Page 141 of No Boss
They had bent for blessings.
She had reached for Sarita’s feet and been pulled up at once, drawn into an embrace that left her smiling into her shoulder.
Naina came next, spinning her once, talking so fast she had understood nothing and everything at once.
Her mother’s hands on her face. Tears she did not try to hide. Her father’s arms, firm, his chest rising once.
She smiled, pressing the pillow harder against her face. Then, she sat up abruptly.
‘Enough.’
She swung her feet to the floor, smoothed her hair, and walked to the small photograph of Kul Devi on the shelf. Her hands came together.
“Maa, I don’t know where to begin.”
The goddess, predictably, said nothing.
“He kissed me. In the balloon. And again in the car. I am completely fine and absolutely not thinking about it.”
Heat rose to her cheeks.
“I am thinking about it constantly.”
Her lips pressed together as she looked at her hands.
“Thank you. For everything. For sending him here. For those seven days. For the spring. For the rain. For the courtyard.”
A soft exhale.
“I know I complained during the process. I stand by the complaints. It was a lot. But the outcome is…”
She stopped. A shy smile touched her face.
“The outcome is him. So, thank you.”
She lowered her hands, dressed, and stepped out.
The familiar morning routine wrapped around her. Lamps lit. Flowers set in place. Devotees arrived as the sun rose. She moved through each task with ease, as she always had.
Yet people lingered when they looked at her. Smiles deepened. Blessings came with extra warmth, as if they sensed a change they could not name.
When the last devotee left, she sat on the cool marble floor, hands coming together again.
‘Maa, I have a problem.’
The flame flickered gently.
‘He proposed. I said yes. We are getting married. I forgot to ask where we will live.’
The thought had come between the second kiss and sleep. It had stayed. His life stood in Dubai. His work. Everything he had built. He had said he wanted to marry her. He had not spoken of Jaipur.
‘I trust him. I do. Completely.’
Her fingers pressed together.
‘I would also like to know if I am expected to leave you. And this Haveli. And everything I have ever known.’
Nothing answered.
