Page 80 of Yours for the Season
“I’ve been retired for over two years,” Naveed started. “And your mother joined me last year. We’ve taken cruises and fixed up the house, and I’ve built a dozen Gundam robots.”
Sameera exchanged a baffled glance with Nadiya. They knew all this. What was her father getting at?
“I’m bored,” Naveed announced. “I’ve been bored silly for about six months.” He glanced at his wife, and Tahsin nodded. “What weboth need is a new adventure. Something different. Something exciting. Something like starting a business, right here in Wolf Run.”
Sameera gaped at her father. What was he talking about? It was true Naveed had been at loose ends lately, but this sounded as if he’d been looking for something new.
“Your father and I are going into business together,” Rob announced. “Andy had the right idea, you know. Wolf Run needs a shot of new life, but not a massive transformation. Between the two of us, we have the contacts, cash, and interest to turn this place into a ski resort. A small one,” he hastened to add.
“Exclusive,” Tahsin chimed in. “Aimed at retirees, families, people looking for a bit of skiing in a quaint small town. Wolf Run is perfect.”
This time Sameera’s confusion was shared by her sister. “But you don’t even ski. Are you moving to Alaska?”
Naveed shook his head, then, thinking it over, shrugged. “Not at first, no. But your mother and I will be spending a lot of time here to help get the business up and running.” He glanced between Sameera and Tom, who had grown still beside her. “Now you and Tom will both have a reason to return.”
Sameera turned to look at Tom, and the happiness she saw in his eyes made her answer easy. “We can’t wait,” she said.
Epilogue
Ten months later
“This is the hungry one, right?” Tom asked Sameera as they parked their car in her parents’ driveway. She shook her head at her fiancé in fond bemusement. After ten months together, he still thought that joke was funny, even after fasting with her a couple of times this past Ramadan. Sameera was still not an observant Muslim, but she found the practice of fasting meditative, and she had decided to participate this year for a few days. It also made her mother happy, which she suspected was Tom’s real motivation to “starve himself and not even drink water,” as he put it.
Sameera shifted the platter of samosas to her other hand and reached for the pile of Eid gifts. Tom scooped them from her easily.
“Do you think Esa will like what we got him?” he asked, mischief shining in his eyes.
They had bought him a vintage elf doll, in honor of her little brother’s successful YouTube show, where he helped young children use their traditions and culture to prank their families. Sameera played the clip of the desi family biting into the samosas turned fortune cookie segment a half dozen times, and still cracked up at the confused expression on the parents’ faces when they pulled a curled-up fortune from their South Asian pastries.
“He’ll love it, but not as much as Nadiya will love her gift,” Sameera said. After much discussion, they had decided to send her sister on a spa vacation—one where she had to stay silent for a week and endure an entire catalog’s worth of massages, mud baths, manicures, pedicures, and facials. She would hate every second but come back feeling better. Her sister had been working hard, finishing her thesis and volunteering with various UK charities; she deserved a break.
Rob flung open the door before they got halfway up the driveway. He looked happy, his lined face lighter. Things still weren’t perfect between him and Tom, but they were both working on the relationship. It helped that Naveed and Tahsin’s enthusiasm for their joint project provided a good distraction, plus a reliably safe topic of conversation.
The parents were clear that they wanted to design and set up their business according to their very specific demographic, though thankfully, they soon realized that building an entire ski resort was too ambitious. Instead, they had settled on a multipronged approach. Step one was to work with the Wolf Run Business Association to set up the town as a holiday destination. The ski run they had envisioned was now a few smaller hills and three bed-and-breakfasts. Each one was already booked for the season, in addition to Cooke Place. At Barb’s urging, they had decided to turn the house into an inn. Starting the operation had taken Naveed’s full attention; his Gundam robots had been sadly neglected, but Sameera couldn’t remember when she had seen her father happier.
Naturally, Tahsin’s superior organizational abilities had proven invaluable in this endeavor. In addition to setting up the inn and strategizing for the eventual ski resort, Tahsin had become an expert on local politics, Wolf Run vendettas, rumors, and alliances. It wasn’t much different from running a school, she explained to a bemused Tom and Sameera over FaceTime—except schoolchildren were better behaved.
Sameera hefted her tray, which she had refused to relinquish to Tom. She was too protective over its contents, and she couldn’t wait to see her family’s reaction when they sampled her firstediblebatch ofsamosas. Traditional fillings only, this time—peas and potatoes in half, the other filled with savory meat.
Rob embraced both Tom and Sameera at the door before leading the way to the kitchen, where her mother stood watch over various pots. Bee and Lorenzo sat at the table, folding linen napkins. Her friend immediately gave her a hug, and Lorenzo and Tom smiled and shook hands. They were on their way to becoming fast friends, as per Bee’s and Sameera’s instructions.
“Did you invite the entire neighborhood?” Sameera asked, putting her tray down. Tom was already peering inside pots with interest. He had been on the phone with Tahsin every day for the past week, putting together this Eid lunch menu, and he seemed satisfied with the result.
“Don’t be silly, Sameerabeta, this will barely be enough for our family,” Tahsin said. Her mother still seemed harried, moving a mile a minute, but she was glowing. Running a business suited her.
Sameera greeted Barb, Esa, and Calvin, who were chatting in the living room, before going in search of her father. She found Naveed in the basement, surrounded by his LEGO bricks and Gundam models and looking a little forlorn.
“EidMubarak, Dad,” she said as he leaned into the hug.
“EidMubarak,beta,” he said, turning around. “Is Tom here?”
“He’s inspecting lunch,” she confirmed with a smile. She had been doing a lot of smiling lately. It had been a good year.
When she had returned to work in the new year, it was to surprising news: Andy Shaikh had gotten in touch with her firm to inquire about representation and had insisted on working exclusively with Sameera. The email he sent to her personal account wasn’t quite an apology for his behavior, but with the rates he was paying, it didn’t have to be. Even Blake had started to treat her with respect, knocking on her office door at least once before barging inside. The senior partners had offered their congratulations, and there was talk of a promotion in her future, though she wasn’t sure she would take it. Maybe she’d branch out on her own. Sameera was considering her next move, now that her financeswere more settled and her relationship with her family more stable. It felt good to have options.
Life was good. Except her father looked sad, and the glow faded a bit.
“What’s wrong, Dad?” she asked. “Did you and Rob get into another argument about the decor? You know, turning the foyer of Cooke Place into a memorial for your favorite Persian poet will only confuse your guests.”
