A Promise to Keep

by Carter Tachikawa

  That was my fake fiancée.

  127

  Carter Tachikawa

  Chapter 16

  Once we got home, I decided to do some more formal introductions. Everyone was talking over each other on the ride back so I gave Rachel a silent promise to explain it to her better. All the Hindi words were going to confuse her. She knew some of it from the lessons I had been giving her

  Vikram was a little taller than I was but much skinnier as well. Kind of a contrast to the fact that he ate more than I did. And it wasn't just healthy food either. The guy could annihilate a goat in five minutes flat and leave behind just the feet and horns. He also loved his sweets yet never seemed to gain an ounce from eating tubs of them. But he was my favorite cousin for many reasons and he was first in line for the formal introduction.

  "Vikram, this is Rachel. Rachel, my cousin." I introduced them. They shook hands and Vikram playfully punched Rachel's shoulder. "Hey hey hey! No abusing the fiancee fiancée !"

  "Nah, it's all right. He hits like a girl." Rachel joked. "No offense taken, I hope?"

  "No offense taken. Besides, I'm probably better than Anwar."

  Vikram winked at me and I flipped him off. It was our typical cousin relationship. We loved to mock each other and have fake fights just to give our mothers heart attacks if we could. They were always afraid we were at each other's throats when it was really the opposite. We loved each other. If I had been gay and Vikram hadn't been related to me, I could see myself with him. My parents would freak out and disown me but I wouldn't care. This man knew me better than anyone else did. I just hated the fact that he lived so far away. Twice, I wanted him to move here but his parents refused to let him go. His father didn't want him to go to school here, let alone live here. It annoyed the both of us a great deal. But that had been in the past and we were all good now. Vikram still lived in India but he visited me more frequently.

  "So how has he been treating you?" Vikram asked. I was relieved that she was talking with him first. Out of all my relatives, he had the best grasp of English.

  "Just fine and dandy." She said, patting my back. "You've got a good cousin here, you know."

  "Yes, I've always known. A weak cousin but a good cousin brother."

  "A cousin brother?"

  "What we sometimes call our cousins." I explained. "Cousin brother, cousin sister...they're that close to us."

  "Cool. I barely know my cousins." She gave us a small smile and I knew what that meant. Time to change the subject.

  "So um...what's your favorite food?" She turned to Vikram.

  "Indian food? Or any food?"

  "Both."

  "I love pakoras and rasagullas. I don't know if you had them."

  "Had them both, love them both." She nodded. "And what about regular food? Please don't say McDonalds. I get sick from that place all the time."

  "It's not McDonalds. Pizza Hut!"

  They went chatting for hours about favorite foods and it seemed like Rachel was more at ease now. I was happy to see this. Vikram understood how things worked here better than his parents did. He knew how to talk to all kinds of people and not put himself in embarrassing situations. In addition, he knew how to make jokes that were actually funny and not pointless like the adults in our lives. Right now, Rachel was laughing her head off at something he said. Good. I needed her to laugh.

  But it wasn't just the fact that she was laughing that warmed my heart. It was everything that was making me lock my eyes on her. Sure, the laugh wasn't anything special. It was a laugh after all. I rarely paid attention to it. Yet the way she threw back her head and howled loudly was priceless. I felt like a stalker at that moment. I was stalking someone in my house.

  "Oh geez, I haven't seen that movie yet! Anwar, do you have it?" She turned to me.

  "Um, maybe?" I had no idea what they were talking about. "If it includes dances, changes of scenery and costumes, bad sound effects, fights, and dialog that makes little to no sense, then yes. I probably have that movie."

  "She said she watched a lot." Vikram said.

  "She did. And she loves it, right?" I nodded towards her.

  "It kills me." She said. "Listen, I have to hit the little girls room for two seconds. Carry on the conversation without me, 'kay?" She waved to Vikram and blew me a kiss. "Don't get bored easily."

  "We won't." We watched as she left. Then Vikram turned to me. "So?"

  I shrugged. "So what?"

  "Do you..."

  "Do I what? Do I do the fandango? Do I have something in my teeth? What do you want to know?" I pressured him.

  "Do you like her?" He finally got out.

  “Um, duh?" I shook my head. Sometimes, people asked me the stupidest questions. "Why else would I be marrying her?"

  "Then why are we hearing about her now? If you've loved her so long, why mention her now? Why not before?"

  Oh snap. Busted. I tried to keep my face innocent and calm though. I hope he couldn't read between the lines in it."All right, you got me. We just met, okay? We haven't known each other forever. Then again, not very many people have."

  "I know. But...why her?"

  "Why not her? She's beautiful, smart, funny...why wouldn't anyone want to fall for her?"

  "She's not Indian."

  "And that matters because?"

  "It doesn't. But your mother and father..."

  "Accept her and like her regardless. Come on, Vikram. What are you trying to get at? Tell me straight."

  He narrowed his gaze. “Do you love her?”

  Oh, so he wanted to test me now. Well, fine. I could play that game just as well.

  "I like her, okay?" I admitted. "I love her a lot. There's nothing more to discuss about that."

  He shrugged. "Fine."

  I knew he didn't believe me but I didn't care. I gave it to him straight like he wanted it. There was no lie about me liking Rachel. The only lie in the whole thing was the engagement. If we could get through these next few days, we'd both be out of the crapper.

  She bounded back to me. “So where's the rest of gang? I can't wait to meet them.”

  I nodded to Vikram. “Do you mind?” He shook his head. “Thanks. We'll be back.”

  The next couple of hours revolved around me introducing Rachel to the rest of my family. She was doing very well, trying to impress them with her knowledge. She remembered when to pray and to laugh when expected. Granted, she fudged up greatly when trying to speak Hindi. When everyone burst out laughing at once sentence, she had thought they were laughing with her. I had to take her to the side and tell her that it was opposite. Instead of impressing them, she told them that she smelled, had a tail, and crapped out blue poop. Lucky for me, she also had a good sense of humor and laughed it off.

  "Man, how did I do that?" She asked me in between her giggles and the tears forming in her eyes. "How could I screw that one up?"

  "It happens." I patted her on the back. "You're doing great, babe. Besides, they enjoyed it too and knew you weren't serious."

  "You sure about that?" She looked over her shoulder to where everyone was still hooting and hollering. "I think I left a lasting impression."

  "That's good. That's very good." I assured her. "Better you make them laugh than cry, right?"

  "I suppose." She seemed more relaxed now. "You have a great family, Anwar. I'm just sad that", she lowered her voice, "they won't get to be mine in the future."

  I felt wretched when that escaped her mouth. All this was fake and I knew how badly she missed her own family. Aurora was great and maybe Dylan would make a good brother-in-law someday. But it wasn't the same as having grandparents and cousins and everyone else. Even now, I could see her staring back at them, wanting to be a part of everything. She wanted to be a member of Sharma family.

  Maybe you will be. I thought, trying to muster up some courage. I wanted to propose for real now. But I couldn't in front of everyone. They thought the proposal was already finished. Then there was that little bit of someth
ing called 'going out and getting to know someone'. Even though I knew Rachel well now, thanks to Mary, we still needed to go on dates. Have those long talks. The fancy restaurants. The quiet walks. All that hoopla had to happen first. We needed to know if we could live together forever.

  "Hey, come on." I tugged her arm. "Let's go have some of those rasagullas that you've been hankering for."

  "The goofy balls? Sounds great!"

  "I knew you'd be excited." I smirked. Somehow, she refused to call the 'goofy balls' by their real name. That was fine by me. Rasagullas did look like goofy golf balls. Only they were more smaller with less holes. And one could eat them without losing teeth.

  “I think your grandmother said I was charming.” She began. “At least that's what your mother translated. Although she might be faking it so I don't feel bad. Your grandmother really doesn't know how to smile, does she?”

  “I told you. Her smiling muscles are all atrophied and dead.”

  “You are such a mean grandson!”

  “I know.” I grinned. “You enjoying it?”

  “I'm loving it.”

  After we got some tea and rasagullas, we began wandering around the house and talking. We finally found my dad and my uncles talking with each other. Aurora was talking with them though wasn't sure what the heck she could converse about. Even though Rachel had met them already, she was still nervous. When their gazes turned to her, she looked at me. I shrugged. It couldn't be bad. These weren't looks of judgment.

  However, she was not the one they wanted. My father turned to me now. "It is a good thing you are here because I have an announcement!"

  "You're kicking me out of the house for good?"

  "Even better! I bought you a car!"

  I almost dropped my cup of tea. "Say what?"

  "He said he bought you a car." Aurora reminded me.

  Thank you, Miss Obvious. I bit back the sarcastic remarks and gave that sickening sweet smile. "Yeah, I heard that, it's just...Appa, why? I don't need a car right now."

  "It is for your wedding." My uncle explained. "Right after the ceremony, you will both drive off in it. I think you will like it."

  I was skeptical. A new car. I didn't get one for high school or college. My parents told me that it was too much for a student. They had wanted me to wait. Especially my father. He never made big purchases like this so this was a bit of a shock. "I don't know, Appa..."

  "I have found a perfect vehicle for you. Absolutely perfect. One hundred percent." My father said. "It is in the garage so you mu st ch come and see it."

  "Appa, we don't really need a new car."

  "Oh hell yes, we do!" Rachel stood up. "Come on, your father is giving us a car! You were complaining that they would give you cows and goats!"

  "Cows and goats?" My uncle looked confused. "What are you going to do with cows and goats? Do you live in a village where you need them?"

  "That's what he kept saying!" She tugged at my arm. "Come on, Anwar. At the very least, we can look at it."

  "Okay, you win." I sighed. "Let's go see the great bargain my father got."

  We didn't have to go far to see my new present. And God, it was a present all right. A present that came straight from the freaking past. I blinked about twelve times to make sure I was in the right person's garage. I paused right in front of it while my father beamed in delight at his purchase. I wish I could have felt the way he did. But my mind was filled with everything except delight.

  Parked in our driveway was an ancient van. And by ancient, I didn't mean it was a classic. I mean that it was quite literally old and falling apart. Big flowers and peace signs were painted all over it along with phrases like "MAKE LOVE NOT WAR" and "GIVE PEACE ANOTHER CHANCE". It was rusty with equally ridiculous bumper stickers all over the back and one of the tires was flat. But my father, grandfather, and uncle stood around it with great pride.

  At this point, I would have taken the cow and a few goats. The idea of me and Rachel riding around on cow and cart was more appealing than chugging along on this piece of junk. This relic was my brand new car? I got a fossil to go around in? Damn, someone needed to teach my family the meaning of the word 'new' because this didn't fit that description.

  "Whoa! Check out the Hippie Mobile!" Rachel exclaimed.

  My mouth refused to close at this. "Where did you guys dig up this relic?"

  "It was a very good price." My father said. "It is a perfect car to take you and your bride away."

  I bit my bottom lip. Could he not see that I was not digging his 'very good price' perfect vehicle here? "Appa, I will ask you one more time: where did you dig up this ancient treasure? And what is this good price that you got for it?"

  "100." My grandfather said.

  "Oh, 100 thousand."

  "No, your grandfather means 100 dollars." My uncle said. "It was very cheap and in very good shape."

  "100 bucks?! In good shape? This damn thing looks ready to die the moment someone touches it!" I exclaimed, turning to my bride-to-be. She was still eying everything on that van and reading all the bumper stickers. "Oh Rachel, I am so sorry about all this. I'll try to find another car for us to get around in. Something less...falling apart."

  "Are you kidding me?! I love it!"

  "You love it?" I didn't believe it. “What's to love about it?”

  "Yeah, I love it. What's not to love? I always wanted a van like this but we never had any room. Sure, it's kind of broken down but I bet I can get Dylan and a few of my friends to fix it up. It can be running as good as new."

  "Well, I guess they could but it's so...so..." I was at a loss for words. "So not exactly the car I was hoping to drive on our honeymoon. Unless we were headed to Woodstock."

  "Chill out, Anwar. So it's not a convertible or a limo. We don't need anything that fancy. And so what if it's from the sixties? We're going to own a piece of history over here! It won't be so bad once it gets a few repairs."

  "What a smart girl." My father said, nodding with approval. At least one of us liked the damn car. "Why can you not be like her, Anwar?"

  "Um, Appa? Not sure if you noticed this...but I'm not her. Therefore I can't be like her."

  "Cheeky young man." My father clicked his tongue. “He has been watching far too many movies ever since he came home.”

  "Hey guys, look!" Aurora came out of the van holding an old eight track. "Can you believe that this was found here? Wonder what this eight track is." She read the title and shoved it into my hands. "The Partridge Family?! No thank you! This is your wedding song, not mine!"

  I quivered inside. "Appa, I am not going to ride around on this thing, listening to The Partridge Family!"

  "You do not have to listen to music!" My father exclaimed. "All you need to do is leave the ceremony in this."

  "And go where, Appa? Straight into the 70s?"

  "Anwar, come on. It won't be bad. People back in the day used to drive around in these things." Rachel said. "I've always wanted to own one. I know I'm not from the sixties but it would be fun to pretend. I won't have any qualms if we go anywhere in it. All we need is to check and make sure everything is okay, fill up that flat tire, and not listen to that eight track."

  "You sure you won't mind driving off into the sunset in this Partridge family sized car?"

  "We can always pretend we're stuck in the 60s? Oh, I know! We can dress like Sonny and Cher and sing "I Got You Babe" whenever we get looks from people!"

  I almost fainted at that image. "You...you are kidding about that, aren't you?"

  "Yes!" She punched my arm. "Relax. Dylan's very good with cars. I promise you that he's not going to put a bomb in it."

  "You promise?"

  "Yeah, I promise. Can't say he does though."

  "Oh geez!" I cringed and tried to hide behind the heap of junk.

  "She's teasing you again!" Aurora sighed. "Dylan wouldn't hurt a fly unless it bothered him. And he might make fun of the car but he'll get it running."

  "I hope you're right.
" I said, doomed into knowing that my new car was the Hippie Mobile as Rachel nicknamed it. "Aurora, you think you can give your boyfriend a call and have him look at the Noble Peace Prize I have in the garage?"

  "Not a problem." She rubbed my shoulder. "And I'll make sure he doesn't rig your car with anything. You can trust me, right?"

  "Yeah, I guess I can." I gave in. "Bring your motorhead boyfriend in."

  "I will. And if you ever call him names, you will have oil seeping out of your ears." She threatened me.

  I gulped. "Yeah, I know. Dylan would do that to me."

  "Not Dylan. I'll do that to you."

  Man, she picked up threats fast from him. They were meant for each other. “I understand you crystal clear, dear.”

  “Good.” She took one more look back at my new vehicle. “I think you got a very good bargain over here.”

  Rachel gave the side a good whack and the bumper fell off along with the bumper sticker that said “BAN THE BOMB”. Good bargain, my ass. This thing was just as old as I suspected it would be. Now that it was falling apart, chances were that it would not be ready for my so-called honeymoon. Good job, Dad. Good job in securing me a vehicle for the future.

  “I think I'll stick with the car I have for now.” I suggested. “At least until this one looks like it can move again.”

  “Your other one is kinda falling apart too.” Aurora reminded me.

  Thanks once again, Miss Obvious. It was something I didn't know of. “But at least I won't feel like I stepped out of a happy zone driving around in it.”

  “So this is good, no?” My father asked.

  “I guess.” I shrugged. “I think if Rachel likes it and Dylan can fix it, I can be cool with it. Thanks, Appa. Thanks all of you. This is a great surprise.” I wasn't ready to say it was a great gift because I didn't know how long this gift would be alive.

  “Awesome! Come on! Let's give that boyfriend of yours a call.” Rachel told Aurora. “We'll get this baby on the road in no time!”