Page 25 of A Kiss in Kashmir

“Yes, yes. Come—you can talk to the weaver, who is in a room upstairs. I don’t know how much can be changed, but let’s ask him,” Mr. Shaikh said. Before Sharmila could ask, Alina was gone.

“At least she’s showing some interest. She had been so lukewarm about this whole thing. I really thought she would want to know about her father’s home,” Sharmila confessed to George.

He shook his head. “It’s hard for her, I’m sure. But, as I told you before, Kashmir has a way of getting deep into your soul, and once it does, you never want to let go. Like some people you meet.”

Sharmila blushed and turned away to finish paying and Alina returned. “They will make my additions. Ma, thank you so much for this.” She hugged her mother.

Sharmila smiled. Again, something good was coming of this trip. “Where to now, George? Are we going to see the resorts?”

“Actually, George, I am sooooo hungry. Is there a place that’snotgoing to be part of the wedding that we can go to? Just this once?” An exasperated tone accompanied Alina’s request.

“Yes, for sure,” George said.

Sharmila said, “But wait, can you give me a few minutes? I want to see some of the other shawls. I think these would make good gifts for the wedding guests.” She began to peruse the other shawls.

Much to Alina’s relief, George signaled to Sharmila that they would wait for her outside and let her take her time finding just the right gifts.

As they stood on the deck of the boat, George decided to make an attempt to check in with Alina. “Is all okay with you, kiddo? None of my business, but I noticed you don’t seem to be your normal cheery self.”

“Yeah. Well, it is hard being away from Emilio and this stupid time difference doesn’t help. He was complaining that he has to stay up too late to talk to me. Whatever.” Alina looked hurt. She stared into the distance as the tourists began milling around. “Oh, and Ma’s suggestion? She says to leave himalone. Let him study. Yeah, fine. But doesn’t he miss me and want to talk to me?”

George pushed his hands into his jeans pocket and leaned back on the boat. “Want my opinion?”

“Well, no. But since you are taking me to lunch, I guess I should at least give you a shot.”

“Well, thank you, young lady. I am honored,” George said, chuckling. “This isn’t really about the time difference, Alina. This is about you and him setting up clear communications and what you expect of each other. Instead of accusing and getting angry, is there a solution you can work out that will work for you both? Sometimes, I feel like we make life so complicated by just reacting. We need to learn to respond. So let me ask you, how can you respond?”

Before Alina could say anything, Sharmila joined them. “I’m ready. What’s going on here? You two look like you are in a serious discussion.”

“Ah, yes. I was telling her how little I know about Taylor Swift, and she is clearly seeing how uncool I am,” George said, much to Alina’s surprise.

Sharmila handed the bag she was holding to George. “Happy birthday, George. I wanted to get you a warm scarf from here. I hope it will keep you cozy in the crazy winter here.”

“Oh, I had forgotten. Happiest of birthdays, George.” Alina turned to him and gave him a tight hug.

“I am so honored you remembered. Thank you for this thoughtful gift. I will treasure it,” he responded warmly.

He drove them back into town. They headed to Lal Chowk, filled with locals who were shopping, schoolgirls walking with their school bags, and most important, street vendors selling all kinds of foods.

“We’re goingthere,” George said. It was the street vendor who had the longest line. “He serves the best kebabs in town, and no, he doesn’t do weddings.”

The rest of the afternoon was spent eating and shopping. Sharmila found herself telling George more and more about her paintings and the exhibition sites that had hosted her work. They seemed to have crossed paths at the National Portrait Gallery in DC, but they had never actually met. Sharmila said that now, thanks to his encouragement, she was even thinking of holding an exhibition in Srinagar after the wedding. Oh, and how much she loved her new Instagram account.

“Wait—what? Ma… are you joining the twenty-first century? Social media? What did you call it? ‘The devil that’s destroying the youth of the day,’ if I recall correctly. My mother on social media? The one thing you swore you would never, ever, ever do? Well, I’ll be damned. Now how did thismiracleoccur?”

George gave her a sly look. “I convinced her that it was good for her. The world needs more of her art in it.”

“Ohhh, I see. Okay. That’s… nice.” Alina at first seemed a bit annoyed that her mother would listen to George but not to her. She bit her cheek and pursed her lips, but then something clicked, and she laughed. “Thatisnice.”

With that, they headed back to the hotel.

“Ma, can I talk to George a minute? Alone?” Alina asked. Sharmila nodded, surprised, and left them alone as she headed to the room.

Alina said, “So George, I thought about what you said. About responding and not reacting. I just miss Emilio and want to talk to him, and I know he misses me too. I feel bad that he has to stay up late. So I’m thinking, I can record video messages to send him and he can see them when he has time and respond with the same. What do you think?”

He gave her a hug. “This, kiddo, is just the beginning of your life together. Be honest with your needs. I promise, the right solution will emerge.”

George left to go home and cook dinner. The hotel had found Alina a ticket for the evening’s event, so when they got back to their room, she started to get ready.

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