Child Brides of India

By C. Stanton Leman

Chapter 75: Courtship (MggF, rom, cons, no sex)

After morning prayers and a quick, early breakfast, we were ready to pick up Monaavi and her mother to buy her rings. Arriving a few minutes past ten, Monaavi had the door open just as we were pulling up. Mom said, “Sean, if she looked any more in love, she’ll be nine months pregnant!”

I blushed and Priya and Leeya covered their mouths giggling and replying at the same time, “Look! Sean’s blushing!”

I don’t know what it was; maybe because Monaavi was older than me, I felt an insecurity and bashfulness: like a twelve year-old boy trying to get his first kiss. The love my wives shared for Monaavi and me made them very sensitive and understanding about my new relationship.

We exited the car and walked to the door, offering our salaams. Hindi invited us inside for a few minutes, I think to try and calm her overexcited daughter. Overnight, Monaavi had transformed from a reserved and quiet woman to a radiant, bubbly and effervescent young girl in love. She seemed to be literally bursting at the seams with happiness. Throughout all of her obvious joy and coquettish innocence, she retained her shyness and blushed with embarrassment at every turn.

She, as much as I, wanted to just reach out and touch each other: even if only to hold hands. I remember having the same feelings with Priya during our courtship and that first stolen kiss. There’s just something about love that demands to express itself.

Having a position of relative importance in the company, Ravi and his family lived in relative comfort. Their home was fairly spacious, well furnished and neat as a pin. After about ten minutes of small talk, Mom could see the anticipation on Monaavi’s face and said to her, “Well, soon to be daughter-in-law, let’s go get you a diamond: a big one!”

Monaavi blushed (why do women blush so much?), nodded and looked at me with a tender smile. Hindi said, “Don’t be greedy, Monaavi.”

Mom quickly replied, “Greedy hell, we’re going for extravagant aren’t we, Sweetie?”

Monaavi quickly hid her face in her veil. God! She blushes more than Priya did! Taking Monaavi by the arm, Mom headed for the door. We piled in the limo and headed for the jewelry district. There’s an area in New Delhi similar to “diamond row” in New York where diamond and precious gem brokers conduct business. We went directly to the shop where we’d purchased Priya’s ring and Leeya’s necklace.

Monaavi sat opposite me next to her mother and she’d occasionally glance at me and shyly smile during the conversation on the way to the shop. Once there, the old man behind the counter recognized us and flashed a broad smile showing his crooked teeth. He knew when he saw us walk through the door he just might make a big sale today.

Mom marched right up to the counter with Monaavi in tow as everyone else followed with me bringing up the rear holding Tina. Mom told him they wanted a diamond solitaire/wedding ring ensemble and it had to be “top shelf.” He grinned again and one could almost see him salivate in anticipation of a huge sale.

The women oooh’d and ahhh’d over the variety of expensive gems while I held Tina behind the shopping women, watching them do what women do best: spend money! Hindi was rather quiet, settling on letting Mom run the show. Leeya, being so small, had squeezed herself in between Priya and Monaavi to get a bird’s eye view of the action.

Monaavi was surprisingly quiet, content to let Mom and Priya basically narrow the selections. Mom has a very keen eye when it comes to diamonds and was asking all sorts of questions about grade, cut and clarity ratings. After narrowing down their options to five rings with different cuts: a round brilliant, an emerald, a princess, a cushion and a marquis, Mom turned to Monaavi and said, “Well, Sweetie, see anything you like?”

With shaking hands, Monaavi tried on each and held out her hand for inspection. Comments like “Oh, that one’s nice” and “I like that one” followed each trial fitting… well, you get the picture.

“Well?” Mom asked Monaavi.

“Pick that one,” Leeya put in pointing to the princess cut.

“Priya?” Monaavi asked, “Which one do you like?”

Priya pondered a moment and replied, “I like the round or the princess.”

Monaavi turned to her mom and asked, “Momma, what do you think?”

Hindi peeked over Monaavi’s shoulder and answered, “Gosh, Monaavi, there all so big and beautiful, I wouldn’t know which one to choose.”

Turning to my mother Monaavi asked, “Mom?”

Mom gave her a soft smile and pushed all the rings aside except the round and princess cuts and replied, “Here, Sweetie, it’s your ring, you choose; but these two are the best of the bunch. These are the highest quality gems he has.”

Monaavi tried on each of the two again and without saying anything pushed the round cut away. She shyly whispered, “I like this one.”

Mom rubbed her back and replied, “Good choice: it’s shockingly beautiful!”

Monaavi turned to me and asked humbly, “Can I have this one, Sean, please?

I smiled softly and silently nodded.

Mom asked the crooked-toothed man, “What are the specs on this one again?”

“1.7 carets on the color scale “D” and colorless,” he replied, “and “I-F’ on the clarity scale.”

“Wow!” Mom replied as she shook her head, “How much?”

“23,450… dollars… U.S.,” he answered haltingly.

“GASP!” was exclaimed by all at hearing the price: including me!

Mom leaned over the counter and said pointedly, “Now tell me what it’ll cost to walk out the door with it today — no bullshit.”

With a sly grin he said humbly, “For you, Ma’am, you get for 18,375 U.S. dollars.”

In the U.S., this ring would probably cost at least thirty percent more than that! I thought Hindi was going to faint and Monaavi fell back slightly against Mom as her knees weakened. Priya and Leeya covered their mouths in surprise. Mom looked at Priya and said, “Yours cost a little over $17,000, Monaavi’s is more. What’s fair in your eyes as first wife?”

“I love my rings, Mom and even though hers are more, I want Monaavi to love hers also,” Priya said. “Sean, we’ll take this one.”

Leeya put in, “See, I told you to pick that one. When I get my rings, I’m gonna pick a big one!”

Everyone laughed but she wasn’t joking.

Mom told the jeweler, “Fine, size it now and we’ll take it.”

Turning to me, Priya said, “Take the baby for a walk for about fifteen minutes, okay?”

“Why?” I asked.

“Just do it, please,” she replied.

With a sigh I obeyed saying, “Oh all right.”

Tina and I took our little walk and returned about twenty minutes later. We waited about a half hour longer as the jeweler sized Monaavi’s rings. When he’d completed the task he handed her the diamond and she tried it on to renewed gasps from the women folk. He handed her the wedding band in a red velvet box and bowed to Mom with a toothy grin saying “Thank you for letting me serve you.”

Monaavi turned to me with a blush and flashed her ring. It was beautiful! That square-shaped diamond in a platinum setting looked huge on her small, slender fingered hand.

Mom slapped me on the shoulder, took the baby from me and curtly said, “Ante up, lover boy!”

“I pulled out my checkbook and asked, “How much did you say?”

“$26,580” he said as he looked around at the women.

“What! I thought you said --” I replied extremely surprised.

“Just pay the man,” Mom cut me off and ordered.

I wrote the check and tore it from the book and as I was handing it him Monaavi gasped in awe, “My gosh, I’ve never seen a check written for that amount of money!”

“Welcome to your new life.” I replied with a smile.

“Thank you, Sean, everyone, for my beautiful ring!” Monaavi emotionally said as she stared at it dreamily, “This is all like a fairy tale. I’m expecting to wake up and see it’s all a dream, but this ring on my finger is real!”

“And expensively exquisite,” Mom quipped.

Monaavi hugged her future sisters, Mom and her mother. She so wanted to leap into my arms but we knew it would have to wait. Mom put her hand on Hindi’s arm and asked, “Well, Hindi, what do you think: did we knock her socks off or what?”

Hindi just shook her head and replied with amazement, “I’d be afraid to wear something so expensive, it’s simply beautiful!”

Mom jokingly quipped, “You know what they say, ‘Diamonds are a girl’s best friend… next to a blank check!’”

“Well girls,” I put in, “Now that you’ve spent your allowance for the next five years, what say we get some lunch?”

“Here, here!” Mom triumphantly replied as she pumped her hand.

We left the jewelry district and went to a small Muslim restaurant not far from home. After lunch as we got in the car, Priya took the baby and sat her on her lap and said, “Why don’t you and Monaavi spend some time together at her house. The driver can take us home. You can call and he’ll pick you up later. How’s that sound?”

I looked at Monaavi and she shyly looked at Hindi. Hindi gave a slight nod so Monaavi blushed, looked down and nodded.

Mom teased her by saying, “My gosh, girl, why so shy? You’ve seen each other just about every day for almost nine months.”

Blushing, Monaavi replied, “But this is different. I’m going to be Sean’s wife and I feel like such a giddy schoolgirl inside. I just can’t help it.”

“I’m just teasing you,” Mom confessed. “You be as shy as you want. But if you’re this shy now, I’d hate to see you on your wedding night!”

Everyone giggled as Monaavi covered her face with her veil. The rest of the ride home was spent watching the women folk ogle Monaavi’s ring. She kept twirling it on her finger as she dreamily stared at it. Why do girls twirl their rings?

Arriving at Monaavi’s, Hindi and Monaavi exited the car and walked to the door. I kissed the women in my life including my daughter and stepped out to begin courting Monaavi.

Once inside, Hindi directed Monaavi and me to sit in the living room to talk. She sat at the dining room table within earshot and read a book.

We spent the next couple of hours talking about our childhoods and growing up. Unlike Priya, who had become assertive in order to combat the discrimination in her life, Monaavi revealed that she’s always been shy and quiet. She had to study hard to get good grades but was able to excel in high school and get into a good college.

I hadn’t read Ravi’s personnel file and was surprised that he had a computer engineering degree from Cal Tech. Hindi had gone to college at UCLA and majored in economics.

She apologized that she wasn’t on par with Priya and me regarding IQ. I told her it was ridiculous to feel that way; her gift with children far outclassed our ability to acquire and retain facts or design computer programs. I asked her how she felt about the fact the she was three years older than me and she pulled her shoulders forward shyly and looking down answered, “You can’t choose with whom your heart falls in love. Your age never entered my mind. I’ve given myself to you to marry so it should be apparent that it doesn’t bother me at all. You will be my husband and I will obey you and also Priya and Leeya. I respect their positions above me. Leeya is only five, but she is a very good friend and dear to me.”

Monaavi giggled and said whimsically, “Leeya and I have a very strange relationship. She’s my child student, but she is also a married girl who is my very dear friend and confidant. I’ll tell you a secret: Leeya has known all along about my love for you, but she’s kept my confidence as she promised.”

“That little snot,” I replied, feigning to be upset. “And she let me stew thinking I’d get shot down!”

“Oh,” she defended her saying, “please don’t be upset with her, I made her promise not to tell. I did tell Priya though last week after you saw me that day.”

“I know that now,” I confirmed. “She said she was keeping your confidence and wouldn’t reveal it.”

She asked me when I knew I was in love with her. I told her that she kind of unconsciously grew on me a little at a time. I explained that I was observing her every once in a while, but at the time, it was purely innocent. It wasn’t until I returned for my briefcase that her beauty struck me and I said, “I just realized it after I saw you adjusting your veil…”

“Oh my gosh!” she interrupted, “I was so embarrassed when I saw you out of the corner of my eye, I didn’t know what to do! I just pretended that you weren’t there.”

I explained all the thoughts and feelings I had after seeing her and couldn’t understand why I hadn’t seen her beauty before. Monaavi blushed as I complimented her beauty and replied, “I’m not beautiful, Priya is the one who is beautiful! She’s very dark-skinned but she’s absolutely gorgeous!”

“I agree, but it’s funny,” I chortled, “she thinks you’re the most beautiful woman she’s ever seen. She said that as a child, she dreamt of looking exactly like you. I have to say, I agree with her about your looks: beautiful, graceful and elegant.”

Monaavi covered her face with her hands and I saw Hindi glancing over with a proud smile. Answering her questions about the timeline of my falling in love with her, I asked her the same.

She shyly turned her face away slightly and answered, “When I came for the job interview that first night I about died you were so gorgeous! It was hard not to look at you and work every day. I felt something in my heart then but would never admit it to myself, I would daydream during the day and dream at night about what it’d be like to be married to you.”

Shielding her face with her veil, she asked, “That day, when Leeya and I were talking about sex last year, you heard, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” I admitted, “I did. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I was lounging on the veranda under the open kitchen window.”

“Well,” Monaavi confessed, “After that talk with her, I knew. I just knew that I was in love with you. I thought that I could hide it, but when you started observing me lately, it just seemed to fuel my love and desire for you. I must confess, I yearned deep in my heart for you to look at me, to love me, but I felt that it would never be so.

“That day when you saw me adjusting my veil, I felt ashamed later that night because I burned with excitement inside knowing you were looking at me. But I knew I couldn’t stay, be in contact with you and not express what’s burning in my heart to express. Since you showed no interest in me and with my feelings becoming stronger, I felt lost. I felt devastated that I would live the rest of my life without my true love returning that love. When you married Faatina, I sat crying, aching in my heart wishing it was me being offered to you by Papa. Allah must have heard my prayers because if you hadn’t proposed when you did, instead of buying this beautiful symbol of our love today, I would have left.”

“I’ve got perfect timing, don’t I?” I jokingly asked. “I told your father to bring you to dinner kicking and screaming if necessary.”

“Papa would have too!” Monaavi added with a giggle.

“He told me,” I said jokingly, “that if he had to, he’d bring you in chains and present you as my slave.”

“I almost didn’t go,” Monaavi admitted. “But Dad told that you’ve been so kind to me and I shouldn’t insult you by refusing to go. What he said was true and it made me feel guilty so I went. Boy am I glad I did!”

I told her, “I was so scared you would quit before you came to dinner and I had a chance to propose. I told Priya that I’d get on my knees and crawl to you before I’d let you get away.”

Monaavi chuckled and replied, “And my gosh, I think my heart skipped twenty beats when I thought I heard you say that you loved me. I was almost certain I’d died and gone to heaven when you said you’d have to marry me to stay: I just had to hear it again!”

“Sorry I wasn’t very eloquent,” I apologized, “but I was so frightened you’d say no. I thought that if you didn’t have feelings for me and I proposed to you, you’d leave me and my family. I felt that you wanted to leave anyway for some reason but never suspected it was because you were in love with me.”

Monaavi looked at me with a soft smile and replied, “Strange isn’t it? We were both afraid that each would reject the other.”

“It certainly is,” I agreed.

It was now five pm so I told her I’d call her in the morning after prayers. She said that she was going out of town with her parents for the weekend to visit relatives and that she’d see me Monday morning. I called home and Priya said the car should be outside waiting. I looked out the window and she was right. I told her I’d be home shortly and hung up.

I gave my parting salaams to Monaavi and her mother and told Monaavi I’d see her on Monday. Both women walked me to the door; I got in the car looking back at my fiancé. Monaavi gently waved goodbye as we pulled away and left. That night I got a call from Ravi. He said he about had a coronary when he saw Monaavi’s ring and heard the price tag. He asked me if it was necessary to be so indulgent with her and I told him I wasn’t being indulgent at all. I jokingly said to him that it was more a matter of self-preservation: either I bought the ring or Priya and my mother would have had my hide. Besides I told him, I did promise to take good care of his daughter.

__________________________

On the thirtieth of November Tina turned four. All of us were so proud of our daughter that she was now almost walking and gradually making steady progress. We eagerly waited for the day when she’d start talking. Mom baked a cake, which she proudly wore beautifully. We bought her some new clothes (seems girls of all ages never have a thing to wear). Of course, Attiya, who’d be turning six in March, played the piano as we sang “Happy Birthday.”

Over the next month, everything began to happen quickly. Monaavi’s wedding garb took several fittings and would be finished around New Years as would the saris for Mom, Hindi, Priya and Leeya. Mom had a cute one-piece pink salwar kameeze made for Tina. I was constantly teased by the girls telling me just how beautiful Monaavi would look on her wedding day.

Monaavi and I would meet at her house three nights a week when I would go directly there from work. On those nights, I had dinner with Monaavi and her parents. I learned that Monaavi obtained her teaching degree in elementary education from Lady Shri Ram College for Women in New Delhi with the equivalent of a 3.85 average, which I vaguely remembered from her resume. I told her of my college days at Princeton and she was excited at the possibility of seeing the U.S.

We talked of everything; her hopes and dreams, which centered mostly on being a mother and wife. If she could continue to teach as she is, she could even have her career along with it. I jokingly told her my hopes and dreams were to survive three wives and the resulting offspring.

Monaavi, Mom, Priya and Leeya would often talk amongst themselves, I guess about the girlie things. Priya mentioned that they talked about how our marriage would be structured and the “schedule”. Priya said that Monaavi didn’t really want to talk about what our sex lives were like saying that she wasn’t a sister yet and that those details should remain a secret within the family.

She was curious about the mechanics of love and what she might expect saying she was more afraid of being so shy that she’d look like a baby and disappoint me. Mom and Priya felt that Monaavi’s approach to intimacy might have a profound effect on our sex lives as a whole. When subtly probed about the topic of lesbian love, Monaavi seemed to be a straight arrow and didn’t think she’d like it. For some reason, she and Leeya became very close when discussing sex, Monaavi seemed to favor Leeya’s child-like, innocent and simple candor with regards to the subject. Leeya in turn was very supportive and understandingly forthright in her discussions.

Tina walked for the first time the week of Christmas. She’d been taking steps, holding onto things, but one night she let go of Priya’s knee and walked the five feet to where I was sitting in the chair. Everyone clapped as she smiled at everyone. She looked around, turned and walked back to Priya. After that, she’d waddle around without too much difficulty. If she fell, she’d pick herself up and go her merry way.

Tina also began eating with a spoon instead of her fingers and was somewhat neater in her feedings. She still drank from her sippy cup but would take drinks from one of our glasses if offered slowly. She’d still occasionally dry nurse from either Priya or Leeya at night but seemed to be weaning herself. She just began to take more of a fancy to her thumb than the teat. Her potty training was coming along and she was now wearing pull-up diapers. She’d go poo, but would get preoccupied and wet her nappy (mostly from one of us forgetting to set her on the pot).

Mom had ordered and put up a lifelike artificial tree and was going to give the girls a taste of Christmas. I returned from the office one night to find Monaavi and Priya helping Mom teach Leeya and Attiya how to string popcorn.

Monaavi would give me coy smiles as I watched her with the girls. Mom and Priya nudged each other smirking and Priya teased, “Don’t it just make you sick, Mom? Look at those two making goo-goo eyes at each other.”

Monaavi blushed as Mom and Priya giggled while Leeya and Attiya were teasingly chanting, “Goo-goo, goo-goo.”

From the peanut gallery, Tina picked up on it and repeated, “Goo-goo.”

I motioned for Monaavi to accompany me to the living room. As we rose from our chairs, Priya gave us a mock stern look and said, “Play nice now, no hanky-panky.”

We chuckled and left for the living room. We sat and talked for a few minutes when I admitted, “You know I’m a little frightened about the whole thing.”

Thinking I might be getting cold feet, Monaavi gave me a worried look and implored “Why?”

I confessed to her that she would be the first adult woman that I would be with intimately. I said, “I don’t know why, but it’ll be new for me too and I’m not sure how a grown woman will respond. Stupid isn’t it?”

Monaavi blushed, hid her face in her veil and quietly answered, “No, maybe not. I don’t know how I’ll respond either, but from what Leeya’s taught me all girls are alike regardless of age. Leeya seems to react like a woman, doesn’t she? Who knows, maybe I’ll react like a little girl.”

Suddenly the voices in the house shushed when we heard the sound of music coming from the study. Everyone dropped what they were doing and moved to the study door. Evidently, Mom had ordered a music book with Christmas carols and sitting at the piano was Attiya playing “Silent Night.”

Mom covered her mouth as she and Pita stood holding each other crying as she listened to Tiya playing her favorite carol. When finished, Attiya turned and looked at us with a smile and said, “Pretty song.”

Mom ran to Attiya, bunched her cheeks in her hands and laid kisses all over her face said, “Wrong, Baby that was a beautiful song and you played it perfectly!”

Mom made sure everyone was there Christmas day. She pulled out some bags and started playing Santa, handing out gifts to everyone. Her continence was shining as she giggled with joy while she gave each their gifts. She exclaimed, “I just love Christmas! It’s so much fun giving those you love a present.”

Monaavi asked, “Is it right that we celebrate a Christian holiday?”

Mom replied, “Is it wrong to celebrate love with those you love? Although you may not believe in Christ, you do believe in the glory of God’s love for us and that’s what it’s all about: God’s love for mankind.”

No one could argue with that…

Two days later, Monaavi had arrived as we were eating breakfast. I had to get to the office early so I finished before the others. I made the rounds and kissed Priya, Leeya, Tina and Attiya on the cheek then Mom goodbye as I made my way around the table. I stopped at Monaavi for a silent moment as she looked up at me expecting me to say goodbye.

I don’t know why, but I said to myself, Shit! Why not? I leaned down, put my hand behind her neck and laid a serious lip lock on her. Boy did she sure taste sweet! I broke the kiss to see everyone’s bug eyes staring at me in surprise. Monaavi sat in a trace with her fingertips touching her lips.

I made like nothing happened and said, “There! Now I’ve kissed all the women in my life! Goodbye!”

I turned to leave with a wave and said, “See ya.”

The girls still with wide eyes in surprise watched me leave and just silently waved. Monaavi was still in a trance looking straight ahead touching her lips and lifted her hand and waved blindly. I thought to myself, I hope I don’t pay for that later, but what the hell: that first kiss was certainly worth it!

Stepping into the hall, I heard Mom say, “Earth to Monaavi, can you hear me?”

I chuckled as I shut the door and said to myself, “That’ll give ‘em something to talk about today!”

Mom and Priya had planned a New Years Eve party and had invited Adib, Salima, Sarah and Haseeba along with Monaavi’s parents. Dad was flying in and would arrive on the thirtieth. He wanted to be here for New Years, Priya’s thirteenth birthday, then the wedding followed by Leeya’s sixth birthday in February.

On New Year’s Eve at the party, everyone seemed to get to know everybody and by eleven, everyone seemed to be like family. Priya’s family welcomed Monaavi and her parents with open arms and that made Priya, Mom and Dad and me very happy. Upon arriving, Mom explained the American tradition of the piece of mistletoe hanging from the center of the living room doorway. The entire night all the Muslim women (except Priya and Leeya) consciously avoided it.

When the clock struck twelve, everyone was offering their New Year’s salaams, cheers and wishes. During the revelry, people were shifting around. I kissed Mom, Priya and Leeya and guess what: Monaavi was leaning against the door frame under the mistletoe watching the goings on. Mom tapped Hindi and Ravi on the arm and pointed to the sprig hanging from the doorway. Looking directly down, they smiled to see their daughter standing directly under it holding a glass of tea and wearing a smile.

Mom whispered to them and they nodded with a smile. Mom called me over and pointed at the victim. I gave a cheese-eating grin, looked at my future in-laws and they nodded silently with a snicker. I walked up to her and said innocently, “Happy New Year, Sweetheart.”

“Happy New Year, Sean,” she replied.

I pointed my finger straight up and she followed my hand to see the ominous sprig above her head. At first, she smiled then remembered her parents. She looked over and Ravi shrugged his shoulders as if to say “You’re caught!”

I lifted her chin and kissed her tenderly for about fifteen long seconds, turned and walked away. Monaavi dreamily leaned back against the doorframe. Ravi and Hindi giggled and Priya quipped quietly to Mom, “Boy! I bet she just creamed her drawers!”

Mom chided her with, “Don’t laugh, girl, you were just like that right before your wedding!”

Priya giggled and retorted, “Wrong, Mother, my drawers were always creamy.”

Mom slapped her arm and said, “You are a bald pussy little bad girl, aren’t you?”

“Well,” she said as she implicated Mom, “you did tell me to liberate my femininity, didn’t you?”

“Don’t remind me, child,” my mother replied.

Well, I certainly got to start my new year off with a surprise! After some light leasing from folks and showing just how pink she could blush for several minutes, Monaavi decided she didn’t feel like blushing any more. She stood proud and like a liberated woman stuck her chin out and said to everyone, “So what! I’m twenty-three, a legal adult and engaged (proudly flashing her 1.7 caret rock). He kissed me and I liked it! No — I loved it!”

Mom lifted her champagne glass and yelled, “You go, girl!”

Standing next to Ravi I went, “Whoa!”

“She can be a cactus.” he replied reminding me.

Hindi grabbed Ravi’s hand and said, “I think our daughter has now become a woman.”

Ravi turned to his wife and quipped, “May Allah grant Sean strength — he’ll need it.”

In all the time I’d known Monaavi, she’d never displayed this kind of confident defiance. She was always meek and agreeable and accepted any teasing quietly, but then I guess she’d never had to defend her feelings before either. Standing there professing her love for me, she certainly looked like a woman: an adult woman that could be a real handful!

It’s strange how certain things can affect our perspective. With Priya and Leeya, I was much older and towered over them in size. That somehow gave me a sense of power and control. With Monaavi, I was bigger than her but she was older. That somehow changed my perspective and I didn’t feel so powerful any more. What I felt was… shy. Ever since I’d made the decision to pursue and marry her, I have always done so with some apprehension: either from shyness or lack of confidence. She’s affecting me like an enigma that you can’t figure out and she’s got me trapped: hook, line and sinker!

I watched her looking proudly at everyone and her eyes fell on mine. They sparkled with joy but boy was there ever that smoldering look. She smiled at me but this time she wasn’t blushing.

I’ll bet she’s gonna make me earn it on our wedding night!