The Boxes We Are Put In

Chapter 13

"Hm... Amma wants you to come home for my birthday." Nikhil told me one day at lunch. We were in the canteen. I looked up at him, stunned. "Chill, Adwaith and all are also coming." He added.

"Why?" I asked him.

"She likes to be involved in my life," He said. "It's fine, right? You have already met her."

"Yeah. But that was different." I said, totally nervous. I did not know I will end up dating her son back then. Nikhil's mom is cool; I liked her the time I met her. But it is different when it is your boyfriend's mother. And she is a bit too 'friendly'.

"Come on..." Nikhil insisted. "It's my birthday. I want you there." He set his head on the table. "It's a Sunday. You will not get to see me on my birthday otherwise. And amma wants you to come. She invited you. She will be happy if you attend."

I started considering it. It will be a bit impolite to refuse if his mother invited me. "Okay," I said. And there was such big happiness on Nikhil's face.

When I reached home, I wondered what I will wear. I do not have anything nice. I need to buy new clothes. If I am frequently going out with him, I need clothes. So I walked out thinking of asking amma if I can have some money. And I saw that Sharath Chettan has come and the three, he and Amma and Achan were at the desktop computer. Sharath Chettan is my father's elder sister's son. Preeti's brother. Being my paternal aunt's son made Sharath, technically my marriageable cousin - my muracherukkan. But thankfully my family is not into that barbaric custom.

"Oh, good." Achan said, "Arya...come have a look at this."

I walked to the computer. A chill went down my spine. They were making my matrimonial site page. Without even asking me! "How is this photo?" Amma asked me. They had uploaded a photo I took at Preeti's wedding. "I told auntie this is the best photo," Sharath Chettan said. "But she is not smiling in it," Amma complained.

"This is way better than the ones where she is forced to smile. She looks scary when she is forcing a smile." He said, typing in my biodata, not even looking up from the screen. "How tall will you be? 150 cm?" 161 cm. But that is not important.

"Why are you guys doing this without asking me?" I asked, cold.

They all looked at me. "Oh... Well, Sharath was here, and he suggested making a page on the matrimonial site." Amma said, looking a bit guilty.

"Yeah, I volunteered to help." He said, "How will maaman and ammayi do this all alone? You know now, so come have a look. You need to fill these hobbies and stuff on your own."

I just looked at all three of them. "Don't do this," I said. "You can do this after college is over. And what about the guy Malini aunty suggested?"

"They will come. But we can't just keep that as the only option. And honestly, I didn't even trust that woman's taste." Achan said. "I don't want to get involved with that family more than needed." He looked back at the screen.

"I don't want to get married," I said in a low voice.

Sharath Chettan laughed. As if, that is the best joke he heard in a while. I always hated him to the point that I felt that I could not hate him more. But this just made me hate him a tiny bit more. The guy is obnoxious and acts over-smart. Even if he is only two years older than us... Me, I mean. Two years older than me.

"What do you mean you won't get married?" He turned to me. "Miss, you don't have the luxury to wait around till 27 - 28. Or you can.... But you will end up not getting any good families. Do you want to end up being a spinster?"