Once Upon A Mr. Goody Two Shoes

Chapter 24

New Friends Colony East, where my father's friend lived, was an upscale posh locality in Delhi, where I had hung out a lot of times because of the various restaurants it boasted of. Well, mostly after I received my bonus. Our cab entered the gates of the housing complex and I glanced outside to see a number of row-houses built adjacent to each other.

It was a housing complex of row houses. I tried to not be impressed by the long intricately-carved traditional double-door row-house we had just stopped outside of. I reckoned it was our destination. I let out a breath and got out of the cab preparing to face the inevitable.

"These people are rich, aren't they?" my mother muttered to my father as I started towards the bell of the house. "Arun's father had been a businessman, and Arun himself is a lawyer in the Supreme Court. His son Dhruv has already taken over his grandfather's company. It's a good family," I glanced back to see my father running an approving eye over the house. My heart dropped. He approved of the family. In his sense, he approved of the marriage proposal. Without even meeting the guy.

"Having a nice house and family doesn't mean the boy would be good too," my mom said while correcting her dupatta. "And our Aashi has to be with the boy first, the family is a later topic," she said, looking at me lovingly. I melted at the loving look she had in her eyes. Her words helped too. My shoulders loosened as we waited for the door to be opened.

A relatively tall woman dressed in a bright pink and yellow saree opened the double doors with a toothy grin. I beheld the most pristinely white teeth I had ever seen in my life. She strode ahead and engulfed my mother in an almost-bear hug. My mother reciprocated with an awkward pat in the back. I held back a giggle as I saw my mom struggling with the overflowing excitement of the kind lady. A middle aged man, whom I assumed was her husband and papa's friend, took a less dramatic approach, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and taking him in. I mutely followed behind.

My eyes first landed at the magnificent crystalline chandelier hanging above. I had always loved chandeliers. They have a certain charm to them that add on to the royalty of a house. It was a two-storey house. Spacious. As we turned a corner to what I supposed was the living room, my eyes landed on the staircase, and the figure descending them. Dressed in a blue and black striped shirt and black trousers, with full-rimmed square glasses seated top his nose, Dhruv Jain had a lot of panache. Or I thought he was Dhruv.

"Arre Dhruv...come here," my father's friend called for the figure who was now standing at the base of the staircase, just a couple of feet away from me. I realized I was still staring at him, when his eyes met mine. I quickly averted my eyes to the elders sitting in front of me, trying to maintain a stoically poker face.

"Beta, come sit na," the overly-warm lady gestured towards a chair beside her with a smile. I sat down beside her, ignoring my parents at all costs. I tuned out most of the conversation, my mind churning excuses to turn this one down.

"Aashi...Aashi?" My head whirled towards my right to see Mrs. Jain smiling down at me. "I was saying Dhruv should show you the garden and his room. You both will get bored between us oldies. Go Dhruv," she said, motioning to her son.

He smiled softly as he walked to my side. "Oldies and you all? That's a lie. Aunty here doesn't even look past 30. If I hadn't known she was Aashi's mother, I would've certainly mistaken her to be her sister!" I groaned inwardly. I didn't have to look towards my mother to know she was beaming ear to ear. Dhruv Jain had pushed the right buttons in concern to my mother. He had won her over. I closed my eyes and committed myself to a minute's silence in honor of my defeated alibi number one.

"Aashi?" A deep voice caught my attention and I jerked to look up.

"Okay" I said and took a deep breath. Can a person die from extra intake of oxygen? Do their lungs burst out like that? I wanted it to happen now. Dhruv was easy to look at. Because he had a handsome face with a comely vibe to it. Not very easily found. The only other one who had mastered that was my very own boyfriend. Cheers to that! I followed him from the living room to the back of the floor where they had a chic open kitchen, a medium wooden dining table adjacent to those full pane windows that overlooked a quaint, green hand-kept garden. It was beautiful.