Once Upon A Mr. Goody Two Shoes

Chapter 27

I was lounging on the sofa, basking in my holiday laziness, when my parents got up and chose to attack me. On my birthday, we had gone to my father's friend's house for lunch. It wasn't been an innocent lunch, no, it was a diabolical setup for a marriage arrangement between me and his friend's son, Dhruv. Now, while I did agree he wasn't a conniving fiend of a man, the masochist type my parents were susceptible to bring, it all ended there. Now all I wished was to come up with a fool-proof plan to put an end to this so-called 'arrangement' without breaking my parents' condition.

'Get to know him. Well.'

That meant I couldn't stand up one day and tell them I'm not interested in him. No, I had to go places with him, talk to him, and then refuse. But that wasn't my concern right now. My concern right now were my parents sending me googly, keen eyes from the dining table, all ready to battle me out. I straightened on my couch, shaking my head to clear it muddled state. I had been shying away from this confrontation. Escaped to the office, came home relatively late and feigned tiredness, but today there was none of it. It was Good Friday, a holiday, and I was lounging in the living room supposedly stress free. It was the perfect time.

I took my phone and was about to get up from the settee, when my mom called.

"Aashi, beta, wait. We wanted to talk to you."

I closed my eyes in resignation. This was the time. I wasn't in the right state, not with the fight with Abeer last evening. But I couldn't possibly say that to them, could I?

"Hmm," I murmured faintly, not to come off too eager.

They both stood from the dining table and transferred to the sofa before me.

"So..."my mom started, seating herself comfortably in the cushioned chair. "How did you like the Jains? I must say, they're very good people, and great friends with your father."

I nodded carefully. "They're very nice people," I said generically. Generic answers are the only way out of this.

"The house is very nicely built too. All by himself, Arun made it. They first used to live in an apartment, but his hard work brought him here," It was my father who spoke this time. "I'm sure his boy takes after him," he nodded, assured.

I did not answer this time. "We did not see their gardens. How were they?" My mom asked after a pause. And stealthily, we move forward.

"Very well maintained. There were roses and bushes and a vegetable patch," I replied flatly.

"We should see them the next time we go there, right ?" My mother asked, glancing at my father. I didn't answer them yet again. Silence was golden at some places. I had learnt the hard way that they work wonders in many places with my parents.

My mother sighed, irritated. I smirked internally. Being underhanded and sneaky wasn't my mom's style. She was always direct. It unnerved her to ask me things like this. "Okay, did you like him?" She asked after a pause. "I didn't find any fault in him, personally. From a good family, belonging to our caste, hard working, well-mannered, what's more to ask for these days? What do you say?" She faced my father.

"I think it's a very nice proposal." He said loudly. "But it's up to her, right? She has to look for her own. What you say matters. Our time has gone by. Things don't work the way they worked at our times. So you say, or else after some years they'll say we forced them into this," my father shook his head and looked at me.

I pursed my lips, taking it all in. I heaved a long sigh before stuttering, "I mean...it had just been an hour. How can I say that I like him or not? Most of the time all we talked about was the garden," I said quietly. "Besides, papa himself said I should meet him first and get to know him, right?" I added hurriedly, not wanting to hear another underhanded taunt.