In spite of the speed at which they'd had to arrange everything, the ceremony had gone off without a hitch. Some things they'd had to rush or change--the Buddhist priest had done the horoscopes to determine whether they were well-matched for marriage, but choosing a spiritually-sound day for proposing marriage had been a moot point, as he'd already asked her. Had already bought a home for her.
They'd had the Chessian, the traditional betrothal ceremony, earlier in the week; Nana's maternal uncle had barely gotten off the plane when they'd hustled him over to preside over the ceremony, and John himself had barely made it in time. The priest had given a prayer and shared Madyan, a traditional religious drink, with the guests. He'd then done another astrological reading to find a date for the wedding--again, a moot point, but it had made both sets of parents happy.
He and Nana had decided to hold the ceremony at their new home instead of at Nana's mother's house, as was usual. They'd arrived early in order to prepare a marital shrine honoring Buddha. He'd brought a "dowry," a beautifully-decorated thick envelope of cash he meant for her to use in setting up their home to her liking, instead of money to be given to her family. It accompanied the statue of Buddha and helped to create the shrine's decoration. There were also nine trays holding incense, wine, fruit, tea, cake, meat and jewelry. One of the trays held two candles which they both lit during the ceremony as a symbol of the union of their families.
They'd begun the ceremony by lighting the candles and incense placed in front of the shrine to Buddha and offering flowers. The ceremony began with the traditional hymns Vandana, Pancasila and Tisarana. Then had come the wedding vows, inscribed in the Sigilovdda Sutta.
Kneeling before the altar, holding her slim hand in his, John had said, "Towards my wife I undertake to love and respect her, be kind and considerate, be faithful, delegate domestic management and present gifts to please her."
Nana had replied, "Towards my husband I undertake to perform my household duties efficiently, be hospitable to my in-laws and friends of my husband, be faithful, protect and invest our earnings and discharge my responsibilities lovingly and fastidiously."
The priest had concluded the wedding ceremony by reciting the Magnal Sutta and the Jayamangala Gatha blessings for them, and then they were married. John had caught both her hands in his and pressed kisses to her palms and then to her forehead and had offered his cheek to her--it wasn't proper to kiss on the mouth; that was a Western convention.
He'd felt such a rush of warm affection for her in that moment. She'd looked luminous, happy, tears threatening to spill over, a delicate pink flush on her cheeks.
He felt that now. Though he wasn't sure he loved her, he cared for her more than anyone else. He wanted to care for her, stand at her side, share his life with hers. Nothing was ever certain in life, but he thought that they would do well together.
When Nana reached over and squeezed his hand, John turned his and laced his fingers with hers. His other hand lifted, smoothed up the red silk, over the neckline of the kimono that dipped low, to the warm smooth skin of her neck. He ran a thumb over the vertebrae of her spine. When she turned to look at him, he thought, hell with tradition and leaned in to kiss her pretty mouth.