Having experienced two hurricanes myself, I was initially somewhat skeptical of a romance story about rescuing a failed marriage while trapped in a hurricane. Is it even possible to have sane conversations about marriage and divorce amidst imploding windows, broken tree limbs, fire ants and snakes in a city that has turned into a giant lake? In this well written novel, author Naina Kumar shows that under the wreckage of a natural disaster, it is still possible to find that lost love. Flirting with Disaster is about two people finding the courage to be vulnerable in love, overcoming fear of failure and parental disapproval and, learning to make open and honest conversations with each other. The hurricane is the third main character and effectively provides most of the drama in this emotionally satisfying story.
When the story begins Meena is on her way to her hometown Houston to get her long estranged husband Nikhil to sign the divorce papers so that she could marry her boyfriend and kick off her political career. She plans to be back home the same day without realizing that there is a hurricane on the way. But with the city in a mad scramble to escape the hurricane, airlines are booked, highways are jammed and Meena has no choice but to stay with Nikhil. Seven years ago, she met Nikhil while she was preparing for her bar exams. Nikhil who is in construction business, is a college dropout and suffers from a sense of inferiority, both about his profession and his lack of college education. Meena has her own hangups. She is terrified of failing and disappointing her parents. She desperately wants her parents to be proud of her who were hurt and ashamed when her sister got pregnant and dropped out of college. When she and Nikhil get married impulsively while on a trip to Las Vegas, she keeps it a secret from her parents and never introduces Nikhil to her family. When she fails her bar exam the first time she keeps that also a secret from her family. Nikhil is a rock during this difficult time for her and it is his love and support that helps her prepare for a second try. However, after she passes her bar exam, she leaves Nikhil and Houston behind to take up a job with a legal firm that lobbies for progressive causes in Washington, D.C.
The story is told from Meena’s point of view and it goes back and forth between present and past. In the present, during the days she spends with Nikhil, she realizes that she is still attracted to him and in love with him too. There are touching moments of togetherness when they rescue (using a paddle boat) a neighbor (a NASA astronaut, no less) whose house is flooded. When Nikhil is paralyzed with fear seeing a cottonmouth, it is Meena who steers the boat out of its way. Nikhil takes care of her when she develops a severe allergic reaction to fire ant bites and cooks her favorite pasta. She discovers that he watches reruns of Gilmore Girls and wants to build a similar beating heart kind of bed and breakfast hostelry. Nikhil is a beta hero, a romantic ideal in a minor key, supportive, kind and caring,—qualities that she, obsessed with passing the law exams, never noticed when she was married and living with him. She had no clue about his emotional struggles and insecurities. Her beef with him then was that he never shared any o his work life with her and kept everything bottled up and gave her no chance to help him in the same way he was helping her. Yet, now she finds him readily opening up about his b&b project and the volunteer work he does repairing homes damaged in natural disasters. He shows no hesitation in letting her know he still loves her and is full of admiration for the work she does on the Hill. She too confesses that underneath her badass veneer, her actions were driven by fear of becoming a disappointment to her parents.
Whether intentional or not, hurricane serves as an allegory for the marriage—take flight when a storm is approaching and deal with the wreckage later or stay put, batten down the hatches and clean up the debris as it lands. The author draws a realistic portrayal of what it is to be in the middle of a hurricane—frantic preparations, incessant rains, howling winds, floods, power outages, isolation, using radio as a way of staying in touch with the neighbors and the long wait before it is over. The novel is particularly strong in showing personal development, especially for Meena who finally comes to realize that her marriage is worth fighting for. If I have one quibble it is that I would have liked Nikhil’s point of view too. Secondary characters make brief but memorable appearances—particularly amusing is the NASA astronaut who is surprised that his is the only house on the street that has been flooded, a house which is situated right on the center of a cul-de-sac (even the mandatory flood insurance does not clue him in!).
