"Did you check Shaadi.com?"

"Yes," Ved replied tersely and took a deep breath to calm down.

"Jeevansaathi?"

Another deep breath. "Yes."

"Bharat Matrimony?"

And another. "Yes."

"Then? You didn't like anyone?"

He yelped, "No mom! I didn't!"

Rubbing his forehead, Ved stared at his cup of coffee. He liked very few things in life. A strong cup of espresso was one of them. After a long night, all he wanted to do was to catch up with the latest business news, have his coffee and enjoy the morning solitude. But his mother had decided to interrogate him about marriage.

At first, his mother had gone ahead and created marriage profiles for him on every available matrimony website. She had not even bothered to seek his permission. Then she randomly kept accepting invitations from prospective girls. To add to his woes, she had listed his mobile number as the contact number. He kept getting calls at the oddest of times. Needless to say, Ved was at his wit's end.

"Why? What's wrong?" Pinky scooted closer to her son.

"Nothing is wrong, Mom!"

Pinky looked at him solemnly. "Let me remind you again that you are going to turn thirty this year. If you wait longer then your options are going to reduce..."

"God, Mom!" Ved all but screamed. "Sometimes you speak such nonsense! It's so embarrassing."

"Embarrassing?" Pinky glared at him. "I will tell you what's really embarrassing. You and your inability to find one decent girl."

"Mom!" Ved whined. "Can we not talk about it? Please?"

"No!" she shook her head adamantly. "You cannot escape today. How long are you going to keep running away? This is real life! You won't magically bump into a girl one day and fall in love."

Ved tiredly slumped on the couch. "But I don't like this."

Pinky furrowed her brows. "What?"

"This..." Ved pointed at her mobile. "This internet shopping"

"Oh!" Pinky placed a sympathetic hand on his knee. "I know that it is awkward...but we all want to see you settled now."

Ved remained uncharacteristically quiet. Pinky saw it as a chance to hammer her thoughts. "Won't it be wonderful to have a permanent friend?"

Pinky had expected a fitting retaliation from him but Ved didn't say anything. She rolled her eyes. The situation perhaps demanded more drama and histrionics. It wasn't a problem for her. She bent her head mournfully. "If there is something or someone else, you can tell me."

"No," Ved snapped. "There is nothing. There is no one."

"Then what is the trouble?" she groused. She began to count complaints on her fingers. "Why haven't you made a single girlfriend till date? Why don't you go on dates? You don't have a social life beyond Kabir. You don't drink or smoke. Oh, for god's sake, you haven't even kissed anyone yet. This is abnormal!!!"

That finally got to Ved. He pressed a palm over Pinky's mouth and practically begged, "Mom! Stop. For god's sake, stop!"

What on earth was his mother trying to do? For someone who didn't even watch romantic movies, it was homicide to see his mother openly discuss his love life. How would she know if he had kissed someone or not? He flushed a deep red.

Pinky continued her tirade. "No! You tell me, bacha. Why don't you want to marry?"

Ved was almost ready to cry and probably would have at least sniffled if he hadn't heard his pesky sister's voice somewhere in the vicinity. Before he could blink, Vedika marched into the room. Without a word or greeting, Vedika ruffled his precisely combed hair and squeezed herself in between him and Pinky. Ved could only stare. With a slight shake of his head, he chose to ignore Vedika. One can only fight one war at a time.

"I want to marry, Mom..." Ved tried to reason. "But for that, I have to find someone. As far as the other things are concerned, I want to share those moments only with a special person."

"How stupid!" Vedika chimed in. "Even when people buy ice cream, they taste all the flavours first."

"Vedika!" Pinky rebuked her. "Behave yourself!"

"Okay Mom, I will give a better example. You test drive cars before buying that special one that suits your needs."

Ved closed his eyes. Listening to Vedika's opinions was like volunteering to hear nails scratching the blackboard. There was no way anyone would enjoy it. How did his parents allow such crassness to exist was beyond him.

"There is a difference between cars and people! Have some respect...please!" Ved scolded her. "And all I am saying is that if I feel even the slightest bit of connection with a girl, I will ask her to date me. But at least let that happen first."

"For that, you have to meet a girl first!" Pinky asserted loudly. "You don't party as it is. You spend majority of your time in the office. The rest of the time you are holed up in your room. How will you ever find anyone?"

"Mom yaar...cut him some slack!" Vedika pinched Ved's cheeks. "He is practising for the Indian remake of the 40-year-old virgin."

Ved scowled fiercely at his sister. "Stop this nonsense right now."

"Or what?" Vedika glared back.

Ved threw a helpless look at Pinky. "Mom!"

"Okay Vedika, enough!" Pinky tried to sound tough. As much as she was enjoying their banter, she didn't want to irritate Ved anymore. She turned towards Ved. "What do you want to say?"

Ved knew that all he needed to do was to put off the topic for as long as possible. He had thought a lot and had come up with a decent plan. Crossing his arms, Ved pitched his offer to Pinky like the true-blue businessman that he was. "Give me six months. If I don't find anyone in this time frame, I will do whatever you want me to."

"One month," Pinky imitated him. "Not a day more than that."

Ved stared aghast at his mother. He couldn't believe his ears. Or his eyes. Or the processing of his brain.

"Mom! I don't think it's enough time to find a girl let alone a suitable one!" he stated desperately.

"I don't care," Pinky stated firmly. "I agreed to a part of your condition. Now you agree to a part of my condition."

"But..." Ved opened his mouth to argue.

Pinky cut off his protest with a wave of her hand. "No. It's non-negotiable."

Vedika burst out laughing. She was thoroughly enjoying the complete annihilation of Ved's seemingly peaceful life. And his self-respect. And his dignity.

Ved pinched the bridge of his nose. What had gotten into all of them? Why was it so important to get married at a certain age? What was the rush anyway?

Pinky calmly prodded, "So, deal?"

He knew that there was no point in trying to dissuade Pinky now. Once she made up her mind about something, she turned stubborn. So he gave up. Ved gulped hard but nodded nonetheless. "It's a gentleman's promise."

Pinky beamed. "Perfect."

Ved's gaze dropped to his now cold espresso. How was anyone supposed to endure a madness of this proportion? He had no idea how he was going to deal with the whole situation, forget getting out of it. Cursing his traitor stars, he hastily collected his belongings and prepared to flee. "I have to go to the office now."

Looking hopelessly dejected, Ved trudged out of the room. Vedika grinned looking at her brother. There was nothing greater than watching the great Ved Arora shrivel like that. She wished to have documented the entire exchange on video but well, she valued her life.

She turned Pinky around by her shoulders and said, "Mom, he couldn't find a girl in twenty-nine odd years. What makes you think that he will find one now? That too in a freaking month!"

"Because my darling daughter, until we don't push Ved, he isn't going to do anything."

"Oh!"

"Yep!" Pinky flashed an enthusiastic grin. "Beta, hum bhi kache khiladi nahi hai. I have also been a top businesswoman. I also know how to hatch plans and strategize according to the clients."

"You are amazing!" Vedika smooched her mother's cheek. "I truly can't wait for the tamasha to unfold."

Pinky laughed. "Nor can I!"

Note: This is a sample chapter from the book.

Buy the full book at: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B08TWM6JD9