ღ Love Games [The Game Begins] ღ ✓

❣ 18. In Close Proximity ❣

Kriya woke up to the sound of opening and closing of drawers. She saw Swayam looking for something. "What do you need?" She asked getting out of bed.

"I - I can't find my blue tie."

"That's because it's in the dryer." She told him and walked over to the laundry room to get it for him. Walking back to him, she stood in front of him to tie the tie for him. "There you go." She fixed his collar when he was done.

Then she looked at the time. "Are you getting late?"

"No, why?"

"Can you wait? I want to come too. Just give me ten minutes?"

He nodded and left for the study to get the files he needed. She quickly changed and met him downstairs.

"Why did you want to come?" He asked in the car.

She gave him a sheepish smile. "Like I said tomorrow. Keep busy." He chuckled at her logic. Now who was to explain to her that hunger just comes to you? Keeping busy isn't going to make one not think of food if one is hungry.

××××××××××××

Rey entered his mother's house after almost three months. Closing the door behind him, he called out to her. "Mom? Are you home?" He knew she would be. She didn't go to work, but he still asked thinking she might have gone out to have lunch with her friends given it was the weekend. 

"In here!"

He followed the voice to her room, and raised his eyes at her after seeing what she was wearing. 

"How do I look?" His mother asked. 

He felt the need to scoff, "Mom, what's wrong with you? Why are you wearing that thing?"

"Rey, it's called sari, not 'that thing'." She scolded him. "And because today is karwa chaut!"

He gaped at her for using words he didn't understand. "What now?"

His mother, disappointed in him, sighed. She never could get him to connect to his father's side of culture. He ran from all things Indian, and yet, he had fell two two girls - and both of them were Indian. "Oh, never mind. What brings you here?"

"I was thinking we could have lunch? I haven't seen you in months."

She chastised him, "And who's fault is that, mister?"

He rolled his eyes, "Whatever. I was busy with college and life... So? What do you say?"

She didn't like saying it, but she had to. "I'm sorry Rey. Today's not a good day. I'm fasting."

It dawned on him, the word she had used earlier. "Oh. Today's that day." His tone was filled of vile and venom towards his father. He couldn't  understand how she could still keep that fast for him when he moved on in his life and remarried without once thinking about her. "I don't get why you even bother. You're not even Indian."

"Quit that, Rey." She scolded him. Yeah, she was hurt, but she didn't want her son hating on his own father. However he was, he was still his father. Rey simply shrugged his shoulders, not worrying about what his mother said. He was beyond caring for his father. "But hey, what are you doing tonight? If you're free, you can come with me."

Rey asked warily, "Where?"

"Well, I don't really know her but my friends do. This nice Indian lady is keeping a gathering because of the festival and we're all going over to her house."

Rey laughed, "Please mom, keep me away from old Indian aunties. You know they irritate me with their so called ideologies."

She tried to convince him with what she knew would work, "There'll be tons of beautiful girls your age."