Page 62 of Knot So Romantic

She leans closer conspiratorially. “An event like this is more of a playground for couples to find each other than anything else,” she says. “My cousin got married just like this. Met a man at one of these and they just hit it off.”

I smile, wondering why Kavita isn’t here yet.

“What’s your favorite color?” she asks suddenly.

“Excuse me?”

She clucks her tongue. “You know, my late husband only liked certain colors. If he saw me wearing a color he didn’t like, he’d say, ‘Take that off!’ Did your wife have any color preferences?”

“I haven’t asked her.”

She looks contrite. “Sorry, I thought your wife had passed away.”

“No.”

“So, you’re divorced?”

I nod. “Yes, I’m divorced.”

“How come?”

She senses my hesitation and shakes her head. “No, it’s okay. I shouldn’t have asked. I know it must be painful. I couldn’t talk about my late husband for months. So I get the feeling.” And then she launches into a monologue about her husband, and what a good man he was. Before long, tears well up in her eyes.

I wish I could hand her over to someone else because I don’t know what to do.

She wipes her tears and looks at me. “Who are you here with? Your parents?”

“No.”

“You don’t have a family around?”

“I do—” I rub my face. “It’s just that my mother left early, and my sister’s probably somewhere in the crowd.”

To my astonishment, the woman launches into a tirade about her ex-mother-in-law, who, according to her, refuses to believe that her son is dead. “She doesn’t want me to get married again,” she laments. And then goes on to explain all of that.

At this point, I’m ready to tear my hair out. I cannot stand here another minute and listen to one more word from this woman’s mouth.

“Excuse me,” I say, cutting her off. “I really have to find Kavita.”

“Kavita?” Her face lights up as though she recognizes the name. “You mean the one who designs dresses?”

I nod.

“I imagine one day she’ll design the perfect dress for her wedding. I wonder who the lucky guy will be!”

Suddenly, everything feels too much. I feel like a misfit. Look at the young men milling around, talking to young women, laughing, looking to secure a match. And look at me. Too old to be among this crowd.

I’m sure Kavita would prefer someone like them. She’d be a laughingstock, dating an old man like me.

I’m filled with shame thinking about standing in front of Kavita’s parents and seeing that look on her mom’s face when she realizes the guy she just introduced to someone else is actually dating her daughter.

I excuse myself and move away, pretending I got a phone call. I feel overwhelmed. This is not how I expected things to go.

I thought I could do this. That I could be the right guy for Kavita. But now I’m not so sure.

I remain standing that way for a long moment before Kavita finally finds me. “Hey! Here you are!”

I force a smile.