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information about the "A Marriage made in Heaven"
book by Vatsala and Ehud Sperling
On the morning
of 19 October, Anna, Ramakrishnan, and I drove for two hours
to Fisherman's Cove, the hotel where Ehud was staying. As
we negotiated our way through the traffic and reached a sparsely
traveled highway by the seacoast, I noticed a "what-if"
ghost stirring lazily in my head.
What if . . . this person I am about to meet-Ehud-to
whom I have poured out my heart with all honesty for these
past months-is not the real writer of his letters? What if
he has hired some writer to do this job . . . after all, he
meets hundreds of authors all over the world . . .
What if I find Ehud-in person-very different
from his letters and the photos?
My panic on encountering these what-if ghosts
brought tears to my eyes, and my palms grew sweaty, even in
a car air-conditioned to 66 degrees Fahrenheit. I secretly
wiped my eyes, and tried to look out the window into the sea.
If there is God . . . truth and goodness shall prevail . .
. I heard these words in my mind, as if the sea were trying
to reassure me and chase off the ghosts with his mighty roaring
waves.
When we reached the hotel, Ramakrishnan suggested
that we relax for a few moments before seeing Ehud. We sat
on the porch overlooking the sea. The salty, humid breeze
passed through the coconut groves and gardens bursting with
all sorts of brightly colored oriental flowers. I took deep
breaths, wiped the moisture off my glasses, and looked over
at Anna and Ramakrishnan. These two men seemed unusually nervous.
Soon, Ramakrishnan knocked at Ehud's door. Within
seconds, the door opened and Ehud stood in front of us, his
hands folded in a customary namaste and a bright smile on
his lips. He wore a red T-shirt and black trousers, and was
as handsome as he had looked in his photographs.
I returned his namaste. Anna and Ramakrishnan
hugged him, and we all stepped into his room. As I settled
comfortably into a chair cushioned with beautiful leather
upholstery, Anna found a seat close to Ehud. Ramakrishnan
wandered around the room between the fridge, phone, bathroom,
bed, counter, Ehud, Anna, and me as if with his steps he was
trying to connect people with people, people with place, and
place with place.
Ehud asked me some polite questions like, "How
are you, how is your work at the hospital, how is Amma,"
and on receiving short, polite replies from me, he got busy
with Anna and Ramakrishnan chatting about weather, travel,
job, politics, business, dollar versus rupee, his company
and books . . .
Anna took out a small album he always carries
and showed Ehud some pictures of our family. And then Anna
told Ehud how precious I was to him . . . his darling little
baby sister . . . and how he wished me to be happy.
Throughout this conversation, Ramakrishnan continued
rolling his curious eyes from Ehud to me and back to Ehud,
trying to detect the presence of any romantic flame, and to
determine whether we were stealing any glances at each other.
Ehud was very focused on his conversation with Anna, and his
eyes did not wander restlessly. I liked his focus. I also
liked his calm, humorous, friendly mode of conversation. I
could easily follow his English-I did not have any problems
with his accent-and he had a very gentle, assertive, confident
way of carrying himself. Even though I was not being addressed
directly or often, I liked being an audience in this room.
Ehud ordered some coffee over the phone, and
the room service boy brought it in within minutes. In between
sips, Anna asked Ehud what his plans were for marriage with
me. I did not see Ehud swallowing hard at this question, or
showing any other nervous clues of a sudden confrontation
with such a serious question. He remained calm and answered,
"I will have to think about it and tell you tomorrow."
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