MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING

A maid of honor in crisis, reports for duty in Mauritius.

- Andrea Pinto

It was love at first sight, for both of us. The first thing that hit me was the piercing blue of the Indian Ocean as my flight descended and the island came into view. The first thing that hit my best friend was the whisky her future husband poured her on their first date.

A lucky swipe on a dating app brought my college bestie and Dubai girl, Vimla Nadkarni, together with Didier Hubert, island boy from Mauritius. Two years in, they were sending out invitations to their wedding on the island nation.

As an overly enthusiastic maid of honour, I arrived early in Mauritius to get the lay of the land. Fields of sugarcane lined wide roads—I made a mental note to stock up on the rum.

At some point, after I crossed 25, my relatives and even the most distant family friends began to unsubtly comment on my relationship status. At a wedding, my mother’s friend insisted it was time to find someone to take care of me. On my 28th birthday, an aunt I rarely hear from rang up to ask if she should find me a “nice Goan boy”.

So when Vimla sent a slightly unintelligible voice note saying she was engaged, it got me thinking. Was there something wrong with me? Why wasn’t I dreaming of marriage and babies and galloping off into the sunset? (Though I wouldn’t mind that last bit.) I was approaching the bitter end of a rather painful relationship and felt a bit jaded about the thought of everlasting love.