First Comes Marriage

On this day, the matron twisted her finger and motioned for Meera to come to the office. Meera’s heart raced. They must want more tea; why else would they call her? In the office, the lady with the blue sari sat with her back straight. There was a man with her, and he called out to Meera. She walked over to him, afraid she had done something wrong. What could they want from her? He got down on his knees so he was at eye level with her and asked if she would come live with them and be his daughter.

The man spoke English, a language she had taught herself but still didn’t know fluently. Had she misunderstood?

He must have seen the disbelief on her face because he asked her again in Hindi. She couldn’t believe her ears and stood there stunned until she heard Matron’s harsh voice telling her to answer. She nodded excitedly. From there, things went quickly. She saw her new father hand Matron fat wads of cash.

Meera’s life had never been the same since. Her mother had taught her how to dress and do her makeup so she always looked glamorous. Her father gave her everything she needed. No one would ever guess Meera had been a poor orphan girl. They had given her a fairy-tale life, but not once had she forgotten that orphanage or what her life could have been.

But was that because her parents never let her? She shook her head. She was letting Jake’s reaction cloud her thinking. What was that thing she’d felt when they were sitting so close together in the forklift? And why had she let him hold her hand? More important, why did she feel so connected to him? She laughed at herself. I have a silly schoolgirl crush on an American cowboy. I’ll get over it. The rest was her imagination running wild. She had watched three Western movies on the flight from London.