You Two Are Perfect For Eachother

2. The Conditions

A full five minutes had passed and neither had uttered a word. A million thoughts were running through Mansi's head and it was a conundrum of emotions. As Mansi looked around, she thought that if the situation was different and this was a date then the current setting would have been amazing. This thought brought a smile on her lips and Amit noticed. He was mesmerised for a moment when the waiter appeared. Mansi ordered an ice tea and Amit ordered a Mojito. As the waiter left, Amit finally gathered the courage to speak up.

"This is indeed a nice spot." He immediately smacked himself internally for being so lame.

"Yes," Mansi smiled. "I was actually thinking the same"

Now Amit was a straight forward guy and not understanding how to further the conversation, he said the following, "Mansi, I don't know about you but I am here because my family urged me to." He immediately regretted, it sounded wrong like he wasn't interested in her or something but in-fact he has been under a spell since laying eyes on her.
"Don't take in a wrong way...I mean don't think that I don't want to marry you or that I am being forced or something because I am sure that you are an amazing girl who at this point I hardly know.." Amit realised that trying to explain was making things worse so he just shut-up.

Hearing what Amit had to say, Mansi's mouth went dry. What does he mean? Was he not ready to get married? Was he here under family pressure and nothing else? Her face felt hot and she just wanted to get up and run away to that grove of trees which was visible from where she sat and cry. Thankfully, the waiter got their orders at that moment and both of them got a moment to collect themselves but Amit was on a roll to make things awkward today so this is what he said after taking a sip of his refreshing mojito, "Mansi, I don't understand why you agreed to meet me. To tell you the truth, I did agree to meet you as soon as I saw your picture but don't you thing it would have been better if we had had a few conversations over the phone and maybe met once or twice before involving our families? I have been thinking about this since the moment we arrived here."

Mansi took a deep breath and finally spoke up, " I don't get it! Are you planning to call this off?"

All the colour drained from Amit's face, "Mansi, I think I wasn't clear. You have it all wrong. What I meant was...all I wanted to discuss...talk about was a little about our life after marriage since our days our numbered before we tie the knot that is if all goes well...I mean we both said yes and our families are thrilled with this so the best that we can do in this situation is just sit and talk..."

It took everything that Mansi had in her to put a smile on her face as she said, "I understand," she didn't! Her heart was fluttering and her mind was numb. She didn't understand. Amit was no different, his mind was definitely numb and seeing that strand of hair fluttering in the wind and falling on Mansi's face was making his heart skip a beat.

Captivated with her, Amit muttered, "Mansi, I have a proposition for you." Mansi looked at him and blushed a little on seeing how his eyes were fixated on her. "My family's business is booming and as much as my father would love to hand over the reigns to me, I don't want that. I want to build my life on my own just life my father did and only then would I feel worthy enough to be called the heir of his business empire. I know you are still pursuing your education and I would like you to concentrate on that. This marriage can be a very big distraction for both of us and deviate us from our goals. I like you and I am going to tell my parents the same when they ask me but before you agree to the union, I want you to know that I would like us to live as friends...like roommates. If this is meant to be, we will fall in love but if we don't then we will part ways because it wouldn't be fair for either of us to be in a loveless marriage for a lifetime."

Mansi was sure that her heart will jump out of her chest at any moment. Her mouth was dry and her mind was blank. She couldn't process what he was saying, she heard him but it hadn't sunk in. She knew he was expecting a response and this made her angry, 'What am I supposed to say? Stop looking at me!' But she counted to ten, took a sip of her ice tea and managed to mutter, "It's a lot to take in"

They finished their drinks in silence where Mansi was lost in thought and Amit couldn't keep his eyes off her. As they made their way towards their families, dread started to creep in for Mansi because she wasn't sure what to tell her parents. She herself didn't understand the half of it. As they reached the open lounge where their families were Mansi was relieved to see that her family was ready to go. She just wanted to get in bed and process everything rationally. As they entered the vicinity, all heads turned towards them with expectation which made Mansi blush so she immediately went to her mother and asked her if she needed help with anything which her mother denied but Mansi's mother knew her daughter and knew something was up. Soon they said their goodbyes in the traditional way by touching elders' feet and getting their blessing and were on their way.

Later that night Mansi's mother came to her room with a glass of turmeric milk and as she handed the milk to her, she sat down on the edge of the bed. Mansi knew this would happen. Her mother always knew when something was bothering her.

"Beta, what happened?" Her mother asked her. "We love you and we would never force our decision over you so if you didn't like Amit then tell me and I will make it all go away. You are my precious little girl, remember that."

Her mother's words were enough to bring tears to her eyes but she needed to keep a strong facade because she didn't want her parents to worry.
"It's nothing Mumma." Mansi said. "It's just all very sudden so I have a lot to think about. Don't worry, Amit is a nice guy. I like him."

Her mother knew that Mansi was hiding something but let it go for the moment. She got up and took the now empty glass with her as she left the room but not before planting a goodnight kiss on Mansi's forehead.

That night, Mansi lay awake processing everything until the break of dawn and the few hours of sleep that she did get was not the peaceful kind. She didn't understand...what Amit said, the proposition made sense but at the same time was ridiculous as heck. Did he want to say that he wasn't ready to accept Mansi as a wife? Was he trying to find a way out? Was he proposing an open-marriage? Mansi faced the biggest dilemma of her life, should she or shouldn't she go through with this marriage?

Meanwhile, in another part of the city as Amit lay in his bed reflecting upon the events the last thought that he had before drifting into sleep was, "Jo bhi mein, kehna chahu...barbaad kare...alfaaz mere" (My words always mess up what I intend to say)

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