Sandalwood Pt. 03

Maya awoke the following morning to birds chirping, and no Cole beside her. But the aroma of a fresh pot of coffee was already wafting up the stairs, and it took her minutes to follow it.

"Hey, baby," she smiled at Cole, who was on the couch with his own mug watching the news. It was early and he was still wearing his glasses. "I've been thinking--and this is only after Izzy is comfortable with me--why don't you move in here? Would you be okay with that even if my divorce isn't final? There's lots of space and Izzy could have her pick of bedrooms."

She found her mug and poured some milk in. "But would Janice be okay with that? Would you have to go back to court for any reason? I don't want to complic--"

"Maya, Maya," Cole stopped her. "Just get your coffee and sit here with me," he said. "One of us overthinking everything is enough." He gave her a relaxed smile. "Let's have a quiet morning, and then have a lot of sex in every room of your house." Maya laughed and complied.

"Oh hey," Cole remembered after she joined him on the couch, "when I came downstairs, your phone was buzzing away. It sounded like a bunch of texts, not a call. Maybe check if it was one of the boys?"

"That's weird," Maya said. "It's only 7:30. There's no way they'd be up this early on a Sunday." She put her mug in the sink and picked up her phone. Cole went to open the fridge but in his peripheral vision saw Maya stagger, then drop her phone.

"Hey, hey," he said, spinning around and steadying her. She held on to the counter then started to breathe heavily and blink rapidly, her face in panic. Cole guided her to the couch then picked up her phone, which luckily wasn't damaged.

Hello there, the first texts read, we are sorry to inform you in this way, but our brother known as Ram has shrugged off the mortal coils of this world two weeks ago. It was accidental, as the mountains claimed his human shell.

He was allowed to keep this device at the ashram as he told us upon his arrival he had the responsibility to inform you of his safety. We were unsure whether to inform you of his passing as there had been no response to his previous messages to this number.

Cole looked over at Maya, leaning forward and trying to slow her breathing, her lips pursed. He didn't know what to say so he held her until he felt a wet spot on his t-shirt.

"I don't even know why I'm reacting this way," Maya finally gasped, trying to brush away her tears.

"Shhh, shhh, you don't have to say anything, sweetheart," Cole comforted her. "You were married for a long time and had kids together." He let her cry, then let her relax on the couch as he went back to the counter for her phone. "Can I call Sunitha?" Maya nodded and within a second Cole put the call through to Maya's elder sister.

"Hi," he said. "Um, my name is Cole Gundersen, I'm calling from Maya's house. I'm her, uh..." he looked back at Maya.

"Boyfriend," she said confidently. Cole beamed for a moment, betraying his solemn demeanor.

"I'm her boyfriend," he continued, straightening his face. "We just got some news from the monastery where Ram went. Is it at all possible for you to bring the boys over this morning? Or if it's easier, we can come to your place."

He paced toward the stove, then spun around again toward Maya. "Yes, she's right here, but I'm not sure--" He was interrupted by Maya motioning him to give her the phone.

"Suni, I'll tell you every--yes, he stayed over last night. He stays over most nights." She paused. "No, don't tell the kids, they'll find out when you get here. We have information about Ram, and it's bad. I don't know how they're going to handle all of this on the same day. Okay... okay, fine, we'll see you then." She ended the call and curled back against Cole.

"She's going to bring the kids over after they wake up; maybe they'll grab breakfast on the way to save time." The corners of her lips curved up in a weak smile. "I don't know if she was excited or scandalized by the fact I was sleeping with a white guy."

"Tell her you went to the Indian store with no panties and a short dress; she'll probably have a stroke," Cole said, taking a sip from his mug. Maya giggled then stopped and shook her head remorsefully.

"I don't even know how I feel right now," she said. "I'm still riding the high of learning I get to be with you forever. And until last night, Ram had essentially been dead to us for almost four years. But now... I don't know how a few short texts had this effect on me." Cole tightened his arm around her.

"Two weeks," he said, glancing at the far wall toward the calendar. "That was maybe the 5^th or 6^th. He would have just sent you his last 'safe' text a few days before."

Maya tried to occupy her mind for the next two hours by cleaning, which was interrupted by her pacing back and forth to the street-facing window in the den. Cole was loading their clothes into the washing machine when he thought he heard the front door open and the sound of voices, especially two lower male ones. Are those the squeaky little kids I taught? he thought, bowled over by how many years had flown by.

He crept up onto the basement stairs until he reached the door, not sure whether his presence would feel like an intrusion. That's when the basement door swung open and Maya stood a step above him, startled to see him right in front of her.

"Maybe this isn't the best time," he whispered. "We can tell them about me on another day and just--" Maya grabbed his arm and dragged him out into the mud room and then the kitchen, looking resolute the entire time.

Across the room were two young men, both with Maya's dark chocolate eyes, maple skin, and each with a shock of jet-black hair. Both were tall, maybe just an inch or two shy of Cole's own height. He peered at their faces, searching for the cute seven-year-olds he once knew.

"Mr. G?" Manav asked, perplexed. "What are you doing in our base--" He noticed his mother's fingers entwined in his former teacher's and his eyes widened as he put his hands to his head. "Holy shit, no," he said.

"Manav!" Sunitha exclaimed.

"Boys, there's not going to be an easy way to do this, so we're just going to rip the bandaid off," Maya stated, her voice low. "Mr. G and I have been seeing each other for about six months, and we're in love. We want to spend our lives together."

"But what about dad?!" Manav exclaimed. Cole felt like he wanted to run out the backdoor and down the street, dreading this confrontation. He shifted on his feet and was about to disentangle his fingers from Maya's tight grip when he noticed Tejas move to the couch, relaxed and quietly watching the scene while chewing a bagel.

"That's the main reason we asked you to come here," Maya told her eldest son as her tone softened. "You guys know your dad sends me a text every month to let me know he's okay. Right after he sent the last text, he met with an accident. The monastery informed us early this morning that he passed away."

Manav stood reeling for a moment, then sank into the couch. After about 20 seconds of silence, he glared at his mother.

"But then even before you knew he was dead, you were traipsing around like a cheap slut with this guy?" he sneered, gesturing to Cole. Maya stepped back, almost stumbling.

"Manav, how dare you?" Sunitha rebuked.

"That's not fair," Cole interjected at the same time, pulling his hand out of Maya's so he could put his arm around her.

"What the hell do you know, man?" Manav jeered, leaping up and stepping toward Cole. "Stay out of this, and stop touching her. You're not part of this family and you obviously had no problem sleeping with a married wom--"

"Manav, could you shut the fuck up?" Tejas bit off. Everyone turned to look at him, still half reclined on the couch with his bagel. "If you can pull your head out of your ass long enough, why don't you sit back down and let them finish?" Maya's jaw dropped and Cole bit his lip to stop from erupting in laughter. But Manav's ire turned toward his little brother.

"Mom's been fucking this guy for half a year and--"

"You don't get to judge mom, asshole. She's been alone for almost four years since the dad you idolized decided to ditch us and run off like he was taking a gap year in college," Tejas shot back, not shifting from his spot. Cole tugged Maya over to the opposite loveseat, wanting to support her but also eager to get a good seat to watch this.

"Did you ever think about what she was going through this whole time?" Tejas went on. "Raising us alone, doing all our school with us and robotics tournaments, working her job and doing all the housework?

"Did you not notice that even when dad was here, she was still taking care of us alone? When did he ever show up at any of our games? It was always her in the stands. That man gave us a shit sandwich and you're just gulping it down and asking for seconds." Manav grimaced and opened his mouth to respond but slowly closed it again. Then he sat down.

"We should say something," Maya whispered into Cole's ear, her arm snaked around his.

"No, don't stop him," Cole whispered back. "He was a smart kid in grade two and he's only gotten smarter." He was inwardly cheering Tejas on, who he'd always liked as a student. But now he felt a strange fatherly pride toward him.

"What did you expect, mom to stay a nun? You wanted your own mother, who you claim to love, to never find companionship and to never be happy? Just look at them," Tejas said, gesturing toward Cole and Maya.

"They haven't stopped holding hands since we got here. Name me three times in our lives you remember dad showing any affection toward her." He paused to rip a bite off his bagel as the room remained silent. "Three times in 12 years," he said with a full mouth. "You can do it, boy."

Cole resisted the urge to stand up and applaud. Keep it going kid, he thought. It was as if Tejas heard him after he gulped down his last bite.

"And have you done the math, genius? Dad left almost four years ago, and mom and Mr. G only met six months ago. And here you are like the paragon of virtue because you think..." he stopped and held out his palm, flipping through an imaginary notebook. "...she's at fault for moving on more than three years after dad dumped her?

"Anyway," he shrugged, crumpling up his bagel wrapper, "I don't know what the big news is here, other than mom's new guy being Mr. G."

"It's Cole now, Tejas," Cole said, giving him a grateful smile. "It's Cole."

"Right--Cole," Tejas responded. "Yeah, no, that's still weird. But yeah, Manav," he said, turning back to his brother, slumped beside him on the couch by now, resigned to getting eviscerated.

"I don't know what you were doing all this time, but dad was dead to me the moment he got on that plane. Don't you remember, he took a cab? We were crying and watching from upstairs and he was arguing with mom in the driveway that he didn't even want us to drop him off at the airport.

"He took care of everything else but refused to divorce her because why? So he could keep up appearances? So she could never be free? I mean, fuck him."

Cole looked down at Maya tucked under his arm, her face streaked with tears.

"And you know what? Fuck you, too, for being such a monumental dumbass," Tejas said, standing up and looking down on his brother. "After watching you embarrass yourself and everyone here, I kinda get why she couldn't divorce him either. She knew you'd act like this." Manav continued to stare at his feet as his brother now pointed a sharp finger inches away from his face.

"The only reason I didn't knock the teeth out of your head for calling mom what you just called her is because you already said more about yourself than her," Tejas hissed. "If she's going to fall in love with anyone, I'm glad it's Mr.--Cole," he said, as if he were practicing a word from another language.

"I remember thinking as a kid it would have been so great if he were my dad instead of that robot." Cole felt the wind leave his lungs, fast, as his vision misted over. Before thinking, he got up and embraced Tejas long and hard.

"You did good, kid," he said shakily. "I always wanted a son like you, too." He felt Tejas hesitate for a second before putting his arms around him as well. The boy cleared his throat as they held each other, and Maya thought she saw his jaw quaver.

As she watched them, it dawned on her that it was another joy altogether to see her child with the man she loved. It was a pleasure she barely witnessed while the kids were small.

"I hate to be the practical one," Maya's sister spoke up after a lingering silence, "but do you know if there's anything we have to do in terms of Ram's last rites? What about a cremation?"

"From what we understand, Suni," Maya replied, "they haven't recovered a body and they may never."

"Sky burial it is," Tejas said. Cole resisted the urge to grin as they broke apart, his hand still on the teenager's shoulder.

"It's about 9 p.m. in Nepal right now," he said. "Is it too late to call Ram's phone and talk to someone? Maybe that would clear up any questions you guys still have about your dad." Manav glanced up at Cole for the first time, nodding ever so slightly.

The phone seemed like it rang forever and Maya was just about to hit the end call button when someone picked up.

"Hello," she said, "this is Ram's family in Canada. We received the messages you sent us from this phone a few hours ago. His sons are here and I'm their mother. If you have a moment, can we speak to you about him?"

At first, Maya and Cole stayed nearby while the boys spoke, mainly Manav. Sunitha also asked about the possibility of obtaining a death certificate, which she could get her office to look into when everyone was back at work on Tuesday. Cole then pulled Maya into the next room.

"What do you think about asking the boys to stay the rest of the long weekend?" he asked. "We could drop them off tomorrow night. Maybe it would help Manav a bit to get to know me better? I know he's angry about us but--" Maya gently shook her head and smiled.

"Nothing would make me happier. I know Suni wanted to use this weekend to catch up on her cases so it would also help her to have an empty house." She remembered something else. "Oh, by the way, I had no idea those guys knew that kind of language." Cole smirked.

"I did. They're teenage boys. They were probably censoring themselves for you and Suni."

The boys talked to the contact at the monastery for about a half-hour before hanging up, at which point Cole saw Manav approaching them. He excused himself to the kitchen to start lunch, while running it by Tejas and Sunitha to have the boys stay the weekend. Sunitha jumped at the idea, but agreed to stay for lunch. When Maya and Manav emerged, Maya was wiping her eyes again.

"All good?" Cole asked, when she sidled up to him at the stove. He put a pot of water on to boil, poured a bit of olive oil and salt in, then turned on the range hood. As he slid his arm around her shoulders, he glanced backward to see both boys looking at them curiously. They're not used to this, he considered. Two parents who actually love each other and show it.

"All good. He apologized properly and he knew he was wrong," Maya smiled. "But I told him it wasn't enough unless he apologized to you, too, for saying you're not part of our family."

"Well, that was fair," Cole shrugged. "I'm not. I mean, I just became your boyfriend at 7:45 this morning." He grinned and reached into the top cupboard to see what pasta they had.

"That can change this summer, you know," Maya said under the whir of the fans, causing Cole to drop both the spaghetti and penne packages he was deciding between. Maya bent down to pick them up and took a look at where the boys were, relieved they'd left and switched on the Xbox.

"I mean... I'm way past the point of needing a proposal or even a formal wedding for that matter. I feel like we lost so much time together and I--" Cole put his finger on her lips.

"It would be the greatest gift of my life to be your husband, Maya," he said, enveloping her in his arms and kissing her.

***********

Cole sat in his truck the following Monday afternoon in the parking lot of Izzy's school, eyeing the clock as well as the building exits.

"Hey, babe," he said, phoning Maya through the vehicle's Bluetooth. "Are you still logged on for work? I have a surprise for you."

"Is it your pants on the floor?" Maya's voice was sultry and low. "Because the only surprise I want right now is your pants on the floor."

"Uh, no, it's my daughter in my car," Cole replied without missing a beat. "I was going to bring her over to meet you but she... she doesn't look very comfortable right now." As the silence got longer, Cole's grin got bigger.

"Um, hi, Isabel," Maya finally answered in a small voice. "I, I'm your daddy's girlfriend, and I only said that because I love him very--" Cole interrupted her by erupting in laughter.

"She's not here," he admitted between guffaws. "I'm still waiting for her."

"Oh, you bastard," Maya hissed.

"You of all people should be relieved it was only a prank," Cole countered, still giggling. "Otherwise you would have scarred a 9-year-old for life by telling her you couldn't wait to fuck her dad."

"I actually can't wait to fuck her dad," Maya said, her voice lowering again. "Repeatedly. I can't wait to suck him and then climb on top and bounce on him, naked as the day I was born. I also can't wait to hear him moan my name and bite my shoulder when he's about to--"

"Okay, okay, you win," Cole conceded, rock hard and slinking down in the driver's seat. He glanced at the dashboard clock again, wishing now it would slow down rather than speed up. He ruefully shook his head at Maya snickering on the other end of the line.

"The novelty is going to wear off for you at some point, and I intend to ride this ride as far as it's gonna go," she said.

"Nope, it's not gonna wear off for me," Cole replied. "I'm going to wake up every day for the next 45 years and watch you sleep for a few minutes, and marvel all over again that you chose me. You're going to be wearing the necklace I tied around your neck, and the rings I put on your finger and toes." He checked the call when he didn't hear a response. "Hello? Maya, you still there?" Finally, he noticed a faint sniffling.

"You win, too," Maya blubbered.

"I wasn't trying to make you cry, though," Cole laughed. "You were actually trying to turn me on!" He heard the school bell ring across the yard and realized he had to hurry the call. "Okay, I have to think about hockey again before Izzy gets here. But I really wanted to bring her over to your place straight from school. What do you think? If you're not ready, we can do it another day."

"Is she ready, though?" Maya asked.

"I told her all about you this weekend. I showed her pictures of last weekend, and of the boys and Sunitha as well. She asked if we can see you today."

"Then I'm ready too," Maya said. "Let me get out the flour for chapattis and--"

"No, no, don't worry about that, sweetie," Cole said. "I promised her pizza. She wants to try..." he pretended to gag. "...she wants to try jalapeño peppers and pineapple. Not gonna lie, I was horrified."

"Oh, I like her already," Maya said.

She waited on the front porch for them and then checked her face in the window one last time when she saw Cole's truck turn down the street. She's nine, Maya admonished herself. Why am I worried about whether she thinks I look nice?

She shyly stood up and approached the truck, only to stop when a chestnut-haired moppet jumped out. All Maya could spot was a pink tutu as Isabel ran over to her, but when she came to a standstill Maya was able to take a good look at her face.