Page 8 of Never Too Late
‘Exactly. They didn’t say much but I think the fact that they were finally there after such a long time of not seeing them and me feeling so frustrated that I couldn’t spend time with them put it all into perspective. Yes, I was earning a fortune, I had a great apartment and, from the outside, a fabulous lifestyle but I wasn’t actually getting to enjoy any of it and certainly not with the people that meant the most to me. There was no balance. It was all work and no life.’ He lifted his hands. ‘What was the point?’
‘So what happened?’
‘I handed in my notice, sold my apartment and moved back to India.’ He smiled ruefully. ‘Some would say that was rather a backward step.’
‘Some should mind their own business.’
Ashok laughed. ‘That is very true.’
‘So how did you go from being a lawyer to being a hotel mogul?’
There it was again, that deep, velvety laugh. I was far from ready for any relationship, especially with a man who lived thousands of miles away, although… I looked around. There were definitely worse places to live, especially when I thought of the cold, grubby slush that was apparently still adorning the pavements of home right now. But something in his easy laugh, the relaxed body language, the simple enjoyment of a meal and easy connection sparked something deep in my soul. Something I’d thought had long since shrivelled and crumbled away into dust. The woman I used to be.
My phone pinged and I checked the message as Ashok called over a waitress and ordered some coffees and then checked his own phone.
Met some people at the bar and chatting. You OK? Xx
Sasha’s text made me smile. How the tables turn as you get older. Now it was the child checking on the parent.
I’m fine. You carry on xx
She sent me a kissy face and I turned back to Ashok.
‘Let’s hear it then,’ I said, smiling at the waitress as she brought a large cafetière and placed it, along with two fine bone china cups and saucers, on the table in front of us.
‘Would you like me to prepare the coffee?’ she asked, a little shyly. Clearly, she knew who he was.
‘I’ll do it, thanks,’ he said.
She gave a little nod and hurried off. He leant forward and slowly pressed the plunger down before pouring the coffees and launching into his tale.
5
‘I worked in hospitality during school holidays and all through university,’ Ashok explained. ‘It can be tough. Unsociable hours, poor working conditions, getting the brunt of an unhappy customer’s ire because they don’t agree with the hotel or restaurant’s policy, something that you, of course, had no control over.’
‘I can imagine.’
‘But I also saw the other side. The joy of people finally getting a longed-for holiday, taking time together. At times, you could practically see the stress evaporating from them. When I came back to India, I spent some much-needed time with my family and travelling, seeing old friends. It was a conversation with one of those, an off-hand comment really, that got me thinking. Someone he knew through business dealings needed to offload some assets, including this hotel.’
‘And you decided to buy it?’
‘Yep! I just thought, why not?’
‘That’s as good a reason as any.’
‘Exactly!’ he said, raising a hand in agreement. ‘Obviously, my family thought I was going from the frying pan into the fire but if there was one thing I’d learned from my time as a lawyer, it was about setting boundaries. Both for me and other people.’
‘Not as easy as all that, is it?’ I replied, thinking of all the times I’d said yes to school functions, PTA duties, school trip accompaniment requests, dinner hosting for my ex’s colleagues. I’d smiled and nodded and said yes to everything when all the while, inside I was screaming that I didn’t want to. But gradually, the inside voice had got quieter and quieter until eventually, it had faded away. At least I thought it had. But that flicker of life I’d felt, that hint of something earlier… maybe it meant that perhaps the old me, the girl I was, was still in there somewhere.
She’d been a girl who had known what she wanted. She’d set boundaries when they suited her but never said no if she meant yes, or yes if she meant no. For her, life was out there to be explored, to be discovered, to be lived! And she had lived – until she had loved and lost. And that one loss had led to so many others.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Sash sitting at the bar, laughing with the barman and a small group of others her age. I felt the same surge in my heart I always got whenever I saw her happy. Nearly thirty years later and it still hadn’t faded. For all the life that I had planned but didn’t live, I could never regret it because without that broken heart and those shattered dreams, I wouldn’t have Sasha. And she was worth everything.
Sipping my drink, I let my gaze travel, letting it rest momentarily on the woodland of acacias that abounded the outdoor pool and lounge area. From there, my eyes drifted to the palms, their architectural palmate leaves reaching out, dark and glossy. Dotted about, adding height to the design, their trunks wrapped with soft white fairy lights, were tall, thin banana palms. And all around, large bushes, the name of which I had yet to discover, were smothered in tiny, white flowers that almost glowed in the low light. During the day when Sash and I sat by the pool, I’d watch as dragonflies buzzed past, their jewel-bright colours flashing in the Indian sun as huge butterflies flapped from plant to plant, resting and feeding as they made their way around the beautifully landscaped garden.
Ashok had mentioned he had insisted on including lots of pollinator-friendly plants in the redesign of the gardens, not only for colour but with an ecological awareness that, from what he had said, wasn’t always shown in his country, but something he hoped would only increase.
My gaze now travelled back to the pool bar, as apparently so had my companion’s.
