Sandalwood Pt. 03

"I'm Isabel!" the child smiled.

"Hi, Isabel," Maya smiled back, kneeling down so she could admire the girl's wide hazel eyes. "I'm Maya. Wow, you look exactly like your daddy."

"You look prettier than your picture," Isabel replied. "Daddy, she's too pretty for you," she called back, turning around toward Cole.

"I know, baby girl," Cole said, coming over with his shoulder bag and giving Maya a peck on the cheek. "I'm lucky she thinks I'm tall."

Once inside, Cole fixed Isabel a snack while Maya put on some tea for the two of them. Afterwards, Isabel freely explored the house while Maya followed behind. Cole stayed at the kitchen table to do some prep for the next week's lessons.

"This is a big house!" the little girl exclaimed once upstairs.

"It kind of feels that way since there's no longer lots of people living here," Maya nodded.

"Where are they now?" Isabel asked. Maya paused to think of an age-appropriate answer.

"Well, all over the place," she said, reminding herself she needed to send Ram's death certificate to his siblings as soon as she received it. "My sons, for example, are going to high school downtown."

"I saw their picture," Isabel nodded, peeking into one of their rooms. "They're tall like my daddy. Do they like my daddy?"

"Honey, they liked your daddy waaaay back when they were your age, and he was their teacher. They met him again last week and I think they liked him more. They all played video games together."

>>>>>>>>>>>>

Maya reveled in the memory of the two of them, her sons, and Sunitha having lunch last weekend when Cole asked the boys whether they were uncomfortable with how much he and Maya touched. They both snorted, then giggled.

"Like, holding hands or hugging her?" Tejas asked. "That's okay, but please no more." Cole laughed.

"I was just wondering why you were looking at us when we were back at the stove," he explained, to the boys' nodding knowingly.

"Nah, it wasn't that," Manav said, spearing some penne and veggies on his fork. "You just went to the stove and started cooking." Cole shot them a quizzical look. "We've never seen that before," Manav explained. "Our dad never cooked and our grandpa and uncle didn't know how. Hell, our dad's sister barely ever cooked, and even then not a family meal. It was always mom or sometimes our grandma."

Cole slowly turned toward Maya as if to ask whether they were serious. She solemnly nodded.

"You've never seen a man in your family cook?" he asked incredulously, which the boys confirmed. "Want me to teach you?" he then asked to their surprise.

"Even if it's just boiling some rice and having it with a can of cream soup, it's something you don't have to depend on someone else for. You can't be a man unless you're independent, and you can't be independent unless you cook and clean," he added. "Even if you're not at uni yet, you could still help your aunt out now."

"Marry this one," Sunitha instructed her younger sister. Cole grinned at Maya.

"About that," Maya said, meeting Cole's gaze, "that's what we were talking about at the stove." The boys stopped chewing and looked at her. "But it's kind of been a big day," she went on quickly. "If you guys feel everything is moving too fast--"

"Do it, mom," Manav said. "Even if you did it next weekend it's not too fast. Tejas was right, it's actually way overdue." He cleared his throat and looked over at Cole.

"I was terrible toward you in front of everyone, so it's only right I say this part in front of everyone. I was an asshole, and I'm sorry. I was trying to hold on to something that was gone a long time ago, and maybe never existed the way I thought it did." He scoffed.

"I don't even remember having a conversation like this when we were sitting with our dad at this very table. If we talked at all, it was like we were reporting to him about what we did all day. And sometimes why we didn't do better."

"I'm sorry to hear things were so hard," Cole said. "I don't know if you both peaked in second grade," he added to everyone's laughter, "but I never thought either of you needed to do anything more. You were both brilliant.

"At first I thought it was only Manav, but when Tejas was just as smart I realized it was your mom's nurturing that was giving you guys the edge." He paused to add another scoop of pasta to his plate. "Whatever you became wasn't because of me or any other teachers you had, before or after. It was because of her."

>>>>>>>>>>>>

Maya was snapped out of her reverie by Isabel pulling at the hem of her shirt.

"You all hung out and played video games? Why didn't anyone call me?" Isabel enquired, moving from the boys' rooms toward Maya's room and walking in. She seemed to forget her question as she twirled around in the open space. "Wow, this is a big room. Is this where you and Daddy sleep?" Maya could feel her cheeks heat up as the child skipped around.

"Izzy!" they heard Cole's voice call out from downstairs. "No stomping and no running, please."

"Sorry," Isabel replied before remembering to walk out into the hallway. She scurried to the last two rooms, which were empty. "Who stays in these rooms?" she asked, peering in.

"No one right now," Maya replied.

"Can I stay here when I'm with my dad? You know, after you get married?" Isabel looked pleadingly up at Maya.

"Of course, baby," Maya's heart melted although she was surprised Cole talked to her about their wedding. "You can pick either of these rooms for yourself. And you and I can decorate it however you want. Next time you come over, we'll look for ideas on the Internet."

They eventually wandered back downstairs where Cole sat amid a flurry of papers. Maya set Isabel up in front of the TV to watch her favourite show, and then went back to him at the kitchen table.

"You told her we were getting married?" she asked, amused. Cole looked up in surprise.

"No," he said. "I wanted to tell her about that with you. Did you tell her we were getting married?"

"No," Maya laughed, "she asked me upstairs if she could have her own room here after the wedding so I thought..."

"At least she made it easier for us," Cole shrugged. "After last weekend I realized I couldn't predict how kids will react to this sort of thing."

"She's not feeling like I'm infringing on her mom's territory?" Maya asked. She was happy Isabel liked her, but the little girl's receptiveness was such a switch from the emotional reaction her own kids had had toward Cole. Cole put his pencil down and took off his glasses as Maya pulled a chair from the table.

"Janice isn't the most expressive mother," he said tactfully. "She'll take care of what Izzy needs, but she likes her space. Some kids are okay with that, but it's a bit of a mismatch with Izzy. If the way Izzy has taken to you already is any indication, I'd say you're supplementing the attention she needs from a female role model.

"This entire school year, she's been gushing about her teacher," he added. "Since I mentioned you to her on Friday, she hasn't brought up her teacher once."

Cole then returned to his work. Maya didn't say anything for a whole minute, looking over at the precocious little girl sitting alone in the living room, her back toward them.

"So you're going to take care of the pizza?" she finally spoke up. Cole nodded without looking up. "Okay. I'll be over there."

A cool afternoon wind was blowing through the windows so Maya grabbed one of the light blankets sitting on the loveseat. "I don't know about you, but I like to be cozy when I watch cartoons," she said to Isabel. "You can join me in here if you like," she added, lifting up the corner. Isabel jumped at the chance and curled in against Maya's side, picking up Maya's arm and placing it around her shoulder.

Cole wrapped up his work a half-hour later and was suddenly aware of how he could finish quickly because he was never once interrupted. He slowly approached the living room to see Maya and his daughter cuddling, Isabel whispering to Maya about what was happening in the show they were watching.

Maya was nodding and asking questions, and neither of them noticed him. He savored the scene for a few minutes, feeling an even deeper love for his fiancée than he thought possible.

He quietly stepped out and returned soon after with a pizza, only to see the blanket had turned into a tent on the living room floor. Hearing giggles as he neared, Cole opened the front flap and peeked in.

"Oh no, the bear found us!" Izzy yelled from inside. "And he's extra hairy!"

"But wait!" Maya responded, squished in beside her. "I smell food. Maybe he's a friendly bear?"

"I am the angriest bear you will ever meet," Cole said with a straight face. "I'm so angry I'm going to eat that whole pineapple--eww, no, I'm never going to be that angry." Isabel was out of the tent in a flash, remembering the new food she wanted to try.

After dinner, both Maya and Cole tried to convince her that it was time to go home, with Maya offering her a final bribe of teaching her how to make chapatti dough the next time she came back.

"Hey," Cole said, grasping Maya's hand as his daughter gathered her things and put on her shoes by the front door. "I really, really appreciate all the time you spent with her today. You don't know how happy I am right now."

"I always wanted three kids, remember?" Maya reminded him, drawing close and burrowing her nose against his trimmed beard. "I need to thank you for giving me that." Cole slowly kissed her, torn that he couldn't stay the night. But he only wanted Izzy to stay with them when her room was set up and they had properly moved in.

"I'm going to give my building my final month's notice right away," he stated. "We'll have everything moved in here by August if that's alright." Maya nodded eagerly.

The following week, Maya texted him at school that she was at City Hall and the earliest appointment for a civil wedding was the first week of August.

Take it, Cole urged. If they have any cancellations earlier than that, take those.

"Mr. G, you said you weren't ever going to look at your phone in class again," Caroline spoke up, pausing her work on her art assignment.

"I know, and I'm sorry," Cole replied, glancing at the clock and unable to resist the temptation to be impulsive. "But I just learned my fiancée found a date for us to get married. It's August 7^th at City Hall, and you're all welcome to come with your grown-ups. Be there at 9:45 a.m."

The class erupted just as the final bell rang, half the kids gathering their things and the other half crowding around Cole with a million questions. When the portable finally emptied out 20 minutes later, Cole texted Maya again. Hey, is there a limit of how many people we can invite?

***********

With summer vacation starting in July, Maya's sons moved back in immediately after their exam break concluded. During Isabel's weeks with Cole, the five of them shifted his apartment into Maya's house bit by bit.

The biggest task by far was decorating Isabel's room, which was going to feature a unicorn mural that Manav diligently worked on for hours at a time. A thought occurred to Maya as they were painting the rest of the room tangerine orange one afternoon.

"Hey, did you ever talk to Janice and Jack about any of this?" she asked Cole.

"Uh, briefly," Cole responded. "I texted her that I was getting married and that my address would change in August. Also not to worry because it was close to the school and Izzy would still have her own room. She didn't reply." He paused. "Shoot, I actually don't know if the text went through. She usually replies." He put down his paint roller and went to wash his hands.

"It's only Mommy now," Isabel said absentmindedly as she worked on the same corner she'd been working on for 15 minutes. "Jack doesn't live with us anymore."

"What?" Maya spun around.

"WHAT?" Cole rushed back into the room, his hands still spotted orange.

"For how long, sweetie?" Maya asked, her full attention on the child.

"Uhhh... a long time?" Isabel offered. She decided she was bored at that point and asked if she could go downstairs and watch TV. Her dad readily agreed, leaving the room with her to wash up and fix her a snack.

"You think she's serious?" Maya asked Cole when he returned. "What if Jack's away on business or something? And just what does Izzy count as 'a long time'?"

"He worked in a warehouse for years, as far as I know," Cole replied. "There's no travel involved. Son of a bitch, there's no way. There's no way she cheated on me with him for five years and now their marriage lasted what, eight months?"

"Maybe he's only into leasing and not rent-to-own," Tejas piped up, which made Cole laugh in spite of himself.

"Dude, call your ex," Manav prompted him. "You don't want her to make a big thing in court about you moving on, telling the judge you never told her you were getting remarried. Based on how you talk about her, she seems like she might be spiteful if her marriage just broke down." Cole looked thoughtful when Isabel came back in to get her tablet.

"Pumpkin," Cole said, "what else can you tell me about Mommy and Jack?"

"They were fighting sometimes," the little girl said, picking up her device. "Mommy said you never fought with her and maybe she would ask you to come live with us again." Maya dropped her paintbrush, while Tejas bit his lip and unsuccessfully tried not to laugh.

"Damn, man," he said," playfully punching Cole after Isabel left the room again, "it's raining women, huh?"

"Don't be an ass," Manav admonished his brother, while Cole looked at his phone.

"Are you saying you don't find this situation even a little bit funny?" Tejas cocked his head to the side before noticing the bothered expression on his mother's face. "Oh, mom, relax," he said, hugging her. "The reason it's funny is because Cole would never ever go back to her but she still thinks it's an option after what she did. Like, she has to be a grade-A Karen if she's that entitled."

"That's a spot-on description of her, actually," Cole murmured. "I just asked if she got my last text and she said she did. Here's what we'll do. Maya, will you come with me to drop Izzy off tomorrow? I want Janice to see I'm not kidding." Maya looked uncomfortable but nodded.

She found herself behind the wheel of her sedan the next afternoon, wishing the drive would last an hour instead of just 10 minutes. Cole noticed her discomfort but first turned on the radio and opened a window so his daughter in the back seat wouldn't hear them that well.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I know you never wanted to meet her."

"I didn't mind until yesterday," Maya replied. "This is a little too Jerry Springer for me."

"Well, I fully accept I'm Izzy's father, no paternity test needed," Cole joked, finally eliciting a laugh from his fiancée. As they pulled into the driveway of his old house, Maya took a deep breath and reached for Cole's hand as soon as they both exited the car. Isabel bounded forward with her duffel bag and skipped toward the front door.

Before she could ring the bell, the door opened. Maya noted that Janice was quite pretty. She looked to be in her late 30s with straight blonde hair and light green eyes. She's tall, Maya thought. Maybe she's 5'9"? Ohhh, and her hips are so slim. Maya suddenly felt self-conscious and resisted the urge to run back toward the car.

"Cole," Janice beamed, as Isabel greeted her with a hug. "Hi hon, run in and put your stuff away," she told her daughter as an afterthought, lightly patting her on the shoulder. Her eyes never left her ex-husband's face until she noticed Maya hiding slightly behind him. "Oh, hello," Janice said. "Can I help you with something?"

"Janice, this is Maya, my fiancée," Cole introduced her. "We're doing a simple wedding in August and it'll be during one of the weeks Izzy is with me." Janice gave her a lopsided smile.

"Seriously, Cole?" she asked. "I never knew you had an exotic streak to you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cole challenged, a note of anger in his voice. Maya felt queasy as she anticipated what was coming next.

"I mean, where'd you find her? Can she even understand what we're saying right now?"

"What in the everloving fuck, Janice?" Cole hissed, as Maya spun on her heel to go wait in the car. She was thankful that at least the driver's side was partially hidden while standing on the porch.

As she hopped into her seat, she caught a glimpse of Janice taking Cole's hand, and him angrily waving her off and backing up while yelling at her. Janice was gesturing toward the house and Cole was vehemently shaking his head while pushing her away.

Maya could make out that he was pointing at the car and then pointing back at Janice while shouting, a pink flush rising up from his neck. He more or less slid down the steps then practically vaulted himself into the car.

Maya already had it running and backed out the second he slammed the door, measuredly cruising up the street and around the corner from which they entered. Then she pulled over on a quiet side road and shut off the engine.

"Cole, I want you around for a long time," she said, her hand on his racing heart. "Calm yourself down, baby. She's not worth it." Cole brushed the sleeve of his t-shirt against his hairline to mop some of the sweat that had formed in the last few minutes.

"I just didn't think she was a stark-raving racist," he said in disbelief.

"Against my better judgment, I'm going to ask--what did she say next?" Maya questioned, bracing herself.

"She said we could pick up where we left off and give Isabel a sibling like I always wanted," Cole muttered. "Then she said wouldn't that be a whole lot better than..."

"Than?"

"Than settling for a mixed-race Brady Bunch." He looked down at his hands, mortified.

"Ouch," Maya laughed. Cole's face scrunched in incredulity.

"How can you find this funny?"

"Cole, I know this is a hard-to-swallow pill, but Canada is still a white supremacist country," Maya said. "That doesn't mean every white person is running around in a hood burning crosses on lawns. It means white people still hold the majority of powerful positions that run this country, and there's a tacit understanding that they're first among equals.

"People like Janice fully embrace this default position they've been given and are even bold about it." Cole's brow furrowed at the casual way Maya spoke about how she was treated, probably for the umpteenth time in her life.

"What she said might have stung, although I wasn't going to take the bait right there on her front porch," Maya continued. "What would have been truly disturbing to me is if you hadn't been as outraged as you are and shown it in your actions. This is how people of colour can determine who's really on our side."

"This is shit," Cole said. "It's even more shit that she's probably feeding Isabel these attitudes against the boys who are going to be her brothers." He pulled out his phone. "Start the car, babe, I'm calling Rob."

"Your brother?" Maya asked, switching on her turn signal.

"Also my divorce lawyer," Cole said. "I'm suing for full custody of Izzy."

***********

"There isn't much we can do," Rob said flatly. It was the following Saturday and Izzy was back at Maya's house, thrilled she would get to see her uncle again. After lunch, Rob had opened up Cole's file and had it spread out on the dining table. Manav and Tejas were absentmindedly playing video games with an ear to what was going on in the kitchen.

"After what she said?" Cole demanded.

"This is what the system requires," Rob shrugged. "Unfortunately, it's not about what actually happened; it's whether we can prove to a judge that it happened. We have to give some indication that Janice's character is unfit for her to have as much access to Izzy as she has. And that is a tall order to fill considering she's her mother."