Silently Falling in Love: Lucky Charm

Book 2 - September 2006

First Day of School – Alex

I bend down to hug Jasper goodbye on his first day of school at New York Academy. 

“Jasper, it’s going to be alight, buddy.  This is a really good school and you’re going to meet lots of new friends.”

“Yeah, sure dad.  I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me.” Jasper says as he hugs me back.

“And Jasper, one more thing, when you get a chance can you see how Leah’s doing? It’s her first day at school and I’m sure she’d love seeing her big brother checking in on her,” I say.  I know Jasper loves being given some responsibility.

Jasper looks up at me with a big grin, “Of course, dad.  I was going to do that even if you hadn’t asked me,” he says with a small smile as he hugs me one last time.  I watch him walk into his classroom.

I say the first two verses of Sukhmani Sahib prayer in my head, for the benefit of my son and perhaps for my own benefit too.

I feel guilty because I haven’t been to the Gurdwara in years and yet when I need something I’m praying only because I want something from God.

I pull myself together and walk outside of the school after dropping off Jasper and Leah for their first day of school and I see the Indian woman again outside chatting with a group of other high society women who lunch for a living.

I can’t help but notice, she’s an attractive woman, but not my type at all.  She’s dressed to the nines wearing some high-class designer clothes.  She is dripping with diamonds.  If I had to guess her earrings are two-karat diamonds at least.  Around her neck is an intricately designed diamond pendant.  On her wrist is an expensive Swiss watch, whose brand I can’t discern, but the diamonds around the dial sparkle in the sun when she moves her hand the right way and the wedding ring and band sparkle even more as they weight her petite hand down.  I can’t help but notice the accessories too; the designer purse, perhaps it’s Prada, but what do I know.  She’s wearing fancy high three-inch heels, which are also probably a designer brand.

She has on a navy blue dress; the neck is scooped in a soft circle low enough to show the pendant but not so low to show any cleavage.  Her nails are perfectly manicured and not a hair is out of place, and her eyebrows are perfectly plucked.  She probably spends at least one day a week at the salon making sure she has this look at all times.  All said and done between the clothes and jewelry, she’s walking around with $50K worth of stuff on her.  And that’s just to drop off the kids at eight in the morning.  God only knows what she wears when she actually has to dress up.

She’s definitely a high maintenance woman, the type I’ve never been attracted to.  Judging from how she looks, she’s probably from Mumbai or Delhi and comes from an elite wealthy family.  Her husband is probably doing a stint in the US and she’s along for the ride to see what life in America is all about.  I know plenty about the wealthy families in India, since Tarun cha cha sells to many of them.  His livelihood is made on the wealthy buying new jewelry for any and every occasion. 

I want my kids to meet other Indian children so they at least know something about part of their ethnic culture, but this isn’t the Indian culture I had in mind.