Free Arranged Love by Parul A Mittal

myself evaluating all the available blokes I knew on the LSM metrics. Damn! This was tough. How does one ever know if he is THE one for you? I wished there was a website where I could answer twenty simple questions and compare guys. ScoreYourGuy.com ! Anyone looking for a SENSEX insensitive business idea to solve an unsolvable problem and mint money?
    I pressed the button for the ninth floor. The elevator started moving up. I was still undecided about how to handle Deep and Jay. On one extreme was Tanu di, an epitome of commitment, who was faithful to her first love even in absentia. On the other end of the spectrum was Neha, a serial switcher, who was continuously off to new pastures. Tonight, in my mind, they were waging a tug of war. Should I keep my options open for a while and not shut the door on Deep or should I hit the DEAL button and reveal Jay? With Neha and Tanu di at loggerheads in my head, I reached home.
    ‘I feel terrible,’ I heard Pa say, as I entered the dining room.
    ‘Stop blaming yourself. You did nothing. It was meant to be,’ Mom consoled Dad, as she laid out the spread of his favourite dishes on the table.
    ‘You always say so,’ disagreed my father. ‘Even when you conceived Suhaani immediately after marriage, you said the same,’ he reminded her.
    ‘I mean, you did do something, but the outcome was unintentional,’ she said coyly, blushing at the memory.
    ‘Still, just like that time, I forgot to forewarn,’ insisted my dad, refusing to be redeemed of whatever wrong he had done.
    ‘How were you supposed to know what will happen?’ demanded Mom. ‘Yesterday I planted a crop before going to bed, and by the time I woke up it had ripened and gone to waste.’ It was hard to say whether she was blaming or comforting Dad.
    ‘It must have been such a shock,’ continued Dad.
    ‘Everything happens for a reason,’ said Mom, serving him an extra helping of butter.
    Dad was on an unusual guilt trip, and Mom was as always contradicting him. Preoccupied with my private screening of the Neha vs Tanu di match, I didn’t even attempt to comprehend their bickering. I quickly washed my hands and attacked the food.
    ‘You think we can let the status quo continue?’ Dad was asking Mom.
    ‘For now, at least,’ she concurred, and then as if she realized that she had to compulsorily refute Dad, she added, ‘Although, something will need to be done once Suhaani is married.’
    My ears perked up when I heard marriage and my name being mentioned in the same sentence.
    ‘What’s going on?’ I asked, disoriented. If this day got any more confusing, then I would have to implicate the cab driver for attacking me with the Confundus Charm in the morning.
    ‘I am so sorry, beta,’ said Dad, visibly disturbed.
    If he was apologizing for not telling me that Deep works at iTrot. com, it was a little late. I had done the spreadsheet analysis again on my way back home, this time assigning a negative weight to iTrot for Deep’s presence. The dotcom had still emerged a winner. ‘It’s fine, Pa,’ I said, and was glad to see the worry wrinkles smoothen on his forehead. Instantly, I knew what I was going to do. Nothing. Don’t they say that if a little lie makes everyone happy, then it’s okay to see some happy faces around. Dad seemed upset about getting me in a fix so I reasoned that he wouldn’t bring up Deep for a while, and Jay could wait in the closet a little longer.
    ‘You don’t understand the complications,’ Mom was telling me.
    What complications? Had I missed something? I replayed my parents’ conversation in my head. Conceived, forewarn, shock, complications … No way! ‘Mom, you are not pregnant again? Are you?’ I squealed in delight.
    ‘Pregnant!’ Mom screamed out loud, her face horror-stricken like I had charged her with adultery, while Dad burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.
    Unable to handle the joke, and not too pleased with Dad’s chuckles, Mom decided to get