The Invitation by Anne Cherian

Author:Anne Cherian
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 2012-04-11T16:00:00+00:00

VIC HAD BEEN awake half the night, tracking the weather on the computer. He had become a little nervous when Nandan announced at dinner that there was a 50 percent chance of rain the next day.

Vic had immediately dismissed the possibility. “It was nice and sunny today,” Vic said. “It will be exactly the same tomorrow also.”

But all night long he clicked onto the weather page, and his mood changed depending on what he read. The weather people were so fickle. At midnight they reported it was going to be sunny all day; at one, that changed to morning showers. Then at three, there was the possibility of scattered showers. “Scattered?” Vic scratched his head. The idiots didn’t say when during the day those scattered showers would come down.

He was worried because he had deliberately not ordered a canopy, even though Priya had begged him to do so, and the owner of the store where he rented the tables and chairs suggested it as insurance. It wasn’t stinginess, as Priya had accused him. It was hard science. He had checked the weather for the past three years, and the entire week around June eleventh had been sunny.

Then, his final check at 4 a.m. had put him into a hopeful mood. Scattered was gone from the forecast, and there was just a 20 percent chance of morning showers.

When he awoke at 6 a.m., Vic immediately looked out the window. The sky was dark, but not full and low as if pregnant with condensation. He breathed in the air. He was sighing with relief that it didn’t smell like rain when Priya came into the bedroom and pronounced, “It’s going to rain.”

“Who are you?” he asked, “The god of rain?”

“I just heard the weather report,” she said. “They are saying there is a 50 percent chance of rain, so you had better order some canopies.”

“That means there is a 50 percent chance it will not rain. Those weather people are idiots. How many times do they announce it is going to rain and it doesn’t? Look outside. It’s a little dark, but that is only because the clouds are still covering the sun.”

“What will we do if it rains?”

She was always asking him to fix problems, whether they existed or not, always looking on the gloomy side of things.

“I told you, it isn’t going to rain,” he shouted.

“You can’t control the weather, Dad,” Nikhil said from the doorway. “Mom’s right. It is going to rain, and since we can’t possibly fit all the people you invited into the house, I suggest we cancel.”

“When I want your suggestions, I will ask you,” Vic shot back.

“Might be too late,” Nikhil warned, and disappeared before Vic could rebut him.

“You just make sure your son is dressed and ready to greet the guests this evening,” Vic told Priya. “I’ll manage everything else.”

He wanted to remind her that she had hardly helped with the party, and this wasn’t the time for her words or worries. He had

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