Sand clock
"There is no reason to believe she is coming after me" Ashvin said in a tone that was unconvincing even to his own ears.
"You must be naive" his mother shook her head in disbelief
Her phone rang.
It was her father in law
"How are you?" he asked in signature style with no greeting
"If its about wanting to know if Ashvin is ready to marry and has found a suitable girl, then no" she panted as she sprinted to her own bedroom
"Aap naraaz jyaada rendey ho beta" he said derisively
"We dont seem to be talking about anything else Dad" she said apalled
"Mujhe uski fiqar hai" he said
"If that were true, then he would be treated like a equal" she teared up
"You are wasting your emotions. He is a smart kid. He does not need my money" he said firmly
"The other kids are dumb?" she asked furiously
"They are managing the operations." he said cryptically neither admitting bequeathing wealth nor denying it
"Mere dost ki poti hai, baat karengi aap unse?" he asked
She was really in no mood to talk right now
Especially wedding talk
Thats all he seemed to care about the last 6 months or so
"Dad I am a lil busy right now" he claimed
"To unse karwayen baat" he said
"You want to talk to ASHVIN?" she was stunned
"Umm... maybe not" he grunted...
Nobody spoke for a few minutes
"Rajat Mehra ki daughter hai aap jaanti hain" he began
"Vishwas didnt like Rajat" she played the husband card
"Vishwas hated nobody beta" Sharnbir was horrified
"He might not have told you but as a wife I know" she said smugly
"Anyway I want you to meet the girl, she is returning from Vancouver in a month" he said
"I dont even control my daughter Dad, how can I ask Ashvin to offer himself up for an arranged marriage?" she asked frustrated
"Yeh baat aap hamey beesiyon dafe keh chuke ho" he was not amused
She peeked out he was in the balcony slounched, on his phone drinking water
"Dad he just returned from work, I dont stay in Bangalore much. Let me have dinner with my son" she begged
"Jao jee" he said haughtily "talk to him"
"I wont talk about marrying your pick or... (mine)" she left out "mine". Ofcourse she was on the hunt for a family wealthier than Narangs for her Ashvin
"I want to see him married"
"Not all of his cousins are married" she was outraged and upset now. "Vikas bhayya aur Vipul bhayya ke dono ke ek ek ladkon ki shaadi pending hai"
"He is different. He proved it didnt he?" Sharanbir was not interested in arguing.
"We cannot throw it on his face for ever Dad. Even his Dad, YOUR SON, Vishwas forgave him" she was begging now
"Uh" he listened tearing up, but not showing it.
"You disinherited him already, please dont suck all life out of him" she begged
Sharanbir knew that the temptation of being reinstated into the will will make Mandira do anything.
While outwardly she wanted her son's freedom
Deep down the wealth offer lured her immensely.
Outside in the balcony... he was Googling her again
There was a Google, on the third page he found an old Flickr page with her name,
She looked gorgeous... walking down Ullal beach in a long tiered cotton skirt.. her glasses sprayed with sea water, she was holding sand in her cupped palms
It trickled down in a slim drip.
In another she was sideways leaning under a palm tree grinning, her arms slipped under a a boy? man? man's arms, leaning on his shoulder as she smiled
He looked young...
He closed out the search page disgusted with himself at violating some random stranger's privacy.
His mind reassuring him that he did nothing wrong...