"Someone's here," Vivaan said.
I pulled myself out of my thoughts and looked up. Sure enough, an unfamiliar car was parked in the driveway. We had guests.
"I think it's my uncle," Vivaan added, frowning at the car as he pulled up next to it.
"You have a lot of uncles," I muttered as I draped my sari over my head and tucked my hair back.
"This one's closer then the others. He's just a year older then my father." Vivaan mouth was turned down grimly. "I don't have very fond memories of him. This guy criticizes everything."
"Don't they all?"
Vivaan checked himself in the rearview mirror and flattened down his hair. He unfolded the sleeves of his shirt, covered up his tattoos, and took out his piercings. In a matter of seconds, he'd turned into the boring looking guy I remember from our first meeting.
We both got out of the car and went to the door. I hoped Farhan was still in his room, and not in the lounge somewhere where he could watch our façade.
"Smile," Vivaan said. "Stop thinking about him."
I took a deep breath and lifted my chin. We both stepped inside together, my arm linked through his, smiling and leaning towards each other as if the world around us didn't matter. Darshan and Jayanti were sitting in the lounge once more, and called us towards them when we entered.
"Aditi, this is Kunj, your uncle," Jayanti said.
Sitting across from them was a pot-bellied man with dark, fat lips and yellow teeth. I immediately recoiled, then quickly forced a smile. Kunj gazed as me with dark eyes, unsmiling.
"Namaste," I murmured, joining my hands together in front of me.
When the rude fucker still didn't move, I looked at Jayanti. She nudge me forward and whispered, "Seek his blessing, Aditi."
Aware of everyone's eyes on me, I went to Kunj and knelt to touch his feet. When he didn't do anything, I met his eyes meaningfully. I gave him a look that said are you really going to be like this? Kunj narrowed his eyes and hastily reached out to give me his blessing.
"So..." he leaned back and continued studying me. "You were born and raised in America."
What that a question or a statement? I plastered a smile and went to sit down next to Vivaan. "Yes, Taauuji."
"I'm sure living there you were raised with different rules. It must be hard, coming here and adjusting to a more proper way of society. I lived in America for a while myself."
Vivaan shifted uncomfortably next to me. Kunj kept his eye fixed on me, not even sparing his nephew a glance.
It took me a moment to answer. "If there's one thing I've learned since coming here, it's that no matter what country it is or how much the world changes over time- the man never changes." A certain hush fell over the room. I felt Darshan gaze swivel to me. I never looked away from Kunj. I grinned at him. "So no. It wasn't too hard adjusting to a... different society. My parents, particularly my father, made sure I knew what was expected of me." I got to my feet. "Would you like some tea?"
After that, Kunj spent most of his time talking to Darshan while the rest of us sat there quietly. I could feel Vivaan's restlessness rubbing off of me. He was anxious, and I knew it was because Kunj hadn't said a word to him.
When a break fell between the two brothers, I took my chance to speak up. "Would you like some more tea, Taauuji?"
Kunj looked at me with distaste. "No, thank you."
YOU ARE READING
The Arrangement
General Fiction"That's Vivaan Trivedi. His parents are good friends of ours. Aditi," my mom's face was open with regret as she spoke, "we're going to arrange your marriage with him." Aditi Sharma has spent most of her life doing what her parents wanted. She tries...
