Read Online An Enormously English Monsoon Wedding by Christina Jones - Free Book Online
Authors: Christina Jones
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Deena sighed at her husband. ‘We went to one when Kishan married Daman. It was very nice.’
‘You’ve actually been to an Indian gay wedding?’ Despite still being cross with Deena, Erin was fascinated. ‘Blimey.’
‘Fortunately both families are very forward thinking. There was no problem.’ Deena inspected a cherry tomato. ‘But even they had a
sagai
and a
sanji
. A lot of the boys wore saris.’
Nalisha smiled. Erin giggled. So did Jay.
‘There you are.’ Jay looked far more relaxed now. ‘And the temple roof didn’t collapse, did it? And Kishan and Daman’s families haven’t been condemned to hell fire, have they? Times are changing, Mum. Honestly, no one in the family is going to worry that we haven’t stuck exactly to the old ideas. They’ll just be happy to have been invited to our wedding – whether it’s totally traditional or not.’
‘They are.’ Tavish mopped up the last of his sauce and gave his wife a warning look across the table. ‘As we are. Honestly.’
‘Good,’ Jay said. ‘And weknow you’ll all have a wonderful time. And so will Erin’s family. So please don’t go on about cousin Alisha’s fabulous marriage in the Wembley temple, or cousin Mittul’s wedding that lasted for three weeks, or any of the other family stuff, because this is
not
going to be an Indian wedding.’
‘That –’ Deena captured a last piece of Lollo Rosso ‘– is becoming abundantly clear. Oh, dear … All right. I can see that I’m not going to win on all counts here. But there are some things that I’d still like to discuss.’
Please, nooo, Erin thought, pushing her plate away. Just when it all seemed to be getting sorted. And as if there wasn’t enough to worry about. Now it wasn’t just if she tumbled off her wedding shoes, or found a spider in her bouquet, or any of the million things she’d previously imagined could go wrong.
Now, just when she’d got Nalisha into perspective – well, almost – Deena was going to
insist
on things, and those things were going to cause a massive, massive problem, she just knew it.
‘No, no pudding, thank you.’ Deena waved away the dessert menu. ‘Like Nalisha, I have to think about my figure.’
Like Nalisha, a teeny-weeny size 10 at most, and toned and honed to perfection, Erin thought, sighing.
‘Well, I’m going to have the honeycomb mousse,’ Tavish said happily. ‘With the Jersey cream, please.’
‘And me, thank you.’ Jay smiled. ‘Erin, have you decided?’
‘Nothing for me, thanks.’ Erin, having hardly eaten anything, shook her head. ‘I’ve got another dress fitting really soon and I can’t afford to have put on an ounce.’
‘Ah.’ Nalisha’s eyes sparkled. ‘The wedding dress? Fabulous. I want to hear all about what you’re going to be wearing.’
‘Not a chance.’ Erin refilledher water glass. ‘My mum’s been begging me to tell her about it, too. My lips are sealed.’
‘Oh.’ Deena fluttered her eyelashes. ‘Come on, darling. Mind you, I can guess at the colour, and probably the style.’
‘Can you?’ Erin frowned. ‘Really? Because no one, apart from Sophie and Bella who’ve been with me at the fittings because they’re having their bridesmaids’ dresses from the same shop, have seen it or know anything about it at all. Unless –’ she shot a look at Jay ‘– they’ve said something to you at work? And you’ve told your mum and –’
‘Whoa!’ Jay held up his hands. ‘More than my life’s worth to cross-question Sophie and Bella I can tell you. They’re so loyal to you that they wouldn’t tell me anything – not that I’ve asked. I want to be stunned along with everyone else.’
Deena and Tavish laughed.
The two puddings arrived and Jay and Tavish fell on them with murmurs of appreciation.
Deena leaned eagerly towards Erin. ‘Yes, I completely understand that you’d want to keep the details secret, darling, but obviously it will be red and gold with possibly a
‘You’ve actually been to an Indian gay wedding?’ Despite still being cross with Deena, Erin was fascinated. ‘Blimey.’
‘Fortunately both families are very forward thinking. There was no problem.’ Deena inspected a cherry tomato. ‘But even they had a
sagai
and a
sanji
. A lot of the boys wore saris.’
Nalisha smiled. Erin giggled. So did Jay.
‘There you are.’ Jay looked far more relaxed now. ‘And the temple roof didn’t collapse, did it? And Kishan and Daman’s families haven’t been condemned to hell fire, have they? Times are changing, Mum. Honestly, no one in the family is going to worry that we haven’t stuck exactly to the old ideas. They’ll just be happy to have been invited to our wedding – whether it’s totally traditional or not.’
‘They are.’ Tavish mopped up the last of his sauce and gave his wife a warning look across the table. ‘As we are. Honestly.’
‘Good,’ Jay said. ‘And weknow you’ll all have a wonderful time. And so will Erin’s family. So please don’t go on about cousin Alisha’s fabulous marriage in the Wembley temple, or cousin Mittul’s wedding that lasted for three weeks, or any of the other family stuff, because this is
not
going to be an Indian wedding.’
‘That –’ Deena captured a last piece of Lollo Rosso ‘– is becoming abundantly clear. Oh, dear … All right. I can see that I’m not going to win on all counts here. But there are some things that I’d still like to discuss.’
Please, nooo, Erin thought, pushing her plate away. Just when it all seemed to be getting sorted. And as if there wasn’t enough to worry about. Now it wasn’t just if she tumbled off her wedding shoes, or found a spider in her bouquet, or any of the million things she’d previously imagined could go wrong.
Now, just when she’d got Nalisha into perspective – well, almost – Deena was going to
insist
on things, and those things were going to cause a massive, massive problem, she just knew it.
‘No, no pudding, thank you.’ Deena waved away the dessert menu. ‘Like Nalisha, I have to think about my figure.’
Like Nalisha, a teeny-weeny size 10 at most, and toned and honed to perfection, Erin thought, sighing.
‘Well, I’m going to have the honeycomb mousse,’ Tavish said happily. ‘With the Jersey cream, please.’
‘And me, thank you.’ Jay smiled. ‘Erin, have you decided?’
‘Nothing for me, thanks.’ Erin, having hardly eaten anything, shook her head. ‘I’ve got another dress fitting really soon and I can’t afford to have put on an ounce.’
‘Ah.’ Nalisha’s eyes sparkled. ‘The wedding dress? Fabulous. I want to hear all about what you’re going to be wearing.’
‘Not a chance.’ Erin refilledher water glass. ‘My mum’s been begging me to tell her about it, too. My lips are sealed.’
‘Oh.’ Deena fluttered her eyelashes. ‘Come on, darling. Mind you, I can guess at the colour, and probably the style.’
‘Can you?’ Erin frowned. ‘Really? Because no one, apart from Sophie and Bella who’ve been with me at the fittings because they’re having their bridesmaids’ dresses from the same shop, have seen it or know anything about it at all. Unless –’ she shot a look at Jay ‘– they’ve said something to you at work? And you’ve told your mum and –’
‘Whoa!’ Jay held up his hands. ‘More than my life’s worth to cross-question Sophie and Bella I can tell you. They’re so loyal to you that they wouldn’t tell me anything – not that I’ve asked. I want to be stunned along with everyone else.’
Deena and Tavish laughed.
The two puddings arrived and Jay and Tavish fell on them with murmurs of appreciation.
Deena leaned eagerly towards Erin. ‘Yes, I completely understand that you’d want to keep the details secret, darling, but obviously it will be red and gold with possibly a
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