Indian Wedding Tales

M A N S I : part I

"Which earrings should I wear?" I turned to my husband who was in the middle of putting on his shirt. The shirt which clearly had stains from the last time he had spilled coffee on it. I marched to him and frowned.

"You can't wear this" I said and shook my head in disapproval.

"Why not?" He looked at me as if I had grown a second head. Pursing my lips I observed my husband while scenarios played in my mind. What if Dhruvi spotted them and made a joke about it in front of everyone. Hysterical laughs and mocking voices fell on my ears for a moment before I shuddered at the thought.

"Just change it. You have plenty of shirts which don't have stains on them," I said while I walked past him and started rummaging his side of the wardrobe to find a decent shirt.

"Babe, come on, it's not that noticeable," Yash tried pursuing me but I frowned deeper. "If I tuck my shirt, it's not even visible!"

He hurried to stuff his shirt into his pant and moved around in a circle to show me. The stain was no longer visible and heaved a breath of relief at that.

"But would it kill you to change it into something else?" I asked as I crossed my arms in front of my chest.

"Would it kill you to just calm down?" Yash retorted and copied my stance. I furrowed my eyebrows, clearly not pleased. "You need to relax, babe, they're just my friends. No celebrity is visiting our house"

They might as well. A celebrity would be easier to please.

I gave up on my husband and headed to the dressing table to finish getting ready. Picking up one earring of each pair, I turned to Yash.

"Which one?"

"The pearls are better"

"What if they're too simple?"

"Then wear the green ones"

"What if they're too gaudy?"

"What if I go and drown right now?"

"Yash!" I whined while stomping my feet. "Be serious"

"Babe, one day you'll drive me crazy and not in a good way" Yash said while backing away and picking up his hair brush. He combed his hair without any care and I felt my insides twist. "Besides it's a get together and not a party"

He walked up to me and placed a chaste kiss on my cheek. "Just be yourself, babe"

With that my husband walked out the bedroom with a whistle on his lips.

I turned to the mirror and held up both the earring pieces in front of my ear and contemplated. I finally decided on the green ones as they matched my knee length dress very well. Combing my hair one more time, I sprayed a mild perfume on my wrist and neck.

Satisfied with myself, I smoothed my dress and walked out the bedroom. Yash was plopped on the sofa as he flipped through channels on the television. I got a vanilla scented candle and lit it up. I placed it on the centre coffee table around which many of the sofas were placed.

The faint scent of vanilla was supposed to be relaxing and nerve-calming but instead my stomach was busy twisting in knots. I glanced at the clock and sighed nervously.

7:05

I walked into the kitchen and saw Shalini cleaning the countertop and stove. The kitchen looked neat than it had today afternoon with me preparing delicacies with extreme care.

"Everything ready?" I asked Shalini as I opened the refrigerator.

"Yes, madam" she replied meekly.