“So, you overwhelm her now?” Kamal chuckled and walked off with Arya. Ganesha rose and trotted after him.
“Forget Kamal.” She handed me a book. “Okay. We should discuss the Seven vows taken by the bride and groom while walking around the sacred fire.”
“Oh shit.” Karen laughed. “We’re going to have a sacred fire, elephants, yellow paste, broom jumping, and choreographed Bollywood dancing. Girl, this is going to be some Game of Thrones meets Chronicles of Narnia shit.”
“That doesn’t make sense.” Holding in my laughter, I pointed at her. “And no more wine.”
“Fine.” Karen burped. “Tell me more about this sacred fire.”
How the hell am I going to schedule all of this? I’m definitely going to do some rearranging.Chapter 22
JadeEight months later
A Celebration of Love
We’d just finished the puja.
Earlier that morning, my mother-in-law brought over my wedding attire. They called the intimate ceremony parasam. Under Mrs. Patel and my instructions, Ross designed the crop top and lehenga—a full ankle-length skirt. He’d done a breathtaking job. It was a rich red color enhanced with gold beading over high-quality pure chiffon. The embroidering was luxurious. I had no idea he was so talented.
Additionally, my mother-in-law personally brought over a huge amount of rich jewelry for the event. On my wedding day, I would be adorned in jewels and precious metals.
I lifted a gold chain with gems dangling from them. “This is amazing, Mommy.”
“A bride must be expected to carry some gold on her. It represents wealth and prosperity.”
“I love it all.”
Next, she pulled out the kanjipuram saree. The saree was nine yards of high-quality silk. In my wedding day, I would drape it around my body. When I gave birth to my child, the saree would be my baby’s first blanket.
She kissed my cheek. “The kanjipuram saree is believed to be a favorite of Lord Vishnu. If you wear it, you will have a divine blessing.”
“Sounds great to me.”
Laughing, Mrs. Patel embraced me. “You will be the most beautiful bride of this year. I’m so happy that you will officially be my daughter, although you’ve always been that to me.”
“I love you, Mommy.”
“And I love you. Jade, you will make my son so happy.” Her eyes watered. “Be sure he does the same. If not, call me. Mommy will come over and slap him around.”
I laughed through my tears. “I know.”
“But he will do what is right.”
“You taught him well.”
“He makes me a very proud mother.” She held me tight to her.
We stayed there for several minutes until Zora broke us up. She’d become the unofficial wedding coordinator, making sure all activities ran on schedule, guests were comfortable, and every decoration was in proper order. Zora had even made sure each wedding guest’s room had a basket full of snacks, cookies, and a bottle of wine with Kamal’s and my names on it.
Zora whispered in my ear, “Now is a good time to check.”
I sighed.
“Go ahead. You’re going to worry about it the whole time. I left everything in the bathroom.”
“Okay.” I headed there, nervous as hell. Once I entered, I followed the directions on the pregnancy test and waited.
Of all the things I must deal with. . .
Those minutes served as the longest in my life.
Come on. What will it be?
I set my phone to signal that time was up.
When it rang, I picked up the stick and checked.
No way.
Stunned, I stood in the bathroom, staring at the white stick. Two lines showed on the result window.
I’m pregnant. Holy shit.
The world spun around me. I breathed through the anxiety rising in my chest.
A knock came at the door.
I jumped.
Zora whispered on the other side, “What does it say?”
“Yes.”
“Oh!”
“Zora, calm down.” I opened the door and let her in.
“Yes!” Wearing a bright yellow dress, she rushed in and closed the door. “You’re—”
“Shh.” I kept my voice low. “Everyone is going to hear you.”
She covered her mouth with both hands.
“I’m pregnant.”
She dropped her hands. “I’m so excited. Does Kamal know that you thought you might be?”
“No. We’ve been so busy. His company finally just expanded to the California and Tokyo offices. That took up a lot of his time this year. Lots of travel. When he came home, we only had time to go over wedding plans and have sex—”
“Lots of sex. . .apparently.” Zora jumped up and down.
“Would you calm down?”
“Arya is going to have a cousin close to her age. And they’ll both be mixed.” She clapped her hands. “I worried about Arya feeling out of place as she grew up, but now her cousin and she can find comfort in each other.”
“Well. . .that’s one way to look at it.” I set the test on the edge of the sink. “The other way is to scream in terror.”
“You are going to rock motherhood.”
I washed my shaking hands and dried them.
“Jade?”
I turned around.