“I had no choice but to leave, you know that.”
“I know all about it. It’s fine.”
The set of his jaw told her that it was anything but fine. “I
wanted to stay. I don’t know if that helps.”
He raised his eyes from the desktop and met her gaze. “I
wanted you to stay,” he said quietly.
Alaina didn’t know what she was going to say next, but she
didn’t have to figure something out because the door bounced open to reveal a
tiny Asian woman carrying two large pizza delivery boxes, wearing a neon pink
jacket. She paused and looked Alaina over from head to toe before entering.
“Took forever to get through the line,” she said in fluent
English as she crossed the room to set the boxes on the desk.
Jigme gestured toward Alaina. “She knows Dzongkha,” he said.
“Alaina, this is Sabitri.”
Sabitri began moving very deliberately and slowly as she
opened the boxes and got the pizza laid out for them to eat. “Alaina,” she said
flatly. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Alaina shot a look at Jigme. Her presence in Bhutan all
those years ago was supposed to be a secret still; if he’d told this girl about
her, who else had he told?
Jigme shrugged. “Stories about the Canadian woman who joined
the revolution never fail to garner interest.”
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