Poles Apart

Chapter Forty-Seven

Arvi

"Arjun, let me serve some more rice," my mother fusses over her son-in-law. What was I even expecting when we came here? Whenever my mother sees Arjun, it's as though her purpose in life changes to fussing over him. He's not five, you know? He can serve himself.

Okay, I'm a little jealous. But what the hell? I've come home for the first time after my wedding. Aren't these things supposed to be important? Aren't I supposed to be important?

"You aren't eating," Prithvi points out, nudging me with his elbow.

I look up at him, making out of my trance and smile. "I was just—"

"Distracted?" he offers.

I shrug. Not the exact words I was going for, but sure, it's pretty much that.

"Has Arjun Bava told you where you're going on your honeymoon?" he asks in between adding curry to his plate.

I sigh. "No. But I'm supposed to pack for it."

Prithvi chuckles. "That's a lot of fun, no?"

"Sure, if you're a psychopath," I smile at him tight-lipped.

"Ah, then you must love packing," Pranav joins the conversation without invitation.

"Ah," I mock. "You must think I'm a mirror."

"Do you have nothing else to do?" Karthik asks Pranav. "Why are you always messing with her?"

"Annoying Arvi comes on the top of my list, it's the most important thing to do in a day," Pranav explains, solemnly.

"Sunita Pinni," I sing, looking towards his mother. "Are you looking for a bride for Pranav, then?"

"Bride?" Sunita Pinni asks, startled. "For Pranav?"

I nod, sincerely. "He told me he wanted to get married very soon," I tell her, and glance at my mother. "Didn't he say the only thing stopping Pinni from looking for a bride is that I am not married?" I look back at Pranav who's now making desperate faces at me. "I'm married now, Pranav Anna."

"Arvi," Pranav pleads, screwing up his face with pitiful desperation as he joins his palms together. "Please!"

"Pranav Anna, don't worry," I cajole him. "Finding a bride will be hard, yes. I mean, look at your stupid face, but I'm sure there will be someone stupider than you. There's no limit to stupidity."

"Arvi," my mother warns, taking a break from loading her son-in-law's plate.

"Arey," I protest to being seen as the propagator of this argument. "Didn't Pranav say himself that he was waiting for me to get married so that he could get married?"

My mother expresses her helplessness towards the situation by sending a sorry look to Pranav. "He did," she agrees, supporting the truth.

"You didn't tell me you wanted to get married!" Sunita Pinni exclaims. "Harika Aunty was asking if you'd meet her daughter!"

"I will not meet Harika Aunty's daughter— what the heck?"

"Well, if you don't like Harika Aunty's daughter, I'll talk to someone else," Sunita Pinni insists.

As I have seen in instances before, an Indian mother's single most important purpose in life is apparently to get their kids married.

I lean back in my chair, satisfying myself by watching the drama unfold. "Pranav called you a psychopath and you've left him in this situation for revenge?" Arjun whispers to me.