Making a Marriage Deal by Sophia Singh Sasson

Author:Sophia Singh Sasson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-12-30T16:39:16+00:00

Eleven

“Look at the colors of his mehndi,” Vivek’s mom exclaimed as she examined Hema’s hands. The color had seeped deep into her skin and settled into dark maroon patterns that perfectly complemented her light brown skin. “You know what it means when a bride’s mehndi colors are deep like this? It means that her mother-in-law will love her.”

The ladies seated around Hema laughed. They were in the lounge on the third deck. The party had spanned most of the deck, with multiple henna stations at the various bars for the guests. It was well past midnight, and most of the guests had made their way back to their cabins. Vivek’s mother, her maasi, Nisha, and a few of her friends stuck around to see the final finish on Hema’s henna, which had dried into black scab-like flakes. The mehndi walis had carefully scraped off the dried mehndi, then rubbed her arms and legs with a jasmine-and-rose oil to seal in the color and hydrate her skin. The mehndi would last three to six weeks—the honeymoon period.

“What does the color say about how much her husband will love her?” Hema asked.

Vivek had spent a good portion of the night with her, still trying unsuccessfully to find his name in the intricate patterns.

“How much a husband loves his wife doesn’t matter so much as the mother-in-law.” Shruti said wisely. Hema stifled a laugh. Shruti wasn’t even married.

“Those are the old ways,” Vivek’s mother chimed in. “It used to be that Indian sons were mama’s boys, and if your saas didn’t like you, she could make your life miserable. My own saas...” She looked around surreptitiously for Vivek’s father. “My first night in their house, she made me cook dinner for all the gathered guests. It was a tradition in their family that a new daughter-in-law makes dinner on her first night. I was so nervous that I mixed up all the spices. I put hing in the chole and jeera in the fish. It was a disaster.”

Shruti put a hand to her chest. “Oh no, what happened? Your in-laws must have been so mad.”

“My saas was furious, but my husband, he began eating and told everyone that the food had so much love in it that it was the best thing he’d ever eaten. He ate two platefuls as everyone watched.” She dabbed at her eyes. “That’s the moment I fell in love with him.”

Now it was Hema’s turn to reach for a tissue. Her eyes moved to Vivek. She could picture the scene his mother had described, and she could see him in it, doing the exact same thing his father had done. And she could picture herself standing there like his mother had, falling for him.

The room was too hot, the air too humid, her chest too tight. “I need to use the bathroom,” she said, and fled the room. She hadn’t said goodbye, and it was rude to run away from her party like that, but she couldn’t go back.

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