Poles Apart

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Comparatively long chapter ahead, guys! Well, not as long as the first few but still longer than the previous one. I hope you enjoy the read! 

"You look beautiful, Arvi," Gayatri Athayya greets cheerfully.

I try to smile at her, politely. "Thanks, Athayya."

She beams at me and drags me away from the rest of them, wanting to introduce me to her friends. "Has he been giving you a tough time?" she asks as we walk to a group of ladies.

"Huh?" I look at her, perplexed. I had my suspicions that Arjun was a mummy's boy, but I didn't think he'd talk to her about something like this.

"You have been fighting, haven't you?" she asks, a knowing smile on her face.

Fighting would require some sort of interaction. I shake my head quickly. "No, Athayya." I fiddle with the ring on my finger, feeling it against my skin calms me down considerably.

She rolls her eyes sassily, for some reason, her reaction surprises me. "Arvi, darling, I know you and I know my idiot son. He's all parts his dad," she says and shrugs as if accepting something unsaid. "And one part me."

Where is this going?

"He's an idiot," she tells me. "He gets angry unnecessarily, just like his father. And when he gets angry, he doesn't think. At all. He says hurtful, unkind things."

"No," I deny quickly. "He didn't say anything to me."

She turns to me with an amused smile. "He didn't?"

I shake my head silently, "he didn't." He just won't talk to me.

A thoughtful look crosses her face and she smiles at me. "You'll get through it, don't worry," she tells me.

That's it? No 'why did you fight?', 'communication is the key', 'talk to him'? None of it?

Perhaps she sees the question mark on my face, she pats my cheek with a smile. "You'll learn."

At this very moment, I felt like giving this woman a big hug but I stopped myself, aware of the looks we were already getting. It's a crime for two females to talk to each other now?

I walk along with my Athayya. The woman isn't as intimidating as the word itself. Athayya. Why is that word as intimidating as it is? Or is it just me?

"This is Varun's mother, Mrs Nayak," Gayatri Athayya introduces me to a petit woman.

Varun's mother rolls her eyes at the introduction, causing my mother-in-law-to-be to laugh. Must be an inside joke. "You can call me Priya Aunty, dear," she tells me with a full-blown grin.

I nod nervously. Mrs Nayak, Priya Aunty, definitely seems like someone I should be wary of.

"Gayatri, beautiful daughter-in-law you've got," she commends and receives nods of agreement from the women surrounding her. "Your son can't seem to keep his eyes away."

The ladies all turn to look where Priya Aunty's gaze is directed. I dare sneak a glance to see Arjun awkwardly smiling at them, holding his hand up in a wave. My heart nearly melts into a puddle at the sight.

In his white kurta, he looks dashing as ever, if not more. I look away when someone clears their throat. Priya Aunty has a teasing smile on her face. "It's okay, go on, look at him. Entha chuskunna ippudenamma, pelli ayina tharuvatha, manalni chudamanna chudaru," she says. [(Telugu) It's only now that they look at you like that. After the wedding they won't look your away even if you ask them to.]

I knew I should've been on guard with her. My face flushes with warmth, causing the ladies to fall into fits of laughter. Can I go wallow in my embarrassment now?