Sivaprakasam's PoV
It was a wedding where I happened to meet Arjun and his family again after that talk on the phone with Hariharan. I spoke to Anandhi and asked her to send Anika's photo, horoscope and biodata as soon as possible but she said that she will send it to me on an auspicious day that comes after a week. Dhanam is not comfortable yet in facing friends and relatives in functions like these, so she stayed home and I came to attend this function.
"How are you, uncle?" Arjun came and spoke to me. He is a nice, gentle man.
"I am good, maapillai. How are you?"
"I am good too, uncle. How is aunty?" he asked me.
"She is fine too. She is not yet comfortable meeting relatives. So she didn't come." I told him.
"Oh, so how is your manufacturing unit?"
"It's all good. No big changes." I told him while his mom and dad approached us.
"How are you, anna?" Yashodha asked me.
"I am good, ma. How are you?" I asked her back but all the while Hariharan didn't speak a word.
"How are you, Sammandhi?" I asked him to break that awkward silence.
"Fine, thank you. Arjun, Harini was looking for you. Go and talk to her." he said to Arjun. I know Harini. Harini is the daughter of our relative Selvam. Selvam owns a cotton mill in Coimbatore. Harini is a beautiful girl with wealth.
"Dad, I already spoke to her. Please, don't embarrass me more." Arjun told his dad with gritted teeth.
"Harini is a good girl, Maapillai." I tried to tell him.
"Please, Mr. Sivaprakasam. Please don't interfere in our son's life anymore. We made a huge mistake in his life and we want to make it right for him. I just want to start his life fresh. You have already done enough damage to our family and my son's life. I don't want even your shadows to be near him." he said, calm and composed, that felt like a harsh sting in my heart.
"Dad, stop it. It is not fair to talk to him like this. He is very generous and considerate. I have told you so many times that he is not to be blamed. He is trying to be nice in spite of his loss and you are disrespecting him. Please dad, stop seeing him as an enemy for he is not one." Arjun spoke for me.
"It's ok, maapillai. Your dad showed me my place when I called him to refer an alliance for you. It is my fault that I spoke about your life now. Remember one thing, Sammandhi. I always want your son to be happy." I told him and turned to leave. It is just my luck that no one was listening to our conversation. It saved me from a public insult.
"Uncle, please. I am sorry dad spoke that way. He is a father. I think you know why he feels what he feels. But trust me, Uncle. I always think of you as my relative and well wisher. I respect you. Now to make it up to you, I am going to first consider the alliance you bring. I give you my word that if everything is fine with the alliance you give me, I will for sure proceed to marriage." he said.
"Ajju! Wait!" Yashodha tried to stop him but he halted his mother with a wave of a hand and gave his word to me. Arjun is a man known for keeping his word.
"You are a grown man, Arjun. You know what is best for you. All we want is to see you lead a happy life. We want to see you getting married. We have some expectations that the bride should have. We respect your decision." Hariharan told Arjun and excused himself.
"Thank you, maapillai. I will send the details as soon as possible. Talk to your dad. It is ok if he is angry at me. But it is not ok if he gets angry with you because of me." I told him.
"I will handle it, Uncle. Take your time. No rush." he told me. I can say he is not ready for another marriage. But he can't be like this for his whole life. He needs a life partner to enjoy his life. Anika will be the perfect one!
Anika's PoV
I pushed the week days and waited for the weekend. I tried calling Arun to ask him about his plans for the weekend but he didn't pick up my call many times and the times he picked up, he didn't give me enough details on it. I am really worried about his recent behavior. I saw his facebook and Instagram posts where he is more active with pictures of him and his new friends. I am happy for him that he is accepted in his new environment. But what about my issue? Why is he not showing any interest in talking to me? I decided to call him and ask about his decision.
"Hello, Arun."
"Hi Anu! What's up?"
"Tell me a date when you can come and meet my parents. I have been trying to ask this to you for the whole week and you keep on dodging my question." I told him.
"Whoa, relax Anu. Don't you think it is too early for us to talk about marriage? I have some responsibilities. I have to take care of my sister. My mom says I can't marry until we marry off my sister. I just got myself a job. We have time, Anu." he said.
"You are right. We have time. I agree that you have your responsibility as a son and a brother. All I am asking you is to come and meet my parents and give them the commitment they want to hear. I am not asking you to marry me tomorrow!"
"That is what is bothering me, Anu. Listen to me, we are young and we still have many chances in our life. We are humans after all and are bound to change over time. I don't want to promise you the commitment that is about to happen years later. No one knows what will be our situation at that time. I think it is foolish." he said. What is he implying?
"Very well! Your argument is wonderful, Arun. It is true that we are after all humans and will change to situations like a chameleon. I could see that. It was just 4months after we stopped talking and I could see immense change in you. I am happy for you, Arun. I think you are right, it is foolish to close all other opportunities for a silly commitment. All the best, Arun!" I told him. I never expected him to say this. What am I feeling now? Disgust!
"Anu listen, I love you. But I don't want to lock myself with you now. We still have a lot of time to explore. I can still come and meet your parents as your friend." he said.
"No thank you, Arun. I don't want to give false hopes to my parents. I thought of you as the best choice to be my life partner. We were good friends before we moved up our relationship to love. Now I think that you are meant to be just my friend. Let's just leave it at that. All the best for you to explore whatever you mean. Bye, Arun." I disconnected the call. I couldn't even believe I had this conversation with him. Also I think it is because of the confusion made by Nithu.
Is this a break-up? Arun will call me back to compromise me. I know he will!
'Ding!' I heard my phone ping.
'Dear Anu, I know you are upset. You will get to know what I meant when you ponder about it later. You asked me for a break 4months ago. I granted it to you without much of a fuss. I ask you for a break now, until I settle things for my mother and sister. I hope you will understand.'
I re-read the message over and over again. I couldn't comprehend my head around it. Why does he need a break when there is no change in his circumstances? Or the change is that he has gone out of the bubble for the first time and he is overwhelmed by it? Either way, he doesn't want to proceed our relationship to the next level for now.
'Is this a suspension or a break-up?' I sent him a reply to be sure of what I should do next.
'I would be happy if you would wait for me. I would be even happier when you proceed through your life!'
Ok, I should call it quits. I never expected this from him but surprisingly, it doesn't hurt me. I feel like it is just another piece of news. I feel like I am relieved of a suffocation. How cruel am I? Does this mean that my relationship with him was suffocating me? I should feel bad and sad now. But why am I void of any such feelings?
'Alright, thanks!'
I replied to him and deleted his number from my mobile. I tried bringing Arun's face in my eyes but all I saw was ARJUN! He is driving me nuts!