Months after the fallout over BPO - after the rescue in London, after the showdown in Naples - Wolfgang sits on a plane, on his way to Mumbai. He taps his knee with a restless finger until Kala reaches for his hand and squeezes it gently.
"Hi," she says, smiling, eyes luminous. She is already at the airport in Mumbai, sitting alone under a colorful mobile in the international terminal even though his flight is still not arriving for 45 minutes. Her excitement thrums through their connection. "I've missed you." She bites her lower lip to stifle a grin, but he smiles back softly, rubs his thumb along her fingers.
"I've missed you too," he murmurs lifting their joined hands to press a kiss against her knuckles.
Kala returned to Mumbai six weeks ago to see her family and to explain everything to them: where she has been and why; that she's an entirely different species than they are ("technically homo sensorium, or sensate"); that she's connected to seven others scientifically; that she's connected to one in particular.
Very much in particular .
She touches Wolfgang's face, traces the faint scar that runs parallel to the crease of his dimple. His body is marked by several scars, and her smile falters thinking about the most recent ones.
"Hey," he admonishes gently, feeling the direction of her thoughts. He tilts her chin up to meet his steady blue gaze. "I'm fine."
He's not, really. The war is over, but she knows he has bad dreams: that certain sounds make him jump; closed spaces make his heart race. But she is there for him. All of them are there for him: their Cluster and the sensates who are new friends, allies. They help him, even though he protests.
He is much better. But he is not "fine".
For now, Kala merely nods and gives Wolfgang a watery smile. She lets it go because she doesn't want to dampen the thrill they feel beneath the anxiousness. They've been physically separated for six weeks. Six. Weeks.
"Are you alone?" Wolfgang asks, voice low, mouth suddenly quirking to a suggestive smirk.
She laughs a little and gives an embarrassed shake of her head. "Not exactly." She looks around and he is with her in Mumbai, at the airport. She is partially obstructed from prying eyes by a large plant, while people pass by and a familiar figure is on the phone, standing in a spot that apparently gives his cell phone decent reception.
Kala peeks over the potted plant and catches her father's attention. He waves, points helplessly at the phone pressed against his ear, before he resumes his conversation and turns away again.
"Even though he has an important catering event for this evening, he insisted on coming with me to meet you," she says apologetically. She turns back to Wolfgang and they are once more sitting together on the plane, hands entwined.
"Of course he would." Wolfgang gives a quiet sigh, disappointed but not surprised. "He doesn't know anything about me. Except . . ." Wolfgang raises his eyebrows at Kala, and she blushes a deep red at his expression. "You could have waited to tell them, you know."
"I know. But I'd just told them about the divorce." She had insisted on telling her parents everything during one long, confused, family dinner. And now, in addition to their sensate connection, her parents know that Wolfgang is the man for whom she left Rajan. "I didn't want to surprise them about you. About us." Her fingers flutter against Wolfgang's; she gives a faint smile. "I don't want to pretend anymore. I don't want to make excuses. I just want to be with you."
He feels the conviction in her words, and his heart swells, fiercely protective of what they have. He touches his forehead to hers, kisses her before he leans back against his seat. "Kala," he murmurs, pragmatic once more, "I'm sure finding out about us was only slightly less upsetting than knowing about BPO."
"That's not true, Wolfgang," Kala protests, but she frowns ruefully. Of course her parents had been horrified to learn about BPO: They had cried and fretted and hugged her as if to assure themselves she was truly with them. Wolfgang watched her explain the science of what she is; explain why she had been gone for so long, answer several questions about the months she'd disappeared from them.
But then Kala had taken a deep breath, and before he realized what she was doing, she'd confessed the rest: about her wedding, her marriage. The divorce. Him.
He felt Kala's agitation before she shut him out to spare him her parents' reactions. He'd seen enough to know they were predictably shocked, probably horrified. And if he's honest, he'll admit that he was more than half afraid she would cave under their censure; that the guilt would be too difficult.
But Kala had nearly lost him. When she thinks of her parents' faces after she told them about Wolfgang - confused, disappointed - it was nothing compared to the terror she had felt when she believed she'd lost him forever. And she knows with absolute certainty that while she wants her parents' blessing, their disapproval doesn't matter; she will not willingly lose Wolfgang.
That was just a few weeks ago. And in that time, the idea that there is a new man in Kala's life is somehow still more difficult to comprehend than that Kala is a different species. There is no logic, no science to explain Wolfgang. She simply loves him.
All of her thoughts and emotions flash through Wolfgang, and he turns slightly to look at her again. "Maybe we should give them more time to adjust," he says, not for the first time. "Maybe wait until the divorce is final. Wait with me." Wolfgang had gone back to Berlin, the threat of the Kings -and Lila - removed.
Kala shakes her head. "No," she says. "I'm done hiding from my own family. And who knows how long the divorce will take? The longer we wait, the harder this will get." He understands that Kala doesn't need to add "for me". She needs him there, beside her, in real life and not just through their connection, now that the divorce is dragging, becoming much more difficult than either of them had expected. Wolfgang nods, resigned.
In Mumbai, he gets up from the space behind the potted plant and watches Sanyam speak firmly on the cell phone, arm waving to emphasize a point. Sanyam is clearly annoyed, but he catches his daughter's eye again, gives an exaggerated shrug, and suddenly grins, winking at her.
A great, warm feeling, likely Kala's, seeps through the connection. "I hope he doesn't hate me." The words spill before Wolfgang has a chance to recall them, before he can stomp them down and hide behind indifference. But the truth is that he understands the closeness of Kala's family, especially her relationship with her father. She loves him, and Wolfgang thinks, if he's honest, he wants Sanyam's approval.
Wolfgang is back in his seat on the plane, Kala beside him.
"He will love you," she says, with so much conviction in her voice that he permits himself a small smile. She leans over and kisses him softly on the mouth. "You'll see."
His hand reaches up to cup her face before she sits back. He tilts his head and kisses her deeply, drawing comfort from the promise in her kiss.
Kala lifts her head. "I love you," she says softly. "I'll see you soon."
He nods, more to assure himself than her.
...
"Kala."
Kala looks up, attention refocusing on her surroundings. She smiles at her father, makes room for him to sit next to her.
"All good?" she asks, slightly breathless, excited for Wolfgang's arrival. She notices the expression on her father's face and frowns in concern. Half way to the airport, his cell phone had gone off. The event planner who hired him has spoken with him three times since this morning, frantic over the appetizers.
Sanyam sighs, shakes his head as he sits down next to Kala. "This time," he says," she questions whether the bhindi amchur is too spicy and should be replaced by the paneer pakoras instead. I've told her several times I can make it less spicy, but now she asks me what if what I think is not spicy is, in fact, very spicy." He shrugs, and gives a chuckle. "There's no pleasing some people," he says, tucking his cell phone back into his shirt pocket.
"The dinner is tonight! You just can't change things last minute, especially for such a large number of people." Kala scowls, frustrated for her father. "That is ridiculous."
"Yes, yes. But it's still a nice opportunity," he responds, much more forgiving. The event itself is a business awards ceremony in the city centre, where he has never catered before. "That was good of Rajan to recommend me," he adds.
Kala nods in agreement, although she suspects her father would have been perfectly content to run the family restaurant in relative anonymity. She wonders if he accepted the job more as a favor for Rajan than the other way around.
They are silent for a minute or two before Sanyam shifts to face his daughter more easily. "Kala," he asks, tone delicate, "does Rajan know that this man is coming here? Did you tell him?"
Kala's brows furrow. Since telling her parents about Wolfgang, they've asked her almost nothing about him. She thought they accepted that part of her story, as difficult as it was to hear. When her father insisted on coming with her to the airport, she'd been surprised only because she knew of the big catering job. Kala tilts her head. "I did not tell Rajan," she says slowly. "Why do you ask?"
Sanyam selects his words carefully. "Things will be awkward if Rajan doesn't know and you're seen with this - with Wolfgang," he says, testing the name. He's only said Wolfgang's name once before, on the night she told him about Wolfgang's existence. "Rajan should know, so it's not a surprise."
"Oh." Kala gives a small exhale. She's not quite sure what to make of her father's request. "I do not think Rajan will be surprised to see Wolfgang here," she finally says. "He's met Wolfgang. Rajan knows about him; that we have a - a special bond." She pauses, suddenly suspicious. "Dad," she asks bluntly, "are you really concerned about Rajan? Or is there something else that bothers you?"
Sanyam looks up for a moment, gives a deep sigh before finally meeting Kala's guarded brown eyes. He takes her hand, devoid of her engagement ring and wedding band, turns it palm up and then back around.
"Kala," he says carefully, "you know how much we love you. That we will always support you." He smiles a little, recalling several unconventional decisions. "Even if we don't fully understand, we've always trusted you to know your mind."
Kala gives a nervous exhale. "But," she prompts.
"But," he concedes on a sigh, "are you sure about this? That you want to go through with this divorce? All for this man you do not really know?"
Kala's eyes widen in surprise. She grips her father's hand and shakes it a little. "Dad. I told you."
He nods impatiently, dismissively: "Yes, yes. I know. Your Cluster. Your connection. Your bond with Wolfgang. But you've only just met him." Sanyam gives a small huff of frustration, but Kala can tell it isn't directed at her, but at himself as he struggles to find the right words. "Kala. This decision is so final. Are you sure you want to give up your marriage so hastily? That you won't regret doing so in another year, when things have calmed down?"
Kala's hand stills in her father's. She pulls it away, burned. "Hastily?" she repeats, stung by Sanyam's words. "How can you ask me that when you know I always think things through? You know I do nothing 'hastily'." She looks back at him, hurt. "You, of all people."
Sanyam shakes his head and sighs, shoulders falling forward. "I just want to make sure you know your mind; that you will be happy. Your mother and I worry… What if you're confusing your mental bond with that man for love?"
Kala gets up, paces. In many ways, she knew this conversation was coming: Her parents had been too quiet, too shocked by the revelation of everything all at once. They asked some things about BPO: information that made the news, her involvement, her Cluster's involvement; general information about the Cluster.
But Wolfgang and Rajan and the divorce. They left those topics alone; deliberately said nothing in the days and weeks since finding out.
Except now, with Wolfgang arriving, it must seem more real to them than anything she's yet said.
Kala is careful not to let her agitation bleed into the collective consciousness of the Cluster: Wolfgang is already concerned about meeting her family. If she weren't so upset herself she could find the humor in this, somewhere.
Kala takes a breath, sits back down next to her father, eyes meeting his. "Dad," she says, pausing. "Do you remember why you thought I may have doubts about marrying Rajan?"
He nods his head. "Yes."
"Why?" she asks. "Tell me."
Sanyam thinks back, frowns. "You seemed anxious," he says. "Nervous, and at first I thought it was because of Rajan's father." Sanyam broods over this, recalling his indignation at slights - real or perceived - that he'd noted, even if Kala had not. He shakes his head. "You seemed content to spend time with Rajan chaperoned by Auntie or with the family, not asking for time alone unless Rajan asked. I admit that seemed odd to me, but..." He shrugs, finally sighs: "But what convinced me were your eyes."
"My eyes?" Kala repeats, surprised.
"Yes." He smiles at her, takes back her hand. "A father knows when his child is only trying to please him. When her joy appears only when she sees it in you." He sighs."You never seemed truly excited. And sometimes, when I would catch you by yourself, sitting with your work in the drawing room. You looked... So lost. I could tell when you looked at me..." He drifts in thought, mouth pressed tightly together.
Kala watches him softly, asks in a quiet voice: "Is that how I am now, when I wait for Wolfgang?"
He stills, caught. He says nothing for several seconds.
"No," he admits, but he doesn't elaborate. Instead, he squeezes her hand, eyes still full of concern.
She returns the gentle squeeze and smiles at him. "Please give him a chance," she says. "I've never been more certain of anything. I love him very much."
Sanyam looks into her eyes- confident, assured - and sighs, unable to withstand her.
"I hope this Wolfgang is worthy of you," he mumbles as she gives him quick hug.
But he worries, nonetheless, that the divorce is a mistake.
A/N: Thank you for reading! As always, reviews are appreciated:-)