Play Date

"Wow," she said. "Just wow. I had no idea."

"Then you said ... something," Sumita said, "I don't remember what it was; all I know is that what I wanted was impossible, so I put it aside and stopped thinking about it. Except maybe it wasn't impossible."

"Do you really think?" Julie asked. "Could we have worked together?"

"We would have been great," Sumita replied, and a dreamy smile spread across her face. "It's so obvious now, even if neither one of us could see it at the time."

"I'd like to think so, sweetie," Julie said, "but I'm not so sure. It's still not easy for me to admit I'm interested in women. It might have been easier with you, but I don't know if it would have been enough. And anyway, you weren't any better. You were so desperate for a husband that you let your parents push you into an arranged marriage."

"Why do you think I was so desperate?" Sumita replied. "When I realized I was never going to fall in love with a man, I just gave up. Better to find a husband, even one I couldn't love, and have a child than grow old alone. I thought about the alternative, but it seemed impossible at the time, and I didn't think you were interested."

"Do you really think you could have taken that step, Sumita?" Julie asked. "Can you imagine how badly your parents would have freaked?"

Sumita let out a small, reluctant laugh. "I was petrified just telling Dad I was going to work instead of grad school," she said, "and that was a great job. I don't suppose coming out to them was something I could have done."

"Or to yourself," Julie said.

"Yeah," Sumita agreed. "I suppose you're right. Still, it's nice to think about what could have been."

Julie looked over toward the swing set, where Ryan was still swinging happily. "Maybe it is," Julie said, "but I can't afford to do that right now. I have to focus on my son or I'll fall completely apart."

Sumita put a gentle hand to Julie's cheek, and then pulled Julie into a hug. Julie let her head rest on Sumita's shoulder.

"I wouldn't change a thing about my life, Sumi, not even for you," Julie said. "Without Frank, I wouldn't have Ryan, and next to him, nothing else matters. You still have Rajeev, and I know how much he loves you. You didn't drive him away like I did Frank."

"Stop it!" Sumita replied, holding Julie tighter. "What Frank did is NOT your fault. He cheated on you, and he would have cheated on you no matter what. That's just who he is. You're better off without him, sweetie, and you know that."

"I do," Julie admitted. "Doesn't mean I really believe it."

Julie sat up straight, wiped her eyes, and pulled a Kleenex out of her purse for her nose. Another glance at Ryan on the swing set brought the smile back to her face.

"Do you love him?" she asked Sumita. "I know Rajeev loves you, but do you really love him? We've never really talked about it, not since Sangita was born."

"I do," Sumita replied. "It wasn't easy, and it took a long time, but I really did fall in love with my husband. He knows that I'm, well ... I'm like you, I guess - not really interested in men."

Julie took Sumita's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"He knew before I did, and he still loved me," Sumita said. "He waited for me to figure myself out, even when I was a terrible wife. Do you know, we didn't have sex for over two years after Sangita was born?"

"Jesus," Julie said, shocked. "I knew it was bad there for a while, but I didn't know it was that bad."

"You had your own problems, and I didn't want to pile mine on top," Sumita replied. "Eventually, when Sangita was so sick, I took a hard look at what was important in my life, and I decided Rajeev and Sangita were it. He's probably the only man I could love, but I really do love him."

"Well, I guess that's that, then," Julie said, letting Sumita's hand go. "You have your husband, and I know better than to think you'd break up your family for a fling with your crazy lesbian best friend. Still, I feel better knowing there was something there before."

"Oh, Jules," Sumita said. "If I could . . ."

"It's okay, Sumi," Julie replied. "I really am happy that you have Rajeev and Sangita. You three really are the perfect family, and having you guys in my life is enough for me."

"We're not perfect," Sumita said. "We..."

Julie held up a hand to cut her off. "Just let me have my illusions, okay," she said.

"Okay," Sumita replied with a laugh, and then put her arm around Julie's shoulders. "You'll find somebody too, you know. Somebody who's right for you."

"I hope so," Julie said, and rested her head against her best friend's shoulder. The emotions of the moment passed, and the two sat for a while in silence. The kids were still on the swing set, just barely moving.

Five minutes later, Sangita walked over, dragging a very tired Ryan by the hand. "Mommy, can we go for ice cream now?" she asked.

"Go wash your hands," Sumita replied. "They don't have a bathroom at the ice cream place."

Sangita did as she was told, with Ryan following so closely behind he almost went into the ladies' room by accident. The embarrassment of his error perked him up, and he ran into the men's room, glancing about to make sure nobody saw his transgression. Sumita and Julie shared a quiet laugh.

Hands washed, the kids were bundled into their car seats, and Sumita and Julie drove off to Redmond Town Center. They parked next to each other on the second level of the garage and walked down the stairs to the ice cream shop.

It was one of those places with a big stone slab where overly enthusiastic teenagers scoop out your ice cream and then mix in all manner of sweet things. It was still fairly new, and the Sunday afternoon line extended out the door. While they waited, Sangita and Ryan played a silly game involving lots of clapping and waving of hands, the kind of impromptu children's game where the rules are made up on the spot.

The line moved along quickly, and they were through the door before the kids got too fidgety. Once inside, Ryan put on his saddest puppy dog expression and looked up at Julie. "Mom, can I please have my own ice cream this time?" he asked. "Please, please, please, please, please?"

Julie and Ryan normally shared an ice cream, but lately Ryan had decided he was big enough to eat a whole ice cream by himself.

"Sure," Julie said. "Why not? You're getting to be a big boy, and you and Sangita played for a long time this afternoon."

Ryan jumped up and down in excitement, and Sangita joined him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he squealed.

"So, young man, what are you going to have?" Sumita asked him.

Ryan frowned and knitted his eyebrows together in deep concentration, as if this were the biggest decision he had ever made. Finally, he said, "chocolate with gummy bears."

"Gummy bears? Really?" Julie asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "Gummy bears."

"Okay then, kiddo," Julie said.

A skinny boy with bad acne and a friendly smile took their order. Ryan got his gummy bears, and then the boy mixed up the rest of the treats. Sumita paid for it all and put the change in the tip jar. They took their concoctions outside, found a table, and sat down to eat. The kids were in heaven for the two minutes it took to snarf down their ice cream.

"What do you say, Ryan?" Julie prompted her son after he licked the last trace of ice cream from his spoon.

"Thank you, Aunt Sumita," he said. Ryan hadn't quite figured out why he had an Aunt Sumita, to whom he wasn't related at all, but it didn't bother him. He liked her much better than Aunt Karen, his father's sister, who lived in Montana. Especially when she bought him ice cream.

"Thank you, Mom," Sangita added.

Sumita and Julie ate a little more slowly, taking the time to enjoy their treats, and the kids wandered into the play area next to the ice cream place while their mothers finished. With a jolt of sugar to fortify them, the kids had enough energy to play with each of the dozen-odd gadgets springing up from the rubberized play surface. Most of them made loud, silly noises, and the kids giggled in response.

"A whole afternoon without a meltdown," Sumita said to Julie. "I'd call that a success."

"The afternoon's not over yet," Julie replied. "There's still time..."

Sumita shook her head. Ryan had always been a handful. The kids chased each other in a circle around the play area before moving to the next diversion.

"So," Sumita said, changing the subject. "Brianna. Are you going to see her again?"

"Yeah," Julie replied. "I don't think she's the settling-down type, but she is a lot of fun. That's what I need right now, especially since I'm still getting used to, well, you know..."

"Good for you, Jules," Sumita said. "I'm proud of you. I know how much Frank and the divorce messed you up, and I'm glad you're moving on."

"I'm trying, Sumi," Julie said. "I'm trying."

"You know," Sumita said, "Ryan is always welcome for a sleepover if you need some time for yourself. Sangita would love it."

"Thank you, Sumi," Julie said. "I may just take you up on that."

At that moment, the kids finished their tour of the playground apparatus. Ryan was starting to fade, and Julie knew he'd be asleep as soon as he was buckled into the car seat. Maybe she'd get through the afternoon without a meltdown after all. Sangita was nice and mellow as well, even if she was past the age of the afternoon nap.

They all walked back to the garage together, and Sangita and Ryan exchanged an elaborate handshake before climbing into their cars to go home. Sumita and Julie lingered a while, not quite ready to say goodbye.

Sumita pulled Julie into a hug, and then kissed her lightly on the top of her head. "I love you, Julie," she whispered. "I loved you before either of us got married, and I still love you. Nothing can change that."

"I know, sweetie," Julie replied, and held Sumita tighter. "Thank you."

After a long, bittersweet moment, Sumita squeezed Julie tight once more, and then let go. "Bye, Jules," she said. "See you next week."

"Yep," Julie replied. "See you next week."

Sumita turned to her car, checked to be sure Sangita was securely buckled in, and then walked around to the driver's seat.

"Ready to go home, Gita?" she asked.

"Yeah," Sangita said. "Daddy's going to play chess with me before dinner."

"Is he?" Sumita asked. "That sounds like fun."

Sangita's expression changed, and Sumita suddenly had the feeling her young daughter was about thirty years old. "What were you and Aunt Julie talking about today?" Sangita asked.

"Grown-up stuff," Sumita replied, and felt her face flush. Sangita was a quiet kid, but she never missed a thing. "Aunt Julie's had a hard time since Ryan's dad left, and she's trying to get on with her life."

Sangita gave her mother a curious look but said nothing more.

Sumita started her car, backed out of the parking space, and followed Julie's car out of the garage. The kids waved to each other at the stoplight going out of the mall, and then Julie turned left toward her house in Bellevue.

Sumita turned right and drove home to her husband.

~~~

Thank you for reading. If you liked the story, or even if you didn't, please take the time to vote.

This is a stand-alone prelude to a new story about Sumita, coming sometime in the near future, also featuring some of the characters from Evergreen Kiss. It will be called Reboot.