3 A Messy Affair #2
The sun was shining brightly above our heads, and the lack of a breeze made the afternoon particularly stuffy. I hopped up on the wooden slab that separated our garden from our neighbour’s. Aadar came to stand in front of me, his hands stuffed firmly in his pockets.
‘What the hell are you doing here?’ I demanded, getting right to it.
A look of confusion crossed his face as he asked, ‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean,’ I said, pausing to inhale dramatically, ‘why didn’t you cancel the damn thing?’
He let out a dry, humourless laugh. ‘Why didn’t you?’
I stared at him, irritated by his ignorance of the unfair power dynamics at play in arranged marriages.
If I could have bowed out of this meeting, I would’ve opted to do it long before the events of this morning.
But if he wasn’t going to acknowledge it, I was certainly in no mood to let him feel like he had the upper hand in this situation.
‘I’m sorry, my bad. I thought you’d have the balls to do it,’ I said innocently.
‘And come across as the douchebag who cancels two hours prior? No thanks,’ he shot back.
‘Wow,’ I mouthed, shaking my head incredulously.
He opened his mouth, ready with a retort, but then closed it without delivering it. I crossed my legs on the high platform, aware that my mother would throw a fit if she saw me sitting like that in this traditional outfit.
I watched Aadar walk the width of my tiny garden, made tinier by his pacing.
Little pearls of sweat were beginning to form on his forehead.
I noticed for the first time that he had thick, curly hair, unlike Karan’s straight and smooth locks.
He kept his hair cropped fairly short, refusing to let his curls add the much-needed boyish charm to his intense personality.
I wanted to reach out and tug on a strand, just to see how long it would be when uncurled.
‘So how are we doing this? Are you rejecting me or will I have the pleasure?’ I asked, clearing my throat.
‘That’s a no-brainer. I’m definitely turning you down,’ he said, his tone harsh.
‘Um, do you have some kind of a problem with me?’ I asked, vexed by his rudeness.
I didn’t want to be here either, but I wasn’t acting like a grade-A asshole, was I? What was the big deal anyway? The worst was over. If we could just get through this afternoon, we could go our separate ways without ever having to see each other again.
‘My problem? How about the fact that you slept with my brother? Like last night!’ he threw his hands up in the air.
‘So you have an issue with every girl your little bro has been with?’ I asked, raising my eyebrows.
‘I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting one of them. With my entire family. As a prospect for my own marriage,’ he said through gritted teeth.
I shrugged, as if to say fair point, then said, ‘I didn’t, though.’
‘Didn’t what?’ he asked.
‘Have sex with your brother.’
He stepped closer to me, his expression a mixture of curiosity and exasperation.
‘You’re telling me you spent the entire night in his room and didn’t even try to sleep with him?’
‘Oh, believe me, I tried.’
That seemed to tick him off again, and he scoffed. ‘What the hell is wrong with this generation?’
The judgement in his tone angered me, and I wondered if his disapproval of one-night stands was reserved only for women or if he frequently lectured his brother as well.
As if on cue, Karan appeared from inside the house. He was whistling a tune I couldn’t quite place.
‘How’s it going, guys?’ he asked, raising his eyebrows and smiling like a maniac.
‘Oh, good. Karan, will you please tell your self-absorbed brother that nothing happened between us last night?’ I asked, absentmindedly plucking a leaf from the creeper on the wall behind me.
He bent down to pick up a small stone and threw it high in the air above him.
‘Well, I wouldn’t say nothing happened,’ he said, tilting his head to the side and dropping his voice to a whisper.
Aadar whacked his brother on the arm, saying, ‘Dude, I swear I’ve had it with you.’ Karan laughed, seemingly satisfied with the reaction he’d gotten out of his older brother.
I couldn’t decipher what kind of relationship the two men shared.
Were they close, despite the silly bickering and trash-talking?
They had to be, I concluded, if they lived in a flat together and also showed up for each other’s life events, even if it was out of a desire to witness the other in the face of disaster.
‘By the way, they’re asking if you want anything to eat,’ he said, directing the question to Aadar.
‘I’ve had enough. It’s time to leave,’ he said, waving his hand at his brother to join him inside.
Instead of heading back indoors with him, Karan took a step towards me and stretched out his arms, offering to help me down.
I placed my hands on his shoulders, and he lifted me off the platform and deposited me safely on the ground.
When we turned around, Aadar had already left the garden without so much as a glance in my direction.
I caught a glimpse of him, frowning and shaking his head as he entered my house for the last time.