The Fashion of Love | Adult F/M Romance [COMPLETE]

ch. 10 - March

Ravi broke his gaze from the blazing sun to look at her.

"So...Holi is upon us and they're having a Festival of Colors celebration on the beach. Any interest in coming with me?"

Sora stretched her legs, grimacing against the pinch of pins and needles in her calves. Her circulation hadn't been great in years. "I haven't been to a Holi celebration since...God, I can't remember how long it's been."

"Then, clear your schedule on the 13th. Dress to dance—and wear something you don't mind getting doused in. Those colors aren't coming out for anything."

"Will this be something the kids can join us in?"

"Always, S. Dhiren won't talk about anything else. He's had his clothes picked out since last year. I'm not sure they still fit, but it's something to be proud of. I can barely get that kid to do his homework before the morning it's due."

...

...

March 13th dawned bright blue and stunning beautiful in Los Angeles. Holi on the Beach was well attended, a sea of celebratnts dressed all in white, every one of them almost glowing under the beating sun. Sora had left stewardship of HMG under her step-son's careful stewardship for the afternoon and retreated to her private office to change into a long peasant skirt and sleeveless top. Tommy was also in white.

The beach was packed and the music was loud. The sun was hot and so was the sand. Sora carried Tommy on her hip. He already had smears of purple on his forehead, he clapped off beat. Ravi met them on the pier carrying Dhiren on his shoulders.

"Dad, it's Aunt Sora." The boy waved them older, almost upsetting his towering father's balance in the process. Sora was still laughing by the time she'd navigated the crowd to reach them.

"This is amazing."

"Isn't it?" His eyes were glittering. "I'm glad you came."

"I'm glad you invted me. Thanks."

"Anything for you, S."

Dhiren began to squirm. "Dad, I wanna get down."

"All right, all right, wait a minute before you kick me in the face." He knelt so that the big kid could scramble off his shoulders.

"Where's he headed in a hurry?"

Ravi squinted. "Ah, hell."

Sora touched his arm. "What's up?" She was too short to see easily over the heads of the other attendees.

"We're about to have a family reunion."

Sora didn't have to look, then. The Misras were about to descend on the shoreline, entourage in tow. Won't this be fun, she asked herself, slightly hysterical. She couldn't have one day without conflict, could she?

Not a chance.

Sniping and passive aggression ensued that didn't entirely go above the heads of all the children present. Dhiren had grabbed Tommy at the first opportunity and taken him to get juice when he got fussy. Sora wished she could have gone as well. Smiling in the face of people who had stood idly by while she suffered was the last thing she wanted to do. She wanted to be with Ravi, learn with Ravi, and laugh with him. That was all she ever wanted to do anymore.

Ravi broke the heady silence. "Well, I gotta show Sora around. I'll see you later. S." He offered her his hand and she took it, heedless of Hana glaring and her nostrils flaring like a furious dragon. In fairytales the dragons were slain. Sora wanted the fairytale.