"How was the graduation ceremony, Bhabhi?"
"The graduation ceremony was good"
Reema Rathore, wife of the eldest son of Rathore family, Rajendra Rathore sat in the lounge in her thoughts. Besides being the wife of one of the most successful businessmen, she herself runs an NGO for orphan children and other charities, often with the help of her sister-in-law, Vidya Rathore, wife of Vijendra Rathore. Though their in-laws are no longer alive, the two women continue to live together in the same house with their children. People envy their bond, the way they support each other, and the way the Rathore brothers live together and run businesses side by side, even though Rajendra heads IT and Communications while Vijendra runs the FMCG line of Rathore Business.
"Koi baat hui kya? Aap pareshaan lag rahi hain? Kuch hua tha kya?" Vidya asked softly.
"Nahi, main bas kuch soch rahi thi," Reema replied, her eyes distant.
"Wahi toh main puch rahi hoon ki aap kya soch rahi thi?" Vidya pressed gently.
Reema smiled faintly. "I met a girl today at the graduation ceremony. She seemed lovely - jovial, sweet, and beautiful."
"Okay, go ahead," Vidya encouraged.
"She also belongs to a nice family. Her father is the Police Commissioner."
"So?" Vidya tilted her head.
"So, I'm thinking... how about we take Krish's proposal to her?", Reema asked excitedly
Vidya hesitated because she doesn't want to pour the water on Reema's excitement.She knows that these days Reema is worried about her Son's future. Reema doesn't want her son to leave a lonely life. She wants him to be happy and content with someone special.
"Aaa... the idea seems good, actually very good. But didn't Krish say he isn't interested in marriage right now? Do you think going with a proposal would be nice? What if he doesn't like it?"
"If he doesn't like it, I won't force him. But what if he does? He's been rejecting all the proposals because maybe he hasn't found the right one and waiting for this time. What if she's the one? And Krish is 29 now, I think it's high time that he gets himself ready for marriage."
Vidya frowned. "What if he's avoiding marriage talks because he already has someone in his life? Have you ever asked him about this?"
"I did," Reema admitted. "I even asked him if he liked boys, because I never saw him showing interest in girls."
Vidya's eyes widened. "WHAT did he say? Is he...?"
"No, no!" Reema shook her head quickly. "He looked angry and left for his business trip. It's been five weeks now, and he's still busy completing the deals."
"What's this internal meeting going on here? Care to share?" Rajendra's voice cut through, making both women glance at each other nervously.
They both looked at each other and thought who can initiate the marriage topic. They are their husbands so they have to agree with them at last, but how they can lessen their dramatics, that's the point to think about.
"What?"
"Vidya was saying that it's high time Krish gets married and also she found a girl for him. I know, such a shock! I was so shocked that I didn't know what to say."
Reema blurted everything in a hurry, while Vidya's eyes popped out in shock at how her sister-in-law had put the entire matter on her head. Reema gave her puppy eyes, knowing her husband would soon start his usual speech about letting children carve their own paths and choose their partners instead of pushing parental wishes like in old times. He may be old-fashioned, but she wasn't but that didn't mean she wouldn't think about her son's future. She longed to see Krish happily married, with children that would be the cherry on top. She wasn't greedy, expecting her daughter-in-law to bear children every year. She herself had one, and that was enough.
"Ouch..." Reema winced as Vidya pinched her elbow, signaling her to look at Rajendra. He sat beside her, eyebrows raised.
"Mrs. Rathore, care to come out of your thoughts?" he teased.
"Fine... it's my idea," Reema confessed. "I met a nice girl today, and I think you remember her. She made you feel like a filmstar by asking for a selfie."
Rajendra thought back to the morning incident when he was the chief guest. "That girl?"
"Yes, that girl. She's the Police Commissioner's daughter."
"Do you like her because she's nice, or because she's the Police Commissioner's daughter? Are you hiding something dark, Mrs. Rathore?" Rajendra teased again.
"Offo, aap bhi na kuch bhi bolte hain. Leave all that. Tell me, did you like the girl or not?"
"The point isn't whether we like her or not. It should be your son who should like her."
"You're right," Reema sighed. "So let's call Krish and tell him you want him to meet a girl."
"Why me?" Rajendra asked.
"Do you have to ask? Last time I made him meet four girls, and none of them worked out. I don't want to take the risk again. He may lower his expectations if he knows it's me arranging it this time."
"You're not wrong," Rajendra chuckled, leaving the room to call his son. His wife is not entirely wrong and anyhow he needed to talk to him about the ongoing project. How's that going and by when he will be finalizing the deal. He saw the time and called his son who is currently in London due to the ongoing project.
"Hi Dad. I was going to call you. The deal has been done. I'll finish the paperwork and will be coming back to India day after tomorrow."
"That's wonderful news, Son. I'm glad you are coming back."
"Do you have anything to say or did you just call me to check on project?"
"Yes, I wanted to know about the project," Rajendra replied casually.
"Okay sure, bye." Krish hung up.
Rajendra turned to see his wife glaring at him. She had clearly overheard their short and sweet but useless conversation.
"I know what you're thinking," he said quickly. "But I didn't tell him now because he might make excuses and stay in London to avoid meeting anyone. Now that he's coming back, we can tell him here. He won't have any excuse to escape."
Reema thought about his plan, then smiled and left the room. Rajendra's next task was to call the girl's parents. Finding contact details was no challenge for him. He dialed the Police Commissioner, Vikram Rawal.
"Hello Mr. Rawal, this is Rajendra Rathore speaking."
"Yes, Mr. Rathore."
"You might be wondering why I called at this hour."
"You're on point, Mr. Rathore," Rawal replied with sarcasm.
Rajendra laughed internally. "Actually, Mr. Rawal, my wife met your daughter today at the graduation ceremony."
"My daughter? Meera?" Vikram asked.
"Yes, Meera," Rajendra Rathore mentally noted the name because in the whole conversation with his wife, he didn't know the girl's name. He was sure that his wife was also unaware of the name. It would be fun to tease her later.
"What about her?"
.......................................
"Vidya, is everything ready for tomorrow? I don't want to take any chances."
"What chances, Mom? What's special tomorrow?"
The next day, Reema was busy preparing everything for tomorrow, carefully arranging gifts and decorations. She wanted no chances taken. But her heart nearly stopped when she turned and saw her son standing there.
He was supposed to arrive tomorrow. Instead, Krish had finished his work early, sorted out all the paperwork, and decided to surprise his family."Krish, what a pleasant surprise! We thought you were coming tomorrow, but you came a day early."
Vidya gave a big smile to him and then turned towards Reema with a look that said, you have to deal with this sister-in-law, I don't know how, but you have to otherwise everything will go in vain. Reema had planned to take Krish directly to Meera's house without giving him a chance to object, but now that he came a day early, she would have to rely on her motherly powers.
"Krish, you are back?" Rajendra's voice carried from the staircase as he and Vijendra came down for lunch.
"Yes Dad, the work is done so I thought to give you all a surprise. But not sure if that's a good idea now, seeing Mom's expressions."
"No, not at all, beta. I'm happy you are back. Mere jigar ka thukda hai," Reema's motherly instincts kicked and she went to her son to show how much she ishappy to see him and how much she had missed him when he was away.
"Ab ghar pe rahega tu, agar kuch aur project rahe toh tere papa chale jayenge."
"Miss you too, Mom," Krish said, hugging her warmly.
"Where's Shreya and Veer?"
"Shreya went on a trip with her friends and Veer is in the boarding school. He's got study to do so he's still in the boarding school," Vidya shared about her children's whereabouts.
"What study does he have to do? It's summer now?" Vijendra questioned, as he didn't understand why his son was still at boarding school, but zipped his lips on seeing his wife's stare.
"What's special tomorrow?" Krish asked again, noticing the gift boxes and still not knowing the occasion.
"Beta woh kal..." Before Reema could say further, Rajendra received a call. On seeing his expression, she didn't get a positive feeling, and her fear came true on hearing the caller's name.
"Yes, Mr. Rawal."
"What?"
"How did that happen?"
"Are you all okay?"
"Glad to hear. I completely agree with it."
Reema didn't understand a single word about the ongoing conversation. She nudged her husband to know.
"Just a minute, let me check with my family."
"What happened?"
"Mr. Rawal is saying that their house needs immediate pesticide treatment and it will go for 3 to 4 days, so can we postpone the meeting to next week?"
"Why don't we meet outside? We have our resort, how about we invite them?"
"Mr. Rawal, why don't we meet outside? Rathore Resort? Sure, perfect. We'll meet you tomorrow."
Except Krish, everyone knew the context of the call.
"Care to share, people?" Krish asked, suspicious.
Reema called him to sit beside her on the sofa and told him how they had found a girl for him and that they would like him to meet her. When he asked how they found her, Reema told the truth that she saw the girl at Shreya's graduation ceremony.
"Wait, graduation ceremony? How old is she?" Krish asked, startled.
"She is not a child, no need to react like that. She is of marriageable age. I married your father at 20, for your information. We talked with her parents and they are okay with it. We are not forcing you to marry
her tomorrow, but just meet her. If you like her then we'll take it further, otherwise we'll leave it."
"Mom..."
"Please beta, for me."
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