The Short Cousin Speech: A Balanced Cousin Speech Example (307 words)

When we were nine, Priya convinced me that the shed at the bottom of our grandmother's garden was a courtroom, and that I was on trial for eating the last Penguin bar. She was the judge, the prosecutor, and — conveniently — the only witness. I got twelve years. I'm still appealing.

I'm Anisha, the cousin who has known this woman since before either of us had opinions about anything, which for Priya was approximately six weeks.

Here's the thing you learn growing up alongside her. Priya decides. Whether it's the shed, or the summer she made us rehearse a full dance routine for a talent show that didn't exist, or the time she rang me at eleven at night to say she'd "met someone" — and then talked for forty minutes without once telling me his name.

That someone was Daniel.

And I'll be honest, I was braced. I'd seen the interrogation techniques. I fully expected him to arrive nervous and slightly over-prepared. Instead I met a man who, when Priya reorganised his entire flat the second week they were dating, simply said, "Actually, that is better," and made her a cup of tea.

That's when I knew. Because Priya doesn't need someone to agree with her. She needs someone who isn't frightened of how much she cares — about her people, about doing things properly, about the last Penguin bar. Daniel isn't frightened. He just quietly stands beside her and makes the tea.

I've watched her love hard her whole life. Today I get to watch her be loved back just as fiercely, and it is the easiest verdict I've ever handed down.

So raise your glasses. To Priya and Daniel — to the judge and the one man wise enough to know when she's right. Which, let's be fair, is most of the time.