Marriage for Two

01: Sleepless In Seattle

Nandini Malhotra would happily devote her life to her sons as she had already done so thus far.

Her sons were her most prized possessions, a piece of her heart.

Which is why when her youngest son showed her his report card, she was not happy.

She sat staring at him, the boy was barely passing.

"Ayan" she addresses, the boy flinching under her words.

She sighs.

"Beta, what is this?" she asks, pointing to a subject on the report, "You've always been good at maths."

The boy fidgets in his seat, pushing back his thick black hair as he finally meets his mother's eyes.

His bottom lip quivers as it sticks out, Nandini waits for him to say something.

"Ma" the enthusiastic voice cuts through the tense atmosphere, reluctant to leave Ayan's eyes, Nandini turns around to look at the person the baritone voice belonged to, her first son, Raj.

"Raj" she breathes out, a smile already replacing her grim expression.

Raj engulfs her in a warm hug, scanning the room, he places a kiss on his mother's cheek, "What's he done now?"

Nandini sighs as she tries to stop a smile from spreading over her lips.

"He is almost failing school" she states, shaking her head at Ayan as she winks at Raj.

Raj plays along, "My, my, Ayan's no longer a straight A student?"

Ayan hangs his head down further.

Raj laughs as he walks over to Ayan, tousling up the boy's thick hair with his hand.

"Ay Chutku, what am I hearing from ma?" Raj asks, trying to keep his voice as even as possible.

Ayan sinks further in his chair.

Raj sighs as the boy lets out a little whimper, "Hey hey, we're just joking, come on, tell us what's happening."

Raj takes a seat in front of his little brother, staring at him encouragingly.

"You're not here to study with me anymore" Ayan's voice is quiet as he finally speaks up.

Both Nandini and Raj share a knowing look.

Raj is stunned, Nandini moves towards the 12 year old, "Hey, Bhayiya has to work na?"

"But I like studying with him, I can't focus otherwise" Ayan's voice is shaking as he continues.

Raj pulls him in for a hug, "Hey hey, it's okay, we'll work something out okay?"

Ayan finally smiles, happy to be with his brother again.

His face lights up as he asks Raj about his day.

Nandini looks at her sons in worry, no brotherly love could ease her nerves, she couldn't simply disregard the report card.

— — — — — —

Raj lays wide awake in his bed as Sleepless in Seattle plays in the background.

He turns to his side again, his mind clouded as he stares out his balcony into the starry night.

The full moon does little to calm his nerves, Ayan's words play in his mind over and over again.

Was he the cause of his little brother's rapidly falling academic success?

He turned on his back again, staring at his ceiling.

No.

He wouldn't let that happen, he vowed to do something about it as he fell into a restless slumber.

— — — — — —

Nandini is placing some freshly cut peonies in the vase on top of the coffee table when Raj walks into the lounge.

He greets his mother with a sneeze. And then another.

"Good to know my hayfever is still here" he shakes his head as he walks over to his mother, standing a good metre or two away from the blasted flowers.

"Ah I'll have them moved" Nandini tells him as she gestures to a passing houshelper to place the vase somewhere else.

"It's okay really-" Raj tries to tell her, only to end up sneezing again. Maybe it was better to have the vase placed somewhere else.

Nandini takes a seat on the armchair, gesturing for Raj to follow suit as she starts preparing tea.

Raj picks up one of the scones off the tray and bites into it, the smell of butter and freshly baked bread wafting in the air.

Nandini places the tea in front of him, mostly black, with a hint of milk and 1 spoon of sugar, just how he likes it.

She picks up a scone of her own, slicing it open as she spreads a layer of marmalade on top.

"You're up bright and early?" she asks, as her eyes finally meet Raj's.

"Or I haven't slept a bit" Raj groans, suddenly feeling rather fatigued.

"Something on your mind?" she asks, already suspecting his answer.

"I'm still very troubled by Ayan's report, all jokes aside, he has never performed that poorly" Raj's face is serious as he opens up to his mother, suddenly feeling very vulnerable.

Nandini looks at him gravely, "I know" she whispers as she looks out the window and at the large gardens outside, her face softens slightly, "But it isn't your fault beta, you have things to do, Ayan can't expect you to always be here."

Raj thought this over, did he really have things to do? He couldn't remember a weekend where he hadn't gone out partying or playing something stupid like beer pong in one of his friends' garage. This did little to ease his nerves.

He leans forward slightly, his scone and tea long forgotten on the table, his hands clasped together in front of him, elbows resting on his thighs. "Maybe we should look at tutoring?" his voice is more meeker than he expected it to be.

Nandini takes another sip of her tea, "I've already put an ad out."