Chapter 49

• The waiter cleared the table after we were done. Ray started talking as we all listened. He talked about our relationship. He talked of our mistakes. He said about our achievement in the business, about the two companies we intended to start, our ups and downs. Finally, he came to the issue of miscarriages. He talked about it. It was a painful moment listening to him talk about it. Finally, he talked about our childlessness. He urged the family not to ask us about kids, telling them that the doctors still insisted that we were okay. He talked about how some members of his family had been questioning him about us getting a baby. “It is just seven months since we lost the second pregnancy. Many couples have waited for long, even more than five years to get kids. So just be patient with us for now” he continued.
• He said about his promise to pay my bride price. He insisted he would still do things the right way and that we needed to accomplish some things before settling the matter. He took my hand and looked into my eyes. “I know I have made things hard for you, but I wanted this to be a surprise. I love you and want you in my life. With kids or no kids” he said. He removed a ring from his pocket and looked into my eyes. “I love you. I want you to be my wife” he continued as he put a ring on my finger. He hugged me tight and the people clapped. They congratulated us each at a time. We continued talking for a while. Anita kept congratulating me more and more. She was even more excited than I was.
• I noticed that Ray’s sister talked less. She was not the way Ray had described her to me. Something might have been wrong with her. I could see her and her husband looking at each other with a lot of suspicion. Something seemed not right with them. Her husband would squeeze her hand lovingly whenever he saw any of us looking at them. He seemed so much in love, but still it seemed weird. It was just like I had seen the first time I met them. I decided that I would look for a way to talk to her and find out why she seemed not at peace.