All Strings Attached

Chapter Three

Dhushyanth

"Dhushyanth?" my mother calls for my attention as soon as I step into the house. I look at the watch on my wrist to check the time and note that she's home earlier than usual.

"I will call you back in a bit," I let the MLA know, before I hang up and respond to my mother, "yes, Ma?"

"You're home," she voices, clapping her hands in excitement; quite a rare sight of Mrs Sarika Reddy.

"You seem very excited," I acknowledge, slipping out of my shoes and into my home slippers. "Why is that?"

"Are you free now?" She asks, the slightest bit of impishness visible on her face.

"Depends on what you want," I answer truthfully, "there's a couple things I need to do, a bunch of documents I need to review for the company before I catch up with some friends."

"So you're free," she pretends to have heard me.

A maid brings a glass of coconut water in a tray, while I reiterate to my mother, "I just told you I have things to do." I pick up the glass, with a tiny nod of acknowledgement and walk towards the living room with my mother in tow.

"There's a very important event tonight," my mother continues, "Your father and I cannot attend, we're going to the farmhouse for the weekend. Can you go with Dhruv?"

"If Dhruv's already going why do you need me to go as well?" I groan. "I haven't had any time to spare in so long!"

"Because they're important people, if your father could attend, I wouldn't ask either of you to take his stead," my mother explains. If the Math hasn't been clear, she means, it takes both Dhruv, and I, to fill our father's shoes.

"I'm not going to stay long," I warn her, "I will leave without Dhruv if he wants to stay, he can walk home or whatever- I don't care."

"I am literally sitting right here," Dhruv calls out, annoyed, giving me the response I had expected and desired.

"Why do you think I said it?" I retort, setting the finished glass of coconut juice on the dining table and walking towards the living room to see my younger brother. "Are your friends coming to the party?" I ask him.

"I think so," Dhruv shrugs, noncommittally.

"Even Sam?" I tease, causing him to make literal use of the throw pillow. However, I catch the pillow with ease and hold it to my chest, looking on at him expectantly for a response.

"Even Deepthi," Dhruv replies, tauntingly.

"Is she not taken?" I wonder out loud. Why does everyone keep bringing her up even though she's taken?

"I don't think she is," he answers, "last I heard, Kaushik is single, and Deepthi hasn't found anyone else, so I think she's single as well."

"But I'm not interested in Deepthi," I argue, "are there any other girls at the party?"

Dhruv's eyes lighten up as he looks at me, "Nitya told Dhriti's sister she's going to be there with her sister."

Oh, no.

I try to take a discreet deep breath to calm myself down and appear nonchalant to my younger brother. "I thought your argument was that Sam is younger than me," I say, resisting the urge to tap my foot or pop my knuckles.

"And has a boyfriend," Dhruv adds, pointedly. "That she loves very much."

"Good for her," I acknowledge, realising the Sam joke's getting too old. "Do you have no single friends?"