Naina’s was a bright yellow, the sari Aji, and also Mina Kaki, had gotten married in. Mina Kaki had gifted it to her for Esha’s wedding. It was another thing they couldn’t talk about unless they wanted Naina to start sobbing too.

Nisha repositioned Trisha’s eyelash and glued it down again. Then she went to Naina. “Why is your sari all askew?” she asked, squatting down in front of Naina and straightening out the pleats. “This is a mess. Oh my gosh, Naina! Is that why you were late?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Naina said, but her face went flaming red. Naina had disappeared for a good half hour when she’d gone to “check up on the guys.” “All I’ll say is that Neel’s not the only gavel in town, Nisha.”

They all burst into laughter and Nisha smacked her with all the fondness of a lifelong friend.

Trisha laughed so hard that her eyelash popped off again. She pulled it off, then pulled the other one off too.

Then Nisha made quick work of re-draping Naina’s sari. Nisha was the only one who’d bothered to watch YouTube videos on the ancient style of draping nine-yard saris, to make sure the professionals they’d hired to dress them knew what they were doing.

“Thank you,” Naina said as the yards of silk and gold went back in place.

“Of course,” Nisha said, tucking a loose lock of hair behind Naina’s ear. “Good as new.”

“Do you think the guys are ready?” Esha asked.

“Let me check,” India said, hopping on top of the high windowsill, which was the only way to get a view of the garden where the wedding altar had been constructed. “Looks like they’re all down there.” She hopped off the sill with absurd ease, given that she was wearing a nine-yard sari. “They look like a rainbow.”

Vansh had worked with Naina’s mother to have the most ornate sherwanis made to match their significant others’ saris. Chandni Auntie had come through spectacularly. And not one of the men had complained.

She’d moved out of her husband’s house and into Naina’s old apartment after Vansh and Naina had moved to Nepal for a few years. Although they traveled to San Francisco all the time to oversee the redeployment project that was being handled by their team there. They spent a lot of time here in Sripore as well working on Shobi Kaki’s foundation.

The clock tower gonged and the door flew open.

“It’s time!” Vansh said, his bright yellow sherwani making him look like an adorable banana.

One look at them all and he fell to his knees, dramatic as ever. “Have a care, ladies,” he said, pressing a hand to his chest. “You can’t go out there looking like this. Hearts will fail.”