As both the Alvin Ailey Dancers and the Mahira Troupe began their respective African American and Hindi traditional dances, Reign took a seat in one of the elaborately silk-covered chaises that had been created for them. Reign joined in when the attendees were taught Punjabi folk songs and how to dance the bhangari. Reign looked Devesh’s way and added a few extra hip movements for his benefit. Devesh nodded toward the twins and mouthed the words, “Behave, woman.”
The final event was the “light-hearted” ritual called the ring of control. A ring and a few coins were put into a silver dish filled with milk and vermillion rice. The bride and groom dipped their hands into the bowl to search for the ring.
She took in the amused expression on Mumma’s face and stared at the dish for the longest time before smiling. “Looks harmless. I’ll give it a whirl.”
Devesh and Reign placed their hands in the silver dish. They reached in. Both came up empty—no ring whatsoever.
The entire room went silent.
Reign took in the range of shocked, amused, and horrified expressions on everyone’s faces and looked to Devesh for an explanation.
“The one who finds the ring four out of seven times is most likely to rule the roost.”
“But I didn’t feel any rings in there, did you?”
“No love, it’s just proving something that’s obvious,” Devesh said with a nod to a place right behind her. “We know exactly who’s in control.”
The twins shared a mischievous glance with Jay, as all three of them held up the ring and coins and smiled back at them.
Loving Me for Me Page 31
