it seemed like bad things kept happening to me. I thought that sitting next to Sarfaraz on the plane was bad luck. I thought that my plane having to make an emergency landing in Switzerland was even worse luck. And then when I thought things couldn’t get worse, my future brother-in-law ended up being the guy that I kissed earlier that day.” I tilt my head. “But maybe that wasn’t bad stuff. Maybe it was what I needed to wake up and realize that...bad things kept happening to me because I let them happen. I wallowed in the terrible things and didn’t stop to realize that I had so many good things in my life. It also made me realize that I always assume the worst.” I lean back. “Maybe this has always been God’s plan for me.”
Dr. Khan smirks. “Now where was this Maya in our previous sessions?”
I snort. “She was trying to stay small so that nothing around her could change,” I say. “She tried to reset her life by pretending to be someone she wasn’t, and when it didn’t work, she decided to stay the way she’d always been.”
“But then—” Dr. Khan starts, crossing one leg over the other “—that never works, does it? Because as humans, we always grow. Things can never stay the same, and that’s not a bad thing. We can’t be afraid of it.”
“No,” I agree. “It’s not a bad thing. I’m growing, yes, but I’m not going to be afraid of it. I’m going to continue to grow as the person that I am, not someone I’m not.”
“Okay.” Dr. Khan claps her hands. “Tell me something you’ve done to help you grow.”
“Well, do you remember my coworker Anaïs?” I ask, and at her nod, I continue. “I asked her to dinner when we got back to work. It started out as a meeting to discuss the plans for the new school year, but we kind of talked about everything. I mean, we’ve been working together for two years now, but we barely knew anything about each other.” I tap my fingers on my lap. “I’m starting small, but it’s a good place for me. Maybe soon I’ll be ready to really talk to some of the other teachers at the school, but for now I’m comfortable with Anaïs.”
“Wow,” Dr. Khan breathes. She points to me. “This is a moment that therapists wait for. To see their patients really start to flourish, no matter how long it takes.” She leans forward. “I think this is the start of a beautiful life for you, Maya.”
I grin. “I do, too.”
She sits up. “Now, tell me about—”
The blaring of the alarm on her phone cuts her off. Dr. Khan practically pouts. “Our session is over already?”
“Well, I did come in late,” I remind her. I grab my bag from the floor. “I promise, next time I come, I’ll be on time. I have to get going, though—there’s something wrong with my car, so Sarfaraz is picking me up.”
“Sarfaraz?” Dr. Khan repeats. She peeks over my shoulder. “He’s here?”
“He is,” I confirm. “He told me to call him when I need to be picked up, but I bet you anything he’s sitting in the waiting room.”
“How do you know?”
My face lights up. “I just do.”
I grab my jacket from the coat rack. As I slip it on, I say, “Same time next week?”
“You got it.”
I give her a wave, then open the door and step into the waiting room. I shut the door behind me and scan the faces until I find the one I’m looking for. When I do, my smile grows.
Sarfaraz sits off in the corner, as I expected. He balances his iPad on his lap, and his concentration scrunches his forehead as he reads. He looks up when he hears my approaching footsteps, though, and he brightens at the sight of me. “Hey.” He checks the time on his phone. “I didn’t realize your session would end so soon.”
“Us being late cut into my time,” I explain. He opens his mouth, but I wave him off. “It’s not your fault. It’s my car’s. But what can you do? I guess I should get the oil checked more often.”
I wait for a response from Sarfaraz, but when he stares at me, I tilt my head. “What?”
“Nothing,” he says. “I was just waiting for you to blame your curse.”
I playfully hit his arm. “Ha ha,” I fake laugh. “Joke’s on you. I’m not blaming my curse, because I’m not cursed.” I shrug. “I’m someone with lots of bad luck, but who is working on her attitude toward it.”
Sarfaraz grins. “I’m really liking this new calmer Maya.” He puts his iPad away in his briefcase. “Maybe she’ll let me pick the movie we watch tonight.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t count on it,” I tease.
He mock-sighs, then stands up. His hand automatically finds mine, and my chest swells as our fingers entwine. “Ready to go?”
