Tim and Amy

"Fair enough," Tim said. "I definitely think that we ought to make a significant contribution to the wedding, though – to acknowledge their commitment, if nothing else."

I spoke again to Amrit, and listened to his reply.

"That'll be fine," I confirmed. "From what I know, I'd say that if you gave him about two hundred pounds, that would make a big difference."

"Is that all?" Tim said.

I grinned. "Things are different over here, remember."

Tim reached into his pocket and took out his wallet. He pulled notes from the back, counting out the sum I'd mentioned, and passed it to Amrit, who took the money with a smile and spoke briefly.

"He thanks you," I said. "And he wants to show you the land."

"What land?" Tim queried.

"Well, obviously we're going to need somewhere to live, so Amrit has already talked to the elders about a place for us to build. His family have several areas of land around the village, and he's suggesting that we have the best piece, just a short walk away."

"That's fantastic," Tim said. "Want to take a look, girls?"

"You bet!" they chorused.

We set off from the house, Amrit leading the way, and quickly reached a spot not far from the river. I listened to Amrit's explanation.

"He says they will put in a water pump for us, and when we've decided how the house should be laid out, they'll start to build. He thinks they can have the whole thing done by about a week after the wedding."

"Great," Tim replied.

"Also," I went on, "he's assumed we'll need someone to help us around the house – like Sita does for me at the base – so he's already asked one of the other village families if their daughter would like to work for us. Her name is Jaya."

We walked back to Amrit's house. Anjali had prepared us some lunch, and we continued to talk as we ate.

"I have a question," Amy said.

"Of course," Tim said, "go ahead."

"What's Sarah going to wear for the wedding? And I assume Laura and I will be bridesmaids, so we'll need outfits."

I spoke to Amrit, and he called Anjali over. I explained to her briefly, and she replied with a question.

"They were wondering about clothes – they've seen British weddings on the television, but they didn't know if we would want Western clothes or not. They have their own traditional way of dressing for the marriage ceremony, of course," I translated.

"What do you want to do, Sarah?" Tim said. "It's your day."

I grinned. "White's not really my colour," she said, "and anyway, it means something different over here. Let's do it their way."

"Cool!" Laura and Amy chorused. "You can make us up like you did when we went out to that Indian restaurant, darken our hair," I said.

I spoke to Anjali. "She says that of course she'll help us find outfits – though she'll delegate your clothes to Amrit, Tim. If we come back in a couple of days, they'll have everything we need."

"So what day is the wedding exactly?" Tim asked.

"They would like to do it on Sunday – people would already be making their way to the village for church anyway, and they want to make the wedding part of their celebration."

"Sunday it is then," Tim said, nodding at Amrit.

***

We thanked Amrit and Anjali, and returned to the base. The four of us spent the first part of the afternoon in the pool, retreating to the shade of a large tree when the sun reached its height. One of the staff from the officers' club brought us cold drinks.

"I'm flying again tomorrow," I said. "Then on Friday we're back at the village to try on our clothes, and Sunday is the big day."

"Do couples have a honeymoon over here?" Tim asked. "From what Amrit said, the house won't be ready for a week or so."

"I have a suggestion," I said. "Girls, would you like to stay with Anjali and Amrit for that time? You can help with the house, and get to know Jaya a little. Tim and I can honeymoon in the bungalow."

"Sounds perfect," said Amy. Laura nodded.

"Now, who's for another swim?" Tim suggested.

We splashed about for a while longer, then returned to the bungalow. Sita had prepared dinner for us, and I explained our plans to her. I listened carefully to the young woman's reply, then turned to Tim.

"Sita is very happy for us. She's just about old enough to marry now, so she wouldn't have carried on this work for much longer anyway."

I paused, then continued. "She would like us to ask Amrit if he will find her a husband from his village, so she can move near to us."

"Is that possible?" Tim asked.

"Actually Amrit told me that there is a young man in the village looking for a wife, so when we go back on Friday I'll ask Amrit to speak to the young man's parents."

"Is it really that easy?" asked Laura.

"Definitely," I smiled. "And Sita already has her starting money, remember, so the parents will be very happy."

Laura grinned. "Well, when I feel like settling down maybe you can have a word with the matchmaker too!"

"If that's the way you want to do it, I'm sure Amrit and the village elders will be more than happy," I said seriously.

"I saw those pilots looking at us again today," said Amy. She paused. "But actually, I think if I was going to get together with anyone, I'd rather it was someone from Amrit's church – there's something about them that makes me feel I could trust someone from there."

"Well, there's no rush," Tim said. "Let's see what happens when Sarah and I are married and we're all living in the village. You'll see all these young men at least every Sunday then."

"Anyway," I said, "don't know about anyone else but I'd like an early night – I have to fly early tomorrow."

The girls made their goodnights and disappeared off to the guest room. Tim followed me into our bedroom.

"So it's all going to happen," he said. "It hardly seems real, everything has just fallen into place so easily."

I grinned, already undressing. "I think Amrit's right – there is a purpose in this, so it will all just work itself out."

I pulled on my nightdress. "Come on, slowcoach – get out of those things and come and hold me."

I got into bed, and Tim undressed and climbed in beside me, taking me in his arms. He buried his face in my hair. "Take care tomorrow, my love," he whispered.

I nodded, and we settled down more comfortably in the bed and dozed off.

***

Tim woke briefly as I slipped out of bed in the morning, and I kissed him as I left to get into the jeep.

Again I had an uneventful flight, this time to Bangalore then onwards to Delhi with my VIP passenger. When I returned, Tim and the girls were still in dressing gowns.

"Look at you lazy lot," I teased, "I've been half way across India and back, and you're not even up."

I sat down. "What did you three get up to today, anyway?"

"Just lazed around, really," said Tim.

"Well," I said, "if you haven't had anything to eat since breakfast, you must be starving. I went out to lunch in Delhi before the flight back, but I could eat again now."

I called Sita, who appeared from the kitchen, and spoke to her.

"OK, dinner in about half an hour," I said. "How about you three get dressed?"

The girls disappeared into their room to dress, and I followed Tim into our bedroom. As he closed the door and shed his dressing gown, I was in his arms, holding him tight, oblivious of the creases I might put in my uniform.

He held me close, and began to kiss me. His hands slid inside my uniform jacket, and I closed my eyes. Reluctantly he put his hands safely around my waist, and I smiled against his lips.

"Well done," I said.

"Sunday can't come soon enough for me, my love," he replied.

Tim dressed, and we returned to the verandah. The girls joined us, and Sita served dinner.

"This is really good," Tim said. "Sita is obviously going all out for these last few days."

"It certainly won't hurt for us to give Amrit a good report on her cooking," I grinned.

"So tomorrow we're back at the village," he said.

I nodded. "Clothes fitting, and final arrangements. While the girls and I are with Anjali, you can talk about the house plans – your clothes won't take anything like as long as ours."

We finished our meal, and sat talking on the verandah for a while, then Tim yawned and said, "OK, time for bed. Busy day tomorrow."

The girls went to their room, and Tim and I got ready for bed. I held Tim close, feeling the comfort and security of being in his arms, and we slept.

***

We arrived in the village the next morning to a scene of organised chaos. The courtyard of Amrit and Anjali's house was full of sacks of rice, vegetables, even a couple of unfortunate goats who were obviously destined to become a key part of the wedding feast. Shila sat on a rice sack, chewing on a piece of confectionery she had begged from the rasamalai seller.

Anjali greeted me and the girls, and quickly took us to try our clothes.

"The custom is the same here as at home," I said over my shoulder, "so don't go trying to get a peek at our outfits."

I returned after a few minutes, leaving Amy and Laura playing with Shila. Tim and Amrit were sitting in a shady spot, and Amrit was scratching lines in the sandy soil with a stick.

I realised that he was drawing a plan of the house that the village was intending to build for us. Tim reached out his hand for the stick, and ran the point over the lines Amrit had already drawn, confirming the basic plan. Then he added a separate rectangle, and quickly sketched a stick figure and a recognisable hearth with a fire.

Amrit grinned. "Jaya," he said, nodding. He looked pleased that Tim had remembered, and also that he was suggesting the traditional separate kitchen building.

Tim returned to the floor plan of the main house, outlining a verandah, a living room – indicated by a TV – and washing and toilet facilities. This all appeared to meet with Amrit's approval.

Tim divided the remaining space into three areas, and sketched two figures side by side as if asleep in the largest of the three rooms. He pointed to himself, and then to me. Amrit nodded, understanding.

Then Tim drew two smaller figures in the second room. Amrit watched carefully. Tim thought for a moment, then drew a dotted line from the figure representing Amy, out from the house, with an arrow head on the end and a question mark. He repeated the line from Laura's figure, in a different direction. He looked at Amrit and held out his hands, palms upwards, with a questioning expression on his face.

Amrit smiled, nodding rapidly, and took the stick from Tim, sketching what was obviously intended to be the village, a little way from the house. He drew several shallow lines from the end of Amy's line to point to some of the houses in the village. Then he repeated Tim's palms-upward gesture, clearly indicating that there were open choices.

Then he did something Tim clearly wasn't expecting. He rubbed out the arrow head Tim had drawn at the end of Laura's line, and re-drew it at the other end, the line now pointing towards the figure of Laura in the house. Then he drew several lines from the village into Laura's line and again made the palms-up gesture.

Tim pointed to the change he'd made and made a puzzled face, shaking his head slightly to indicate lack of comprehension. I kept silent, though I understood what Amrit was trying to convey.

Amrit pointed to Laura. "Nokna," he said, then "Nokrom," pointing to the lines leading from the village into her line.

Tim shook his head again, trying to communicate his incomprehension.

Amrit shrugged, clearly leaving it to me to provide an explanation, and used his hands to outline the house plan. He looked at Tim, obviously expecting a reply. Tim nodded vigorously.

Amrit held out his hand, and Tim shook it firmly. Amrit stood, and called round the corner of the house to someone out of sight. Then he returned to the drawing. Another of the villagers came round the corner, and Amrit quickly scuffed out the lines from the house to the village – obviously that part of the discussion was between the three of us.

Amrit spoke to the newcomer, indicating the plan. The man spoke briefly, nodding, and left. "Sujesh," said Amrit to Tim, pointing after him.

Then Amrit held up seven fingers, obviously indicating the time that would be required for the building. Tim nodded, and repeated the palms-together gesture of respect and thanks he'd seen me use. Amrit smiled broadly and bowed his head briefly, closing his eyes.

At that moment the girls reappeared. "So that's our new house, is it?" Amy said, looking at the sketch.

"Definitely – ready by next week," Tim said. "I need Sarah to explain something, though."

He told them about the lines he'd drawn, now erased, and the girls grinned. Then he explained the changes Amrit had made.

"Sarah, you're going to have to tell us what he was trying to show me, and translate those words he used," he said.

"Easily explained," I smiled. "Because you made it clear to Amrit that you were open to him helping us with finding partners for the girls, he's assuming that you'd consider following all of their customs that are associated with that."

I paused. "In this culture, the youngest daughter – the nokna – inherits her parent's property, because the older daughters are deemed to have been provided for by their husbands. The man the youngest daughter marries – the nokrom – moves in with her and her parents, and becomes the head of the next generation of the family."

I grinned. "And it used to be the custom that if the father died, the nokrom would marry the widow, his mother-in-law, as well."

Laura pantomimed looking daggers at Sarah. "Hands off," she grinned. "I don't even know who he is yet, but he's mine!"

"I see," Tim said. "Well, that's no problem for me, but I'd like to hear what the girls think."

"Sounds great," said Amy. "I'm more than happy to do whatever will help us fit in. But we need to make sure Amrit knows that finding a husband for Sita comes first."

I nodded, and spoke to Amrit. He replied, pointing to a house visible across the track.

"That's fine," I said. "He'll go over to the other family's place when we've left, and make all the arrangements. I told him how much Sita's starting money will be, and he's confident that he'll be able to negotiate a settlement that will please both sides."

"So another wedding soon," Tim said. "Fantastic!"

Amrit spoke again. "Now he knows we're happy to do things their way, he'll talk to the elders about Laura and Amy too," I translated.

Laura and Amy looked pleased, though I could tell that the reality of what we'd discussed was beginning to sink in.

"Let's see if Anjali has any lunch for us," Tim suggested.

We went into the house, where Anjali served us chapattis and vegetables.

"The food is pretty simple just now," I explained, "because they're getting things ready for the wedding feast."

When we'd finished eating, Anjali spoke.

"She wonders if we'd like to see how the work on the house is going," I translated.

We walked along the same stretch of track as before, to our plot. As back at the house, we found a scene of concerted effort. A dozen men, supervised by Sujesh, were digging the foundation trenches for the house, and sacks of cement were piled next to bamboo scaffolding and bundles of steel reinforcing rods.

Sujesh called out to the workers, and they stopped for a moment to place their palms together and greet us, then they went back to digging.

We walked back to Amrit's house.

"Is there anything else we should do while we're here?" Tim asked me.

"Don't think so. We can rest tomorrow, then come over early Sunday morning to get ready. I'll do the girls' hair and makeup and my own before we come, so we'll just need to dress."

"Somehow I don't think a trishaw will really be the way to arrive," Tim said.

"Don't worry – Commander Sridhar will arrange a car for us – one of the perks of being in charge of a strategic IAF base. Wait and see what he has," I grinned. "Oh, and Sita will be coming with us too. She can meet her fiancé!"

We took the trishaw back to the base, and cooled off in the pool. Amy and Laura studiously ignored the glances of the young men who had been watching them for the past few days.

We returned to the bungalow, and Sita brought us dinner. I talked to her for a while, explaining what we'd arranged with Amrit. Sita's face lit up, and she bent to touch my feet in respect and gratitude. I quickly raised her to her feet and hugged her, and the girls surrounded the young woman and embraced her too.

"She can have the day off tomorrow, to go and tell her family," I said.

"What shall we do for the day?" Tim asked.

"I've arranged us a treat," I grinned. "We have to be up early, though, so I think it's time for bed."

***

I shook Tim gently awake the next morning. It was still dark outside.

"I've already showered," I said. "Go and have a quick wash and then wake the girls."

Tim went to the bathroom – Sita had heated water for us before leaving for the day – and washed, then put on a dressing gown and went into the girls' room.

"Time to wake up, sleepyheads," he said. "Quick wash, then we're off."

"Do you know what we're doing yet?" asked Laura.

"Nope. Still a surprise," Tim grinned. The girls got out of bed and went into the bathroom, and Tim heard their usual splashing and giggling.

Tim returned to our room and was surprised to find me in my uniform.

"So we're flying?" he asked.

I nodded. "Come and hold me for a minute while we're waiting for the girls."

He took me in his arms and held me close, stroking my hair. "I love you," he said.

"I love you too," I replied.

The girls came in, smiling when they saw us.

"Are you going to fly us, Captain Sarah?" asked Laura, using their affectionate name for me.

I nodded. "I can hear the jeep," I said.

We went outside and met the jeep, which took us through the guarded gates to the runway. My co-pilot was waiting by the Learjet.

"John will be doing most of the flying," I said. "Regulations say we both have to be in the cockpit for takeoff and landing, and whenever the plane is on manual, but the rest of the time I'll sit with you and point out the sights."

I went forward, and soon we were in the air. I returned to the cabin, and we watched through the windows as the mountains drew near. Tim put his arm around me, and the girls squeezed close.

"Nearly time to land," I said, disentangling myself and going back to the cockpit. Tim held Laura and Amy tightly as the plane came in for a steep landing on an airstrip between two peaks.

"Always an exciting landing here," I said, lowering the aircraft's steps. "John will keep an eye on things while we go for a stroll."

We walked down from the plane, met by a breathtaking vista of snow-capped mountains and valleys full of clouds. The temperature was much lower, and I grinned as I saw Tim wrap his arms around himself.

"I brought fleeces," I said, going back into the cabin to fetch them. When we were warmly clad, we walked a little way from the plane and up a steep incline to a small rocky plateau.

"Look over there," I indicated. "That's Everest."

"Wow," breathed Laura, "we're actually looking at it."

She seemed close to tears, and Amy put out her hand to comfort her.

"I think we're all quite emotional about tomorrow," I said.

Laura nodded, smiling.

Tim stood and turned full circle, taking in the peaks and valleys which surrounded us as far as the eye could see.

"There's something else special I brought us here to see," I said. "Keep an eye on that cleft, it should happen in the next hour or so."

I'd brought a blanket, and I laid it out on the ground, avoiding the larger rocks. We sat down, and watched the sun lifting in the sky and the clouds blowing along the valleys in the wind.