The journey to An Indian Marriage

His struggle

Thanks to @jahnavie14 @sapna17_ for voting and commenting :)

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More than anything, to call my mom and inform her about going out with Viren, was going to be difficult. Not that she would stop me from going but with all the drama happening, I could not anticipate her reaction. I dialed her number and waited for her to respond." Hi mom" , I said trying to sound cheerful.

" Payal? Is everything alright?", her voice was filled with concern. I could imagine her expression with a frown on her face." Yeah. Yeah. Everything is alright.I actually wanted to inform you about something", I stopped to make sure she was listening.

The concern in her voice faded and the inquisitive one set in,as she asked, " Inform what?". " Hmm.Viren just called. He has two passes for a painting exhibition. He wanted me to come along.So I will be late in the evening", I finished before she could interrupt.

There was total silence for what felt like a long time to me. My mom could go on like that not uttering a word, but I did not have the time. "Mom?" I broke the silence." Yeah. Come back soon", she said and was about to slam the phone down when " Mom!Mom!", my high pitched voice made her get back on line.

" You don't want me to go?" I asked almost in a whisper. " No, in fact I am happy you are going. I have thought about what you said. May be we should just let this match go." , her voice sounded so serious, I gulped in fear.

She waited, expecting me to say something. Sensing the silence from my side, she continued " Your grandpa called up in the morning. He was talking about one of his friend's grandson for alliance. He knows him and his family really well. I was planning on talking to you about it in the evening. Since, Viren himself asked you to meet.Let us give him this one chance. If he is still not making an attempt about this alliance, we will drop it. You were right, we need to move on", her tone was flat.

I fell into my own trap. That was how I felt. I was the one who suggested her to move on. Now, she was ready to, but was I? Yes, he ignored me and not just once. To be frank, through out my life, I have never let anyone come too close to me in fear of getting hurt or insulted. Ignoring me is no less than that, yet I wanted to give him chance after chance. Why? I do not have an answer. May be she is right, this should be the last. I cannot let myself down by giving him more than he deserved. I decided I will forget about this whole thing after today, if he did not get the topic of this alliance.

I was dressed the most simple today and I did not bother to get ready. I had no interest to. I was talking to Mr.Subbu when my phone beeped and there was a message:

Hey I have reached. Will you come down?

" Payal, Am I holding you from something?You look distracted", Mr.Subbu said.I just smiled not knowing what to say. " Please go on. We will discuss this later", he suggested. I got out of his cabin and the first thing I did was to text Viren back that I would be there in five minutes.

" Hello there!Please hop in", he greeted bending down to look at my face from the driver's seat. He looked tired, there was a hint of dark circles under his eyes. His smile however was radiant as ever. " Thanks for inviting me",I said smiling back. " Oh! That's nothing. One of my friend had the passes and his girlfriend dropped the last moment. I remember you told me you liked his paintings, so I took the opportunity", he grinned.

We drove the remaining distance in silence. There was something different in his demeanor. He was continuously tapping on the steering and  kept fidgeting with his seat belt. A frown was stuck to his forehead and his breathe was heavy. He sighed a few times like he would say something but nothing was coming out. I had a hitch that he was nervous to talk about 'the' issue. If that was true , I had no intention to make it any easier for  him. I looked out of the window like I was oblivious to his struggle. For the first time I realized he was not the confident guy he projected himself to be. He looked cute struggling like that.