Will you do me the Honour of being my Beard

Prologue - Inheritance

Hey there, readers! So this is my new novel. As you must already know, it is based in India. Hence, there are a few vernacular words and such. Thery're in italics and the meanings of all of the words are given at the end of the chapter. However, even if you don't look at them, you'll understand the lines.

Also, the mother's dialogues are in broken English purposefully.

Now, on to the story. I hope you like it :)

Inheritance

Kyra trotted down the staircase of her sorority house merrily as she hummed the tune of her favourite Beyoncé song softly.

She glanced at her watch as she approached the bottom. It was exactly 10 p.m. Now, she could leave for the party and successfully be 'fashionably late' with her best friend, Laura, who was going to call any minute now to ask her to leave the house.

She reached the bottom of the staircase and circled the living room in search of one of the girls; but not one soul was visible. They had all probably left by 9. Now Kyra felt like an idiot.

Just as she was about to exit the common room, her phone began ringing.

Without checking the caller ID, she answered the call, assuming it was Laura.

"Hey Lau. I'll leave now, okay?" she said, heading towards the door.

"Lau? Who is this Lau?" Kyra stopped in her tracks when she heard the voice of her mother. "You dhap your people-fiction only in English class, okay? Don't tell me all this, 'Law'. How you address me as law? I look like judge to you? Stupid." With her thick Indian accent and incredibly high temper, Kyra's mother made quite the party pooper.

Kyra sighed and rolled her eyes while she thought, 'And thus began the two hour long lecture that shall go down in history as the most pointless and unremarkable speech after Bush's.'

"Mom, it's personification. And I didn't call you 'Law', I just thought it was someone else when I answered the call," she justified, knowing fully well that she didn't comprehend even half of the sentence.

Her mom replied, "What you mean you thought someone else? My face match other? My face perfect okay, unique-only for me God make because my mummy pray when she have me. She pray to 101 Gods day night. She say, 'God, you give me girl, all okay. But please God, make girl pretty, unique feature; nice, long hair, white face, like me. Easy to get married age 13.' So 101 days later God tell her he fulfil her wish. Now you know? No one look like me."

Kyra sighed again and sat down on the couch, knowing this conversation was never going to end.

Fortunately, though, her dad stepped in just then. "When are you coming home, Kyra?" asked her father on the phone.

"Oh, hi dad!" she replied, suddenly anxious. "Umm... I'm not sure yet. Could I possibly apply for an internship here and come home in a year or so?" Kyra knew it was dangerous to talk about staying away from home any longer, but this was what she wanted. She had to try. Besides, she knew that the longer she took to respond to her father, the more likely it would be for him to just show up at her doorstep unannounced.

She waited for a while but didn't receive a response."Dad?" she asked.

"Yes." He paused, as if in thought - or in disapproval. Kyra wasn't sure. "No, Kyra. You can't stay there any longer. You can come home for the internship. You're already 22. Your wedding must also be planned. We haven't even started looking for boys yet."

Kyra bit her lip. This was what she had dreaded.

"Yes," her mother continued. "You are already 22. I was 16, okay? And don't worry about job and all. You will have to leave after marriage which ever way. Now you come here before you fall in bed with some 'Angrez' and then say, 'please mummy I want to marry white boy, have kids who hate India and me.'"

"'Chup!' God knows what non sense you speak," my father said. "Beta, I'm not worried about any other man. But I want you here soon. Your marriage should happen within a year or two."

"Haan. And you know na? Your grandfather's house will you get on day of wedding?" my mother added. "Arey, you know What? That day I meet Mrs. Sharma in market. She say her son Karan back from Canada and they looking for girl. I should start talk for Kyra?"

"I don't know. We'll discuss this later," my father said to her. "Kyra, for now, you just come back home. I'll have my Secretary book you a flight for Monday. Now I have to go. You talk to your mum. Bye."

"Bye, dad," I said.

My mother waited a few seconds and then said, "Haan, he's gone. Listen, Minnie beta, you must get married in this year."

"Why, mom? Its not like, at 24, I'll be incapable of carrying a baby or something. Why is your obsession with ruining my life for me? Its too early!" I replied.

"No!" she shouted. "Your daddy's brothers are fighting for dada's house. They want to go to court and challenge will. They saying you are not getting married, having fun in America, while house rotting away in middle of Delhi city. If court case start, will never end. You please come back and get married now. Please, for house."

Kyra sighed once again. She finally understood. The house meant a lot to her father. And his father had decided only to give it to Kyra on her wedding day. Of course, that was 10 years ago, when she couldn't get married at any cost. But now she was eligible and she had completed her education. Of course the weight of marriage would be on her head. How silly it had been for her to have thought that she could just be happy, for a whole day!

"Mom, I get it. We'll see about the issue when I get back okay? I have to go now. Bye," Kyra said, disconnecting the line.

She called up Laura to tell her that she was leaving.

Then she pushed her phone into her pocket and walked out of the house, trying to think only about the party and nothing else.
***

Key:

dhap- talk bull Shit

Angrez - Englishman

Chup - Shut up!

Beta - child

Haan - Yes

Arey - but wait! Or Oh!

Dada - grandfather (on the father's side)