The Wedding Tamasha

CHAPTER TEN
By the end of September, Mohan had arranged for Shweta’s flight
ticket to India for December 1st. It was on the assurance that he would
let her pay him back at the earliest, even though he had absolutely
refused to let her pay, at first.
Her father had been unable to contact Raj for some strange reason,
her mother had said. It gave Shweta some peace, whatever that strange
reason might have been.
Julie invited Shweta and Max for a Thanksgiving Dinner at her
place on Thursday. Since it was close to the date of Shweta’s leaving for
India, she also called it a send-off party for her.
It was Shweta’s first Thanksgiving in the US and she was touched
that Julie thought to include her in the family celebrations. Julie’s
daughter, Sarah, and husband, Tim, were already at the house when
Shweta arrived with a box of homemade sweet rice pudding for
everyone.
Sarah was checking the turkey in the oven. Julie was standing over
the sink washing carrots and tomatoes for the salad when Shweta entered
the kitchen.
‘Hi, need some help?’ Shweta asked the two women. They glanced
over and smiled as she placed the dessert on the counter. ‘I brought some
Indian dessert for everyone,’ she told them.
‘Oh, that’s so sweet of you, Shweta,’ Julie said. ‘I’m sure everyone
would like to try a new dessert. And, if you could serve the mashed
potatoes and the gravy into the two bowls I’ve laid out, that would be
great.’
Shweta went over to the opposite counter and began serving the
potato and the gravy into the bowls. She took the bowls to the dining
table, which had already been set with six places. Two tall candles
burned at either end and a pumpkin centrepiece added a festive look to it
all. Tim stood near the record player checking out Julie’s song collection.
Shweta returned to the kitchen.