Page 21

Chapter twenty

Culture Shock

Karma

“You did it!” I spin Josh around in a circle, then crush him to my chest. “I’m so proud of you!”

How much courage does it take—not only to share your innermost dreams with a huge auditorium of people—but to claim the power to decide your own fate? Most people follow the path of least resistance. Only a few are brave enough to choose the road less traveled. It takes guts to defy the expectations of family and society. My Moonbeam is fearless .

As we’re swarmed by a crowd of well-wishers, excitement fills the air. The graduation ceremony is over and the celebration is about to begin.

“Buddy, you slayed!” JR thumps Josh on the back. “That was the best graduation speech ever .”

“Yeah, dude. It was sick.” Blake grins, high-fiving his friend.

Tyrell gives him a fist bump. “Thanks for the shoutout, Malik.” He throws an arm around a blushing Josiah.

The shy running back shakes his hand. “Congratulations, Josh!”

“Junoon, what is the meaning of this?” A stern voice breaks through the commotion. “Who told you that you could quit Aerospace Engineering?”

Uh oh. So much for celebrating. The man with the stern voice—and face to match—can only be Josh’s father. I guess I wasn’t the only one surprised by Josh’s speech.

“Who is this young man?” His mother stares pointedly at the arm I have wrapped around her son’s waist.

Oops. Looks like I’m a surprise, too.

No problem, I can handle this. Josh and I just started dating, after all. I just need to make a good first impression. “Hello, Mister and Misses Malik. My name is—“

“Karma!” Harmony calls out in a high-pitched screech as she elbows her way through the crowd. “Is this your boyfriend? Omigod, he’s so cute!”

“Dude! We’re supposed to be chill, remember?“ Dubya bumps against the teen’s shoulder, then makes a zipping motion across his lips.

Shit. I should’ve known better than to invite my family to Josh’s graduation. The Wilsons don’t know the meaning of the word ‘chill’. I’d better get this situation under control before it turns into a total clusterfuck.

“Um… hello, Mister and Misses—“ I start again before I’m pushed out of the way by my youngest siblings. The identical twins grab each of Josh’s hands.

Bo tugs on the left one. “Will you play catch with us, Josh? Karma sucks at throwing a ball.”

Mo tugs on the right one. “He sucks at catching, too. Can they play with us instead?” She points at Josh’s athletic-looking friends.

Thanks, guys. Way to talk up your older brother.

The gathering doubles in size as the rest of Josh’s family arrives from the bleachers—while the rest of mine pushes through the milling throng on the floor. If I don’t do something soon, this could turn into a massive shit show.

“Who are these children, Junoon?” his sister asks, her arm linked through her grandmother’s.

“Who is she ?“ His brother stares at my sister, Sara, with her wildly curly hair.

Oh, no. Be cool, Sara. Just be cool.

“ Namaste! “ My free-spirited, ‘woo woo’ sibling throws her arms wide as she greets Josh’s family. “It’s about time the Wilsons and the Maliks got together in this incarnation, dontcha think? It’s probably been two or three centuries since we’ve been on the planet together.”

They stare at her blankly in silence.

Arghh , the clusterfuck is officially real.

“Um, hello…?”

“Hello, Mister and Misses Malik,” my mother cuts in. “Or should I say Doctor and Doctor? It’s nice to finally meet you. We’ve heard so much about your son.”

Josh’s mother folds her arms across her chest. “ You’ve heard about him ?”

“Of course,” my father says, then winks at me. “Karma can’t stop talking about your boy. He’s never dated an astrophysicist before.”

Josh’s father scowls, a deep line creasing his forehead. “There’s been a mistake. Our son is an engineer.”

His mother nods. “And he’s dating a woman .”

“He is?” Em pops up next to me. “But I thought he was dating you, Bro?”

Hank glares at Josh. “You’d better not be playing our brother,” he warns him.

What the hell is this? It’s like the Capulets meeting the Montagues… or maybe the Hatfields versus the McCoys. This is not how I’d pictured the day going. How am I gonna fix this mess?

An ear-splitting whistle interrupts the chaos. Molly—Mr. Bennett’s lady friend—steps between our clashing families. Standing with her hands on her hips, she scolds us in her thick brogue, “There’s no point gettin’ up to high doh . We’ll settle this over a pint, aye?”

“Good idea, Molly-kins,” SR tells the tiny Irishwoman. “Let’s head over to the house and celebrate. We’ll get to know one another there.”

Thank god. I’ll take whatever reprieve I can get, no matter how short-lived it might be. Maybe things will go smoother at the party once everyone has a chance to cool off.

It can’t get any worse, right?

A short time later…

“Dude, why didn’t you tell us Josh was in the closet with his family?” Dubya shakes his head at me as we pull up to the party.

“I didn’t know!” I step out of the car, joining the rest of my family on the sidewalk. “He kissed me in front of the football team. We made out in a park!”

Em snorts. “You’d better not tell his parents that.”

“Or that he ditched aerospace engineering because of your speech-writing help,” Sara adds.

Hank bumps his fist against my shoulder as we walk to the front of the house. “Bro, you are so screwed.”

My stomach sinks. What hope do I have of turning this nightmare around? Maybe I should just give up and go home.

“Try to be optimistic, Karma,” Freedom says as he rings the doorbell. “Remember, your thoughts create your reality.”

Ananda smoothes her hair into place. “Be on your best behavior, everyone. We want to make a good impression on Karma’s boyfriend and his family.”

It’s a little late for that . “Josh isn’t my boyfriend yet,” I remind them. “I’m still working on it. Don’t make me look thirsty, OK?”

Harmony sticks her tongue out at me as the front door opens. She slips past Mr. Bennett, then calls out in a loud sing-song voice, “Josh! My brother highkey ships you. He wants to be your boyfriend!”

My mother purses her lips as the redhead disappears. “You know, ‘ Harmony ‘ may not have been the best name for her.”

“She’ll grow into it,” my father says.

The twins rush past SR into the party.

“I brought my baseball, Josh! Do you like to play baseball?” Bo yells, running to find his new playmate.

“Football is better!” Mo shouts as she chases after him.

Jeez, were my siblings raised in a barn? Oh, yeah. I guess we all were, kind of.

I stick my hand out to JR’s father who’s standing in the doorway waiting to greet us. “Hi, Mr. Bennett. Thanks for inviting us all to your home.”

The six-foot six-inch giant ignores my hand and wraps me in a welcoming hug. “If you’re dating Josh, that makes you family. All of you.”

“See, son? Everything’s going to be fine.” Freedom pats me on the shoulder.

“You’ve got nothing to worry about,” Ananda says as we’re ushered inside.

SR yells into the crowded room, “J-Bob, your boyfriend’s here!”

Shit. I’m screwed as fuck.

My feet drag as we follow Mr. Bennett through the house and out onto the outdoor deck. A large open tent has been erected on the lawn, offering a shady space for guests. Josh’s family is seated beneath it, gathered around their beloved Nani . Why do I feel like I’m about to face a firing squad?

“A toast!” Blake shouts. “To our new college graduates, JR and Josh!”

Whoops, hollers, and cheers fill the air as they raise their glasses in celebration. Josh stands in the middle of the throng, Harmony clutching his hand. Bo hangs from JR’s neck like a cape. Tyrell wears a matching Mo-necklace.

“It looks like the kids have started without us,” SR says as he leads us into the center of the festivities. “Let’s introduce you to the in-laws.”

In-laws? Holy shit! What am I getting myself into?

When Josh sees us, he hurries to my side, dragging Harmony behind him. He bows to my parents and siblings, then says a few words in Hindi to his grandmother before addressing the rest of us in English. “Welcome! Let me introduce everyone to the hosts of our party, Mr. George Bennett Senior and Ms. McLaughlin. And these are my best friends at Spartacus—JR, Tyrell, Blake, Josiah, and the rest of the Golden Gladiators. They are the number-one ranked college football team in the whole United States!”

“No way!” The twins gasp as they cling to the football players’ necks. Josh just scored some serious points with the youngest members of my family.

“This is Professor Fletcher,” he continues, gesturing to the dark-haired geneticist. “I’ve been Dr. Fletcher’s teaching assistant for the past year, and he’s also my best friend’s partner.”

“JR’s partner? What does he mean?” his mother whispers to her husband.

Josh glances at them with wide eyes before quickly moving on. “And this is Simon Crenshaw, the creator of today’s amazing feast.” A loud cheer of ‘Sigh-Moan’ echoes through the yard as Simon gives a sweeping bow.

Next, he turns toward his family, motioning to each of them in turn. “My father, Dr. Daksh Malik. My mother, Dr. Varenya Malik. My brother, Dr. Siddharth Malik. My sister, Dr. Pradnya Malik—“

“Jeez, aren’t there any plumbers in his family?” Tyrell mutters to Blake.

”—and my grandmother, Mata Darshanaji—the wise woman of Rusirani.”

Whoa. I thought my family was unique. Compared to the brawny Golden Gladiators and the brainy Maliks, we’re actually kind of boring.

It’s OK, I can do this. I’ve done a little research on Indian customs. Bowing to Josh’s family, I reach down and touch his grandmother’s feet—a Hindu sign of respect for one’s elders.

Mata Darshanaji lays a hand on my head, speaking to me in a thin but clear voice. “ Mainne tumhaare aur sarasvatee ke svapn dekhe. ”

The Malik family gives a collective gasp.

What did she say? Did I do something wrong? I turn to Josh for help and he makes a hurried signal for me to stand up.

“My Nani said that she dreamed about you.“ His eyes are round with shock. “You and the Hindu goddess, Saraswati.”

“Sara?” I look over my shoulder at my sister, who looks back at me with a shrug. His grandmother had a dream about us? I hope it wasn’t the prophetic kind. “Uh… let me introduce you to my family. This is my father, Dr. Freedom Wilson, and my mother, Dr. Ananda Wilson.” I motion a hand toward my parents.

“ Ananda ? Her name is ‘Bliss’ ?“ Dr. Varenya Malik translates the Sanskrit word with a lift of her eyebrows.

“Freedom?” Dr. Daksh Malik frowns at my father’s unusual name.

Blake mutters to Tyrell, “More doctors? Dude, I don’t think we’re smart enough to be at this party.”

They’re not the only ones. I always knew Josh was out of my league. Now I know his entire family is.

My father senses my gloomy mood and throws an arm around my shoulders. “You’ve all met our son, Karma. These are the rest of our kids: Emerson—“ Freedom points to my blonde, blue-eyed sister.

“Em,” she calls out with a wave.

“Henry David,” my father keeps going.

“Hank.” My brown-haired brother lifts his chin.

“That’s Whitman over there—“

“Dubya.” The tall, skinny teen flashes the peace-sign.

”—and Harmony over here.”

“Taylor.” The redhead puts her hands on her hips.

Wait a minute. Since when is she called Taylor?

My mother lets out a loud sigh. “We’ve told you, sweetheart—that’s not a proper nickname. You can change your name to Taylor or Kylie or Megan once you turn eighteen.”

“But Ananda,” the thirteen year old whines.

“The twins,” Freedom continues without missing a beat, “are Bodhi…”

“Bo!” my littlest brother yells.

“...and Moksha.”

“Mo!” his carbon copy shouts.

“Now, who am I missing?” my father says as he pretends to count on his fingers.

“Very funny, Freedom.” My big sister turns to face the Maliks with a twinkle in her eye. “I’m Saraswati Wilson, but you can call me either Swati or Sara.”

The Maliks stare at my sister, stunned. Everyone except Nani .

Mata Darshanaji lifts a hand in blessing and speaks to her in Hindi. The words send a shockwave through the Indian family. Whatever she said, the effect was clear.

They turn to face me, pressing their palms together. “ Namaste .“ They bow as one.

Uh… What the hell just happened?