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“Abso—" Her words faltered as our eyes met. Her mouth opened, and then closed.
"Kisses," the girl, who I assumed was Luisa, insisted.
I couldn't stop looking at Isha. She kissed Luisa on both her cheeks, her nose, and then her lips.
A blonde woman walked into the foyer with a shopping bag in hand. "Hello, Rowan. So lovely to meet you." She held out her hand.
"This is my wife, Renata." Claudio's voice sounded like it came from far away.
I shook her hand, still in shock. Isha was here. Right here.
Isha straightened.
"Rowan, this is our lifesaver, Isha George."
She nodded at me. What the fuck was she doing here? And then I watched as the little girl walked forward, a brace on one leg.
"Isha, here are some clothes for your daughter." Renata held the shopping bag to Isha. "Luisa outgrew them."
Isha looked in the bag. "Renata, these still have tags on."
"Please? You'll save me a trip to Salvation Army."
Isha hugged Claudio's wife, and then my friend. She nodded again at me.
"Bye, Isha. I'll see you on Monday," Luisa said cheerfully.
I was shell-shocked, unable to process what had just happened. I'd seen her again. Isha was in New York. Here, right now, taking the elevator that I'd taken up to go down.
"Hi, you're my father's friend."
I crouched in front of Luisa and gave her the present I'd gotten for her.
"I am. I got you something."
"Wow! Thank you. What is it?" She took the wrapped book and shook it.
"Let's take it in where you can open it," Renata suggested.
We moved to the living room, and I was served a glass of champagne. We made small talk, they thanked me for the book that was now Luisa's favorite, and all I wanted was to know about Isha.
"The woman who was here…," I began.
"Isha. She's a physical therapist. She was with the HHS and now has her own clinic. She works exclusively with children. She's amazing," Renata gushed.
"Luisa was in an accident, and…that was tough. She had to have several surgeries. Without Isha, I don't know what we'd have done," Claudio added.
"She's walking." Renata had tears in her eyes. "That's all because of Isha."
I wanted to talk more about Isha and learn about her, especially the daughter that Renata had given clothes for. She'd had a baby. My Isha was a mother. She probably had a husband or boyfriend. She'd moved on.
It hurt like a motherfucker, but I was happy that she had found happiness, that she had made a family. During our hikes, she had shared her dreams of having a family, just like all the kids in the orphanage, and how she finally made that dream a reality with her friend, Yasmine.
I found it unbearable to sit still, so before dinner, I excused myself and left Claudio's house, feigning that I had received an urgent message from my brother related to the wedding.
Even before I was out of Claudio's building, I called up an old friend, also from Yale, who was now the Chief of Detectives in the NYPD.
"Qué pasa, Rowan? It's been a while," Hector said when I got him on the phone.
