Kissmet

Spice up

Malini

The courtyard sparkles with fairy lights and buzzes with live chatter and laughter. People in formal wear make acquaintances and some shuffle around the buffet enjoying the delicacies.

Surya accompanied me as I made the rounds, welcoming people and talking shop. Finally, we came face to face with Surya's dad and Nithees speaking in hushed voices involving what seemed like a heated conversation along with Mr. Vaanan's wife and Priya.

Priya noticed me standing there with her step-brother and gave me a wicked smile, trailing her fingers along Nithees' forearm and looped her hand around his bicep, never taking his eyes off me.

Jealousy clawed at my insides and I couldn't stop the sickening feeling from hurting my heart. I couldn't take it anymore, so I turned around and started walking, Surya kept up with me.

"I see, things are still rocky between you guys." Surya says, referring to me, Nila and Priya. Because yes, Nila and I are always a team.

Since half the time Surya has stayed away from his family to avoid drama, I guess its news to him that we don't get along. I won't blame him for keeping his family at an arm's length, I would have done the same if it was that complicated.

It is rumored that Mr. Vaanan was in love with another woman when he was forced to tie the knot with Surya's mother in an arranged alliance. Unfortunately, Surya's mom died during childbirth and Surya never got to meet her. Not soon after that Mr. Vaanan got married to Priya's mother, a divorcee. He made the choice for her beauty and she did it for his money. Since neither cared about love, there were none in the family.

Sometimes I wonder, is that why Priya is the way she is. Cruel and always plotting. The possibility that she became callous because of a troubled childhood made me feel sympathy for her. And then she would pull some stunt like she did when we arrived and my empathy vaporizes.

"You could say that."

And we saw my parents standing near a makeshift stage and went to greet them. Mom welcomed Surya with a hug and the usual dialogues started.

"Haven't you eaten anything Surya, see how much lean you have become." My mother says, even though he is grown like a grizzly bear. I roll my eyes.

He grins and handles like the charmer he is, "What can I say aunty, not everybody can be an excellent cook like you, hence the weight loss."

"Oh, my sweet boy. You must visit home sometime." She exclaims.

I am astonished how she can say the same set of things multiple times and never get tired of it. I tuned out their conversation and scanned the party for any familiar face. I saw Guru, one of the lawyers in my team and a confidant.

Guru is a guy who looks like he always tops in his class and measures his calories intake every meal. With thick framed glasses and shaggy hair, Guru is your resident goody-two shoes. The only thing that provides him an edge is his tattoos though they don't make much of a difference since he hides them between full sleeves and buttoned shirts. But occasionally a few swirls of ink peeks through his collar.

Guru joined the firm at the same time as me with a two-year experience as a freelance consultant. As the only interns at that time, we became fast friends. When I became a junior partner, he joined my team and since I will be working in the main branch here in Chennai, my team would also be given an opportunity to be transferred here. And I hope Guru agrees to the terms.

I waved him over. He seemed hesitant but came along and I introduced him to dad since mum was too busy praising Surya.

"Appa, this is Guru, an intelligent lawyer and a good friend."