“Just a warning, your penance is coming. You still have to ask my dad for permission and we have to compare our star charts, apparently.”
“Noted,” he said. He linked his fingers with hers and leaned close to her mouth. “Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m going to love you for as long as I live. That sounds cheesy as hell, but I promise you, it’s going to happen.”
“I’m going to love you, too,” she said.
Prem stepped back when his producer rushed onstage with a microphone and shoved it in Kareena’s hands.
“Oh, uh. Okay,” she said. “I mean, people usually buy me dinner first.”
The teleprompter flashed “QUESTIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE.”
Prem glanced at Kareena who gave an imperceptible nod. “We have time for a couple questions before we break and bring on our first guest. Our film crew will come around to raised hands and pass the mic.”
Prem’s jaw dropped when the entire studio audience raised their hands.
What’s worse, the mic went to a familiar woman in the front first.
“Is that your—”
“My aunties?” Kareena whispered back. “Yup.”
There, in the front row sat Kareena’s grandmother, Farah Aunty, Mona Aunty, Sonali Aunty, and Falguni Aunty. Falguni Aunty was the one on her feet motioning to the mic in her hands.
“Hi, Prem. Falguni Aunty,” she said. “I would like to know, where are you having your wedding?”
“Aunty,” Kareena hissed. “You promised you’d behave if I brought you.”
“I’m not sure,” Prem responded, then reached out and squeezed Kareena’s hand. “But it won’t be in four months. I think we’re done working with deadlines. We’ll take another question. Yes, you in the back.”
A woman wearing a bright orange sari, and a long braid draped over one shoulder practically shouted in the mike. “Hello, yes, Chitra from Jackson Heights. I also would like to know when you are getting married and if you will be filming it? And Kareena, is it? Darling, wearing black is a bad omen for someone of your age. In Mrs. W. S. Gupta’s last article, she even said so. You should read it.”
“Oh boy,” Prem murmured.
“Hi, Aunty,” Kareena said sweetly. “How about we take a moment to unpack that? Starting with how Mrs. W. S. Gupta is a troublemaking creeper.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Kareena
Aunty WhatsApp Group
Farah Aunty: Darling, thank you so much for taking us today. We had such a good time. Congratulations!
Falguni Aunty: You really put that Chitra in her place. Good for you.
Mona Aunty: Prem looked so happy. We found you the best match.
Sonali Aunty: And thank you for taking us to Taco Bell! Your mother loved that car, and some of our favorite memories with her are going to Taco Bell.
Bindu: Hey.
Bindu: I’m sorry I’ve been a bitch.
Bindu: I saw the show. I hope you guys are happy. Prem is a good person.
Daddy: Beta, I’m glad you finally saw things my way and you’re back together with Prem. I received a call from his parents. We’re talking about the house.
Daddy: Your mother would be happy for you.
Dadi: THIS IS YOUR DADI.
Dadi: BRING PREM FOR DINNER.
“I can’t believe you brought all the aunties,” Prem said. “Seriously, you knew they were going to ask questions.”
Kareena slurped her soda and then shoved it back into the makeshift cup holder that was definitely not designed for Taco Bell drinks.
“They wanted to go for a ride in the car,” Kareena said. “I forgot how they had memories with it, too. My mother would drive them all around, packed in this tiny thing. I was getting ready to leave for your show when they arrived at the house for a wedding-planning-related thing. They all got in my car instead.”
“Do you want me to hold that for you again?” Prem asked when he saw her struggling with the cup holder.
“No, you held it the entire drive up here.”
The man had been a trooper. He didn’t complain when she asked to go to Taco Bell and handled her drink to Washington State Park, where they stopped at a lookout point.
Kareena sighed as she admired the newly restored interior of her BMW again. The drink holder situation wasn’t ideal, but man, did her car look good.
The night sky was clear, and the air was warm enough to roll the windows down. Prem crushed his chalupa wrapper and tucked it back into the bag at his feet. He turned to her, his knees hitting the glove compartment in front of him. “You know? I didn’t think this car would be so . . . tiny.”