shoulders and I felt like my heart was breaking inside my chest as I held myself back from going to her.
“I never wanted you to give up your music,” he said, his voice defensive. “Doctors can play music in their spare time. You could –”
“Mr Radia,” Jack’s voice cut through my father’s as he moved forward to stand between my family and me. “I will admit that, as I am very much in love with your daughter, I am somewhat biased.”
Kira and I sucked in simultaneous shocked breaths at that declaration but Jack wasn’t finished.
“Anyone who watched Urvi perform today would know that she is never going to be doctor. She was born to write music and perform. It’s her lifeblood. People would kill to have her talent. Today she performed to a packed auditorium of people and rendered them all spellbound for a magical twenty minutes. I’m afraid that if you can’t support her, if you can’t offer her unconditional love in this moment, then, and I know it’s not my place, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
Dad blinked at Jack before a slow smile spread over his face.
“I think I might like you, Jack,” he said and to my complete shock he stepped forward to shake Jack’s hand. Then he turned to me.
“Bubba, I’m sorry,” he said, the tears back in his eyes as he stared at me.
“Oh, Dad,” I whispered as a tear escaped and rolled into his greying beard. And that was it. I was in my dad’s arms for the first time in over a year and a half.
“We . . . I was wrong,” Rahul said, his stiff tone showing how much he hated to apologise for anything. Rahul was a solicitor. He and my parents saw the world in black and white: professionals and non-professionals. He’d thought I was throwing my life away when I left medical school. He probably still thought that, however good I’d been up on that stage. But he loved me.
“Okay, weasel-face,” I muttered, my own eyes filling with tears as I turned and fell into his arms. Mum was full-on sobbing next to us now so, after squeezing Rahul and kicking him in the shin (he deserved both), I hugged her as well. When her sobs subsided enough for me to start to pull back she held onto my shoulders then her hands went to my hair. She clicked her tongue.
“You couldn’t have had a haircut for today?” she asked, and I rolled my eyes. Reunion or not, some things stayed the same.
Chapter 14
All I needed
Urvi
Boundaries.
I was getting better with them.
My family may have changed their tune, but I wasn’t quite ready to let them in yet. After the performance I went to have coffee with them, although I was firm with Jack that I needed to do it on my own. I listened to their apologies and I accepted them. But I couldn’t take down my self-protective wall. Not yet. They’d hurt me and I wasn’t going to get past that in just one afternoon. Roles had reversed and now it was them asking me when they could see me again when we finished, them trying to make me accept their money. Mum got so upset that I didn’t even have the heart to tell them about the diabetes. It could wait. Rahul told me he was getting married next year. He asked if I would be a bridesmaid and I had to say no. Not to be harsh, not to be petty - but I hadn’t even met his bride-to-be. I wasn’t going to slot into the perfect daughter and sister role I’d been ejected from a year and a half ago that easily. It would take time.
Later on I arrived back at the flat and was faced with an impatient-looking Jack.
“Why are you standing around outside?” I asked as he pushed off from the wall beside the intercom.
“Kira wouldn’t let me in,” he grumbled. “I think she gets some sort of sick pleasure from watching me suffer.”
“When did you get here? Have you been out here all afternoon?” My voice rose in disbelief as he slowly nodded.
“Urvi,” he reached for me but I flinched away and he sighed. “I couldn’t risk not catching you then being blocked again. I need to speak to you. The John Lewis ad, it’s not what you think. That’s not what –”
“I heard you Jack,” I told him. “I gave you the benefit of the doubt