Page 4 of The Unwanted Husband
Knowing it had to be Aman letting her know he had arrived, she shut down her computer, grabbed her tote, and headed to the office lobby to meet him.
Aman and Isha had dated each other on and off. In recent months, her aunt had been dropping hints about them getting engaged, unaware of the nature of their relationship. A good friend in college introduced Aman to her and they hit it off in their first meeting. They were both lawyers, career-oriented andvery practical. She was glad to have met someone like him who understood what it took to be a lawyer. He was perfect in every way, and they made a power couple, as their families saw it.
She smiled when she saw his new electric car drive up to the curb in front of one of the skyscrapers that sculpted the San Francisco skyline. She slid into the passenger seat and she kissed him softly on his cheek.
“Right on time.”
“I know you don’t like delays.” He winked.
She smiled. “You’re funny.”
He chuckled. “What’s not funny is the conversation we are about to have with our parents.” He kept his eyes on the road. They were getting together at Aman’s parents’ place to discuss the upcoming celebrations during her brother’s visit. They both knew they would be pressured to get engaged during her brother’s visit when that was the last thing on their mind.
Isha nodded. “I asked my cousin, Chandini to join us too so we have someone to create a distraction if needed.”
He chuckled. “I invited my brother too, for exactly that reason.” Neither of them wanted to get married as they were comfortable with their careers and the dynamic they had going on. She was glad neither she or Aman were giving in to parental pressure.
She smiled, surprised at how psyched up their thoughts were. “It’ll be an amazing night.”
“We might be able to catch a movie after if you’d like.”
She let out a sigh. “That would be perfect.”
“Perfect.” He nodded wondering what she would do if her friend had not introduced her to Aman, especially after what happened with her long-time college boyfriend. Not only wasAman not intimidated by her success in her career, but he also shared similar goals, making him a good match for her.
*****
After a while in the heavy traffic, Aman drove along the long driveway to his parking space at his parent’s house. The moment they stepped out of the car, they heard kids screams and they looked at each other.
Aman rolled his eyes. “I guess everyone is here.”
Isha let out a laugh. “Looks like the kids are here to participate in the conversation too.”
“On second thought, it’s probably good they are here. We could use all of them to distract our parents if they ask too many questions.” He winked.
She smiled walking next to him towards the back of the house where the family seemed to be gathered. She could see the toddlers playing on the deck while their parents and grandparents hung out close by.
“There they are, the power couple,” Aman’s brother cheered.
Isha and Aman greeted everyone hoping the topic would stay on the planning of the Ravi’s twins’ birthday celebrations and not drift into the topic of her and Aman getting engaged.
“I wasn’t expecting that many people,” Isha whispered, squeezing Aman’s arm. His parents had also invited his cousins’ families.
“This will be fun!” Aman winked as they walked to the back of the house to greet their parents who were hanging out by the firepit on the deck.
After a little bit of mingling with Aman’s family, she found herself in a corner with her cousin, Chandini who she grew up with.
Chandini poked her with her elbow. “What took you and Aman so long to get here? Did you take a detour and you know, had your time before coming here?”
Isha rolled her eyes. “Right. If sitting in traffic was having our time, then that’s what we did.”
“So boring.” Chandini scoffed. “You guys are so formal with each other. Do you guys even do anything, like in bed?”
Isha lowered her voice, her eyes on the rest of the group. “Chandini, what’s gotten into you?”
“I’m worried about you turning into a bore,” Chandini whispered and added, “You guys barely spend time with each other. You both are workaholics.”
Even her cousin, with whom she grew up, could not understand the convenience factor of her and Aman’s dynamic. She had attempted to explain to her how open they were about even seeing other people when they weren’t in the dating mode but Chandini would not comprehend it.
