Love Takes Time {Completed} {#Wattys2017}

26. Rendezvous with Maya

Ria: I think something is wrong with Abhi.

Mom: No. He is just too busy.

Ria: Yeah mom, but the question is why?

Ria: Earlier, I just used to joke about him being a pope and not interested in girls. But think of it, he never had a girlfriend in his life, not in his school, not in college, not in USA. Never. And, he is such a handsome guy.

Mom: May be we don't know of it.

Ria: I don't think he needs to hide it from a mom like you who so desperately wants him to have one.

Ria: You know mom, there are many Indian boys in London and NYC who are secretly gay. Their families do not even have a hint of it. I tell you, I have in my class, a good looking boy who nobody can guess is a gay. Girls who don't know that he is not straight will drool on him. By looking at him and talking with him, nobody can tell he is not straight. In fact unless he himself tells, nobody would know.

Mom: What are you suggesting Ria, that Abhimanyu is gay. She said angrily

Ria: I knew you'll react like this.

Mom: How am I supposed to react when you are calling your brother a gay. She was very angry.

Ria: Okay, have you ever seen him interested in  any girl? I don't know, I haven't , and we cannot rule out that.

Ria: Maya is such a hot chick. Guys go to lengths to win her. She looks like Katrina Kaif. Fair, tall, slim, perfect body, perfect features. And did you notice Abhimanyu , his cold response. He showed not even a little interest in her when you got him to talk to her. He was like okay, nice meeting you but I got work to do now. Any other guy would have preferred her company instead of going out and chatting with uncles .

Mom: But, he actually got work to do, Ria.

Ria: I am not saying he doesn't, but I think he is hiding something behind that too much work. He is always travelling and we don't know what he does there other than work. Remember, when he was in college,  he paid one lakh to stay a night in  a suite with his roommate Yash. That too when he was pretending to be from a middle class family. He is not on any social media, nothing. I don't know, but something is not right.

Mom: So, you are saying he is gay?

Ria: I don't know mom, but I have seen enough of them in London and their parents don't think their son is one.

                 Seeds of doubt were sown in Abhimanyu's mom's head. She couldn't sleep all night wondering what if Ria was actually right. She knew Abhimanyu came home around 3 am in the night and left again at 7am in the morning. She decided to check his whole room if she could find anything to hint her something. Her friends had told her how they found pornographic magazines under their son's mattress. She threw the mattress out of his bed, but there were no magazines. She checked everything inside all the drawers of his study.  She checked all the books in his book shelf.  She checked all the racks of his closet. Between his clothes. She opened the big plastic bin with lid in the closet. There were engineering and MBA books in it. She told herself how he preserved those books as if was going to need them again. She took them out one by one, so that she could put them back in order. When the bin was half,  her eyes popped at the stash of Volo magazines. She didn't need to turn the pages to know what they were about. Cover pictures were enough to tell that her son was heterosexual. She didn't like to know what magazines her son used, but she was relieved and happy. She put all the books as they were and put the lid back. She called the maid and told her to put the room back as it was.

             She thought Abhimanyu was shy and perhaps she only will have to get a girl for him. She loved Maya who was daughter of their businessman friend, Mr.Shekar Walia . Maya had the looks of a model, and suited her son Abhimanyu. She was two years younger to him. Her parents had many times expressed their desire to have Abhimanyu as their son in law. Her and her husband's was a love marriage, so she always wanted  Abhimanyu to find a girl for himself.