My Partner in Crime

Blunder of Life

Disha quickly wrapped up her work and took some for home as tomorrow was Saturday so she thought to finish some at home tomorrow. She went out of her office and was in a hurry to reach the bus stop to catch the bus to her home when she ran into Mukul.

“Hey, Are you in a hurry?” Mukul asked watching her leaving the office and looking at her watch.

“Yes, I have 5 minutes to catch the bus,” Disha replied.

“Oh I never understood, even though you have your own car, why do you take the pain of traveling by bus?” Mukul asked her.

“Mukul, I have told you so many times, you have to travel once to know the experience. When I see different people from different walks of life traveling on the bus and hear their discussions and problems and see how they still remain positive and lively all along, it gives me new strength every day.” Disha explained and looked at her watch again.

‘I am going to miss this bus. The next bus is after an hour. God, I will be late, Mom will kill me with her eyes only’ she thought.

“Looks like you won't be able to catch the bus. I can drop you home if that is okay with you.” Mukul offered.

“Ummm... okay. But you have to come inside this time. Last 2 times you left from outside and Mom lectured me.” Disha replied.

Mukul nodded with a smile and they both left the building together.

After about 15 minutes they reached the driveway to Disha’s home. Mukul parked there and they both got down the car. Disha was about to knock the door when the door opened, her mom was standing in front of her smiling.

Dish’s Mom: “I am so glad you came early as I asked. I love you beta. Oh, Mukul, you are here too, please come in.”

Mukul: “Thanks, Aunty. How are you? Disha missed her bus so I came to drop her. I will be leaving quickly as I have to get somewhere.”

Disha’s Mom: “ Thanks Beta for dropping her home. We are expecting some guests and that's why I asked her to come home early today.”

Mukul: “No problem aunty. Disha is like a friend to me, it doesn’t bother me to help her. Since you are expecting guests and I also have a commitment for the evening, I will take your leave, Aunty.”

Disha’s Mom: “Okay Beta but please do come again another time so we can sit and chat together.”

Disha’s Mom was a woman who believed in treating her kids like friends but never failed to show authority as a mother when she felt the need. Disha and Nikhil loved their mom for being friendly and feared her when she turned into the dominating mother. None of them including their father can dare to not follow her orders when she acted as a mother.

That was one of the reasons Disha came home on time since her mother ordered her to. Disha went to her room to freshen up and change into more casual clothes since they were not going out. As she entered her room, she opened her wardrobe to find a pair of casual clothes for herself when her mother entered her room.

Her mother had a sky blue Patiala Salwar suit with a matching dupatta in her hands. She handed it to Disha, asked her to wear it for the evening and left the room. Disha couldn’t understand why she has to wear a traditional dress for a casual dinner at home. But she didn’t dare to ask as today was one of the days when her mother completely turned her Mother mode on and turned off the friend mode.

After 10 minutes Disha came out of the bathroom changing into the salwar suit her mom gave her. She stood in front of the mirror of the dressing table and combed her hair when she heard the doorbell rang. Disha sighed as she knew it would be Shourya and his parents, soon she heard loud voices coming from downstairs and a smile appeared on her face as she recognized the voices and felt proud that her guess was right.

She combed her hair and when she was putting the hairbrush back on the table she saw a pair of earrings on the dressing table along with a sticker bindi packet. She guessed it was her mom who kept them there for her to wear. Disha felt suspicious of why her mom was acting weird today and asked her to wear a traditional dress and even kept jewelry for her.

She shook her head without thinking too much and wore the earrings quickly but didn’t put on the bindi as she felt its too girly. Disha was always a tough girl who could easily beat boys and she never liked to look too girly. She was a simple girl who rarely wore heels, bangles, too much makeup, etc. And she hated pink color which is said to be the girl’s favorite color.

As Disha walked downstairs towards the living room, she heard the voices from the dining room. As she entered the dining room suddenly everyone quieted and looked at her in surprise. Disha felt awkward and cursed her mother in her thoughts for making her look like a clown and she saw Shourya staring at her. She knew he must be thinking of some new prank to irritate her and laugh at her so she turned her gaze to his parents and greeted them.

Disha: “Hello Uncle Hello Aunty. How are you both?”

Shourya’s Dad: “Hello Dear. We are fine.”

Shourya’s Mom: “Disha you are looking beautiful, dear. Come here and hug your aunt.”

Disha went closer to her and hugged her.

Disha’s Dad: “Kids please sit down as we want to tell you something that we as parents decided. I am sure you guys will like our thoughts too.”

Disha looked at her parents suspiciously but still sat down close to Nikhil. Shourya sat on the other side of Nikhil. Nikhil and Shourya looked at each other with a questioning look and shrugged their shoulders showing they know nothing about what their parents want to talk about.

Shourya’s Mom: “Shourya dear now that you are helping your dad and uncle in their business and we feel soon you will be ready to take the responsibility of the business solely on your shoulders, we want you to get married and settle down before you take such a huge responsibility.”

Shourya: “But Mom I”

Shourya’s Dad: “Let your mom finish first Young Man. She still has something to tell you.”

Shourya’s Mom looked at his dad and smiled. She then looked at Shourya and continued.

“Shourya we know you think you are not ready yet but we feel its the right time for you. And we also know you never had a girlfriend so we found a perfect match for you.”

Shourya: “You what?”

Shourya’ Dad: “Yes Young Man you heard her right. We found the perfect partner for you and you know her too.”

Shourya: “Who? That stupid daughter of Verma Uncle? What's her name?”

Nikhil: “Lina”

Shourya: “Thanks, buddy. Are you guys talking about that stupid Lina? Sorry Mom and Dad but I am not at all marrying her. She is dumb and talks nonsense.”

Shourya’s parents only smiled at him. Shourya didn’t understand why his parents were not answering, just when he was about to ask them he heard Disha’s Mom talking.

Disha’s Mom: “Disha we too found a groom for you. We know you want to get one more promotion before you get married but Beta we are getting old and I want to dance at your wedding sooner than later. I hope you will agree with our decision.”

Disha: “Mom we can talk about this later and I promise I will do as you say but let's not spoil the dinner. I am starving.” She tried to change the topic and bring the tensed atmosphere down to normal.

Disha’s Dad: “Of course we can discuss it later but we wanted to tell you when you both are present here.”

Disha didn’t understand initially then suddenly she realized who his dad was talking about and why both sets of parents were talking about their kid's marriages and why her mom asked her to dress up.

She looked at Shourya only to find him looking at her direction.  They both shouted together.

“No Way”

They looked at their parents who were smiling at them. Their mothers were winking at them.

Disha’s Dad: “Yes you guessed it right. We chose Shourya for you Disha. Since you both know each other from childhood we thought it's best for you both to get into a relationship and help us strengthening our more than two-decades-long friendship.”

Shourya’s Dad: “So son tell us how do you like our decision? If you two want to talk to each other in private before replying to us, that’s fine go for a drive. It's anyways early to have dinner. But yes don’t forget to get a snack from a take out for Disha as she is hungry.”

Shourya and Disha were shocked to hear what their parents just told them. They looked at each other trying to figure out what to do to escape this situation when suddenly they heard Nikhil laughing.

Nikhil: “Hahahha Mom Dad Uncle Aunty, what on earth gave you this deadly idea? They used to be good friends but that’s history. They hate each other now, always teasing each other, commenting on each other and playing pranks on each other.”

Disha’s Mom: “Well nobody teases or plays pranks with enemies or strangers but friends. And anyway it's healthy to tease and play pranks on each other even for a couple. We think you both will make a good couple and lead a happy life.”

Shourya’s Mom: “We understand it’s not something you both thought about and it's sudden, but trust us we know our kids better than themselves and always want best for them. Shourya I trust you will make a wise decision and support our decision just like Disha supported her parent's decision just now without even knowing who the guy was that her parents selected for her.”

That was when the reality hit Disha that she just committed a blunder, now she couldn't go back on her words. Now her only hope was Shourya to escape from this marriage, she hoped that he being his adamant self rejects her.