They got back to talking about this private party, and everyone agreed on going to another hotel for it—away from the parents, and children, for that matter.
Jana didn’t have an issue with leaving Imani with her mother and Kassim Uncle for one night. And a night without her mother, the aunties and uncles, and the Lopezes meant Jana might be able to check more off the “letting loose” list. Weirdly, she was looking forward to that.
Chapter 14
The buffet dinner in the hotel dining room was loud and energetic but also delicious. Jana could have gorged on the nyama choma and casava stew all night. After dinner, Mom hopped out of her seat before Jana had even finished her chai and announced that she would take Imani so Jana could stay with the young people. Jana assumed it was because Mom herself was tired from staying up late after the wedding ceremony doing lord knows what with the aunties and uncles. Probably playing cards. But this was good—it was a chance for Jana to check another item off the list.
She ordered a drink from the bar and sat at a table with the rest of the wedding party. Anil was at the other end, talking to Marc and Jerome. Everyone near Jana was talking about Bollywood gossip—a subject Jana knew nothing about, so she couldn’t join in.
“What about you, Jana?” Kamila suddenly said, perhaps realizing that Jana was the only quiet one there. “You seen any good movies lately?”
Jana shrugged. “Only kids movies.”
Kamila grinned. “Yeah, but kids movies are great. Honestly, any movie that breaks out into song works for me. I don’t know why there aren’t more English musicals. Superhero movies should have musical numbers.”
Soon everyone was talking about their favorite English-language musicals, and Jana, again, had no idea how to even contribute.
This was a mistake. How could she expect that checking off a random item on a list could change her life? Trying to fit in was only making her feel more like the wedding party outcast. Dancing was fine because she was still in her own head then. This was impossible.
But Jana wasn’t really getting out of her comfort zone if it wascomfortable. She waited for an opening in the conversation. “I likedMamma Mia!,” she said.
“Yes!” Asha squealed. “LoveMamma Mia!And the sequel is even better!” She excitedly grabbed Kamila’s arm. “You know what we should do? The Bridal Brigade should do karaoke to ‘Dancing Queen.’” She looked at Jana, then Nicole, grinning, clearly remembering thesingitem on the “letting loose” list. “Do any of the hotels have karaoke?”
“I don’t know,” Kamila said, picking up her phone. “I’ll ask Elsie.”
They started talking about other ensemble songs they could sing, and Jana only felt more detached as the night went on. She stuck it out, but she wouldn’t call the night a success. But she supposed she’d at least tried.
***
The game drive through the Ngorongoro Crater was as spectacular as expected. Jana was in a Land Cruiser with Imani, Mom, Anil, Asha, and Nicole. They saw gazelles, zebras, and giraffes, all within the first ten minutes of getting to the bottom of the crater. As the drive continued, they saw lions, eagles, and even a cheetah. The coolest sighting was a rhino (from a distance—Anil’s powerful binoculars were useful), which their guide said was rare these days. And amazingly, the pond that looked pink from a distance appeared that color because of the hundreds of pink flamingos in it, which delighted Imani. The joy on her face as she furiously colored in her coloring book after seeing each new animal was priceless.
At lunch, they stopped at a picnic area, and their guide distributed boxed lunches that he’d brought from the hotel.
“The book is almost full!” Imani said, flipping through the pages.
“And we still have two more parks,” Anil said. “Lake Manyara and Tarangire.”
Imani frowned. “Are the same animals there?”
Jana shook her head. “It will be similar, but not exactly the same. Manyara is famous for being the only place in the world where people have seen lions sleeping in trees.”
“Like the raccoon in the backyard!” Imani said. She was a true Toronto kid and very familiar with raccoons.
“And Tarangire is supposedly full of elephants,” Anil said. “I think it will be your mother’s favorite park.”
Jana was particularly looking forward to that one. She heard laughing behind her. Turning, she saw that it was Mom and Kassim Uncle fumbling with a selfie stick.
“I think they’re making a TikTok,” Asha said as she unwrapped her sandwich.
Jana’s eyes narrowed. “My mother’s on TikTok?”
Nicole beamed. “I think it’s great. Do you know how many patients have found me because they saw me on doctor-tok? It’s a valid way to make connections these days.”
Nicole was popular on the social media platform for her “Real Talk about Vaginas” series. Jana agreed that someone dispelling myths about bodies for TikTok’s young audience was a valuable service, but what exactly were Mom and Kassim Uncle planning to do?
She found out soon enough. Kamila played a lively Bollywood song on her phone, and Mom and Kassim Uncle did a choreographed dance to it with the East African terrain as their backdrop.
Imani squealed with joy and went closer to watch her nani and uncle.
