Amaya

Let me tell you a thing or two about Indian weddings. Firstly, this is my second time seeing it, the first one was Niya's. It's been two days, and they had like 4 events in those days. There was Haldi, and Sangeeth on the first day. Haldi was just like a Holi party and I had so much fun drenching others in the water, mainly Divya. The next day was Mehendi and Making the bride cause the wedding was the next day. Whew! it was fun and tiring at the same time.

Everyone's appalled to see me here except for Divya's mom who is my other aunt Sailaja. No one knows that Divya and I talk to each other. Heck, no one even knows or cares about me and my sister, they abandoned us after my father's death.

I never knew that my dad had 2 sisters and a brother. The look on Laxman Uncle and my so-called paternal grandmother's faces when Divya introduced me was worth watching. 

The good part of me coming here was that I got to know all my cousins and there are 8 of them, All my life I had Ananya, Arjun, and Dru but now I have 8 more people on that list. I called Niya and introduced them all, there are 5 girls (Spandana(27), Divya(24), Sharmila(25), Rachana(21), Ravali(18), and 4 boys Rajiv(26), Neil(24), Ram(22), Santosh(15)) to be precise. 

Who knew I had a really big family?

Laxman uncle and his mom pass snide comments about my upbringing, and my grandparents. So, Divya made me stay away from them. She thinks that I'm hurt by their comments and says sorry every time they say something. To be frank, I don't care about them, I'm here for Divya and it's her big day, so I will try to tolerate them.

I prepared myself and went to see Divya who was getting all dolled up for the wedding. I am wearing a lehenga which is a gift by Sailaja Aunty. All my cousins are in the room and Divya is looking like a goddess.

"Oh my god!! Divya you look fantabulous, I'm sure your husband won't be able to keep his hands off you." I said hugging and kissing her on the cheek.

"Amaya Akka(sister), you are ruining her makeup. All my hard work is going to waste, look there is your lipstick mark on her cheek," said Ravali my second aunt's youngest. Just to annoy her I put on more lipstick and kissed her too.

Soon the wedding started Sailaja aunty and Laxman uncle are busy with the guests. So, it was just us the girl cousins and the old lady sitting with Divya. I'm so excited that I get to see Jameson today. I left him at his grandparent's house we didn't talk to each other after that. I wanted him to have the full-on experience without my meddling.

"Looks like you can get ready too. Don't think you can find someone at this wedding and don't go near my Rajiv." Said my grandma looking at me.

Divya held my hand and tried to stop me from saying something but I couldn't help my self. What does she think about herself?

"Thanks for the compliment oldie. This is the 21st century, I could marry Ravali if I want." I said and winked at her which riled her up and everyone who heard it laughed.

"Where is my Laxman? I have to tell him to keep everyone away from you. You are spoiling everyone. Is this what your mom's parents taught you?" She kept mumbling, and I ignored her as Divya pinched me.

Divya and Jai are doing pooja, and Jay looked at me like I made a crime. Like I care what he thinks of me, I never got any good vibes from him. There is something off with this guy and I can't put a finger on it.

I don't know why Divya is marrying him. She is a doctor and looks more beautiful than anyone in this family, She deserves a lot better than Jay. She is settling for him because Laxman uncle liked him.

"Guys there are two white guys at this wedding!! I heard from Maa that they are Raghu thatha's Grandkids." Yelled Sharmila who's my first aunt's daughter.

Yay! Jameson's here, I should go and meet him.

"Are they Shaurya Uncle's kids? Dad used to talk about him." Asked Spandana Sharmila's sister and oldest of us all. Sharmila and Neil are twins. Neil is the quiet one of the boys and Ravali is among the girls.

"What? How could he accept them just like that? Is he out of his mind? Did he forget the humiliation or what? I don't know what's happening this week. This girl coming here is ruining everything. " The oldie said referring to my arrival which made me angry.

She made me feel glad that I didn't grow up with her, she is the worst kind of human there could be, It's because of people like her, that families suffer. They can't keep their cheap thoughts to themselves.

"Maybe he got his brains right since he stopped talking to you. Not everyone is as good as you to kick out her own son's kids after 3 days of his death." I retorted and walked away from the stage to find Jameson.

Sitting with her would make me angry and I'm not gonna ruin Divya's wedding.

Cursing the old rat I started to climb down the stairs, but I got stopped by Rajiv, who's her favorite grandchild. Rajiv is a good-looking guy, he is like 5.11 and has a fit body and everything, but not my type, because my type is with his grandfather right now.

"Hey Amaya, you look beautiful. By the way Ravali told me what happened there, I wish I would have been there to see the look on grandmas face." He said smiling at me.

"Thank you, you clean up nice too. I don't know how you put up with her. She is just ughh...I am glad I didn't grow up with her." I told him still looking for Jameson through the crowd.

"Don't take her words to your heart. She is a mean old lady, after a few years, you start to tune her out. Anyway, I heard that you are leaving after the wedding, here is my number let's keep in touch." He said and punched his number into my phone, a weird feeling was all I was getting after he hugged me and left.

My eyes are constantly looking for Jameson and I found him with like 20 people around him. His grandpa had his arms around Jameson and Daxton.

Oh my god, Daxton's here too. I ran towards them and tapped Jameson and Daxton on their shoulders from behind. They both turned their heads around and Daxton was the first to talk.

"Hey, Amaya! You look gorgeous. How are you?" Said Daxton and he had excitement and happiness mixed in his eyes.

"Thank you. When did you come here? This stupid didn't even tell me." I asked Daxton accusing Jameson of not telling me in my mind.

"I came here yesterday, thank.." his grandpa called him cutting our conversation off.

Daxton excused himself and left leaving me and Jameson who didn't even bother to say hi.

"Wow, Maya! You look beautiful in this 40-pound dress. I wish I could say something like this but I can't because I'm stupid, dumb, and a Jerkface, who can't compliment because my tongue is stuck on the roof of my head. " I said imitating him, and he kept ignoring me. 

I was about to leave this sulking man and go to Divya, but he held my hand in his and pulled me to the nearby chairs, he didn't leave my hand so I sat there looking at the wedding on the T.V Screen near us.

"Who were you hugging up there? I thought you didn't know anyone here except for Divya." He said with an angry pout on his face.

"That's my cousin Rajiv. He is like a brother to me. You should meet all of them, especially Divya." I told him holding his hand.

"I heard that you could marry your cousins, my grandparents are cousins apparently." He said with worry in his voice.

Is this what that's bothering him?

"I would never marry anyone from this family. I have my eyes on this guy who I love, and he is right beside me worrying about someone else." I assured him interlacing our fingers.

"You better like me and me only. I hate to see you in any other man's arms." He said with anger and jealousy in his words making me chuckle. He acts like a kid most of the time, can't he see how much I love him?

"I love you Maya, and I got jealous seeing that man hugging you." He said pulling me closer to him and kissing me on the cheek. 

And that's how ladies and gentlemen he made me blush like a tomato, after kissing me with thousands of people staring at us. I wanted to run away and hide my face, but he didn't let me move. So, We sat there holding hands for a while but his grandpa called us both back to the people.

His grandfather introduced me to everyone that I brought his family to him. He changed drastically, someone like him would never give credit to a woman. Jameson, Daxton, and I sat together for some time as his grandfather is busy with the guests.

Daxton looks pretty tired so, I took him to my room so could take some rest till everything's done. I locked the room from outside so no one would enter and disturb or get baffled seeing him in my room.

Jameson and I are going downstairs to the place where the wedding is taking place. As we were about to reach the stairs Jameson pulled me towards him and pinned me to the wall nearby. We haven't been this close since the day we kissed in my room.

"I forgot to tell you something," he said in a whisper, so close to my ear and I could feel his breath on my neck which was giving me goosebumps.

"Wha.. What do you wanna say?" I said gulping and trying not to show him that I'm affected by the proximity.

He snaked his arm around my waist, and he was in direct contact with my body. This stupid Indian dress gave him access to my waist, and he is holding me by it.

My skin is burning under his touch. This feels like a bazillion butterflies flapping their wings in my stomach, and being on a roller coaster at the same time.

"You look ravishing! I wanna kiss the hell out of you and do all the things you would never imagine. I wanna feel every inch of your body like I'm feeling your waist." He said playing with his fingers on my waist.

I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out. Why am I not able to talk? Why is my throat so dry? Why do I take a gulp every second? Why am I not able to look at Jameson directly into his eyes?

Oh god! I should go to a doctor? Did I get selective mutism or what?

He lifted me up by my waist and kissed me with so much passion and hunger that I had to give in. His mouth tasted like Rasmalai and Mint chocolate. My hands found his hair and I turned my face to give him better access.

That felt so sensual. We soon ran out of breath. We are breathing like we just ran a marathon. My head is on his chest and his on my neck. We stayed like that till we returned to our normal breathing.

"I'm gonna do this every time you wear an Indian dress. You look so hot and sexy that I wanna kill all the guys for looking at you." He said cupping my cheeks and kissed on my head. I smiled at him and gave him a life-squeezing hug and he didn't say a word. It felt like home when I hugged him.

We came downstairs and the wedding was over. Everyone was taking pictures with the bride and groom. So, I dragged Jameson with me and found that there is a big queue of people waiting to congratulate them. Everyone was staring at me, it must be because of Jameson.

I went up to the podium and stood in the corner. So, I could squeeze in and introduce Divya to Jameson. There were so many politicians and to my bad luck Laxman uncle is bringing people up with him.

"So, how were your days at your grandparents? Is your grandma here?" I asked him, so we won't get bored till we get our turn.

"It was good, I met all my cousins and I am an uncle to people other than Leah. Grandma didn't come as the house is filled with people. All my aunts and cousins are excited to meet you." He said with so much excitement in his voice, and I am super happy for him.

"How did you meet Divya? My aunt told me that Maa and Grandpa took you guys far away from these people." He asked me looking at Laxman uncle who's ignoring my presence here.

"Oh that's a long story, I did my bachelors in Bangalore. Divya's college people were at our school for a Blood donation drive. I went there to donate my blood, and she was the doctor in charge there. We talked for some time and when we exchanged our names, So she asked me about my parents and I told her I don't have any. Sailaja aunty talks about my Mom and Dad with them, so she felt suspicious and asked me their name. And then the rest is history." I completed the whole story in one breath.

I hate waiting and I am annoyed by Laxman uncle's behavior. So, I ran to Divya before she could see someone else.

She looked so tired from all the rituals. Jai was so furious that I broke the chain and interrupted but who cares? I gave her a water bottle and asked her to sit for some time. I waved at Jameson to come here

"Divya, Remember that I wanted you to meet someone?" I asked her and she looked at me with excitement.

"Divya! This is Jameson. Jameson Divya." I introduced them. She smiled at him

"Maya told me a lot about you. Congrats on your wedding." He said

"Thank you! She told me a lot about you too, apparently, she forgot to mention that you call her Maya." Divya teased me.

Jameson introduced himself to Jai and started talking to him.

"So do you like him? Isn't he good?" I asked Divya

"Oh my god, he looks like those Hollywood stars. Nice job Maya! And he is freaking Raghu thatha's Grandson." She said we giggled and hugged each other. Our hug got interrupted by none other than Jai

"Are guys done? Look at all the people waiting. She doesn't have any common sense, What about you Divya? Why are you entertaining her?" He said in a rude tone to Divya, and she got up.

I looked at Jameson who was ready to hit Jai. I smiled at the mental picture of Jameson hitting Jai in front of all these people.

"They can wait and don't you dare to say a word to Divya. Where is your common sense? You can't even see that she looks tired and needs some rest. " I trashed him.

"Are you sure you wanna live with him forever?" I asked her and she is crestfallen by my question. Jai is about to say something but Jameson interrupted him by saying

"One more word to Amaya or Divya, I'm gonna see your end right here. Take care Divya." Started dragging me with him.

The feminist in me is angry that Jameson meddled but Jai has too much of an ego to listen to a girl. But no one came to my rescue when Laxman uncle or the old lady said bad things, it felt good having Jameson back me up. Divya mouthed me, sorry, and I said it's okay as I am too happy with Jameson who supported us, to yell at her for marrying a jerk like Jai.

Raghu thatha came to us and said that they needed to leave. So, we went to my room and Daxton was in deep sleep.

"I'm going back this Saturday. When will you come back?" I asked Jameson packing my bags and preparing to leave.

"We started the Visa process, it might take a week. Don't tell dad about this, me and Dax want to surprise them." He said settling comfortably on the couch. I will sure miss him. The thought of going back is giving me shivers. 

Is our relationship gonna be the same when we go back?

"That's awesome. I'm sure they will be jumping with joy." I said thinking about going back.

"You should arrange the party. Stop worrying about us, nothings gonna change after we go back." He said pulling me onto him which made me land on his lap. How did he know I was worried about that?

I just kissed him on the cheek and rested my head on his shoulder. This feels good and I should enjoy the moment I'm in. I love it when he brushes my hair with his fingers, and that puts me to sleep immediately.

"You are the reason my family's gonna be happy and I'm happy. Don't worry, if I ever lose you it's gonna be my fault, not yours." He said and kissed me on my head.

"He would definitely be an Idiot if he does that. You guys just act like Mom and Dad too." Daxton said in his sleepy voice.

"I'm not an idiot, you are. You slept through the whole wedding. And we don't act like Mom and Dad." Jameson said and threw a pillow at him and Daxton threw one at him.

"Guys!! Don't start a fight. Your grandpa is waiting for you guys." I reminded them and left to change my clothes.

I bid bye to all my cousins. Jameson and Daxton left with Raghu thatha. I won't be seeing Jameson for 2 more weeks and it's making me sad. But the trip to Hyderabad was good and I had a lot of fun.

And we are done with India, who's excited for them to go back? I know these chapters are really long. But was it good? I'm sure it is 😉

I am thinking about writing a book on Divya and Jai. What says guys should I?
With Jai being a jerk and Divya being a sweet girl. What do you think about my idea? Let me know in the comments.

Anyway, I'm bored with this lockdown, and staying at home sucks. I feel like I'm not being productive at all and it's making me feel guilty. Is it just me or does everyone feel the same?

Hit me up with grammatical or typos

Adios Amigos

Love
Sneha