Chapter 1 – The Land of Many Waters
**Excerpt**
As I walked out of the bathroom, I saw him in the bedroom. He was old, small and ugly.
“Maria, come in here.”
I pushed the door open all the way, but didn’t go into the bedroom where he was. I couldn’t bear to look at him. Instead of staring at the deep grooves in his forehead and that mouth packed full of uneven teeth, my eyes focused away down the hall onto some trash scattered on the wood floor.
A paper sack full of potato peelings and rotting avocado skins. An empty can of sardines tipped over on its side. The tin was shiny and new. I related to it… empty and still new, for a little while longer.
“Don’t you think it’s time we get to know each other better?” he asked.
I tried to stall.
“I’m hungry. Is there anything to eat?”
“We should make our marriage official first,” was his reply. “And, Maria? I didn’t tell you to change your clothes. I told you to get undressed. Undress now, and lay on the bed.”
I was terrified. My mother warned me this would happen on my wedding day, and she told me I mustn’t fight him… I always did what my mother said. Even when I was married to this man, this husband of mine, Alan Goodman, 45. I understood what an arranged marriage was – I had been sold. And so, I had as much contempt for the mother who betrayed me as I did for the man who was about to ruin me.
I took my clothes off again, in front of him this time. My blouse felt sticky and cobwebbed on my skin, smothering me even as I pulled it up and over my head. Instinctively I put one arm over my breasts and tossed the dress aside with my other hand. I slowly shimmied out of my skirt and let it drop to my ankles.
As I stood with my eyes closed and legs crossed I could hear Alan fumble with his belt as he tried to undress beside me. A few seconds later I heard the buckle slam on the floor – my eyes popped opened and I starred up at the rafters, breathing shallow and fast. He pushed me onto the bed. When he lay beside me I could smell him. He reeked of Indian spices and booze.
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