“This- ruddy-thing-”
Ron fumbled with the strings of the pyjamas of his sherwani. It was the same sherwani he had worn for Harry’s wedding and now that Parvati had planned an Indian dress code for Harry’s birthday party, Ron was wearing it again. Parvati always did something different, though. The dress code in Harry’s last birthday party had been traditional British attire. It had been a really distinct experience.
She loves Harry so much, Ron thought, as he finally managed to tie his trousers properly. But he knew his best friend had always had love only for Ginny. He could tell that Harry had a tendency to seek Ginny even in Parvati. Ron recollected an incident, when Harry had been looking for dress robes for Parvati as a birthday present. Ideally, all colours suited Parvati, but Harry had not chosen the set of beautiful orange-coloured dress robes for Parvati, saying it would not suit her hair colour. It had taken some time for Harry to realise that Parvati, unlike Ginny, did not have red hair.
Sighing, Ron examined himself in the mirror for about a minute before opening the bathroom door and walking out. He made his way to his room, only to find the door was locked. Hermione was changing her clothes, clearly.
“Hermione, how long is it going to take you?” Ron bellowed, as he walked to the living room. There was no answer. Women, Ron thought. He waited for around twenty minutes more after which he heard the door of their bedroom open.
“About time,” Ron said, getting up. “I thought you had fainted in there. What took-”
Ron stopped speaking abruptly, as a pair of arms suddenly hugged him. “I’m here, Ron, now stop scolding me and let’s get the kids ready.”
“Hermione, I’m not scolding you, and let go of me, so I can have a look at you.”
Hermione immediately freed Ron and stepped backwards. She looked stunning in her rust- coloured sari. She had straightened her hair the way she had done for the Yule Ball all those years ago and had let it down. A few rhinestones glittered on her shiny locks. Her jewellery was made of artificial gold embedded with more rhinestones. Ron’s jaw was hanging. “You look prettier than the way you looked at Harry’s wedding! How do you women manage this?”
“Stop flattering me, Ron. Just dress Jay in these-” Hermione thrust a few clothes into Ron’s hands, “- while I dress Jess. Do it quickly, because” whoops!” Hermione stumbled over the hem of her sari, but Ron caught her just in time.
“Careful, Hermione, I can’t have you break your bones.”
“I’m not used to this, Ron,” Hermione said, straightening the pleats of the sari. She gathered the ends of the pallu to her forearm, and held it to her middle, in the pose of a dignified queen. Then, she smiled at him and came closer.
“Now, Hermione,” Ron said, stepping back. “Why don’t we get the kids dressed?”
“What’s the matter, Ron, why are you backing away? Don’t you love me anymore?” Hermione took another step towards him, but he stepped back promptly.
“I- I love you, Hermione, but- but this isn’t the right time.”
“Oh yeah?” Ron found Hermione yet another step closer to himself and took another step backwards, feeling his back hit the wall. “Come on, Ron, you just keep running away from me, nowadays…”
They were very close now. Ron could count Hermione’s eyelashes, as her hands held the back of his neck. He just stood against the wall limply, feeling her warm breath on his face. He just realised how much he loved Hermione and lifted his hand to stroke her. He ran his fingers along her hairline, down her cheeks and around her ears, relishing every single second. Her soft fingers lightly tickled the nape of his neck and ran up his hair. At last, they parted. Hermione smiled at him again. “I love you, Ron.” Still smiling, she turned away and headed towards the children’s room, but Ron beat her to it and pinned her against the wall just outside the room.
“Not so fast, bear.” He bent forward and pulled her into a deep kiss, which she returned passionately. When they broke apart, both of them were smiling and they headed towards the brightly painted room, to see both their children playing and laughing gleefully. There was silence for some time.
“Hey, Hermione,” Ron said suddenly, as he dressed Jake. “Ginny started work today. We are on a new case and Harry, Ginny, Romilda Vane, Anthony and another woman are working with me. We all are going to stay in the guest house from tomorrow, until we solve the case. Walanger said that wives and children are allowed, so you can come along with Jess and Jay.”
“Hmm, I met Ginny today,” Hermione said, changing Jessica’s nappy. “We did not talk about the case, of course… but can I still work?”
“Yeah,” Ron said. Hermione was a Healer in St. Mungo’s but she worked from home, because her job was to invent different sorts of medicinal potions. There was silence. “How did Ginny react to the delightful news about Harry?”
“She cried her eyes out. She just couldn’t bear it… poor Ginny.”
“Yeah… I did not really expect her to celebrate with glee when she heard. But you know, Hermione, when Harry saw Ginny today, he behaved rather strangely. He sort of zoned out and looked distant. Do you think he-”
“-he still loves Ginny, Ron,” Hermione said. “I know it. I’ve been Harry’s friend for the last seventeen years. He only married Parvati because she loves him and he could not think of any other way to pay her back for what she has done for him. So far, Harry has also managed to convince himself that his infatuation for Ginny was nothing but a symptom of adolescence. But I know that some place inside him, some bit of his heart, still has Ginny in it. Ginny is more than Harry’s schoolboy crush.”
“So don’t you think it’s really unfair on the part of Harry to marry someone just because it was his duty to do so?”
“I won’t exactly call Harry’s decision his duty, Ron; I think it’s more of an understanding. He has married Parvati only because he wants her to be happy. I don’t think he wanted to break her heart by accepting the fact that he still has feelings for Ginny. And as for all this being unfair, as long as Harry does not start dating with Ginny again and manages to stick to Parvati, he’s not being unfair.”
“Don’t you think Harry will have a job restraining himself from starting out with Ginny again?”
“He’ll have to control his feelings, Ron, but I know for a fact that as much as he can help it, Harry will remain with Parvati.”
“That’s one noble fellow, I guess.” Ron took a fully dressed Jake in his arms. Hermione, who had also dressed up Jessica, gave Ron a smile.
“No really, Ron, I know for a fact that Harry is not immoral. He has ‘moral fibre’ in him.”
“Hang on- I’ve heard that before… come on…”
“You’re incorrigible, Ron; Bagman had said that after the Second Task in the Triwizard Tournament.”
“Yeah… oh yeah, come on.” Ron started walking out of the room with Jake, Hermione following him along with Jessica and levitating their suitcases behind them. The couple had been invited to stay overnight by Parvati and they were going straight to the guest house from Harry and Padma’s place. They walked to the car and Ron clicked on the button of the remote on his car keys to unlock it. There were two loud clicking sounds and Ron was just about to open the door of the driver’s seat, when Hermione spoke up.
“Ron, can’t we just Apparate or take a Portkey?”
“Blimey, I thought you’d know better, Hermione. Harry lives in the heart of a Muggle settlement. What if someone sees us?”
“Oh… okay, then, let’s get on with it,” said Hermione as Ron opened the door of the car and placed Jake in his basket at the backseat. Hermione did the same to Jessica and then joined Ron in the front of the car and they drove off.
***
Parvati smiled as she threw the pallu of her baby blue sari over her shoulders. She then reached down for the remaining length of sari and started folding them to do the pleats. It took about a minute to get them done and tuck them inside. Next, she pinned up the edge of the pallu to her blouse and brought the rest down so that they cascaded down her arm elegantly. Then she put on a necklace of black beads in the size of mustard seeds and another necklace, earrings and a set of bangles matching her sari. After that, she put a baby blue-coloured bindi on her forehead. Lastly, she reached for a small container of vermilion on her dressing table and applied it to the parting of her hair. She then reached for a brush and brushed her hair briskly. Smiling at her reflection another time, Parvati opened the door, fetched Naina from the kitchen to take the little girl to her own room, and then walked to the living room. Harry was already waiting there, dressed in his green sherwani. He looked really handsome and his clothes brought out the colour of his stunningly gorgeous eyes.
“Oh, you look dashing, Harry.”
“Thanks,” he muttered. “You look lovely too.”
“Thank you, Harry,” Parvati said, sitting next to him. There was a rather awkward silence.
“Um… Parvati?”
“Yes?”
“Why are we sitting here, wearing Indian clothes? Is there something special today?”
Parvati’s smile widened. “Oh, all right. I don’t think it remains a surprise anymore, since I’ve asked you to wear those clothes. This is the dress code for your birthday party, Harry. The guests will be coming any moment now. Happy birthday.”
Parvati leaned forward, kissed Harry on his cheek and hugged him. “I know that I’m very bad at giving surprises. I didn’t know what to do. I’m sorry if I hurt you by not wishing you… I don’t like to hurt you, I love you.” Harry felt her arms tighten around him and she gave him another kiss on his cheek. “I love you more than the anything in this world, Harry. You are my life. In fact, I love you more than my life.”
Harry returned the hug. “I love you too, Parvati. Why do you think I married you?”
Parvati inhaled sharply. “But I hurt your feelings…”
“Hey, it’s all right. I didn’t feel bad; there was so much to do at work to wonder why people did not wish me for my birthday. I was not hurt, don’t worry.”
Parvati broke free of Harry’s grip and looked into his eyes. He looked back, charmed by the innocence in her eyes. He had been slightly upset at no one remembering his birthday, but what Parvati had just told him got it all out. He, in fact, was delighted to think of all the fun that was awaiting him for the next few hours.
“You’ve been lying to me, Harry!”
“Oh… what?” Harry asked, jolting to reality. “Oh, that’s unfair, Parvati. You’ve got to stop using Legilimency or I’ll stop looking into your eyes.”
“Hmmm, no, I don’t need to look into anyone’s eyes to find the truth. Most of it is based on gut feelings.”
“Is it?” Harry asked and looked again, into Parvati’s sparkling eyes. He leaned forward and kissed her. Straightening up, he smiled, leaned over again and was about to kiss her another time, when the doorbell rang.
Parvati got up and opened the door. “Hi! Come in.”
Harry got up from the couch, to see Ron and Hermione, along with their children.
“Happy birthday, Harry!” Hermione said, giving him a hug.
“Yeah, happy birthday, mate,” Ron echoed, clapping Harry on the shoulder. The couple then sat on the couch.
“Er-” Hermione began, “Indians greet each other in a different way, isn’t it? I read it in Cultures all Over the World… wait let me just recollect it… oh yeah, I just remembered.” Hermione put Jessica down, got to her feet, joined her hands and bowed down. “Namastey!”
“Ooh, you got it right!” Parvati exclaimed. She too got to her feet, joined her hands and bowed. “Namastey!”
Hermione smiled. “Where’s Naina?”
“She’s in her room. I fed her early because she has not slept all afternoon and could fall asleep anytime now. It might take us some time to have dinner and I did not want her to go off to sleep in an empty stomach.”
“Shall we let the kids have fun together, then?”
“Oh, no problem; come, I’ll take you to Naina’s room.”
Parvati got up and Hermione followed suit, picking up Jessica. She gave her hand to Jake. “Come, Jay!”
Jake gave a gleeful cry and caught Hermione’s hand, dislodging himself from Ron’s grip. He then toddled behind Parvati along with Hermione. It took about a minute for the women to leave the kids in Naina’s room. They then rejoined the men.
“So, who else is coming?” Ron asked.
“Padma and Anthony, your parents, brothers, and Ginny.”
Just then, the doorbell rang another time. Parvati got up once again and came back, Padma and Anthony following her.
“Happy birthday, Jeej!” Padma said, coming over and hugging Harry. Anthony also wished Harry and they were seated, once again, only to hear the doorbell ring a third time.
All the Weasleys entered and greeted their surrogate son.
“Where’s Parvati?” Mrs. Weasley asked from among the vast number of people. Parvati immediately went forward and bent down to touch Mrs. Weasley’s feet.
“Oh, there’s no need for that, dear,” Mrs. Weasley said, catching Parvati’s shoulders and straightening her up before she could touch the other woman’s feet. Mrs. Weasley then hugged Parvati and smiled at her for a minute. “How is Naina?”
“Oh, she’s fine, Molly. She’s in her room with Jessica and Jake.”
“Hey, Parvati!”
Parvati turned to see Ginny waving at her. She walked towards the redhead, who was dressed in a beautiful red sari that matched her hair. “How are you doing?” Ginny asked.
“Oh, we’re fine,” Parvati replied. “I’m really sorry about not inviting you for our marriage; we did not want to get you here in the middle of the term.”
“It’s okay,” Ginny said. “Only, I was slightly shocked when Harry told me that he was married.”
Parvati smiled, but her mind was working in another direction. What was so shocking about Harry being married? Parvati glanced at Ginny’s eyes and saw an image of Harry sitting with his head on Ginny’s shoulders at the bank of the lake at Hogwarts. So… Ginny still had feelings for Harry. And Parvati already knew that Harry still nursed feelings for Ginny. It was one of the reasons why she had asked him to think over his decision, when he had proposed to her. It was not as if she did not love him; she adored him more than anything, but for her, there was nothing more important than love. And splitting two lovers apart was the worst crime anyone could commit. Parvati had always been ready to sacrifice anything for the sake of love.
The group chatted for a while, after which Parvati called them all for dinner. The party went out to the garden. There were two tables draped in white and set with plates and glasses. The starters were already on the table, all in covered dishes.
Parvati opened all the dishes. There seemed to be different types of cutlets. Everyone started helping themselves.
“That is called hara bhara kebab-” Parvati said, pointing at the green coloured cutlets, “-that is sheekh kebab (the slightly long cutlets), and that is paneer tikka (these were square pieces of cottage cheese dipped in some sort of spicing).”
There was a clatter of knives and forks as everyone ate through the starters and talked happily. When everyone was done, Parvati waved her wand. What remained of the starters was replaced by the main course. There was a basket of rotis (unleavened Indian bread) and another one with parathas (unleavened Indian bread with stuffing) of different sorts. There were also several other dishes. Apart from this, there were also flasks of a white-coloured drink. Parvati explained once again. “That is dhal makhani (a brownish sort of mix with black lentils and gravy with cream), this is palak paneer (cubes of cottage cheese in spinach puree) and that is chicken tandoori masala (pieces of chicken in orange coloured gravy). The flasks contain spiced buttermilk. I’ve also made some parathas with spring onion stuffing and some with cabbage in them. It will take hell a lot of time if knives and forks are used, so I’d recommend the use of hands for the breads. The curry can be had with spoon, of course.”
There was a murmur, as everyone helped themselves another time. Harry took a roti, some chicken tandoori masala, palak paneer and filled his glass with buttermilk. Keeping aside his fork and knife, Harry spooned some of the chicken into his mouth. It was dead spicy. Eyes watering, Harry reached for his glass of buttermilk, only to find that it too was spicy. Gasping thoroughly Harry began to fan his tongue with his hand so that Parvati, who was sitting beside him, began to laugh.
“It’s not funny!” Harry panted.
“It is,” Parvati said, giggling slightly. “You’re eating it the wrong way.”
“Why did you make it so spicy?”
“Indian cuisine is always spicy, that is why. There is a way to eat it, if you want to avoid all the spice from affecting you.” Parvati reached her right hand to Harry’s plate, pressed the roti with her index finger and caught the edge with her centre finger and thumb. Then she stretched her index finger so that a small piece of the roti tore away. Dipping the piece in chicken, Parvati gave it to Harry, who put it into his mouth. She was right. It didn’t feel all that spicy anymore.
“Thanks,” he told Parvati, and smiled.
“You’re welcome,” she said politely. “So, who are your colleagues for the case?”
“Ginny, Ron, Romilda-”
“Romilda Vane?” Parvati asked. “That one, who wanted to get you to go out with her in our sixth year? Didn’t she give you that love potion-spiked chocolate which went to Ron?”
“Yeah, that’s the one,” Harry said. “Then there’s also Anthony and a lady called Irene Stance.”
“What’s the case?”
“It’s murder; serial killings in London for over a month,” Harry answered. “And imagine this; the murderer just kills people because she wants me.”
Parvati raised her eyebrow. “Looks like someone from your fan club has turned violent. There were quite some people who fancied you at school, right?”
“Many,” Harry said. “In fact Ginny was also amongst the ones who fancied me at school.”
Harry couldn’t believe what came out of his mouth and looked away from Parvati. He did not want her to know that he still had feelings for Ginny. It would be utterly unfair on his part to show affection towards someone else. And it was not as if he did not love Parvati…
“Harry, I’d suggest that you finish eating before everything becomes cold,” Parvati said. Harry jerked back to reality and began to eat.
The dessert was composed of a drink called ‘falooda’, a speciality of the city of Bombay. It was a glass full of rose milk with boiled vermicelli and little greyish seeds floating in it. There were also pieces of raspberry-flavoured jelly in it and it was topped with vanilla ice cream. All in all, it was one of the tastiest things that Harry had tried. In the end, everyone got up, full to their throats. It was already about nine o’ clock and the Weasleys, excluding Ginny, Ron and Hermione decided to leave.
“Take care, dears,” Mrs. Weasley said, waving goodbye to the Potters. “Make sure you come home after this case.”
Harry smiled and waved, as the Weasleys looked around and Disapparated, one after the other.
“Are you coming to the guest house tomorrow?” Parvati asked Padma, as she, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Anthony and Padma had seated themselves in the living-room. Anthony and Padma were also staying overnight.
“Of course,” Padma replied. “It will be so exciting to watch these people at work.”
“The case sounds fun, though,” Harry mumbled, magicking six bottles of Firewhiskey with a wave of his wand. “Firewhiskey?”
“I’m stuffed,” Hermione said, putting her bottle aside. Parvati and Padma refused too.
“So, how did you work out the way to wear that sari?” Parvati asked Hermione.
“Oh, don’t ask. It took me half an hour to get it draped properly!”
“Yeah, it’s not an easy task, is it?”
“Not at all, and then, I also stumbled over the hem once.”
Parvati looked at her, astonished. “I thought you were used to robes.”
“Yeah, I am,” Hermione said. “But the pallu and all multiplied the problems.”
They talked on about various things like work and matters at home. Padma was an Unspeakable at the Department of Mysteries and she told them that the work was exciting, though she could not tell them about anything that happened there.
“I can understand,” said Parvati, eyeing Harry, who had just finished his bottle of Firewhiskey. “It would be really difficult, wouldn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Padma replied. “I don’t know what will happen if I voice out the secrets there and at the same time, I can’t remember what’s there, every time I think about it.”
“It’s a really powerful enchantment,” Parvati said, smiling as she watched Harry reaching for a second bottle of Firewhiskey surreptitiously; from the corner of her eye. “And Harry, you’re a bewda”
Padma giggled, while Ron, Hermione and Anthony looked puzzled. Harry, on the other hand, kept the bottle down.
“What was that?” Hermione asked.
“’Bewda’ means ‘drunkard’, in slang Hindi,” Parvati explained, trying not to laugh. “I’ve told Harry that he’s not supposed to have more than a bottle of Firewhiskey. Alcohol is good in small quantity, but it kills when it’s taken in excess.”
“It’s just firewhiskey, Parvati!” Harry said indignantly.
“And two bottles of this just firewhiskey is enough to make you pass out right on the sofa, Harry,” Parvati replied.
“One sip-”
“Bewda.”
“Please, just-”
“Bewda.”
Harry put the bottle away dejectedly.
“She got you, Jeej!” Padma chuckled.
“Oh very funny,” Harry muttered bitterly, as everyone in the room burst into laughter. He looked at Padma. “Will you stop calling me Jeej?”
“Sorry, I cannot,” Padma answered, trying to stem her tears of laughter. “I called you ‘Harry’ once and my Mum sent me a Howler, telling me that I do not know how to respect my elders.”
“But we’re of the same age! And how do you call Mrs. Weasley ‘Molly’, if your Mum gets so wild?”
“Molly is not directly related to me, is she? Our Mum doesn’t mind that. But you’re my bro’-in-law. Parvati is about ten minutes older to me and in our custom, we call the husband of our elder sister as ‘Jeejaji’. I call you ‘Jeej’, because that sounds better than ‘Jeejaji’. Unless you want to be called that…”
“Oh no, I’m fine with ‘Jeej’, thanks.”
“Okay,” Parvati said, still shaking with laughter, “I think I should just check on Naina.” She walked to the kids’ room with Hermione, while Ginny and Padma followed them, saying that they wanted to see the kids too.
The four women entered Naina’s room; all the kids had fallen asleep on the floor itself. Parvati conjured two cribs and placed Naina in her own cradle, while Hermione placed Jessica and Jake in their cots.
“Aww… she’s so cute,” Ginny said, looking at Naina’s chubby face. “How old is Naina, Parvati?”
“About fourteen months,” Parvati answered.
“So she was born in May?”
“Yes, the twenty-ninth of May.”
“Harry already told me this, but could I ask you why you named her Naina?”
“It’s her eyes,” Parvati replied. “They’re green and they’re so pretty… just like Harry’s eyes. In Hindi, ‘Nain’ means ‘eyes’. That’s why I named her ‘Naina’. Harry also liked the name, of course.”
Ginny smiled dazedly at Naina. “She is very pretty. She has gone a lot on you, actually. Her features are pretty sharp, like Indians.”
“Yeah,” said Parvati. “A lot of people say that. But I’m glad that she got Harry’s eyes.” She waved her wand, so that Naina’s cradle was transferred to their conjugal room, while Jessica and Jake’s cradles went to Ron and Hermione’s.
The four women then returned to the living room.. “I think I’ll turn in,” Padma declared, going upstairs to her room.
“Yeah, I think I’ll go to sleep too,” agreed Parvati. She went to their room and shut the door behind her, to change into her night things. Ginny and Hermione went inside to sleep, too. After about ten minutes, Parvati’s door opened again and the lamp was put out.
Harry seized this opportunity to grab another bottle of Firewhiskey and so did the other men. Just then, Parvati bellowed from inside. “All three of you are BEWDAS!”
“Gosh, how does your wife come to know?” Ron asked Harry, Vanishing all the bottles. “Anyway, I guess there’s no point sitting here. Let’s go to sleep.”
Harry went to his room, opened his wardrobe and drew out his night things. He then changed his clothes and slumped onto bed beside Parvati.
There was silence for some time. Harry stared at the ceiling, pondering over everything that had happened that day. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Harry turned sideways to look at his wife. She was awake, too, and was looking at Harry with a smile. Harry did not say anything, but just wondered why he had that odd feeling whenever Ginny came near him or talked to him. He remembered feeling like this for the two years that he had had a crush on Cho. Even when he had been infatuated by Ginny, he had experienced this weird feeling. But what was happening now?
The sound of soft sobs suddenly filled the room and Harry was about to tell Parvati that Naina was probably having a bad dream, when with a small pang, he realised that Parvati was the one crying. He wrapped his arm around her waist. “Hey, what is it?” He looked at her eyes, and saw tears trickling down her cheeks slowly.
“Y-You still have feelings f-for Ginny, d-don’t you?”
“No, look-”
“Don’t try to lie to me, H-Harry; I a-always come to know. You s-should have t-told me, that you l-love Ginny. I would have n-never stood on your w-way. I-I told you that y-you shouldn’t have m-married me. You ignored your love f-for the sake of gratitude.”
Harry let out a sigh and wiped Parvati’s eyes. For the first time ever, he’s seeing a case where a person was sad, not because her life partner did not love her, but because her life partner had not married the person whom he really loved. She had become so selfless, so pure, so clean, so sacred, so trusting and yet, so loyal.
Parvati spoke again. “You know, Harry, gratitude is nothing, compared to love. Only true love wins, Harry. You could have done anything to show me your gratefulness; I never asked you to marry me. What pains me the most, Harry, is that I ripped a pair of true lovers apart.”
Harry looked at Parvati for a long time. He remembered Ron and Hermione telling him the same thing, when he had gone and proposed to Parvati. But he still had his justification for marrying her. “Look, I had a crush on Ginny, about eleven years ago, that’s all. Now, I love only you, Parvati. You are not a wall between Ginny and me, okay? Ginny’s my past and you’re my present. ‘The past is history, the future’s a mystery. But today is a gift and that’s why, it’s called the present.’ You’re the gift that my life has given me, Parvati. I cannot think of anyone who’s prettier and more loyal than you. I love you, all right? Now come here.”
Harry hugged Parvati tightly and kissed her on the tip of her nose. They stayed in that position for a long time, until Harry remembered something. “Parvati, why do you wear that vermilion on the parting of your hair?”
Parvati chuckled. “It means that I’m married. It’s to prove to the whole world that my husband loves me and that I accept his love and love him back.”
Harry smiled. “It’s true. I really love you. More than this world… more than everything.”
Parvati said nothing, but just snuggled in with Harry, as they both finally fell asleep.
Killer Instincts by Ginny Weasley Potter
Chapter Notes: Cheers, Pauie! You're great. If this gets validated, it's because of you!
My dearest readers, please let me know your musings about this story. Reviews really get me going!
The name 'Naina' belonged to Preity Zinta in the movie, Kal Ho Naa Ho. Preity is my fav. actress! And Naina's birthdate is not random; it coincides with that of my five-year old cousin. I would like to dedicate this chapter to my cutie cousin, without whom my life would be as dry as a desert. Love ya, sweetie!