The Girl He Didn't Want

Chapter 47

Mayas POV

Heck, I was confused now. And most importantly, why did he come here when I told him not to!

'James what are you doing here?' I asked him with disbelief.

­No, no, no. This cannot be happening. Not now!

My mom welcomed him like nothing happened. She looked surprised and then I saw her whisper something in his ear. I saw how James' face turned pale. All his beautiful facial features now turned into one big frown.

'Maya, are you about to get engaged? He asked me very carefully. I couldn't answer him. He wouldn't understand this. Oh god, how was I supposed to explain this in front of all these people? This was not how it was supposed to turn out! He continued talking as I didn't reply.

'Maya, maybe you should start by telling your family who I am to you'

James was not helping at all. I didn't really blame him for it, but I was completely numb. I had to say something very soon. The grooms' family looked confused and my parents seemed puzzled too.

'I...Eh, this is James Powell. He is my...' Finish the sentence, Maya!

But I couldn't. And now all eyes were on me. I could feel how my whole body burned like I was on fire. Something in my stomach turned too. I wanted to go to the bathroom and puke.

'Go on babe. Tell them'

Babe? Okay, now there was no turning back. He just made it so clear to my family and this new family that something was going on.

I noticed how everyone looked shocked. Then he walked over to me and put his arm around my waist and whispered to tell them about us. I inhaled a big breath and then let the words flow out.

'Mom and dad... Meet my boyfriend, James'

Everyone in the room gasped except for Vinni and James. Then Vinni exclaimed near us. 'I knew it! I knew it the moment I first saw you. Aww, how sweet!' She closed her mouth quickly when she noticed that she was the only one excited about this situation. Then she started asking us if we already had sex. I gave her a murderous stare. I could kill my baby sister. She was so not reading the room right now. Suddenly everyone started to talk. Suresh's family started to ask tons of questions about if this was a joke or if this was our plan to humiliate them. My mom and dad tried to assure them that this had nothing to do with them and that they didn't know either.

In the middle of all the chaos, I then turned my eyes toward Suresh. He looked at me all disappointed saying: 'I thought you would have told us before we came. Now you just made a fool out of me and my family'

They all went out to get their shoes on and then they drove off. I was baffled. And then mad.

'What's wrong with you?' I spat out. I was fuming with anger because James did this to my family. Did he not try to understand just a little bit about how I might have felt about this?

'What's wrong with me? I guess I should have asked you that!'

'James, that's not how you do things here!' Of course, he didn't know what to do. He wasn't part of this culture. He wouldn't know how things worked out. I knew I should have invited him deeper into my everyday challenges with my family.

We discussed further and he only got madder. I kept talking now.

'That's not what I meant... You just caused a scene here and this is not how I planned to tell my parents about us'

'So, you thought that maybe you wanted to tell your parents you had a boyfriend after you got engaged? Very nice of you. That's... Wow – that was a good idea' I said louder than I had planned.

'That is so not fair of you to say. You don't know a single thing about how this thing works and I actually didn't know what was about to happen before I got here'. My throat began to hurt. I was ready to cry now. I was so torn apart because of this situation.

'Maya, what was that all about? You guys are together? We thought you were friends'

Dad continued. 'How could you do this to us, Maya? And with a white man? What would people say about us now! How will I get Sascha and Vinni married if people start knowing that my eldest daughter is with an American man' He shook his head in disapproval.

'Appa, I can explain. Just...' I said. Before I could finish my sentence, we got cut off by James.

'You know what? I was right all along. I can't deal with this. Apparently, in your world, it's a crime if a white man rejects you for being brown or black or whatever color while all along you guys are just the same. Now it's a problem that I am white? Unbelievable. Is that why you haven't told them about me yet? Are you embarrassed of me being white or is that not good enough?'

'James, it's not like that. Wait!' I tried to run after him when he suddenly stomped out toward his car. Unfortunately, this saree wouldn't give me space enough for my legs to take such long strides and it caused me to step on the fabric at the bottom and I fell down on the front lawn. He looked back but then turned around and drove off.

Now my tears were running down my cheeks. Sascha and Vinni came running and helped me get up. They followed me inside and now I was seated on the couch while they all four stood in front of me with worried faces, waiting for me to explain.

My tears wouldn't stop though. They kept falling down. I ruined it all. Because I didn't say anything beforehand. My mom came and knelt before me.

'Maya. Look at me, why didn't you tell us about James? Were you together as a couple when he first came and visited us?'

I sobbed but tried to reply.

'N-no, we were friends. B-b-but I liked hi-him that time'

My dad was not so easy on me.

'Maya he is a white man! How can you do this? He will never understand the world we live in!'

'Dad, will you please stop it? I don't even understand this world that you guys live in. Don't get me wrong amma and appa but look at me! I have always been different – and can you really blame me? This is not Sri Lanka, you raised us in this country where we must figure out who we are. And I can't help falling in love with a man who isn't in your minds. I wish I could, but I love James'

Then I cried more. Vinni was stroking her hands up and down my arm now. My mom was now also stroking my other arm. She was milder. She looked up at dad and said something that shook us all.

'Honey, I actually like James... I don't think he is a bad man. No, he's not from our culture but listen to your daughter. Do we really want to force her to marry someone when she is in love with another man?'

Was that really my mom talking there? I saw how Sascha, Vinni, and I were staring at her with open mouths. Then we looked at our dad to see what he would say. He didn't say anything for a while. Then he turned away and looked out of the window.

'Maya. Do you really love that man?'

'Yes, appa. I love him with all my heart. He is the best man I've ever met. He makes me happy'

He sighed and held his hands on his back. 'Okay. Talk to him and tell him that if he wants to marry you then he must come here with his parents and ask for your hand properly as we do in our culture. I hope they can at least do that...'