Damnation! Meera dijju saw her crawling out of the party like she was some kind of thief trying to get away from the house she robbed. But parties always did this to her. Last month when Meera dijju told her about Neema dijju's wedding, she was very reluctant about attending it. After all she did not know Neema dijju so well and really did not have a great amount of money to spend on a ticket to Wisconsin. She tried her best to convince Meera dijju about her current financial position and how she could not take any time off from her work but as always her pleas fell to deaf ears.
"Khattam kura na gara na nanu! Timi sanga paisa chaina bhane ma ticket pathaidi halchu ni. If you have work then just tell your manager that you need 3 days off. The wedding is in a month, you still have enough time! When again will you be able to meet all the family together? People are coming from all over USA!" Of course Meera dijju's argument made sense but what would she do in the wedding of a family friend that she had met last when she was 8 years old?
But as always she was unable to win the battle and she got all packed to go to the wedding. The guy was an American-born Puerto Rican. She could not deny that the couple really looked good together and they had planned out the wedding superbly. They had mehendi night on the 21st of May, the Catholic style wedding on the 22nd and the Nepali style wedding and party on the 23rd. She was landing on 21st evening and leaving on 24th morning.
There were eight people at the airport to receive her! Yes, eight people in three cars, volunteered to leave the mehendi night for an hour for the privilege of receiving Ananya (her) at the airport. After she hugged everyone and told everyone in details about how her college was, and how the flight was good, and how she had no problems throughout the journey, they decided that it was time to go home and give some importance to the bride. After reaching the parking lot and arguing over whose car Ananya should sit in, they finally left with her sitting right besides Meera dijju.
"I am so happy to see you." Meera dijju was beaming at her. "I can't believe how much you have grown in the last year. I was scared you would not come. We have a little surprise for you when we get to the house!"
No matter how forceful Meera dijju was and no matter how she thought that everyone's personal life was her business, it was really good to see her. "Same here dijju, and I wont even ask about the surprise because you are surely not going to tell me!"
Meera dijju gave a grin at that, as if satisfied with Ananya for rightly guessing. Once they reached the house, she was not surprised to see the people that were present there. It seemed like all the Nepalese in USA had decided to come together to celebrate the wedding! After being engulfed into several people's arms and answering several questions, she was taken to her room which she was sharing with Meera dijju and another lady that she had never seen before. She had been instructed to change into something 'more respectable' (meaning a kurta or better- a saree), and report downstairs in 15 minutes. She quickly freshened herself and changed into one of the 3 kurtas that she had brought with her. There was a knock in the door as she was about to go out. Now who could that be!?
Nimesh was standing outside looking very much uncomfortable. "Hey Ananya, Meera dijju sent me here to tell you that you need to be downstairs. Long time huh? I had not seen you for 15 years, would not have recognized you if I saw you outside. Welcome to the house!" He hugged her and she replied with some inaudible words and followed him downstairs.
She had forgotten all about Nimesh! They use to play together when she was 7 years old. Though he would prefer playing with her brother, he never made her feel bad about her trying to join them! The words he used when telling her to go mind her own business were not even offensive! And of course how could she ever forget how she wanted to be with Nimesh all the time as a kid and worried that her brother would find out about the strange attraction she felt towards Nimesh. Those were the day... Nimesh probably gave her a thought back then but it was plainly obvious that he had no wish to interact with her now. She could not deny that he was more handsome now than when he was a kid... and Ananya thought he was the best looking guy when she was 7, and thought so for a whole year!! Well childhood memories... better not to give them a thought.
Downstairs, Meera dijju was with a group of ladies talking in a hush-hush manner and looking at Ananya and giggling. "I see that you are all dolled up huh?" Deeba bhauju said with a wink. Was there something she did not know? She gave all of them a blank stare and a sweet smile and tried to be at ease. After trying to have a fake sense of belongingness with the group that was talking about 'how the ladies were dressing for the wedding' and 'how Pooja was planning to wear this saree that was worth dying for' and 'how Anjana always puts so much make up on her face that no one knew what her skin color was,' Meera dijju asked her to help her in the kitchen.
"So?" Meera dijju asked with a weird glint in her eyes.
"So… so what?"
"I see that you met Nimesh, huh?"
"Yes I did. As you sent him to bring me downstairs, I had no other option but to meet him and in a very embarrassing way. What are you upto?"
"Okay, let me be straight with you," Meera dijju said as she was pouring quatee ko jhol into a big bowl. "I think it is time for you to get married as you are already 23. I had 2 babies when I was your age you know! Anyway, we were talking about it and we think that Nimesh will look wonderful with you! He has a wonderful job and is also doing his masters, and I cant forget how you got along with him as a kid!"
So this was all the drama about inviting her to the wedding! "Dijju, you pre-planned and invited me to this wedding? I can’t believe you did that. And inviting me to his own sister’s wedding! Oh my god, this is so embarrassing. You know about Mike, right?"
Meera dijju wrinkled her face as if she had put something distasteful in her mouth. "Of course I do. Are you still going out with that quirey? Oh come on its time for you to get out of it. You are a Nepali and should get married to one. How can you hurt your parents this way?"
Ananya's eyes widened in disbelief, "Do you realize that we are in a wedding where the bride is Nepali and the groom is Puerto Rican? Don't you think it is a little ironic to be talking in that way when you are in the bride’s house?"
"Neema hurt us greatly, but you young lady will not! I will see that you get married to a Nepali even if I have to tie you down with a chain. And where can you find a better Nepali than Nimesh? He has an American citizenship too! This is a once in lifetime opportunity, you would be foolish to not grab it!"
"Dijju, are you talking about marriage or a business proposal? How can you even..."
"Meera, isn't dinner ready yet. The bride is hungry you know." Someone shouted from outside.
"Am coming right out..." Meera dijju glared at Ananya and walked out of the kitchen. All Ananya could do is follow!
Throughout the wedding and the party, everyone was giving Ananya a devilish smile as if trying to say that they knew what's happening! Nimesh had talked to her a few times and every time he would look as uncomfortable as a wet cat! How many people knew about the major deception? When a person actually had the guts to approach Ananya about when the wedding date was, she could take it no more. She escaped from the party and went to her room. Tomorrow she could go back home and call Mike in London and tell him all about it!
She was finally home, after the worst weekend of her life! She could finally call Mike and let him know what happened. How she wished he did not have to go to London to visit his parents!! She missed him immensely and longed to be back in his arms again. Now all she could do to get close to him was to call him and hear his voice.
What was wrong with Mike, why didn't he pick up the phone? It had been 3 long days since she tried to call him and he still was not answering! Okay, she might as well check her mails and get ready for work, she was almost late. She felt like her prayers were answered when she saw a mail from Mike!
"Hey Ann, I know you have been trying to call me for days but I did not know how to break this to you. I finally talked to my parents about you and they were pretty shocked. No one in my family has ever married outside the country, let alone outside the religion. I tried to convince them but my mom would not hear about it... So I thought about it all week and figured that there probably will be a lot of differences between us! Could we think about spending the rest of our lives trying to solve our differences? I think we should put an end to this relationship before we go too far. I hope you understand and we can still be friends. Mike!"
He must surely be joking. She read the mail 10 times before she believed it. Strangely she did not feel hurt or angry... she just felt empty.
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"Hey mom, this is Ananya. I was just calling about Nimesh. I know this is what you want so I am willing to marry him. You must be surprised, but hey people can change their minds at any point of their life right? I found out the hard way! Give me a call back when you get this message. Love you!"
She hung up and continued driving to work. School would start in August, or would she move before then? Well all she had to do now was wait and watch what future had in store for her.
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