Getting off the elephant

Will's mental debate came to abrupt halt has the wedding parade halted near the entrance of the D.N.

Hotel. Jaya and Balraj's wedding carriage, which preceded Lalitha and his carriage, had already stopped

at the entrance of the hotel. Will was not quite sure what actions were required and should be taken

for dismounting the wedding carriage considering that both couples were at quite a height astride the

elephant. He watched with great attention as the hotel porters placed a ladder next to Jaya and Balraj's

carriage and saw Balraj dismount the carriage by climbing down the ladder.

After climbing down from the carriage, Balraj very carefully turned towards the carriage and beaconed

Jaya to move forward towards the ladder and gently reached up to assist her with her decent down the

ladder. Before Jaya reached the bottom rung of the ladder, Balraj reached forward and gathered her

towards him by placing one hand around her back and the under her knees. He then turned towards

the hotel entrance and carried her through the doors.

Will felt a sense of relief after watching Jaya and Balraj dismount the wedding carriage. He was quite

sure he could perform the same actions and would not embarrass himself nor Lalitha in the process

without any hindrance from his wedding attire.

After the disaster with the wedding attire Will had worn, when he first met Lalitha at Balraj's friend's

wedding, he had taken great pains to learn how to wear a Khurta, and specifically, how to tie the draw

string pants so that it did not loosen and fall to his ankles.

During the 3 day engagement period before the wedding, Will had sought out and spent many hours

with Mr. Bakshi. Will wanted to put Mr. Bakshi's mind at ease about his marriage to Lalitha, and he

wanted Mr. Bakshi to get to know and understand him. On many of these visits, Mr. Bakshi had taken

specific interest in teaching Will about Indian customs and traditions, and, he specifically described the

wedding ritual and what was required of the groom.

Mr. Bakshi had heard about Will's clothing malfunction during their initial introduction at Balraj's

friend's wedding, and, during Will's visits, Mr. Bakshi spent time teaching Will how to tie and secure the

draw stings pants from the groom's wedding attire.

Will and Lalitha's carriage came to a stop at the entrance of the hotel, and, following the same actions

performed by Balraj, Will climbed onto the ladder, that was placed next to the elephant by the hotel

porter, and descended from the wedding carriage with as much grace as Balraj had displayed. Will then

turned towards the wedding carriage and reached forward to assist Lalitha has she climbed down the

ladder. Before Lalitha could reached the bottom rung on the ladder, Will gathered her to him, placing

one hand around her back and the other hand under her knees and lifted her in his arms as he held her

tightly against his chest. He felt, rather than saw, Lalitha lift her arms and wrap her arms around his

neck as she leaned closer toward him. Lalitha's face was so close to his, and, if he bent his head slightly,

he could brush his lips against hers.

It took every ounce of his restrain not to bend his head, and instead, he focused his attention on the

hotel entrance as he gracefully turned and entered the double door of the hotel with Lalitha in his arms.