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Really?That’sall you can think of that you like about yourself?
Krish’swords came back to her. ‘Well, somebody else said he thoughtIwas strong and stubborn—not sure if that one is a positive—talented…and funny, if you can believe it.’
Andare you?
Wasshe?
Francescaattempted to reframe herself with those adjectives.Strong: she supposed that she did put up with a lot.Shewas so used to it by now that it was second nature.Stubborn: maybe she’d turn that into a more positive word, likefocused.Onceshe got an idea, it was hard to shake—ExhibitAbeing the entire situation withKrish.Butit also meant she was hard-working.Ittook a lot of focus to stick to her food and exercise regime.Talented: actually, yeah.Shewas good at her job; not great at running a business, but good at her job.Sheloved observing other people and telling their stories through her lens.Ina way, it put a layer of safety between her and real life, just how she liked it.Shecould be around people—without having to interact with them.Funny: well, she was talking to a rat, so…
‘IguessIam,’ she finally replied.Insideof her, a spark kindled to life.
Lady, all you need to do is decide to love yourself.Therest will follow.AndI’mtelling you this as the child of a mother who tried to eat me.
‘Ew.Gross.’
Listen,I’mlate.Gottaget some of this food back to the nest.Youknow what you gotta do.
Oncue,KingRatturned and disappeared into the wall.Francescagently closed the cupboard door and shook her head to clear it.Whatthe hell was that?Hadshe accidentally taken drugs?Wasshe on some sort of yellow-brick-road-themed trip where wise side characters imparted life lessons?She’dalready metJaiveertheDancingScarecrowand theTinRat…was the cowardly lion going to knock on her door later and try to sell her overpriced household items while explaining the meaning of life?
Shefilled her cheeks with air and slowly blew it out.Despitethe decidedly trippy nature of the encounter, that rat had given her a lot to think about.
Herstomach grumbled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten any dinner yet.Shestood up and went to her fridge.
Asshe pulled out ingredients from the vegetable bin, she considered the rat’s message:love thyself.Shehated it when pithy, trite sayings that people embroidered on cushions or printed on mugs turned out to be true.Howcould something so simple be so profound?
ButKingRatwas right.Somuch of her mental energy went to telling herself that she was broken and unloveable.Ifshe was ever going to get the happy ending thatJaiveersaid she deserved, then her negative self-talk needed to stop.
Shesnorted as she peeled a carrot.Easiersaid than done.Thenagain, look what happened when she focussed on making new friends.Inone night, she’d already made two (sort of).
Asshe washed lettuce in a salad spinner, her thoughts returned toKrishand his imminent proposal.Suddenlythe breath caught in her throat and she found it hard to inhale.Asob ripped out of her mouth.Sadnessand loss rolled through her and she had to lean on the counter to steady herself.Painthat had nothing to do with her uterus erupted in her belly.
Allthe good times she’d had withKrishscrolled through her head like a slideshow at a funeral.Saltytears fell from her cheek onto the wet lettuce and a quote fromBladeRunnerbarged into her head: ‘Allthose moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain.’
‘Orin the salad spinner,’ she hiccuped.
Francescacould see now that shediddeserve a happy ending, but not at the expense ofKrish’s.Shemust take responsibility for her actions and accept the consequences.
Sheneeded to let him go.
22
Krishfinished packinghis suitcase and set it on its feet near the bedroom door.Thesmell of stir fry and teriyaki wafted through his flat, making his stomach growl.
‘Dinner’sready!’Jesscalled from the kitchen.
Beforejoining her, he visited the bathroom to throw some water on his face.SinceFrancescahad firmly slammed the door on them and he’d decided to move ahead withJess, everything had slotted into place, confirming that he was on the right path.Dinnerat his sister’s had been surprisingly fun.Thefour of them had laughed and joked, like they had many times before.Contraryto his fear, it didn’t feel weird, and the guilt he’d expected over his kiss withFrancescadidn’t materialise.Infact, he barely thought about it.Francesca’srefusal to tell him the truth about whatever was going on with her and her convenient boyfriends told him he was making the right call.
Perhapsit was a good thing.Itallowed him to purge her from his life once and for all.
Ankitadidn’t know thatKrishwas planning to propose inParis, but from the way his sister looked at him with that annoying smirk after he mentioned the upcoming trip, she’d probably figured it out.Nothinggot past her.
Hewas relieved whenFrancescawasn’t in the office onMonday.Herpresence would only have been a distraction, and he had a longToDolist.He’dmet with another couple about photographing their wedding, finished retouching the album images for the gangster’s daughter, and had reached out to some venues to discuss creating business partnerships.
Inaddition, he made the most awkward phone call of his life to askJess’sfather for her hand in marriage.Krishwanted to do this right, but her parents lived too far away to ask face-to-face.Herfather was one of those dads who was constantly joking, but never funny.Krishalmost choked when his future father-in-law quipped, ‘Youknow you’re asking the wrong person?’IttookKrisha moment to understand his jest.
Anyway,Krishhad accomplished a lot in four days.
Thisfelt good.Itfelt right.
