Page 168 of Butterfly Effect

The story-high Lalbaug cha Raja stood above us all, adorned in flower garlands and petals and dotted with pink and orange color brought to it by the breeze and adhered by the humidity of monsoon season. I cringed at the sweaty smear of a transliteration on my arm and repeated the cheer by ear alone. “Ganpati Bappa—Morya!”

“This is insane,” Gabe yelled, securing my hand and cinching her engagement and wedding rings in our clasped fingers.

“I know!”

The procession forged ahead but unexpectedly stopped after a few loud calls.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“No idea!”

A split occurred in the crowd, allowing dozens of young men to emerge in white short-sleeved shirts peeking from bright orange Nehru jackets and topi, giant drums tied to their torsos. Women carrying the same drums joined too, decked out in traditional jewelry, sari pleats separating their legs.

“It’s like the picture,” Gabe stated loudly in my ear. “The one of Aai.” Her rapid blinks collected tears from her waterline. “Dhol tasha.”

I squeezed her hand harder.

A sharp scream garnered the crowd’s attention as the drummers took their positions, heads bobbing with eight beats of light, steady clanging. Sudden, rhythmic bass notes reverberated, vibrations felt through the air, the earth, the heart. Cymbals paired in the raucous cadence, shooting energy through the masses. I wouldn’t have been able to stop my body from moving if I wanted to. The throng of people roiled andjumped, throbbing with the dhol flow, rejoicing in our shared humanity.

Gabe wept and wept, streaks cutting through the powder and revealing the underlying freckles on her cheeks. I cocooned her as we pulsed together, protecting her from rowdy bystanders and selfishly wanting to experience this private catharsis with her for myself and no one else.

Eventually, the crowd spilled onto the expanse of Juhu Beach and downed the clay idol, releasing it into the ocean. We settled into a spot on the trodden, packed sand, clasping our elbows over our knees, peering off into the horizon as the sun journeyed downward. My ears rang and rushed with the slowing of adrenaline, crashing in waves like the ones before us. I was surprised to be able to hear Gabe’s hush.

“I’d lost hope to ever connect with my mother. Coming here, today” —she choked through a silent sob— “I finally felt her. Her roots, her spirit. I may never know why she left, but she remains in my heart, encouraging me to live the life she couldn’t.”

My arm found her shoulder. I pressed my lips into the frizz of hair atop her sweet head.

“I wouldn’t have that without you. Thanks for making me come.”

Dimples pursed my cheeks as she nuzzled closer, wrapping her arms around the knees between us. “That’s what she said.”

Landon, his father-in-law, Rahul, Jaeger, and I sit on a sofa facing Skylar, Indi, and Gabe, their forearms linked, absolutely beside themselves. A recently unraveled gold cloth sign hangs in the background with white-outlined black text: TheNewest Addition to the Regents Roster Arriving in the Offseason!

Congratulations and handshakes have already been exchanged, so I don’t know what’s going on with them. Maman and Baba clink glasses of champagne, beaming in the solidarity of forthcoming grandparenthood.

“I know why I’m crying,” my wife blubbers. “Why are you two crying?”

“‘Cause you’re pregnant,” Indi wails and pulls her loose dress taut around her belly, exposing a baby bump, “and I’m pregnant, too!”

“Way to go, buddy,” I whisper to Landon. “You’re really sneakin’ ‘em past the goalie.”

Indi’s dadphewsaudibly. “If it’s another girl, bless you.”

“They’re the best.” Radek was born to be a girl-dad. “I want six so they can have their own team and play puck against the neighborhood kids.”

“Sixlittle girls?” Rahul shakes his head. “Pass. Three was enough for me, mate.”

“Skylar, what’s wrong?” My ears perk at Gabe’s question.

She calms for a moment between sniveling. “Jaeg and I got word this morning from the adoption agency that a child is headed our way. Our child.”

Their collective weeping crescendos.

Landon and I sandwich Jaeg in a hug. “Daddy!!!”

His mouth remains downturned except for one corner, the red painting his cheeks failing to hide his excitement. “Yeah, yeah. Now get off me.” He elbows us away, which tickles my ribs, and I giggle.

“Seriously, though. We’re happy for you, Jaeg.” Landon leaves his arm on Derrick’s shoulder and squeezes before he and I exchange a look and bound from our seats, clinging to one another in a tight embrace and pretending to sob.

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