Meant To Be Mine

Part 1 Mom’s Wish

RM/ RATNA Mansion

It was a middle-class mansion with three bedrooms. The head of the family, Arvind, a high school teacher, watched the news in the living room.

We could hear continuous noise from the kitchen, but nothing to worry about. Ratna was cooking. She didn’t know the meaning of patience. She would do anything faster. It was her feature. She would finish the work in half an hour; others usually take an hour. She was a superfast woman, even in her late forties.

She married Arvind twenty-nine years ago. It was a love marriage, a concept that was not widely accepted in their conservative society. Her family, bound by traditional values, didn’t accept her love, so she left the house and married Arvind. Though her in-laws accepted them, they didn’t treat her well. Ratna’s condition was like a cat on the wall, a common phrase in their culture to describe a difficult situation. In the process of coaxing their parents, Arvind didn’t support Ratna. So, she was left alone. She needed SOMEONE for herself to make her life reasonable. She got one… her son… Arnav…!

Arnav was everything to her, and vice versa. Arnav would not do anything her mother didn’t like. He would get her permission before doing anything only to make her happy. He knew her whole story. He was genuinely concerned about her. His deep understanding and empathy for his mother were evident in every action, never wanting to make her feel bad.

Arnav came to the living room to get coffee.

“Good morning, Dad.”

“Good morning, Chotte. Come on, sit here…”

“Wait, Dad… let me give me attendance to Mom…”

“Yeah, or else she will create a scene…”

Arnav walked to the kitchen, chuckling. He smiled at Ratna.

“Good morning, Mom.”

Arnav came to her.

“Good morning, Chotte…”

She handed him a coffee cup.

“Thank you, Mom.”

Taking two cups of coffee, Ratna walked to the living room with Arnav. She handed a cup to Arvind and sat beside him. Arnav sipped the coffee and took a seat opposite them.

“Dad, didn’t you get ready for school?”

“I’m on permission today.”

“Why, Dad?”

Before Arvind answered, Ratna did.

“His friend is coming from Lucknow to invite him to his daughter’s wedding.”

“To invite US,” Arvind corrected.

“Yeah, he is coming to invite us.”

“Yes, he wants all of us to attend his daughter’s wedding. That’s why he is coming from Lucknow to invite us in person.”

“That’s so nice, Dad. Nowadays, invitations are shared through WhatsApp only…”

“Sorry, my dear son…! You should not say it in common. It’s your generation of guys who were invited through WhatsApp. Our generation of guys has not forgotten respect yet, Chotte.”

“Dad, we are such cool guys, unlike your generation guys. Our day-to-day lives are so busy. We understand each other. So, it’s ok if our friends share invitations through WhatsApp.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah…”

“How many of your friends got married?”

“Four to five…”

“How many of them invited you in person?”

“No one”

“How many of you attended the first guy’s wedding?”

“Maybe, twenty to twenty-five.”

“How many of you attended the last wedding?”

“Five to six…” Arnav’s voice lowered.

“This is what I say. If you go to their house and invite your friends in person, your friends will not think of skipping your wedding. They would adjust their schedule to attend your wedding despite being busy because they respect you if you respect them.”

Arnav raised his hands and said,

“I surrendered…”

Arvind nodded his head proudly.

“Chotte, Vani’s birthday is next week. Will you come with me?” Ratna asked.

Arnav looked at Arvind and said,

“Of course, if my schedule is not busy, I will surely accompany you, Mom.”

“It’s on Sunday only, Chotte.”

“Of course, Mom. I’m expecting my shift may change this week.”

Ratna sighed.

“I thought you and Vani would meet on her birthday.”

Arnav was silent.

“Chotte, do you really like Vani?”

Ratna looked at Arnav, expecting his GOOD answer.

“Dad, she is Mom’s choice after all…” Arnav answered neutrally, making Ratna smile proudly.

Arvind felt bad for Arnav.

“Ratna, I understand your expectation that your daughter-in-law should be your choice. But, isn’t Chotte’s acceptance important?”

“Do you think he doesn’t like Vani?”

“I think he agreed to marry her only because you liked her.”

“It’s because he knows my choice is the best. Am I right, Chotte?”

Arnav raised his brows without answering.

“Chotte, answer me honestly, didn’t you ever like any girl?” Arvind asked.

Arnav smiled, and Ratna looked at him perplexed.

“No, Dad… I prepared my MIND to marry as per Mom’s choice; I didn’t intend to see any girl in such a way. So, I never liked anyone.”

“Love is not a matter of MIND but HEART, Chotte…”

“Why are you confusing him?” Ratna chided.

“Ratna, he is not a kid to get confused. He is very clear about what to do. He didn’t agree to marry Vani because he likes her. he agreed because he didn’t want to make this house a battlefield.”

Arnav laughed, and Ratna glared at Arvind.

“Mom, I will marry whoever you want. OK? There is nothing to discuss… I understand your expectations of me, and I will do my best to fulfil them.”

Arnav kept the cup and stood up.

“I’m going… convey my regards to your friend, Dad.”

“Sure…”

Arnav went to his room and took a shower. Getting ready for the office, he came out with his laptop bag. He was a computer engineer working in a famous Indian MNC company. He kicked the bike and left the place.

After a while,

Arvind welcomed his friend Shashi Gupta and his wife, Garima Gupta. They invited Arvind and his family by giving him sweets with the invitation, which showed how respectful they were.

“You all should attend our daughter’s wedding and bless her,” the Gupta couple invited them.

Ratna was about to say, ‘We will surely come’, but she stopped seeing the wedding date. It was Vani’s birthday.

“We will surely come,” Arvind said, looking at Ratna, expecting her to say the same, but she stayed silent, which disappointed Arvind.

Taking the invitation, Arvind read it.

“Wow, the groom is working in my son’s company”, he said, looking at Shashi.

“Is it?” Ratna asked.

“Yeah… Shyam Jha…”

“I heard this name. Chotte spoke about everyone working with him…” Ratna said.

“That’s so great…” Shashi said.

“We will expect you to come to Lucknow. You don’t have to worry about your staying. We will arrange rooms for you,” Garima said.

Ratna smiled awkwardly.

“We will be there before time, Garimaji,” Arvind said.

“Ok, we are leaving.”

“Nothing doing. Have lunch, and you can go…”

“No, Arvind. We will have to give invitations to two more people.”

“However, you will have lunch. Have it here,” Ratna said, satisfying Arvind.

Guptas had no choice but to have lunch with them.

“Don’t you visit Groom’s family?” Arvind asked.

“No, Arvind. We planned this trip only for friends and relatives.”

“That’s so sweet of you.”

Guptas took Raizadas leave. Arvind waited for them to leave.

“How respectfully did they come in person and invite us? Can’t you assure them your presence at the wedding?”

“I can’t assure them that. That’s why I was silent.”

“What do you mean? Are not you going to come to Lucknow?”

“I can’t…”

“But why?”

“They fixed the wedding on Vani’s birthday.”

Arvind rolled his eyes with disappointment.

“Ratna, they respect us. Respecting them in return is our concern.”

“What can I do? How could I disappoint my friend? When it comes to Vani, everything is secondary to me.”

“You can celebrate her birthday next year too… but the wedding would happen for only one time. Understand that,” Arvind sighed.

“I’m really sorry. I can’t come with you, leaving Vani behind.”

Arvind went to his room to get ready for the school.

……….

Arnav smiled at Shyam, who invited him to his wedding. He distributed the invitation to almost all the company employees. Shyam was the hot topic of the day. Everyone talked about him.

“Why does he marry a VILLAGE girl? Doesn’t he get anyone other than a country girl?” one of the colleagues asked.

“Don’t underestimate him. Don’t we know Shyam? He does anything with benefit. It seems the girl might be a village girl but has many properties. That’s why he marries her.” Another one said.

“Is it?”

“Yes, I heard her father is a big shot of their village.”

“I see…”

“Are you going to go to his wedding?”

“How could we go if his wedding is in Lucknow?”

“Won’t anyone from our office go?”

“I don’t know. I will give my share of money to buy the gift. That’s all I can do. We get only one day off. I can’t waste it by going to Lucknow… that too for Shyam” He said wearily.

“You are right. If we go to Lucknow, we can’t resume work the next day. We will have to take an off the next day.”

Two men spoke. Arnav was at their following table, listening to them while doing his work.

To be continued…