Who Wants to Marry A Billionaire?(20)
It was a riot of color and patterns, with every shade of the rainbow, and many threaded with gold or silver. The shop owner pulled out bolts from the shelves on the wall to show them the possibility of choices. It was magnificently overwhelming. After some time of looking, Daniel gave Nina a little push toward the door, “Okay, I’m hungry, let’s go find one of those yummy looking fresh fruit stalls.” Nina thought that sounded like a good idea, and she liked that they were relating like friends just out seeing the sights, but before they left the little shop, she caught Daniel whispering in Kennedy’s ear, and motioning to Boris to stay with Kennedy, before calling to them, “We’ll meet you guys back at the hotel.”
They wandered a short distance down the tiny alley, and there they found a woman with a stack of mangoes. She smiled and indicated her fruit with a wave of her hand, “Good, sweet, you like.” She picked through the pile looking for the ripest, and started adding them to a little fiber bag. Daniel indicated for her to keep adding until she reached six. “Two for us now, one for each of us later.” He smiled at Nina, as the fruit vendor weighed them on a scale. Then he looked at the rupees in his hand and had no idea how many was enough. He held out the money and the woman picked through it, taking only fifty rupees—about a dollar. Daniel smiled and slipped another 100 into her hand. Nina liked that, generous, but not in a way that would make her a target for others.
As they wandered back to the nearest ghat, Daniel bought a padded cotton mat for them to sit on. They plopped down on the steps, and he took out a penknife as Nina waved hand sanitizer in his face. She washed off a mango with some bottled water, then handed it back to Daniel who split it open and carved out a chunk of it’s luscious orange-colored fruit. Handing her slices on the edge of the knife, they just sat there eating the mango and looking at the bustle of life on the Ganges. Finally Daniel spoke.
“Tomorrow is my day, remember? So we are going to fly to Agra in the morning.” Nina pushed back the brim of the cotton fedora she wore, and shaded her eyes with a hand. Daniel looked happy, she thought, and there was nothing imperious in his voice. His response to India—at least so far— had pleasantly surprised her, and she was surprised at how at ease she felt with him. She was, she realizing, enjoying what felt like a real vacation. Maybe they just needed to get to know each other a little, get away from parents and paparazzi and all the other pressures he must feel back in Boston.
Daniel folded up his knife, and Nina produced wet wipes from within her knapsack to get the sticky mango off their hands. As they stood up, Daniel noticed a man without legs begging on the steps nearby, just sitting on the bare concrete. Without saying anything, Daniel simply took their cotton cushion to the man and handed him the bag of mangoes with a 500-rupee note tucked inside.
Chapter Fourteen
Agra was hot when they got off the jet, but in that way that made you realize you were in a very different place, rather than in terrible discomfort. They checked into the Oboroi, the finest hotel in Agra. Daniel had booked their two best suites, each of which had a second, connected bedroom. Boris would stay in the second room attached to his suite, and Kennedy with Nina. But when they registered, Daniel made it sound as if he and Nina would be sharing the ultimate suite, and Kennedy and Boris in the second one.
The hotel itself was breathtaking, like a Mughal palace with its stone latticework and fountains and colonnades. The furniture and artwork was opulent and tasteful, and Daniel’s suite was enormous. He led Nina over to a set of curtained French doors, and pushed them open. Nina then knew what it meant to have one’s breath taken away. She took a step onto the balcony; there in front of her, was the Taj Mahal.
Room service delivered lunch, and the four of them sat at the dining room table eating and laughing and talking about India. The food was delicious, but even in the air-conditioned comfort of the suite; Nina could feel the jet lag making her sleepy. Daniel stood up.
“Why don’t you girls go have a nap? Boris and I have a little business, and then I’ll meet Nina for dinner at 8pm.” Daniel gave Kennedy a knowing look, “Dressed for dinner at 8.”
Around 4:30, Nina stirred. She wandered to the huge bathroom in her suite and started filling the tub. Then she realized if she opened the curtains, she could take a bath while staring at the white marble dome of the Taj Mahal. She slid into the hot water. Living like royalty did have its advantages, she mused.
In the next room she could hear Kennedy bustling about, but she took her time luxuriating in the hot water, then washing her hair. She slid into one of the thick fluffy bathrobes hanging in the bathroom and padded out to see what Kennedy was doing. Laid out on the bed was an incredible silk sari. It was cream with a golden paisley design, and a wide border of dark maroon with white and gold accents. There was a giant stack of gold bangles, little maroon velour slippers, and a top that she couldn’t quite work out. Kennedy was smiling like the cat that just ate the canary. “Sit down, I’m going to work on your hair.” There was a knock on the door. “That’s would be the henna artist who’s going to do your hands.”
Nina was confused. “Henna artist? What’s she doing to my hands?”
Kennedy shook her finger at Nina. “Remember, you promised Daniel you would do everything his way for one day.”
Almost three hours later when Kennedy spun Nina around to let her look in the mirror, the transformation was beyond amazing. Her curls were swept back from her face and cascaded down her back. Gold ornaments with colored glass jewels encircled her head and hung down on her forehead. Her eyes had been carefully lined with kohl, and smoky layers of shadow applied to make her look sultry and mysterious. She was wearing massive dangling earrings, and the sari was artfully wrapped around her, the top was a sexy molded bra with sleeves, held on by a thin tie in the back. It was maroon with gold stitching and somehow it kept her boobs up, while revealing more than a hint of cleavage. Nina felt a little self conscious about her bare mid drift and kept tugging at the sari to cover her belly.