I grabbed the piece of paper and looked it over.
“Tussi Rahul di teacher heinna?” he asked in Punjabi, surprising me.
“Haanji,” I said automatically before switching back to English. “Rahul’s mom said you have the best Indian food in Boston.” How did he know Preet had sent me?
He chuckled. “Maybe not the best Indian food,” he said modestly. “But the best Punjabi food, we have it, yes.”
Not so self-deprecating after all.
“Preet said so many times you would come,” he added. “Unne appko describe kiya si, that’s why I could recognize you. She’s our sister, cousin sister. We give you the best food, and the best rate. Family rate.”
“Oh, thank you.” I was floored by his warmth after getting the runaround for days on end by that snooty Curry Cuisine. “I’m sorry I can’t order from you for the wedding, but I need catering for the mehendi also.”
I was going to give Sondhi Sr. one more day. If I didn’t hear back from him in twenty-four hours, we were booking with Sher-e-Punjab.
Vinnie was swamped, what with her orientation at the hospital, and Dad had a conference call with Intel Capital (“It’s really important, Mini!”), so I finally ended up totaling it myself.
If I included the cost per person, the waitstaff, the dosa chef, the china and linens charge, and the gratuity, we were still under $9000. It was another $1500 if we brought the guest list up to 180 people—which was the maximum number of people the Carriage House at River Bend could hold for the wedding reception.
Dad and Vinnie would hire whatever vendor I recommended. They were just too busy to do any of the organizing themselves. I was tempted to have them check out Sher-e-Punjab. Thanks to Preet, the rate they were giving us was out of this world! But there was the whole business of the South Indian food, and the recommendation by Manish’s family… It was a lot to think about.
Also, today was the big day when I was getting my SAT results back. How I did was going to decide how I spent the rest of my summer: slogging to retake the test or finishing up planning for Vinnie’s wedding. I checked the time on my cell phone. One hour before I could log in to College Board and get my result. I covered my face with my hands and screamed silently but looked down when I felt a paw on my knee.
Chapter Ten
Yogi was right, the best place to look up my test score was outdoors walking, with just him for company.
I grabbed the leash and my car keys and headed out the door.
Just turning into the parking lot by the athletic field and seeing all the tall pine trees in the distance made me feel better.
I unclipped Yogi and he ran off ahead of me. We both knew the path well by now. First there was the gentle uphill, then a steep descent with a spectacular view of Lake Waban. Then a wooden boardwalk over wetlands, filled with rushes, ducks, and wetland birds, followed by a long, level stretch along the south side of the lake. After that we entered PRIVATE PROPERTY, where the NO TRESPASSING, DOGS MUST BE ON A LEASH signs were nailed to a gazillion trees.
I didn’t want to have to bother with holding on to Yogi, so I veered off up a hill track away from the lake. After a steep incline, it went along the spine of the hills surrounding the lake. Great view, cool breeze, no bugs, and Yogi could run free—what could be better? I could even scream out loud if I got a horrible score.
I found a cool, shaded rock to sit on. Yogi was still unleashed, but he never wandered too far from me.
I checked my phone—still half an hour to go. Better put that time to use, who knew how much time I’d have after I checked College Board. I pulled out my notebook and pencil and started to make a list.
• Date: Sunday, August 28th
• Venue: River Bend/MassBot
• Wedding decorator: Shoma Moorty of Namaskar
• Guest list: Finalize numbers, get addresses.
• Invitation cards: Have Vinnie approve design.
• Food (Indian vegetarian): Sher-e-Punjab for mehendi, Curry Cuisine for wedding
• Wedding cake: Check out the bakery recommended by Amy.
• Wedding dress: Masi
• Priest: Krishna Ji, Sherwood Temple?
• DJ/Lighting: ???
• Photography: ???
• Hotel rooms & transport to MassBot for out-of-town guests: Westbury Plaza
• Alcohol/bartender: ???
• Licenses: Wedding license, alcoholic beverage license, etc.
I went back to chewing the end of my pencil. Time to pencil in some numbers. Next to Wedding decorator: Shoma Moorty of Namaskar, I put $5000. Next to Venue: River Bend/MassBot, I put $7000. Next to Wedding dress: Masi, I put FREE. Next to Food (Indian vegetarian): Curry Cuisine for wedding… I put $10,000. I had three quotes, and two contracts signed and ready.
“Hey.” The warm voice was just next to my ear.
I dropped my notepad. I knew that voice, that accent—it was Vir.
“Hey,” I said.
“Haven’t lost your keys today, huh?” he said.
Running shorts and shirt and muddy sneakers again—and he still looked hot.
I picked up my notepad and looked away. “Not today,” I said.
“What’s that?” he said, looking over my shoulder.
“That’s private,” I said, clutching the notepad to me.
He held up both hands, laughing. “Okay!” he said, heading back to the walking trail.
Oh, no, he was going away!
It would be weird to tell him about the wedding or the SAT, but I wanted him to stay. Let’s face it, I needed distraction.
“I’m just sketching, actually.” I turned the page hurriedly to a sketch of Yogi I had done the other day.
“Wow!” he said, examining the page closely. “That’s amazing. You’re really talented!”
“Thanks,” I said.
“Are you in art school or something?” he asked.
“I wish!” I said. “I’d like to apply to design school, but I have to convince my dad it’s not for
