Trivial matters

Chapter - 14

Instead of always holing up in my room, for a change I thought of sitting in the family room. That explains why I am watching a cricket replay match this afternoon.

"What are you doing here?"

Lifting my head from its resting position on the back of the couch, I smile sweetly at Dhruv. "You know, I live here"

"Since when?"

"Since before you were even born, dumbass"

Sitting besides me, he too leans back and relaxes. "Dumbass!? Say that after seeing my bank balance"

"As if there is something to see," Scoffing, I divert my attention back to the match.

"You don't know, do you?" He sits straight and stares at my side profile.

"Know what?" I throw out the words already losing interest in this mysterious conversation.

"See closely, have you noticed something?"

Twisting my mouth, I narrow my eyes at the screen. "They need a wicket badly. That's all I have noticed"

Dhruv stands up to walk away and I catch his wrist to stop. Immediately jerking my hand away, he turns around. Stunned, I let my hand drop.

"You see that tv, the one in which you were watching that damned cricket match? Yeah, I bought it with my own money. My own money earned by investing in stock market"

His revelation shocks me and for the first time, I notice the big tv hanging on our wall.

"I thought you would ask someone or the other about it. Even after your return, I asked you numerous times if you want to watch a movie with me in hopes of you finding out that I brought it. But you never did" 

A couch pillow hits my face and Dhruv leaves me with my thoughts.

Switching off the tv, I stare at the blank screen and replay my session with my shrink, Mrs.Sharma.

__________

"Let's talk about your family today" Mrs.Sharma's calm and calculative voice always makes me nervous. She seems so professional and unlike other shrinks who do everything to make their client comfortable, Mrs.Sharma does the opposite. With her no bullshit attitude and straight honest ways, she seeds trust in your minds.

On my first day itself I told her about my situation with my Mom. Believe me when I say this, I have never been that open with anyone I have just met.

"I already did"

"Hmm, you did. Now tell me what is a family to you?" She readies her pen with an open notepad and I can tell this is a test to me.

"Family is umm," I pause there. Hammering my head for an answer does nothing.

"Umm, I love them. I guess, togetherness is what a family is" 

Finally a relevant word flies over my head, I nod my head to assure myself that I did great.

"How close are you with them?" She writes something on her notepad without breaking eye-contact with me. She says it's a crucial part in self-development.

"I-I don't know, like how can I compare? How would I know if I am close or closer or closest to them without any standard?"

"Give me a number at least"

This is harder than I thought. "Maybe around 45%"

Noting down again, she places her pen beside her notepad and joins her hands together. "Who do you share everything with?"