The Anand Karaj, the Sikh wedding ceremony, took place at the Ross Street Temple, the gurdwara Tej's family attended. They welcomed him in as was tradition in a Sikh wedding, but unlike with some weddings, they didn't tease him about purchasing his way into the gurdwara in order to "take" his bride. Tej would not be taken by anybody, and she wanted that reflected at her wedding; she and Sunny were giving themselves to each other.

Tej's family had also hosted the Sangeet the day before, adorning their house with vibrantly coloured fabrics and their backyard with a stage from which members of both families had sung traditional folk songs to welcome each other, to dance and be jolly while they'd feasted.

Bishan had performed on that stage, dancing and singing in playful competition with Tej's cousins. Balwinder had watched her from where he'd sat and cheered her on. He was her official plus one at this event, but Sunny knew Jordan would be here if he knew where it was. Bishan was using every trick in the book to prevent them from running into each other. Sunny knew Balwinder had no idea about Jordan, because Mom and Dad didn't either. She kept her Sikh life separate from her student life; she definitely didn't go to Sikh Student Association events in case someone Balwinder knew spotted her with Jordan. What Sunny didn't know was whether Jordan knew about Balwinder. Probably not. Would he be secure enough in his relationship with Bishan to remain her secret while she courted another man publicly? Sunny didn't think he could.

Sunny was resplendent today in a beige and gold sherwani with a stole and turban of the same red colour. He wore a talwar, a curved sword, at his hip, reminiscent of the kirpan against his skin. It was ceremonial only, symbolizing the groom's duty to protect his bride, but suddenly he remembered the samurai sword Lauren had used that terrible day at the Trybek house and wished she and his other friends in the LSDC were here to witness this day. He hadn't thought of them in years, but this brief flare of memory made him miss them so much that he felt tears running down his cheeks, and when Tej saw them she thought it was because he was so moved at the sight of her sitting before the Guru Granth Sahib.

He was, though. Tej was beautiful in a bright red sari with a veil covering her head. Her body was painted with henna, and Sunny could see the intricate designs on her arms and hands where they were not covered by the many gold bangles on her wrists. She wore the tikka in the middle of her forehead to protect herself from the evil eye.

They walked around the Guru Granth Sahib four times while the Ragis sang the verses of the laavan, the wedding prayer. They ate the kara prashad, the sweet wheat pudding, after the ceremony, and sat for langar, finally able to relax with their family and friends.

It was a perfect day, and he might have let himself relax and enjoy it more if he hadn't spotted Jordan near the back of the room, sitting with a few of his and Tej's white friends, looking rather comical with their shoes off and their heads covered with colourful cloth while inside the gurdwara, like fish out of water. Everyone was welcome in the gurdwara even at a wedding ceremony, but Sunny had no idea Jordan would be here, even if the two men had forged a grudging acquaintance over the time his sister dated him. Bishan sat at the other end of the room from him, with Balwinder and both sets of parents, and Sunny could just picture the row that would result if the two men knew who the other were. Jordan had to notice she was with another man.

"I can't wait to get out of these clothes," Tej whispered in his ear, and at first Sunny meant she couldn't wait to get him into bed, but before he could become aroused, she said, "Well, first I can't wait to get off the floor and stretch, and then to change into something more comfortable."

He nodded dumbly as he kept his eyes on the two men in his sister's life. They were at a safe distance from each other now, but they were like matter and antimatter, sure to negate each other in a spectacular release of energy if they ever met.

"Did you hear me?" Tej said, a little annoyed.

"Sorry, yes, I did. I was a little distracted."

"Your full attention should be on me, Mister."

"You're absolutely right. It's just that Jordan's here."

Tej looked where he was looking, and said, "Fuck. I hope he's not here to make a scene."

"I wonder what Bishan's told him. 'Sorry, I can't take you to my brother's wedding because my parents still don't know about you and would kill me if they found out?' Or, 'Sorry, I can't take you to my brother's wedding because I'm taking my future husband?'"

"It can't be your problem today."

"I know. It's just that I made a promise to protect her--"

"You were five when you made that promise," Tej interrupted.

"And I can't help thinking that I should have done more to protect her from herself."

Tej grunted in disgust. "Don't you go chauvinistic on me, Sunny. She's a grown woman and free to make her own mistakes. Men date more than one woman all the time and no one punishes them."

"I'm just worried that she's juggling too many pins, you know? One of them is going to drop eventually, or she might fumble the whole works and get hurt by falling pins."

Tej nodded thoughtfully. "She's going to have to make a choice soon, and the longer she takes, the less likely that choice will be Jordan."

"Right. Balwinder has more of an in. What can Jordan offer her that Balwinder can't?"

Tej shrugged. "Great sex?"

Sunny felt himself go hard at Tej's frank admission that sex could be important enough to hold on to somebody past the point of safety. "Did Sean offer that to you before I met you?"

She barked a laugh. "Please. He was a boy. You, my love, give me more than he ever did."

"So, he's not lurking in the shadows somewhere?"

She gasped in incredulity and shoved him. It wasn't playful, and he would have fallen over if he didn't brace himself on the floor. "Don't even joke about that!" she whisper-shouted so no one would hear her. "You remember why I dumped him. Love means acceptance of the whole person; he couldn't love me enough to respect my identity."

"Would you have stayed with him," he asked, "if Air India didn't happen?"

She actually thought about it a moment. "I don't know," she admitted. "If Air India didn't happen, you wouldn't have shorn yourself, and if you hadn't shorn yourself, I might never have noticed you."

"Me?" he said in amazement. "Are you saying I pulled you away from him?"

"Don't get a big head about it, buddy. It was both of those things. I had to notice you, and he had to be a prick about the terrorist thing. If you can't be confident enough to bring your date to your family, there's no point continuing a relationship."

"So, by your logic, Bishan should cut it off with Jordan."

Tej looked to where Jordan was, and then to Bishan sitting with the two families. "I suppose that's true."

"I sense a but."

Tej shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I've become too influenced by western pop culture. Bishan found Jordan on her own. The two fell in love with each other. Balwinder was arranged, and even though Bishan seems to have warmed to him, there isn't that same heat, you know?"

"Plus, Jordan has those eyes."

Tej huffed in annoyance. "If that's all Bishan cares about, then she's not as smart as I think she is. She is smart, you know. Maybe not smart in love, but book smart."

Suddenly, Jordan rose and made his way over to them. Sunny could only watch him approach with the same dread a woman in a black and white film felt watching a train approach from where she was tied to the tracks. Well-wishers had been coming to them since langar began, congratulating them on their new life together, and maybe Jordan was doing the same, but maybe he was also using the practice as cover.

Jordan lowered himself next to them, unbuttoning his blazer first, the image of western chic aside from the pink cloth covering his head. "Sunny, Tej, congratulations," he said.

"Thank you, Jordan," Tej said.

"Did Bishan give you the directions here?" Sunny asked. "I don't recall inviting you, but you're welcome."

"She told me where your wedding was taking place," Jordan said stiffly. "I looked up the address myself. She didn't invite me expressly, though, and now I can see why."

He looked pointedly over to where she was with Balwinder and the parents. Sunny cleared his throat and said, "I'm sorry it's like this, Jordan. I told her she should be brave and introduce you to our parents if she wanted to be with you; they set her up with Balwinder over there, and she's been dating him too."

Jordan looked crestfallen, and Sunny felt a little sorry for him. "Look, Jordan," he said, "it might be time to move on. You're a good looking guy, I'm sure you'll find someone else."

"I love her," Jordan said, almost in a whine. "I was going to ask her to marry me."

Sunny felt his heart sink. "Oh, Jordan, that's just... does she know?"

Jordan shook his head. "That's why I'm here. I was going to surprise her. I thought it would be romantic."

"Jordan," Tej warned, "whatever you do, do not propose to Bishan here, do you hear me? Her suitor and his parents are there with her, and her parents are there, and they haven't even met you yet. Do not embarrass them by springing this on them here, in front of a whole congregation."

Jordan sighed and shook his head. "I won't."

Still, he didn't give up. He moved back to where he was before, and, when Bishan rose to exit the hall, she shot him a look before walking out of sight. Jordan waited a minute so as not to arouse suspicion, then rose and followed her.

"Fuck," Tej said as they watched it all unfold. "This isn't going to end well."

"Let's just hope Balwinder doesn't go looking for her."

To their relief, he didn't. Maybe he didn't want to be seen with Bishan without other relatives around, for propriety's sake. Sunny doubted the two of them were even having sex yet, so devoted were they to tradition; or maybe Bishan wanted it that way, to hold him off until she could decide where her heart was leading her.

"What would you say if I suggested a walk?" Sunny asked.

"I thought you'd never ask," Tej said in relief, groaning as he helped her to her feet. "My ass is killing me."

Sunny slid an arm around her and briefly let his hand rest on the offending body part. "Feels all right to me," he joked.

"Down, boy; we still have hours yet before we'll have enough privacy to give in to our desires."

"Damn it. You're so sexy all hennaed up."

"It's not a process I want to repeat. It's sticky and crusty going on."

"Did you not want to do it?"

Tej shrugged. "My female relatives and friends wouldn't hear no, anyway. This day is just as much for them as it is for me. I'd marry you at City Hall if it was all that was available to us."

"Me too, but I'm glad we did it this way."

"Me too. You look so... regimental, like you're about to ride into battle. It's giving me fantasies of An Officer and a Gentleman."

"I could have rode up to the gurdwara in a horse, but I'm deathly afraid of getting thrown off and breaking my neck."

"We wouldn't want that. I need you to perform tonight."

"You're driving me crazy, Tej."

She smiled mischievously at him and said, "Now, is our walk by chance taking us out of the hall to see where Bishan and Jordan might have gone?"

"It might."

"Good thing you have that sword. You might need it to hold people off if a fight breaks out."

"I don't think it's sharp, but then again I haven't even taken it out of its scabbard."

They put their shoes on at the entrance, then strolled out into the courtyard and around the side, down a series of terraced steps. That was where they found them, talking heatedly, hands gesticulating. They didn't even notice Sunny and Tej standing up a ways from them, so engrossed were they in their conversation.

"Should we get involved?" he asked.

"Wait," Tej said. "Let's see if they notice us first."

Bishan put her hands over her face. Jordan took her wrists in his hands in an attempt to pull them away. She whipped them away and pushed at him angrily. He stumbled but held himself up, and after another few moments of heated discussion, he fell to one knee and pulled out the little velvet box. It was too far away to see the ring when he opened it, but Bishan's reaction was immediate.

"Oh," Tej breathed.

"Jesus," Sunny said, looking around to see if any of the other revellers were around to witness this. So far, it was just them, and if Bishan gave him an answer quickly, they might be able to avert disaster.

Now Bishan's hands were over her mouth, and she was crying. For a moment, Sunny let himself root for Jordan, even if there was no way they could ever happen without a lot of heartbreak and recrimination between two families.

Bishan closed her eyes, shook her head, said something, and began storming back up the steps, leaving Jordan behind, still on one knee, looking gut-punched.

Bishan was almost at their level when she finally looked up and noticed them. "Get out of my way," she snapped, her face tear streaked.

Tej moved him to the side, and Bishan continued up the steps. Back inside the gurdwara, probably. Back to Balwinder. Did this mean she'd finally made her choice?

Jordan stood, dusted his pants off and, with open box still in hand, began walking up the steps after her.

"Whoa, where do you think you're going?" Tej asked.

He looked up at them, his face a mask of desolation. "I don't know what else to do," he said. "I have to talk to her."

"She's gone back inside," Sunny said, not knowing it was true. "You've done enough talking for tonight. Wait a day. If she still loves you she'll call you."

"She doesn't love him, I know that," he spat. "He's just her safe choice."

"Regardless," Tej said. "You took your chance and you got her answer. That's enough for tonight."

"No, I can't leave it like this," Jordan pleaded, making to step around them.

To everyone's surprise, most of all Sunny's, he drew the talwar and pointed it at him. "Go home, Jordan."

Jordan gaped at him in incredulity. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

Even Tej was frowning at him. "Sunny..."

"Tej is right, Jordan," he went on. "You got your chance to propose, as ill-advised as it was to do it here. You put my sister in an untenable position, and I'm not surprised you got the answer you got. Take that as a message. Go home."

Sunny was shocked when Jordan pressed his chest up against the talwar.

"Are you serious?" Sunny asked. "Do you really want to test how sharp this is?"

"You're not going to hurt me," Jordan said. "You can't get a criminal record, not when you're just getting started as a lawyer."

Sunny held the talwar where it was, but he knew Jordan was right. He wasn't a man of violence, even though he'd idolized heroes like Luke Skywalker in his youth. A lightsaber, after all, was just a movie special effect, while a sword like this, if sharp, could kill with just the slightest added pressure; it was, after all, pointed directly at Jordan's heart. Actors in movies got to get right back up after they died, but in real life, death was final, and there was no way Sunny was going to do irreversible damage to Jordan and to himself just to prevent a scandal.

"What is going on here?" A man's voice asked behind them.

Sunny turned and saw his parents standing at the top of the stairs. "Sunil," said his father, "why is your talwar pointed at this man?"

Sunny felt like an idiot now. What the hell was he doing? He sheathed the sword and said, "Sorry, Dad. I overreacted."

"Who is this man?" asked his mother.

"Mr. and Mrs. Parhar," Jordan said, in his ongoing campaign to bring the temple down on them all, "my name is Jordan Trevelyan, and I'm in love with your daughter."

"Goddammit," Tej muttered.

"How do you even know Bishan?" Dad asked. "This is the first time we have heard of you, and you say you are in love with her?"

"We're students together at UBC," Jordan explained. "We struck up a friendship. That friendship became more, and I came here today with the intention of asking her to marry me."

Sunny lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fucking hell," he muttered.

A long silence followed. Dad looked over his shoulder, probably looking to see if the Johals were in sight. The last thing any of them needed was for them to get thrown into the mix. This was already awkward enough.

To Sunny's surprise, Dad asked, "Did you ask her?"

Jordan sighed in resignation and said, "Yes, sir, I did."

"And what was her answer?"

Jordan seemed to shrink before them. Dad's gentle questioning did more to take the fight out of him than Sunny's threats with a weapon. "She said she wasn't ready to get married, sir, to me or to anyone."

Dad nodded, and Sunny could see the relief on his face. Bishan had given the best possible answer, for everyone's sake, and Sunny had a new respect for his sister. Tej was right. She was smart, and she knew how potentially destructive Jordan's presence was here today, and she knew just what to say to make everyone happy, herself most of all. It wasn't a hard no to Jordan, but it still left open the potential for Balwinder to propose eventually, which made their parents happy.

When everyone went home, and when they were out of earshot of the Johals, Bishan would have a lot of explaining to do to Mom and Dad.

"You should know, Mr. Trevelyan," Dad said, "that Bishan has another suitor. While I cannot say when he may pledge his own troth to Bishan, and though it would be futile for me to expect you to leave her alone, I do ask you to understand the situation she finds herself in, and make no more disturbance tonight."

A tense silence followed, and Sunny readied himself for another outburst.

Jordan sighed, exhausted now, and said, "Yes, sir. I'll go now."

"Thank you. Goodnight, Mr. Trevelyan."

"Goodnight."

Jordan made his way past them, and they followed him back to the parking lot, making sure he got in his car and left.

When he was gone, Dad turned to Sunny and said, "Did you know about this, Sunil?"

Sunny nodded.

"You never told us," Mom said.

"I'm sorry," he said. "We didn't want to upset you."

"Do you think us so backward, Sunil," Dad said, "that you think we wouldn't accept her seeing this man?"

"Would you have accepted it?" Mom asked in surprise. Mom was the reason why Bishan wouldn't tell them.

"I would have liked to have gotten to know him from the beginning, at least," Dad said, "and not be ambushed with him at Sunil's wedding."

"I told Bishan she should tell you," Sunny said weakly.

"Don't worry, we have plenty to say to Bishan," Mom said. "This isn't entirely your fault."

"Entirely?" Sunny said in disbelief. "If anything, the fault percentage lies at twenty-five for me, seventy-five for Bishan."

"Don't be smart, Sunil," Mom warned. "This may be your wedding day, but I can still take you over my knee."

Tej snickered, but all it took from Mom was a glance her way to make her stop and clear her throat.

"Thank goodness the Johals are still inside," Dad said, sighing. "I see now why you were holding him off with your talwar. You not only defended your sister from further harassment, you defended the whole family from shame. Thank you, Sunil."

Sunny sighed in relief. "It was impulsive, and I wasn't going to do anything to him, but at least I delayed him until you got there. You did more to make him leave than I did."

"Yes. Well." Dad looked back to the entrance of the gurdwara. "Bishan will need to think long and hard about what she wants, and if Balwinder is not for her, then she needs to free him to find another and save us all from heartbreak. Now, let's return to the hall, before everyone starts asking where we've gone."

Relieved, they all trekked back inside and finished off the night, and Sunny and Tej spent their wedding night in a hotel, where they got to make all the noise they wanted before Tej moved in and they had to worry about the family hearing them.

Dad turned out to be wrong, though. Sunny might have pulled a weapon on Jordan that night, and he might have saved their family from shame, but he didn't protect his sister.

Correction: he protected his sister from the wrong man.

Thanks for reading this far! Again, if I've made any errors in describing the ceremonies of a culture in which I wasn't raised, please let me know in the comment box; I strive for authenticity. If you liked what you just read, hit "Vote" to send this title up the ranks.

Let's return to the present day, and Lauren's attempt to tell Joe about the baby, with Rachel at her side for support, by clicking on "Continue reading."