Free An Enormously English Monsoon Wedding by Christina Jones Page B

that’s terrible – I mean the Eastern display. You could start this afternoon – a nice window filled with red and gold, draped in sari silks, and some bejewelled elephants and a few little gods and goddesses scattered everywhere and –’
    Erin shook her head and lifted a fat blue and white teapot aloft. ‘And I’ll throw this at you if you even
think
about it.’
    ‘Check that teapot for spiders first, then,’ Doug chuckled. ‘You wouldn’t want an incy-wincy falling out on you, would you?’
    ‘Eeeuwww.’ Erin shuddered, quickly putting the teapot down. ‘No, but seriously, I think it would be lovely to have an Indian display for the week before the wedding. I’m sure we can find some stuff in here or scour the salerooms. But not yet. Not now. If Deena gets wind of it she’ll think she’s already won us both over to all things Indian, and she hasn’t.’
    ‘I don’t understand the woman.’ Doug sliced through the tape on the second packing case. ‘You and Jay have always made it clear that your wedding was going to be a happy mix of both cultures, so I can’t see for the life of me why she wants to hijack it.’
    ‘Oh, it’s all to do with heritage and traditional rituals or something.’ Erin frowned at a pile of dusty mismatched blue and white saucers. ‘Have we got the cups to go with these? Oh, yes … in that box over there … Um, yes – Deena seems to think the wrath of the gods will be heaped upon the heads of the Keskar dynasty if we don’t have a
sagai
and a, um,
sanji
and all the other stuff. And now there’s bloody Nalisha to cope with as well.’
    ‘Who might not be as bad as you think once you get to know her properly.’
    ‘She’ll be
worse
! She’s breathtakinglybeautiful, she’s amazingly intelligent, she knows everything about Jay, she’s single and Hindu and totally sodding perfect for him.’
    ‘Whoa,’ Doug said reasonably. ‘Jay clearly doesn’t think so. Otherwise he wouldn’t be marrying you, would he?’
    ‘No, I s’pose not.’ Erin sighed. ‘Oh, this is all so annoying. I just wish Deena had kept her nose out.’
    Doug chuckled. ‘But, seriously, if Deena wants you to add a few parties, I can’t really see the harm if it suits both factions.’
    Erin paused in matching up cups and saucers. ‘There aren’t any damn factions. Or at least, there weren’t. And Deena won’t be happy with any half measures, believe me. Whatever she says, it has to be full-on Indian or nothing at all.’
    ‘But that’s as daft as your mum insisting everyone at the wedding wears twinsets and pearls and drinks tea out of bone china and eats cucumber sandwiches.’
    Erin giggled. ‘And don’t suggest that option to Mum, either. You know what she’s like for everything Ye Olde English since she’s been in Australia. I couldn’t cope with an all-out cultural war. Oh, was that the shop bell? A customer?’
    ‘You go and have a look, love.’ Doug buried his head into the packing case. ‘It might be Gina.’
    ‘Why don’t you want to see Gina?’ Erin frowned across the storeroom. ‘Have you had a row? Or have you just lost interest? You have, haven’t you?’
    Doug shrugged.
    ‘Oh, you’re useless. She’s so lovely. Most men would give their eye teeth for someone like Gina. Gorgeous, single, no baggage, drop-dead sexy, easy-going,
and
she owns a pub … Gina is perfect for you.’
    ‘She certainly thinks so.’
    Erin put her hands onher hips and surveyed her uncle with mock severity. ‘Honestly, you’re hopeless. You sound like some truculent teenager rather than a fifty-something grown-up. It’s way past time for you to settle down.’
    ‘Easy for you to say.’ Doug grinned lazily. ‘You and Jay are rock solid – and your mum and dad met at school and haven’t glanced at anyone else since. This whole family is so boring when it comes to romance.’
    ‘Nanna wasn’t. Otherwise she’d still be line dancing in the village hall and making ginger beer,