"Ha", said Dadi, beaming with pride. My mother Jennifer next to her with a look of happiness and distress planted on her face, Shiva my baby brother, giggling in the background, and little Gia, who's face lit up at the thought of wearing a salwar kameez, maybe even a sari, to the surprise wedding of the year.
"When was this decided?"
"Oh, me and your mother went to Pandit Amit and he used your astrological signs, to tell what husband you may find. I mean beti, you're not getting any younger."
That was Dadi, always sticking to traditional this and traditional that. And another fact, I was not THAT old! So I was 25 and not married. I still had a couple of good years left. Who's Dadi to say "you're not getting any younger"? Has she looked in a mirror?
Talking about all this marriage and partner stuff reminded me of Rohit. I rememebered when he broke my heart and I swore that he would hurt as much as I was. But maybe Dadi was helping me. She probably wasn't concious of the fact that she was helping me but, I knew she loved me enough to make me happy. So, I decided to go for it.
"So who is it?"
Dadi reply shocked me more that humored me "It's a surprise until he gets here next month. Oh I can't wait until he comes."
Wait, wait, wait. I wouldn't find out until next month who he was? Not even his name or a photo? This was turning into a Bollywood movie and fast. All we needed was a song right about now...
woh ajnabee woh woh woh woh ajanabee, woh ajanabee.
aisa koi mujhko mil gaya hai saathiya jise dekhakar main bhulu saari duniya woh
woh woh ajanabee, woh ajanabee jo dekhe dur se dekhu main usako hi, ho
usako hi, abb sab kuchh bhul ke...
Apparently my overactive imagination had just turned on and it wasn't goin' down.
I looked around at the faces of happiness and laughter, it made me feel all fuzzy inside and I was gonna need it cause it was the middle of October and freezing.
I look again and realize there is someone missing. He is staring through the glass, grinning like an idiot. He is my father looking through the picture frame. That smile will always be an eerie reminder of what he used to be. What he used to be before he made one simple mistake that permanently destroyed him. I dug out of that hole in my thoughts and started to wonder who was this mystery man? What would he be like? Anything like Shah Rukh Khan? Would I like him? Even more important, would I ever love him?