A Promise to Keep

by Carter Tachikawa

  BROKEN

  Fake Engagement

  c a r t e r t a c h i k a w a

  Wasteland Press

  www.wastelandpresss.net

  Shelbyville, KY USA

  Broken Rules to Fake Engagement

  by Carter Tachikawa

  Copyright © 2010 Carter Tachikawa

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  First Printing – October 2010

  ISBN: 978-1-60047-504-7

  NO PART OF THIS BOOK MAY BE REPRODUCED IN ANY FORM, BY PHOTOCOPYING OR BY ANY ELECTRONIC OR MECHANICAL MEANS, INCLUDING INFORMATION STORAGE OR RETRIEVAL SYSTEMS, WITHOUT PERMISSION IN WRITING FROM THE COPYRIGHT OWNER/AUTHOR

  Printed in the U.S.A.

  0 1

  For all the men and women like this. And my Kindred Spirits girls.

  In memory of Amit L Patra and Amark S Patra

  Carter Tachikawa

  Prologue

  I was not one to care about love.

  I didn't care about love and marriage together. Love was fine on its own. Marriage was fine for people who dream about it. It had never been a goal of mine to settle down with my wife and a nuclear family. I wanted to reach my goals with or without anyone at my side. I've been this way ever since I was a child. People have thought I was weird , though , for reasons besides having no desire to marry. I couldn't disagree because I was a strange child. My classmates used to look at me funny because I ate blue crayons, put my clothes on backwards, and swallowed a worm whole (although that one was an accident. It wasn't my fault that the cafeteria spaghetti looked like worms). I was not a the marrying type and I never wanted to be one.

  Unfortunately, I had difficulty explaining this to my family. In fact, I was standing around the kitchen and watching my mother pace around, waving her wooden spoon. I had to stand several feet away because that spoon could hit me any minute. The smells of spices filled the air from what she was making : ; jasmine rice, egg curry, and aloo dum. Mmm, potatoes all curried up and yummy. If I wasn't worrying about my mother's wrath, I would be drooling over the stove. All of that was far too good to ignore.

  “Amma, listen to me”, I began “You won't die because I haven't had children yet. No one is going to die if I never have kids. Look at these people who are child free. You think they all want children? No. Some are happy with the way things are.

  “You will never get married!” My mother screeched, hands pressed against her temples. "Oh, where have I gone wrong with you?! Will I die before I hold my grandchild? Oh, Ma Durga, please take me into the ground!"

  I rolled my eyes. She was going her through her theatrics as usual. "What worked for Sita will not work for you, Amma. The Ramayana is not real. It's an epic poem. Just like that Mahabharata. None of it actually happened."

  “Do not speak ill of the Ramayana or Mahabharata!” My mother scolded me. “First no marriage, now you're mocking me? What has happened to you? If you had a wife now, you would never get away with this! She would beat you with your own slippers!”

  Ah, my mother’s sweet voice combined with the clang of her gold bangles. Maybe it wasn't the smartest thing to say but she had to separate epic poems from reality. Ma Durga, the goddess mother and all powerful being, had no time to drag my insane mother down to see her. So she spent most of her time complaining about me and clanking her bangles together. I was getting used to them, which was sad seeing that I had known her since I was born. I spent nine months in her womb. I knew how cranky she could get, how to annoy her, and the quickest way to her heart. I respected her like any Indian man should but I could also find myself disagreeing with her during certain moments. Now was one of those certain moments.

  “Amma, please.” I pleaded. “I told you I will get married when I’m ready. That's if I want to get married. It could be tomorrow or when I'm in my forties or never. It doesn't bother me. Right now, I’m not ready to settle down.”

  “Oho!” My mother tossed her long jet black hair over her shoulder and inhaled sharply, causing the gold stud in her nose to shake. Normally, she is an attractive woman but her anger frightened me. “This is what I get? Twenty-six years and all I ask is for you to settle down and have children and be a good working husband for your wife. When I was your age, I was married, had you, and was working to bring money in! You are not even doing half of that!”

  This was probably an insult but I didn't care. I had no desire to settle down right now. My job was top priority. Besides, I was an engineer and that wasn't enough. Most girls didn't care so much for engineers and the money they made. Times had changed and they had other interests now. They wanted people who were also understanding and honest and smart. It wasn't like the old days where people were marrying straight out of elementary school. No, times had changed and my mother needed to understand that. I was not thirteen and I would not be shipped to marry any girl that she found on some wedding site. It was bad enough my mother made me sign up on one of those sites; now I had about thirty girls sending me virtual gifts that were of no use to me and begging for my photo. Well, they could beg. They could beg me until the site went down. I wasn't going to do more than put a profile up. All those girls would survive without me going on about moonlit walks on the beach and cooking up a great soufflé.

  I sat down and put my hand under my chin. "Amma, twenty-six does not mean I'm an old maid. There are plenty of girls older than me looking for grooms. Why should I have to settle down now? I'm not going to die tomorrow or anything." I knocked on our wooden counters. “And if something happens, it's not the end of the world. I promise.”

  “What of the fortune tellers? Remember what they said?”

  Oh, I remembered ; although , I was desperate to forget about those encounters. Ever since I was a boy, my mother had been taking me to see fortune tellers. Fortune tellers over here, fortune tellers in India, fortune tellers living in big mansions, and fortune tellers who stayed in cow dung hunts with no air conditioning. All of them had said the same thing about my romantic life; he will get married. It may take a while but he will find his happiness. I didn't believe a word of that bullshit , but my mother was going starry-eyed at the idea of me getting hitched. Anytime I brought up not being married, she would bring up my destiny. I only wanted to know if I would live to see thirty but no , . m M arriage was always what they mentioned.

  “Fortune tellers can be wrong, Amma. They're just people trying to earn a living like anyone else. You know you shouldn't put all your faith into them.”

  My mother sighed and sat down with me, “I know. But what will your grandparents say? They have been asking me about this. They wish to know when their great-grandchildren will be born. What will you tell them when they come, hmm? What shall I say?”

  That's when it hit me. My grandparents were coming over from India. It would be their first trip down here and they were still asking why I hadn't been married. Granted, they got married at thirteen and fourteen but they were also growing up in a different time frame. Now that both had nothing to do, they had gotten their passports and decided now was the glorious time to see their daughter and her only son, the grandchild that did not get hitched before twenty-five. If I knew my grandfather, he would lecture me and shun me and write me off the will. My grandmother would never accept me in the family. Personally, I found it all so ridiculous , but I also expected it. They were going to be worse than my mother if they came and found that I didn't even have a fiancée. No wonder my mother was freaking out; her panic was tame compared to what my grandparents would bring.

  “Tell them not to worry”, I said. “I haven't married in a year. They're still alive. There might be a chance where they can see their great grandkids. Everything will be fine.”

  “You have found someone?” My mother's
eyes lit up. “Oh, Anwar, you found someone! Praise Ma Durga, you found someone! Now I can tell everyone to set a wedding date! Oh, this will be wonderful! Why didn't you tell me? Was this a surprise for Mummy?”

  Yikes. I had no idea this was what she would get out of my statements. Nowhere had I said that I had found someone. I wasn't looking for anyone and I certainly didn't want anyone. But the way she stared at me, her dark eyes dancing, made me feel bad that I would have to lie to her. I couldn't break her with the truth. I didn't want to surprise 'Mummy' again with more shocking news. All this meant was that I had to do a little bit more work to impress my parents and grandparents. I had to rack through my brain for someone that could play a part. Someone who was a good actress.

  “Yes, Amma, I found someone”, I lied, “I kept her a surprise only because...well, it's to surprise you guys!”

  My cheerful disposition could have given anyone constipation. It was making me nauseous. Not her. Instead, it gave my mother joy and a swelling feeling in her heart. She clapped her hands and her bangles clashed again. “Oh! When shall I meet her?”

  Great. “Soon, Amma. Real soon. We've only known each other for a week.”

  As I was telling her this , my mind went to Mary, one of my newest friends. We had met at work and got along well. She was quiet but sweet. She laughed at my terrible jokes, helped me when I needed it, and she was brilliant to boot. She was also beautiful with thick red hair and wide green eyes. I knew wide eyes were something my relatives would faint over. They loved girls who had big, beautiful eyes. My mother had been pouring over the dating sites in hopes of finding a girl with wide-set eyes for me. I didn't know why. Maybe she thought I was interested in Bambi since I cried at that movie when I was younger. It apparently brought out my sensitive side.

  Little did she know that I knew one with Bambi-like eyes. She had never met Mary before because we had only been working for a week. Still, she seemed like a decent person and an understanding one person . Maybe I could convince her to play my fiancée for the next couple of weeks. Yeah, that was a smart idea. She’d be my fiancée when she came to my house. That way, we'd both be spared. I'd have my relatives off my back and Mary would be free of the craziness. As long as no one learned the truth about her, we would be fine.

  Yet , Mary was not your typical girl. It wasn't that my parents wouldn't be able to stand her personality. She was good at knowing her place to talk. She only got into conversations when she understood the topic. She liked all the feminine things but wasn't an airhead. We had great talks about TV and chemistry and all things science and fiction. She would have been the perfect woman for my family. If they saw her, they wouldn't have said no. It wasn't until they found out the truth that they would have a few doubts.

  Mary wasn't a woman.

  Oh yeah. That would go well with my relatives. While she looked like on the outside and fixed herself up to be one, she was an MTF. Not that my family would know what that meant right away. When they learned, however, sparks would fly and not of the romantic kind. No, I was referring to the red hot sparks that could sear flesh off. I didn't exactly have liberal parents and I could picture the lectures right now. How dare I be with someone who wasn't born a female ? . How dare I hang out with her ? . God forbid that she was as human as I was. They would treat her like a cyborg coming to Earth to take over my body.

  Still, my mother was beaming at this idea. I could afford to hide this little secret from her for a while. Hell, I could play this game the whole way through. I could play it all the way till the moment my relatives left. The plan was forming in my head and I tried to keep the evil laughter to myself. Could I get a way with it? I had to.

  “What is this girl's name?”

  “Mary. She works with me.”

  “An engineer. Oh, a smart girl”, My mother approved of her education. That alone would make her a perfect match. “Where did she go to school?”

  “I'm not sure, Amma. I've told you. We've only known each other for a week.”

  My mother frowned at this. “You wish to marry her but do not know what school she went to? You know her for one week only? How can you marry her then, beta? You need to know everything.”

  “I don't know if I will marry her yet. I didn't propose anything. We're getting along and I promise to learn more about her.” I sighed. Getting my mother off my back was more difficult than expected. “We will see, okay? We'll see what happens from here on out.”

  But my mother was still frowning so I had to ask. “What's wrong?”

  “The fortune tellers said that wasn't her name.” She shook her head. Oh Gods above, she was still thinking of that. “Do you not remember? They said her name was...it was...it begins with R.”

  “Amma, I said don't think much of it.” I sighed. “Fortune tellers just tell you what you want to hear for a few rupees, okay? In the end, I get to make the decision. They can tell me who I should be with but that doesn't mean I will be with them.”

  “So what do I tell your grandparents?”

  This was not hard to answer. “That I found someone.”

  “You may not marry her.”

  “Or I might. You don't know. Leave the options open, Amma. Anything can happen.”

  As soon as I said that, I wished someone had shoved my foot into the back of my throat. What had I done? I had convinced my mother that I had someone who might not go for my idea. I didn't know Mary that well. One week was fine if I wanted to be friends with her but more than that? She seemed nice about everything but what if she said no? What if she was a psycho who killed her boyfriends? What if she was a vampire? What if she didn't date men in the first place? If she was any of the above, I was screwed. Where was I going to find another girl at this moment?

  Then there was that little secret that Mary kept from the majority of the world. She had told me because we spent a lot of time together in that one week. We had gone out for drinks once or twice but that was as far as our dates went. I didn't know if I could call them dates to begin with. For me, it had felt like a drink with a friend. Still, she had trusted me with a big secret and I kept it. Maybe I could use that as an advantage. If I could keep her secret, she could keep mine for me.

  “So when shall I meet her?” My mother asked again, brushing her hair out of her dark eyes and getting up from the table. Dinner was almost ready and I could feel my stomach growling. Damn those wonderful smells. Damn the aloo dum. It was the spices and the fact that I hadn't eaten anything in a while. They were keeping me from thinking straight. But it was too late for me to backpedal and get out of this. I needed to explain this to Mary. I needed to convince her to join me for a few days. Pretend to be my bride. I could train and teach her everything that was a part of my life. I could make her look like a perfect wife for a Hindu man. She could learn to cook, learn the language, and everything else in between. It was like a con but no one would get hurt. I'd get away with it and my family would be none the wiser.

  I can do it. I thought. I can fool my family. I've known them forever. I know how they react to stuff and all that jazz. I'll do it!

  “If I can, I'll get her to see you this weekend.” I said, the lie flowing out of my mouth. There, that gave me a few days time to talk with her. It would be long enough to try and convince her of my crazy plans. She had to agree with this or I'd be in boiling water.

  Looking down at the plate my mother set before me, I began to pray that my lie would not lead me to disaster. I was twisting far too much and leading my mother to believe in me. No matter how annoyed I was with this marriage talk, I didn't want to let her or the rest of my family down. Everything had to work out or it would blow up in my face.

  And that was the one thing that didn't need to happen.

  127

  Carter Tachikawa

  Chapter 1

  So now I had a problem. Well, I had several problems and no solutions. This was no physics problem or any fluid mechanics hoopla. No, I had to worry about my own marriage. Normally, I d
idn't care for this at all. I didn't care for the fortune tellers and the kind of the girl they said I'd fall for. But after dinner that night, I realized what I had done. I had told my poor, delusional mother that I had a girlfriend. Now she was busy telling the rest of my family the good news.

  If I wanted to marry someone, it would be because I liked them regardless of things like religion, race, caste, and any of that. These things mattered very little in the long run. Did I care if a girl was a Brahmin and Kayastra? Not really. My family, on the other hand, was into this and wouldn't be pleased that the girl I had chosen had no caste. But at least I had a girl and they'd work on the other stuff later.

  Except I don't really have a girl. I reminded myself. I had yet to talk to Mary about my big plans. She was part of something she didn't know. Sure, her name didn't begin with R and my mother kept pushing me about that. The fortune tellers. Always the darned fortune tellers. Who cared if this girl had a name beginning with R or not? I had to love her, R name be damned. I had to be with her for as long as possible. What if R name girl sucked? I didn't want a terrible marriage.

  This was too much. I had to see if I could break through. I had to talk to someone. I needed an excuse to get out of this mess. If I was lucky, I would not have to call Mary in the first place.

  I went downstairs to see who was there and to test them. Sadly, I only found my mother. She was busy watching some Hindi movie that I had never seen before. It had a lot of fighting in it by guys wearing bell bottoms that most people wouldn't be caught dead in. I saw them flinging cacti at each other, which made me think that this movie was taking place in the Gobi desert. Why the hell anyone would be wearing blinding white bell bottoms in the Gobi desert was beyond me. The cacti flinging was funny though. I wondered what writers of these Hindi films smoked right before they wrote these masterpieces. I certainly wasn't creative enough to think of putting two fluffy haired guys from the seventies and making them fling cacti at each other. But here they were, blinding white and fighting with the most random weapon ever.