"I don't want to get married," Akhil told his mother as he sat in the kitchen with her, having been sent home early from the office by his big brother. The woman waved her knife at him as she asked, "Why not? You're not getting any younger. Besides, when your Father was your age he was already married and your big brother was born."
Knowing that no one in his family would understand, Akhil shut his mouth and begrudgingly chewed on the fruit his Mother had lovingly set out for him. "But Mom " he couldn't help but whine before his Mom turned around and said, "Go and get cleaned up. You've been home since when and still haven't changed."
Giving his Mother an unamused look, Akhil picked up his bag and jacket from the chair beside him before jogging up to his room. Putting his bag by the door and hanging up his suit jacket, Akhil took a moment to lay back and really think about the situation he was in. No, he didn't want to get married but he understood that he wasn't his parents’ only child and eventually his younger brother and sisters would need to be married, as well.
Groaning, he pushed himself up and tugged on his tie until it came loose. He just didn't see the point in marriage. For him, this arranged marriage talk was pointless. If it was a choice then he could understand but he knew that in his traditional, Indian, Muslim family a love marriage would be the closest thing to tarnishing his family name as switching religions.
"Bhai," his youngest sister, Koyal, asked as she knocked on her brother's door and waited until he opened it to inform him, "Bhai, everyone's calling you downstairs. Amir Bhaiyya and Abu have come home early. So, Ammi put all the food out early." Nodding, Akhil told her he'd be down in a few minutes as he quickly changed into more comfortable house clothing, which was traditional clothing, before making his way to the dinner table and sitting down next to his Father's right side.
There was silence except for when they all raised their hands to make the prayer before eating. "Have you thought about what your Mother told you Akhil," Mr Malik asked as he finally dug into the long-awaited dinner. There was a tense silence as the only sound that could be heard was the scratching of utensils and chewing of food. Akhil looked up at his big brother for help who simply shrugged and averted his gaze.
"Abu, I," he cleared his throat, looking for a way not to sound disrespectful or out of line before continuing,"I've already told you that I don't wish to get married. That has not changed." Before he could continue however he was cut off by his Father muttering,"I should have known sending you abroad was a bad idea."
Akhil bit his lip as he looked down at his lap. When he became a college student, he got the opportunity to complete his education abroad and was elated at the chance. Of course, his parents and many of the family disapproved but he barely managed to convince them.
Now whenever he disagreed with his father, which wasn't often, that card was brought out and the argument tended to end. "Excuse me," he muttered before placing his napkin on the table and walking away to his room. Mrs Malik glared at her husband before getting up from the table to go after her son.
"Give him some time, Ammi. Here, try this," Amir said as he placed something on her plate. Not sparing him a glance, she looked at her husband before asking,"If you know that he hates when you bring that up, why must you?" The man looked annoyed but would never take it out on his wife.
"You said yourself that he is at an age where he should get married. I am simply trying to make him understand that," he explained before eating his food. Mrs Malik shook her head as she settled back and the rest of dinner was filled in silence as Akhil closed his room door and turned on some light music in the background.
He opened his balcony doors and stepped out onto the terrace, shivering slightly at the chill in the air. It was moments like these that allowed him to clear his head and keep thinking with a clear view. As he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, he took deep breaths but was broken out of his calm trance-like state when his phone buzzed.
Thinking it was work, he grew annoyed before recognizing the cell number. That was when his annoyance turned to worry. "Akhil," he answered and wasn't surprised when one of his brother's friends apologized profusely and then asked if he could pick them up, as getting a taxi this late would be near impossible.
Wanting to ignore the call he hesitated before confirming that he would be at the entrance of the club in a few minutes. Once he managed to sneak out of the house, only letting his sister know so that others wouldn't worry, he sped to the club.
Once he reached outside, he saw the drunk group and exited the car. "Hi, Akhil," his brother slurred out when he got close enough and Akhil took a look around at the less than friendly crowd before lifting Akhil up from the floor with one arm around his waist and the other holding onto the arm that he had thrown over his shoulder.
Putting him in the front, he called a cab for the men before helping the 3 women into the back of the car. "Where can I drop you," he asked once they were all settled in the car and the cab had taken off. One of them leaned forward and had to take a breath to settle herself before slurring,"My house is that way. Over there."
Akhil raised an eyebrow before blowing out a breath of air to keep calm. "Do you have it written down? On your phone maybe," he asked as he spotted the time on the desk and noticed that it was getting closer to midnight and he had to work the next morning.
The girl huffed and sat back before another one moved forward and carelessly tossed her phone to Akhil who caught it. "B, it starts with B," the girl said before dissolving into a fit of giggles. Scrolling through the many addresses he found one that looked enough like a home address and not a bar before pulling into traffic.
Eventually, he managed to find the house and got out of the car with his keys in his pocket. He had learned that when his brother was drunk, leaving his keys in the car was a bad idea. Ringing the doorbell, he waited until the caretaker opened the door before introducing himself.
Explaining the situation and apologizing profusely he helped the Father and Brother that had come out to escort the ladies inside. "I really am sorry, to the both of you," he said once again as they stood outside of the house and by his car. The older man waved a hand and grabbed his hand before telling him,"Son, any other man would have left those girls drunk and lost on that street. I should be thanking you. You are a fine young man. Your parents must be proud."
Smiling at the praise and slightly blushing, Akhil nodded before excusing himself once he caught the time on his watch. As he made his way back into the car and started the engine, he noticed that even though Rahul had fallen asleep, he was slightly shivering.
Turning up the heat, Akhil managed to make it home before the clock actually hit midnight and turned off his lights so as to not alert anyone that they were home. Getting out of the car, he helped his brother out again, but this time had to bear all the weight as Rahul had essentially fallen asleep.
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