Dev Dreams, Volume One by Ruth Madison Read Free Book Online

will stay here with us until the
wedding.”
    Deepak got back in his car and left. Priyanka
spent the next week living with his parents and trying to figure
out what was expected of her. Actually, it seemed that they were so
grateful she had agreed to marry Deepak, that nothing else
mattered. His mother quizzed her about friends and family from the
Bangalore area and reminisced about her school days in a nearby
town. His father never said much, but did tell her to sit and eat
when she tried to serve dinner. She didn't see Deepak at all, it
seemed he did have a separate home.
    The morning of the wedding, the priest took
her over to a tree behind the house and performed a ceremony. Some
sort of diversion for her bad horoscope. The priest assured her the
tragedy would now befall the tree.
    The wedding itself went by in a series of
moments whenever Priyanka wasn't too overwhelmed to tune in. The
room was full of people she had never seen before and she was
grateful for the few minutes of alone time she had already had with
Deepak. It made the entire thing less frightening.
    She draped the flower garland over his head
and bent forward so that he could place his over her head. She
entered the mandap first, kicking off her shoes in a practiced
motion, then sat on a bench that was at wheelchair height. Deepak
approached and lifted each leg by its ankle to pull his shoes off
one at a time. He pushed up the sloped edge of the mandap platform
and maneuvered in beside Priyanka, his feet bare. She was
fascinated by the feet. They looked so normal. She was completely
distracted from what the priest was chanting as she cast her eyes
down to his still feet.
    There was an unusual amount of space between
them and the fire. Deepak rolled forward each time they threw
something in. When it was time to walk around the fire, Priyanka
realized the reason for the space, so that Deepak's wheelchair
could fit. Deepak tied the end of her shawl around one of his knees
and followed her in seven circles around the fire.
    She knelt on the ground with her back to him
so that he could tie the mangal sutra around her neck. Everyone in
the room then pelted them with flower blossoms and rice. Outside
the mandap, they both leaned down to touch his parents' feet. He
stayed down while touching his eyes and doing namaskar and pulled
himself back to sitting upright by grabbing the edges of his
chair.
    The party lasted well into the night and they
watched many people perform dances and eat and laugh and play
games. Most people didn't seem to care that it was Deepak's
wedding, it was just an excuse to be merry. Finally as Priyanka
could feel her head dipping in exhaustion, they were able to make
an exit. They got into Deepak's car and Priyanka began pulling
jewelry off as he drove.
    “So, that's that,” he said eventually.
    “Yes,” she said. She didn't know what came
next. She didn't know how husbands and wives became comfortable
with each other. All the spouses she knew were very familiar with
each other and she still felt nervous and uncertain around her
husband.
    He didn't really want a wife, she was sure
she must be here to help care for him. She wondered at first if she
would even sleep in the same room. They would look like a couple to
the outside world, but in reality she would be little more than a
maid and a nurse. Things could be worse.
    Though she expected a separate room, there
was only one bed. She changed in the bathroom into a long, thick
nightgown and lay down on one edge of the bed. Deepak moved his
wheelchair up next to the other side. He put his hands on the bed
and pulled himself over.
    “Would you like help?” Priyanka asked.
    “I'm fine,” he said, lifting his legs onto
the bed.
    She had expected that he must live with his
parents when she first saw him. How was he getting by on his own
without a wife or parents to help him? How did he dress? How did he
bathe? Her mind swirled with questions, but she decided to just
observe and step in if