Learning to Love

Chapter 3

Aman groggily exited the airplane once it landed in Mumbai.  The flight from New York to India lasted almost twenty hours.  He gathered his luggage and made his way outside.  There, he met one of his father’s employees.  Aman sat in the air conditioned car as the driver placed his luggage in the trunk.  He fought the urge to fall asleep right there in the car.   He knew he had to meet his father first otherwise he wouldn’t be able to sleep in peace.  He felt the car jolt forward.  About half an hour later, he arrived at his father’s house.  Aman exited the car and slowly walked up the sidewalk.  He didn’t even bother knocking on the door. He knew the security guard had seen him on the security cameras and left the door unlocked for him. 

            “Dad!” called Aman.  He cautiously walked through the large corridor.  He knew he should try his father’s office first.  Aman approached a large door near the back of the mansion.  He lifted his hand to knock on the door, but paused.  He took a deep breath before tapping on the door. 

            “Come in,” he heard his father’s voice reply. 

            Aman opened the door and walked inside.  He saw his father immersed in some documents.  He held is hand out with his index finger lifted indicating to wait for a minute while he finished reading over the document. Aman stayed quiet and waited as his father finished with his task. 

            “Okay.” Harshvardhan Verma looked up. His face beamed with excitement as he saw his son standing before him.

            “Dad,” Aman said tiredly.

            “Aman! My son!” his father stood and walked up to Aman. He gave a huge bear hug. Aman was surprised but hugged his father back anyways. 

            “Why am I here?” Aman was too tired to niceties. He just wanted to sleep. 

            “ I have some important news to discuss with you.” Replied his father.

            “Now?” whined Aman like a child.  “Can’t it wait ‘til later?”

            “I have arranged your marriage with the daughter of a good friend of mine.  You will meet her tomorrow night.” Harshvardhan Verma said nonchalantly as if he were simply talking about the weather instead of Aman’s life.

            “That’s great…Wait! What?” The words hit Aman hard.  He was in shock for a while, unable to wrap his mind around what his father just said. 

            “I have arranged you marr-”

            “No! I heard you!” interrupted Aman. “What the hell were you thinking? I am NOT getting married!” screamed Aman. 

            “Yes you are!” his father began to raise his voice. 

            Aman and his father usually shared a cordial relationship.  He was an obedient son for the most part. He dutifully took over his father’s businesses and started quite a few of his own.  In exchange, Aman was given the utmost freedom in both his business life and his personal life.  His father had never intervened until now.

            “I can’t.” Aman said hopelessly. He didn’t want to disobey his father, but he knew he wasn’t marriage material. 

            “And why not?” his father replied sternly.

            Aman hesitated. He knew his father wouldn’t understand. He knew that his father was unaware of his Casanova lifestyle. 

            “She’s a great girl. She is the daughter of a good friend of mine.  You will make her happy. She will be an appropriate wife for you.” His father explained.