The Doves of Ohanavank Read Online Free Page B

said my father had wanted me to have it; she said he loved me very much, and with me he felt a special tie to his past. Throughout my time away from home, the ring, in turn, gave me a link to my past. I always had it with me, either in my pocket or in my purse at first, and then I started wearing it permanently.
    The second ring is much fancier. It is thicker and has a large emerald. Ahmed gave it to me in Dubai. “I hope you’ll always wear it,” he said. It is beautiful, but entirely out of place in Saralandj. In Dubai, I needed Araxi Dadik’s ring as a link to home; but here, do I need Ahmed’s ring? Do I really need any link to Dubai?
    I re-start the fire and wash up hurriedly, using all the warm water in the pot, which I refill from the bucket in the corner. I change, put AraxiDadik’s ring on my middle finger, place Ahmed’s in my purse and walk out.
    The girls rush in first, to start tea and coffee, and I feel a pang of guilt for holding them up for so long. Martha arrives to help with the preparations, having left three-month-old Ani in the doting care of her mother-in-law. She is still the oldest sibling and, although married, when present is the boss in the kitchen. At the same time, preparations start for heating water for baths. It is amazing how that empty, quiet room is transformed in a matter minutes into a beehive of activity. If there was any doubt in my mind that I did the right thing by moving out, it is now gone, even though this was not the consideration behind that decision. My decision to move to the city and live alone is more complicated, and to this day I do not dare articulate the reasons out loud, even to myself.
    There will be
khorovadz
, the traditional Armenian mixed grill of pork, eggplants, green peppers and tomatoes. During March, none of these vegetables are in season, but Avo is determined to make the full spread, so he has secured everything from the greenhouse in Ashtarak, the largest city in the region. There will also be grilled potatoes and onions, and all types of appetizers of dried meats and cheeses. There will be trout, Armenian
Ishkhan
, boiled with special spices, and several types of salads—chicken salad with sour cream, potato salad with olive oil and lemon, beet salad with sour cream and onions, cabbage salad, and grated carrot salad with raisins and walnuts. Making the salads is time-consuming, so fortunately for the girls, the grilling is done outdoors, and it is the men who assume responsibility for it. They gather by the fire with a bottle of vodka, tasting the smaller pieces that cook faster directly from the fire with a piece of lavash, and drinking. The first bottle of vodka will be consumed before they even sit at the table. That is the more pleasant part of the feast for the men.
    By two o’clock the family is gathered. Martha’s husband, Ruben, arrives with a large tray of dried fruits and nuts, compliments of the in-laws. Sona’s fiancé, Simon, arrives with two bottles of vodka. Avo has already started the fire at the stone grill in front of the house, and is chain-smoking. Martha has brought a dozen additional skewers, as the ten at our house won’t suffice and reusing the skewers runs the risk of letting the first batch get cold.
    By the time
Khev Gago
and Edik arrive, the fire is ready, and Avo has placed the potatoes and onions on the grill; he has also had his first shot of vodka. I watch them embrace from the window. My youngest brothers aregathering more wood for the fire, and my brothers-in-law are helping Avo, which basically means hanging around, poking the fire unnecessarily every now and then, and giving unsolicited and unnecessary advice.
    All that will stop now because
Khev Gago
immediately takes over the grilling.
    “Where is the rest?” he asks, inquiring about the meat and the vegetables. Then he looks up toward the house, notices me standing at the window watching them, and waves.
Khev Gago
has small, intense, fiery eyes. Edik told