Sora delayed crawling out of her sickbed for as long as she possibly could. When the smell of steamed veggies and herbs wafted into her burrow, she poked out her head to listen. Down below she heard familiar footsteps padding to and fro on the ground floor of the house.

"Honey, you want me to come up there?"

Her throat made a hash of her reply. So much for shouting.

Sora trundled downstairs bundled up in her comforter to find Ravi setting out bags of Styrofoam takeout containers and plastic utensils in front of the TV.

"Not very green of me, but I didn't figure either of us'd be up to doing the dishes. Vegetarian soup for you, étouffée for me."

"You're torturing me." Sora's mouth watered at the smell of his food even as her stomach pitched a fit. Self-control. Keep it together.

"When you're feeling like your old self, I'll take you out to this place the couture staff recommended. They make the best Cajun cuisine this side of the Louisiana-Texas border."

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

"I don't do that anymore. Come over here and sit down before you faint."

Sora relocated to the sofa, mummifying herself in yards of down till only her head and hands were visible.

"Got your tissue." He sat a box in arm's reach. "I also picked up some cough medicine. Wasn't sure if you're allowed the OTC stuff, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to bring."

"You thought of everything." Sora pushed the remote in his direction. "Pull up a patch of couch. I'm not moving."

"You're letting me control the remote?"

"Don't let it go to your head. I can't focus on the buttons."

"Okay, it's your pick."

Ravi filled the space beside her nicely, if closer than she would have expected him to sit of his own volition. He cut on the television and switched to the cable guide to scroll through the available features.

Sora swept her hair back from her sweaty face. "Where's Dhiren? I thought you told me he was back from Fresno for a long weekend."

"Hana has him. I had dinner with Kam and Dad, but when Aiko showed, I started to feel like I was intruding."

"Kamran and Aiko, take three? I think it's three." Her sister was convinced Kamran was the one who got away. He doesn't seem to have gotten very far.

"It'd be nice if it worked out." Ravi flipped through Just Released previews and let them play through on mute. "I'm at a loose end when my kid's not with me. How pathetic is that?"

Sora blotted her stinging nose. "Tommy knows more of my innermost fears than anybody my own age. He doesn't judge me. There are times when the unconditional love of a child is the only truly genuine emotion in the world. It's healing." Sora took her bowl of soup and tucked in. She purred in satisfaction. If I weren't sick I could kiss him for bringing me this. She could eat an entire pot.

Ravi made a like meal of his étouffé, crossing his legs to situate the bowl. Sora vowed to steal the rest from him if he didn't finish the lot.

"Wise words. True ones. Dhiren was a good distraction once I had him with me. Helped me to see the world sans inhibition. He's not jaded the way I am—I wasn't aware of how ugly it had gotten in my head till he pointed out the good I wasn't able to see. The bitterness...doesn't bear mentioning."

"Bitterness, my old friend."

"We're not going to be bitter. We've got too much to be thankful for. You're mother to a beautiful boy, a respected CEO, and you have your health. I've got my children and Misra and a friend in you. Bitterness can take a hike."

"That's easier said than done. I've gotten attached to that anger. How do you let go of it when it's become a sustaining force?" Sora didn't want to see what he thought of what she was saying. She watched the trailer of another sequel to a movie she hadn't seen in the first place flash past, idly spinning her spoon in hand. "Being angry is an addiction. If I just stay angry I won't have a chance to be depressed. The regret can't catch up to me if hold onto that anger to get me through the day. What comes after that?"

Ravi stretched his legs to rest on her coffee table.

"Nobody kicks an addiction cold turkey. You kick it in stages, you wean yourself from needing it all the time to some of the time, to as little possible, to none. Swap out the fury, replace it. Face it and let it go. Good stuff will come to fill up the empty places. Take love. Love can be a remedy."

"Love did all the damage. How can it begin to fix it?"

Ravi looked at her askance, understanding etched on his features. "Love's funny like that."

"I guess it is." She rolled her neck, feeling heat creeping upward and not knowing whether that was fever or a flush. These deep talks were exhausting, more so when her emotional reserves were down to the dregs. Sora was bone tired. It's beginning to show.

"Go ahead, lean on me. Take the strain off your back." Ravi raised his arm in invitation.

Sure, it's been that kind of day. She set aside her soup to make the most of the carte blanche she had in his personal bubble and migrated, cover and all, to under his arm. Physical boundaries were of little consequence as it was; still, it was nice to have someone to lean on again.

Having known him all this time, it shouldn't have come as a surprise that Ravi was more strapping than he looked. He'd gained some weight; she hadn't suspected how much of it was muscle. She poked his shoulder till he batted her hand.

"I told you, I'm built like an ox."

Sora looked him over.

"It's a metaphor."

She smiled to herself. "Sure it is."

"Keep that up, I'll take my soup and go home."

"Who'd watch Vanilla Sky with me if you weren't here?"

He began to look pained.

"Vanilla...Sky?"

"You said it was my pick."

"Can't we watch something else? Anything else? A silent film, maybe. Die Hard?"

Sora would not be moved. "Which one of us is sick here?"

"If I have to watch that crap, we both might be."

"My TV, my rules."

"If I wasn't so crazy about you, I'd be out of here."

Sora's borrowed heart flipped.

"I'll keep that in mind."

They watched the movie. Ravi nodded off around twenty minutes in. Sora's meds had her out like a light by twenty-five. When she woke up swaddled in covers with Ravi's arms still around her, she didn't protest. She hadn't slept this comfortably in months.

The nighttime news was playing and the food was put away. There wasn't any mess. This is what a clean slate feels like. I could have this. Sora wiggled her toes and settled back to sleep. Sadness was no longer her sole loyal companion. Ravi Misra was a contender.