Lucky T (20 page)

Dee's grin widened as Carrie continued along, taking in the displays of colorful kites and balsa wood airplanes, the shelves of porcelain elephants decorated with colorful headdresses and blankets lined up next to familiar bright pink Barbie boxes.

"I should get one of these for my niece," Dee said, picking up a little beaded change purse. "She's just starting to learn the value of saving her all owance."

"Here," Carrie said, pulling out the lucky coin she had found on the street during her first T-shirt search. She had been keeping it in her pocket with her rabbit's foot ever since, but somehow she didn't mind parting with it, especially for Dee. She plunked it into the purse and snapped it closed.

"Thanks. What's that for?" Dee asked.

"It's bad luck to give someone a purse with no money in it," Carrie explained.

Dee rolled his eyes. "Do you have a whole book on this or something?"

Somewhere in the store a child whined and cajoled, begging his mother for a puzzle.

"I told you, Medha. You can get one thing," the mother said in soothing tones. "You already picked out the spaceship."

Carrie's heart panged and she smiled slightly, thinking of her mom. This shopping excursion was very different from her usual birthday outing. By now Carrie's mother would have been so tired from hitting every store between Pacific Sunwear and Hol ister Co., she would be dragging Carrie to the food court for a Haagen-Dazs break.

"Where did you go?" he said, coming up behind her.

The slight whisper of Dee's breath tickled her earlobes and sent goose bumps all down her arms.

"Huh?" she asked, blinking as she turned to him.

"You were gone for a second there. Where did you go?" Dee asked, his incredible hazel eyes searching hers.

"Oh . . . uh . . . home, I guess," Carrie said. Then, embarrassed by her confession and the closeness of him, she turned and quickly walked the rest of the aisle. At the back wall she spotted a box of soft, felt dol s. They had dark cotton skin and wore saris of pink, blue, or green. Each dol had a sweet smile, a single bindi on its forehead, and long yarn hair wrapped into a braid down its back.

"Ooh! These are so sweet!" Carrie exclaimed. "We don't get to wear anything as cool as this back home," she added, fingering the soft material.

"No saris in The Gap?" Dee teased.

"Not exactly. I'd probably look totally awkward in one anyway," she said.

"I highly doubt that," Dee told her. "You look lovely in just about everything. Or barely anything."

Carrie smiled at his sexy comment and then began counting out the dol s like she hadn't heard what he'd said at all . "What do you think? They'll like them, right? And they're soft so they can sleep with them."

"They're good for the girls, but I don't think the boys will be as appreciative," Dee said.

"That's true," Carrie replied, gathering a couple dozen dol s up in her arms and following Dee down another aisle. "Al right, what do boys play with around here? Is there some kind of cool Indian toy I can get them like a toy rickshaw or a plush monkey or maybe those drums? Although that could give the rest of us permanent headaches."

"I've got it!" Dee said, turning around with a small box in his hand.

Carrie looked at it and her eyebrows came together. Not exactly the Indian toy she'd been imagining. "Matchbox cars?" she said dubiously.

Dee nodded, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Trust me," he said. "Matchbox cars."

Damn, he's gorgeous Carrie thought, raising one eyebrow while admiring the snug fit of Dee's jeans as she followed him to the cash register.

Two days later, on Carrie's sixteenth birthday, she stood back and smiled with Dee, Mr. Banarjee, and the other members of the CSS staff, watching as the boys crashed their toy cars into one another and the girls kissed and hugged their dol s. On the table in the cafeteria were half-eaten plates of sweets and cake, which Carrie and Dee had purchased from a local bakery.

The walls were trimmed with hot pink and gold paper streamers hanging down from the ceiling and covering every surface, while a string of paper lanterns crisscrossed the room. That afternoon Dee, Dash, and Akhtar had strung white Christmas lights everywhere after Dee had cleared the extra electricity usage with Mr. Banarjee. It was the most beautifully decorated birthday party Carrie had ever seen, and it had kept her mind off thoughts of home and how much she missed being there for her birthday. She had spent most of her money on the party, but it was absolutely worth it.

Plus she had blown out every candle on her cake in one try, guaranteeing her wish--to find her lucky T-- would come true.

"This is a nice thing you've done," Mr. Banarjee said. "We don't have many birthday parties like this around here."

"Well, I'm glad I could give them one," Carrie said, fingering the green beaded bracelet that had arrived that morning--a present from her father that, according to his note, he had purchased on a trip to Cambodia. She was also wearing the new digital sports watch her mother had sent her. It had two readouts on the face, one programmed to local Calcutta time, the other giving her the time in San Francisco.

Her parents might not be with her for her sweet sixteen, but she was glad they had each sent her something she could wear--things that made them feel as if they were close.

"Well, we should be going," Dee said over her shoulder.

"Going? Where?" Carrie asked.

"Dee has requested the evening off for the two of you so that you might continue the birthday celebration on your own," Mr. Banarjee said with a kind smile and a wink. Behind him two of the other floor monitors, Tara and Kelly, widened their eyes and smiled suggestively.

When Carrie turned to Dee, he was grinning. He walked out into the hal and Carrie followed, dying of curiosity. As soon as they were alone, Dee reached out and took both her hands in his. Carrie's knees almost gave out.

"There's something I'd like to show you," he said, his hair falling adorably over one eye. "Something special. Wil you come?"

His thumb moved back and forth along her palm as he stared into her eyes.

"Sure," Carrie said with a smile. "I'm intrigued."

"Great. I just have to grab something and we'll go," he told her. Then he turned and bounded up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

Carrie waited until he was gone, then leaned back against the wall, catching her breath. He had a whole plan for her birthday? But he had only found out about it a few days ago. Where was he taking her? What were they going to do?

If Carrie guessed right, she would be in need of gum and lots of it. She dug through her purse in the search of spearmint Orbit and hoped that even though she wasn't wearing her lucky T, her birthday would be magical.

"So this random building is the special place you wanted to show me?" Carrie asked as she climbed to the top of the fire escape on the side of the brick apartment complex Dee had brought her to. "Somehow I find that hard to be--"

The word died in her throat as she emerged out onto the roof. The view took her breath right out of her. The sun was just starting to dip toward the horizon, il uminating the turrets and steeples of the many temples that dotted the skyline. The bubbly roofs of the mosques sparkled in the sunshine. A building in the distance that looked as if it was covered in gold blinded her with its beauty. On a rooftop a few blocks away a couple dozen men conducted some sort of game that looked like golf, the sound of the ball smacking against the bat reverberating out over the city. The shouts of the players rose into the air, and at the same moment church bell s clanged off to the west as if they were signaling the sun's descent.

Carrie looked at Dee, her heart completely full . He was watching her intently, enjoying her reactions to the many sights around her.

"I take back what I was about to say," Carrie told him. "I find it very easy to believe."

This must have been what her father was talking about all those times when she was little--back when he used to tell her how enchanting the world was. He must have been talking about sights like this. Carrie touched her new bracelet and sighed, wishing she could tell him in person that she understood now. But as usual they were apart and Carrie had no idea when she'd be seeing him again. "Come on," Dee said, bringing her back to the moment. "We'll watch the sun go down. It's better than any play or movie you've ever seen."

Al right, snap out of it, Carrie told herself. You're supposed to be having a romantic birthday moment with the hottest guy in the Eastern Hemisphere.

Lighten up!

Dee slipped his backpack off his shoulders and took out a blanket, which Carrie helped him spread on the dusty roof. They sat down together and Carrie leaned back on her hands, taking a deep breath of the sweetly scented air. She could hardly believe it was her birthday. Without her parents, without her friends, without the party and all the presents, she expected that it wouldn't be a good birthday. Stil , even though she missed her mom and dad and Piper and the ritual of it all , Carrie thought it was a good idea to focus on the positive. Her first birthday on her own was looking pretty good, all things considered.

Another crack of the bat pulled her attention away from her thoughts and back to the cricket game.

"Why are they playing on the roof?" Carrie asked.

"Well, there aren't a lot of open spaces in this city, but the obsession with cricket around here far outweighs the population problem," Dee said.

"People will play wherever they can find open space. And that includes rooftops."

Dee told Carrie all about himself--what his childhood was like in India, how he got along with his parents, what his best subjects were in school, what college life was like--and Carrie couldn't have been more captivated. She watched his lips move with every word and imagined what it would feel like if they were pressed up against hers. And she laughed out loud when Dee told her a story about him getting caught breaking curfew. His parents snagged him while he was sneaking back into the house after going out with his friends to see a late-night viewing of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which was playing at a run-down theater in Calcutta.

"You know it really happened, right?"

"Yes, I'm a Leatherface believer," Carrie said through another belly laugh.

"Hey, it was the only thing I ever got grounded for, and it was worth it. One hundred twenty minutes of pure gore, thank you very much." Dee chuckled.

"So have you ever broken another rule?"

Dee shook his head. "No. Not that I know of."

Carrie whistled. This guy was as straight as they come.

"Ah, but you misunderstand," Dee said, turning to her, his eyes dancing. "I said I never broke another rule, but there are many things my parents never had rules about. Bungee jumping, for example. Or . . . going away to England for school, or . . . taking strange but completely adorable American girls onto rooftops at night."

Carrie flushed. "You are bad to the bone," she joked.

"Oh, look. Here's the best part," Dee said.

Carrie tore her gaze away from his handsome profile and gazed out at the sun. It was a huge ball of burning gold dipping down quickly now, its rays reflecting prisms off the golden spirals of the temples and the glass skylights that dotted the city. The sky exploded with streaks of color--pinks and purples and mixed-up hues Carrie had never seen before. In minutes the sun was gone, but the colors remained, bathing the city in their spectacular rosy warmth.

Al over the city the call to prayer rang out, the lilting song wafting up into the atmosphere. Leaning her head back, Carrie let the glow wash over her and breathed in deeply. For the first time since she had arrived in India, she felt totally relaxed. And it was all thanks to Dee.

"Thanks for bringing me here," Carrie said with a sigh. "This was the perfect ending to my birthday."

"It's not over yet," Dee said. "I have a gift for you."

Carrie's eyes popped open. "But I'm not supposed to get gifts," she pointed out, smiling nonetheless.

Dee scrambled to his feet. "You may be in India, but you are still American. That means you get a gift." He reached into his bag and pulled out a large purple box tied with a sheer gold ribbon. "I hope you like it," he said, holding it out to her.

Touched at his thoughtfulness and giddy with anticipation, Carrie slid the ribbon from the box and lifted the lid. A tiny gasp escaped her throat. There, folded up neatly beneath bright pink tissue paper, was the most beautiful turquoise sari Carrie had ever seen. The edges were decorated with silver and gold beading in haphazard swirls. When she lifted it out, the smooth, silken fabric made a lush swooshing sound as it unfurled.

"Dee. It's gorgeous," Carrie said, holding it up against the pink sky.

"You like it?" he asked, grinning happily.

"I love it," Carrie said. "Can you help me put it on?"

"Well, the choli and the petticoat are in the box, but you can't exactly change into them here," Dee said, glancing around at the windows of the buildings nearby.

"The choli and the petticoat?" Carrie asked.

"That's the shirt and the skirt that go underneath," Dee said. "But I guess I can teach you how to wrap it over your jeans and T-shirt if you want."

"Yes, thanks," Carrie said, holding the fabric up to her body. She couldn't wait to feel Dee's hands against her skin.

Dee took the sari and unfolded it, standing on the blanket so the fabric wouldn't touch the silt-covered roof. At one end were four wide gold stripes, running horizontally across the sari.

"This end is the pul ao," he said, holding it up. "This part will hang down your back when we are done, so you want to leave this off to your left."

Carrie nodded and Dee stepped behind her, reaching up and over her with the sari. The fabric bil owed up, tent-like, enveloping her briefly in a shroud of turquoise light, then fell in front of her, held around her by Dee's strong arms. Carrie's heart started to race at his closeness, his breath on her neck, his skin brushing hers.

Okay, calm down. He's dressing you, not undressing you, Carrie told herself.