I don't know how to react.

“So, what did you think?” Candace asks me.

“She’s incredible. I had no idea her research was so groundbreaking. The possibilities are just incredible,” I say.

“Yeah, she's going to be a prodigy,” Candace agrees with me.

“I just never knew she was infertile. That's a bit to take in,” I admit still processing that fact.

“You didn’t know that about her, did you?” Candace eyes me with sympathy.

“No, I wasn’t aware,” I say.

“I think I’m going to leave you two alone tonight,” Candace says as she pats my leg one last time before letting go, “you two have a lot to talk about.”

“At least wait and congratulate Piya on her presentation.”

“Of course. My hospital wants her working for us bad and after that, we're going to have some competition.”

It takes several minutes for Piya and the other presenters to come down off stage after talking amongst themselves for a little while. No doubt congratulating themselves on a job well done. By the time Piya does there is a sizable gathering waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs leading up. Piya is swamped by the crowd of people, all eager to borrow a few minutes of her time. Candance and I are **** back to the edge of the gathering. I see Piya and can tell she is a little overwhelmed by at all the attention and praise. Eventually, our eyes meet and she gestures for me to come and join her in the centre of the crowd.

I excuse myself from Candace and have to push my way through the huddled mass towards her.

“Hey," she says to me, glad for my presence.

“You were great. I'm so proud of you,” I tell her as I reach around her shoulders to give her an encouraging hug.

Piya gives me a shy smile, “So I know we have a bit to talk about but can it wait until we're at the hotel? I just really need your help with these people right now.”

“Of course, whatever you need,” I say determined to help however I can.

Piya takes my hand and turns us to the main bulk of the people announcing, “This is my manager and all offer of employment or business need to go through him.”

I’m immediately the focus of attention as one after another person reaches out to grasp and shake my hand and congratulate me on what an exciting and ground-breaking speech Piya just gave. Each person wanting to set up a meeting to discuss the next stage of Piya career that instance. After being thrown in at the deep end by Piya I manage to gain a small amount of control over the situation by promising that Piya and I had another day in Sydney and would arrange for everyone to have the opportunity to make their offers to us in person if they would each give me their contact information in order to arrange a time for them to meet at our hotel tomorrow. I’m left holding an extremely large handful of business cards and brochures before I am able to extradite myself and then Piya from the audience.

We make for the exit of the conference and hail a taxi. In the car, Piya becomes uncharacteristically quiet and untalkative on the way back to the hotel and it's honestly making me more than a little nervous and worried. I sense in her a nervousness I've never experienced in her before. Piya to me has always been so confident in everything and it is one of the things that so attracted me to her. During the entire, not more than a dozen words would she have said to me before I open the door to our room and we both step inside.

Finally when the door closes Piya breaks into hysterical crying as she buries her face into my chest, sobbing loudly.

“Hey what’s gotten into you?” I say, pulling Piya back away from me so that I can look into her face. Her eyeliner already smudged and running like black tears.

“I’m sorry I never told you,” she manages to get out through giant sobs.

“What, that you're infertile?” I ask, not seeing why she would think I would be so upset by this.

“When I told my stupid ex, everything changed!” Piya says in a wail, “he was never the same to me again and treated me like shit ever since. Like it was all my fault and something I chose.”

“Is that what he was being a jackarse to you at the picnic about?” I ask getting mad at him thinking back to that day.

Piya nods to me.

“Hey! That’s not going to happen with me,” I say pulling her close to me and hugging her ardently.

“But I want a baby so much,” Piya confessing, once again falling into great sobbing tears.

“If there’s any chance in the world I would give you one. You just need to keep looking with your research. Piya, you could have told me this before and I wouldn’t have been mad. You shouldn’t have kept this bottled up inside you,” I tell her without sounding like I’m scolding.

“I know and I should have,” Piya says getting her emotions under control, “it’s just we’ve been so perfect and after my ex I started worrying that things with you would change if I told you like they did with him and then I started obsessing that I hadn’t told you and it became that much harder to tell you and I just kept putting it off and hating myself more and more for keeping it from you.”

Piya begins to spiral into a loop forcing me to have to cut her off.

“Piya I love you for who you are, no matter how you are. I’m in this for the good as well as the bad.”

“You don’t see me as less than a woman if I can have children,” she asked, hope in her eyes.

“You are the most beautiful woman I know,” I tell her.

“I’m still desirable to you like this?”

To prove my point, I lifted Piya off her feet then and carried her to the bed. I allowed my actions to show her exactly how beautiful and desirable I found her. I made love to her for close to two hours that afternoon. Slow, gentle, soulful love. Our faces pressed to each other; forehead, lips and chin. It was the quietest I’d ever heard Piya. Her screams replaced by low gasps and soundless moans.

Afterwards, I left Piya entwined between the sheets to have room service bring up a pot of tea and sandwiches to the room. As she lay eating and sipping her cup, I began working through the stack of cards I’d received at Piya’s presentation. Organising for people to meet with us for fifteen minutes in turn. Starting at 9 am the next morning and through to 6 pm the next night. Candace, we organised to have dinner with that final night in Sydney before we flew home the next morning.

With close to thirty phone calls made Piya and I were too physically and emotionally drained to go out again that night. Just making our way downstairs for a low key dinner in the hotel’s restaurant before returning to our room.

As Piya shut the door behind us, I sat on the edge of the beach to take off my shoes and get out of my clothes.

“I’m putting the latch on the door tonight. Candance isn’t walking in on us tomorrow morning,” Piya said as she slid the chain across on the door before taking a running leap back onto the bed.

Cuddling up next to me she kissed me hotly on the lips before informing me, “now make love to me again like you did to me before.”

The next morning…