Shape of the Sun

When the Chatterjees met the Reddys

Motherhood was very hard and Vaishali Chatterjee could attest to that.

There were so many times while raising her two daughters years more than 10 years apart, that all she wanted was to pack her bags and jet out into the sunset. And literally. It seemed more front-page worthy to die in an attempt to enter space than from her domestic duties. Who'd ever bother to read 'Mother of two dies from too many school runs'? For all she knew, that would be at best in some satire skit like SNL. Not that she watched SNL when Gunjan wasn't in the room. No one could prove anything. Period.

Today, Vaishali wanted to praise her eldest daughter to the skies. The more she looked at the mansion's luxurious exterior with carved hardwood-paneled doors to boot, the more pleased she was at her daughter and at herself. It was only such an excellent mother like her that could teach a girl how to meet the right person. In this house, Manmeet and her baby would only receive the best. She was really happy with and for her.

But while their eldest was making her proud, the youngest was doing just the opposite. Vaishali felt very irritated upon seeing Gunjan who was standing beside her, glued to her phone screen. After being unreachable for weeks, the best she could do when they were here to meet her sister's future family was to keep pressing that phone? And she wasn't the only one feeling unpleasant. Tarun felt the exact same way, especially when he could tell that she was talking to a boy. He was still that sensitive.

"Gunjan," he scolded, "could you put that phone away this instant?"

At his words, Gunjan slipped the phone into her jeans pocket despite looking very upset, a frown on her face.

"It's your fault for dragging me off to a flight I wasn't ready for instead of being with my friends."

As she didn't lower her voice, her parents heard what she said and needless to say, they were stunned. Even though Gunjan was wild compared to her elder sister, she had never been rude to them. Right there, Vaishali wanted to knock some sense into her and was about to move when her husband held her by the arm, stopping her.

Tarun pointed at the door and mouthed the words 'they are opening the door.' And he was right. They could clearly hear the sounds of bolts and knobs from behind. Vaishali willed herself to calm down before sending Gunjan a warning gaze. She'd better not cause any trouble for Manmeet. Gunjan faltered and looked away but she still conceded to her mother's non-verbal reprimand.

The door was opened by a man that looked about twenty-something, followed by a much more older man with graying hair, but that could not erode the excitement in his eyes or the exuberant vibes that he gave. While Tarun and Vaishali didn't know who the first man was, they knew who he was, he was always in the papers. Bhairav Singh Reddy. Or Manmeet's future father-in-law, in other words.

It seemed that Bhairav also felt the same way because he happily welcomed them, addressing them rather familiarly.

"Brother Tarun, Sister Vaishali, please come in! You are welcome to our home!"

"Thank you."

They greeted him back and he took turns to hug them before turning back to the man that had opened the door.

"Ritesh, go and call Choti and Nirali. Quick! Tell them that Manmeet's parents are here!"

"Okay, sir."

He was about to leave when Gunjan stopped him.

"Excuse me. Could you show me where the restroom is?"

"Yes. Please follow me."

Vaishali wanted to curse watching them walk farther away. Gunjan had all the time to use the restroom when they were in Manmeet's apartment or at the gas station on the way here. This girl! Tarun signaled her with his eyes to rest easy. But unlike them, Bhairav felt very glad at this moment, so much so that he couldn't help laughing to Tarun and Vaishali while rubbing his palms together.