CHAPTER 6 Neel
Neel
It’s dinner time when I arrive at my mother’s house. I find her sitting on her favorite armchair, crocheting a purse. It’s a beautiful piece—a bright yellow with a cute pink pocket in the front and flower patterns all over.
The delightful aroma of biryani fills the room, and I know Mom has been in the kitchen again.
Despite the many staff and cooks at her disposal, and despite her arthritic knees, she insists on being involved in the cooking process.
It’s her way of showing love. My mouth waters at the thought of the meal ahead.
I’m here every other evening when I can get away early from work, not just because I miss her home-cooked food but also because I prefer the warmth of family dinners to eating alone at home, surrounded by well-meaning but impersonal staff.
“There you are!” Mom smiles at me, her face brightening as she puts away what she’s doing.
I go over and bend down to give Mom a hug.
Mom scrunches her face as she rises from the armchair. The stiffness in her knee joints has restricted a lot of her movements lately.
“We should do what the doctor recommended for your knee as soon as we can, Ma,” I say. We’ve planned for her knee surgery after Elena’s wedding.
“That’ll happen. Stop worrying about me,” Mom says. “Elena is going to be married, and you must think of getting married too. It’s not too late.”
“Me?” Ever since Elena decided to get married, Mom has been on my case, as though the two are linked somehow. “How does her getting married have anything to do with me?”
“Why? Is it too difficult to think of marriage?”
I shake my head, smiling. “I’m used to this life now.”
“You’re not that old, Neel. Just because something didn’t work out in the past doesn’t mean it has to be the same way again.”
“It’s not happening,” I laugh.
“What’s wrong with getting married?” Mom is impossible.
I shake my head. “Nothing.”
“You look good. You’re only fifty, and you’re a successful businessman. You’re loving and kind. There must be a woman out there who admires you and loves you for who you are.”
“I’m good, Ma. I told you I don’t want to get married again.” Never again, I think.
“You need to go out more. Meet people.”
It’s as though she never heard me.
“Let Elena come. I’ll speak to her about setting you up with someone.”
“What’s this sudden interest to see me married again? Besides, Elena is so much younger. Her friends are women her age, and they’re not looking for an older guy like me.”
“Who’s talking about me?” Elena walks in just then with her fiancé, Dilip, in tow.
“Nothing. It’s just the usual,” I say. “Mom seems to be on a futile mission.”
“I was telling Neel he should get married too. Don’t you have somebody in your office you can introduce him to?”
Elena giggles. “He refused to even talk to the woman I introduced him to once.”
“He likes being difficult!” Mom complains.
“You should call the woman I was trying to set you up with,” Elena says. “She’s been asking me about you.”
“Now, I know you may not agree with me, Neel. But that’s a good start,” my mom comments.
“Ma…” I say, ready to whine about it, when she looks up at me, peering over her glasses.
“Can’t my son find a woman he likes?”
I did not know my mother was serious about finding a woman for me again.
“Now that Elena is getting married, I hope that you will too, Neel. I hope you find a woman that you like. It will let me die in peace knowing both of you are settled and happy.”
Just like my mom to equate our settling down with a peaceful death. I’m annoyed at her for putting it like that.
“Did you enjoy shopping?” I ask Elena, eager to change the subject.
“Dilip made quite the effort for me,” she says, snuggling up to her fiancé.
“I enjoy Elena’s company more than I do shopping,” Dilip says. “That’s the only reason I go along.”
Elena smiles coyly and gives him a soft nudge on his shoulder. “And I enjoy his company.”
Mom looks on at Elena and Dilip, her eyes filling up.
They make such an adorable couple. Elena is a graphic designer working at a creative agency.
She met Dilip when he visited her office to collaborate with their companies on an advertising campaign.
They hit it off professionally while working together, and now, three years later, they’re ready to tie the knot.
As I watch Elena and Dilip, I can’t help but feel not only happy but a sense of relief. He’s good for Elena; there’s a gentleness in his eyes, especially when he looks at her, and it reassures me.
He has an easy-going smile, thick, wavy hair kept neatly styled, and rich brown eyes that often carry a hint of laughter.
He’s not just respectful and caring, but he exudes a sense of calm that’s comforting.
I’ve always wanted someone who could provide stability and be genuinely in love with Elena, and in Dilip, I see those qualities.
He strikes me as the kind of guy who’s both grounded and ambitious. And that he values her dreams as much as she does, something I believe is important in a partner. Elena’s always been the heart of our family, and Dilip, with his loving nature, seems to be the perfect match for her.
“Where are the new crotchet threads I asked you to buy?” Mom asks Elena as she displays all the shopping she did.
“Oh!” Elena slaps her head. “That’s the bag I left at Kavita’s, and I asked Neel to pick it up.”
“Who’s Kavita? Is she one of your friends?” Mom asks.
“Mom, have you forgotten already? She’s our wedding dress designer.” Elena says and turns to me. “Neel, did you pick it up?”
“No, I don’t think I’m going to have any time.”
Elena brushes off my excuse and tells Mom and Dilip all about our time at Kavita’s boutique. “Do you know, it was so funny when Neel stumbled all over her mannequins as soon as he walked in,” she adds, laughing.
Mom smiles, her eyes filled with curiosity. “Really, Neel?”
“She crashed into me,” I explain.
“Oh, you should have seen them. It was as if they were tangled together. It was quite the scene!” Elena giggles.
“That’s the first I’ve seen Neel blushing because of a woman,” Mom says, gazing at me oddly.
“I’m not blushing,” I remark, patting my cheeks.
Elena laughs. “It was like the time Dilip came to my office for a charity event coordination and ended up getting his face painted by a bunch of kids. You should have seen his face when I walked into the room!”
“How could I forget?” Dilip says. “I walked into her office thinking I’d be helping out behind the scenes, and there I was, sitting across a line of kids waiting to turn the volunteer’s faces into their canvas.
I suppose that’s how I became the star attraction in Elena’s eyes.
” A silent look passes between them, and for a few moments, they forget that Mom and I are here, gazing at each other like they’re the only people in the room.
Mom laughs, not missing the genuine affection between the two.
“That’s when I knew he was special,” Elena says, her eyes twinkling. “He was great with those kids.”
My heart is filled with something for these two. I cannot put a name to it, but it has something to do with how much they’ve grown over the years and how much they still love each other.
Mom smiles at Elena. “Oh, you’re good with kids too, Elena.”
Mom passes a quick glance in my direction before looking away, her eyes misting. It’s as though the subject of me not having kids hangs briefly in the air, but it quickly vanishes when Elena moves on to another story of what happened while they were out shopping today.
I’m relieved we’ve moved on from the topic of kids. I love kids, but I’m glad I don’t have any from my marriage. I can’t imagine how difficult that would have made things.
The food at the table, the delicious aromas of the chicken biryani my mother has specially prepared for us, soon take over.
Elena and I move to the couch after dinner, bowls of halwa dessert in hand. She opens her phone, clicks on a few things, and passes it to me, pointing to the picture of a young, jovial-looking man. “This is Dilip’s colleague, whom I was telling you about. What do you think of him for Kavita?”
An unexpected knot forms in my gut as I study the photo. There’s no discernible reason why the idea of setting up Kavita with this man should affect me. Yet I can’t deny the unsettling sensation it provokes.
I cough, buying a moment. “Doesn’t he seem...rather young, though?”
Elena’s eyes narrow playfully. “And what would be a more appropriate age, dear brother?” She leans closer with a maddening grin. “Someone a bit...older, perhaps?”
Heat rises to my face as her implication registers. “Um…I don’t know…Just saying he doesn’t seem right for her.”
“Oh? And what makes you think you know who is right for Kavita?”
I open my mouth, but no response comes. An image of Kavita’s warm smile flashes unbidden in my mind, causing an unwelcome tightening in my chest that I quickly dismiss.
“I...don’t claim to know anything,” I recover slowly. “We merely...know each other through this wedding dress project. That’s all.”
Elena’s gaze darts to my untouched dessert bowl, then back to me with a knowing smirk. “Is that so? Then why did you suddenly lose your appetite when I showed you that photo?”
My face warms as she calls out my reaction. “It’s not...I simply...” I fumble for an excuse, but Elena’s eyes are alight with realization.
“No need to fumble for explanations, dear brother,” she says, tone taking on a decidedly teasing lilt. “I’m starting to think you may be…attracted to her, perhaps.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I protest, even as her words strike uncomfortably close to something I’ve been trying not to acknowledge.
Elena chuckles. “Ridiculous? Come on, I’m just calling it like I see it.
You thought that guy wasn’t right for her.
You didn’t even finish your favorite dessert...
” She leans back with a smirk. “And let’s be real, Kavita’s a knockout.
I saw how you were eyeing her that day. Can’t blame you for having a little crush. ”
“Nothing is going on beyond this wedding dress stuff,” I say out loud, trying to convince myself more than Elena. “Especially for a divorced guy my age.”
When Ramya left, it wrecked me in a way I didn’t think was possible after Dad died. I can’t risk that kind of pain again.
And while my gut reaction to Elena showing me that guy’s photo hints at some feelings about Kavita, I can’t help but laugh at the idea of a young, single, beautiful woman being interested in me.
I’m just not a good fit for someone like Kavita.
Maybe it’s a good thing my sister is setting Kavita up with someone she might actually want.
“Stop kidding yourself.” Elena’s eyes shine with determination. “If I were you, I’d think about your feelings. Really think about them instead of pushing them aside like they don’t matter. How will you know unless you actually find out?”
Her words hit home, making my heart tighten even as I try to brush them off. “What makes you think I want to find out?” I challenge her, struggling to keep my voice steady.
“Okay, suit yourself,” she shrugs. “I’m going to introduce her to Dilip’s colleague. So I hope you don’t mind a really handsome guy asking Kavita out. Who knows, maybe they’ll really hit it off and—”
I can’t resist giving her ponytail a sharp tug as a surge of inexplicable protectiveness rushes through me.
She shrieks with glee. “Aha! I knew it!”
“What’s going on with you two?” Mom’s voice cuts through our sibling squabble.
Elena smirks at me as she pulls away. “Don’t say I didn’t tell you,” she whispers mischievously before dancing out of arm’s reach.
I let out a heavy sigh, my resolve unexpectedly shaken by Elena’s persistent prodding. Despite my firm denials, her words have stirred up fragile longings I’ve tried to keep buried.
But the walls around my heart stay up. I need them there, whether I like it or not.