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She ran her hand down the soft fabric of the cream coloured dress that flared out from her waist and hit her at the knees. This was fine, right? Her anxious eyes scanned her reflection in the mirror. Even if they went somewhere public and people noticed them, she looked okay, didn’t she? Or should she change?
A soft knock on the bedroom door startled her out of her thoughts. She glanced at her watch and smiled. Seven PM. He was right on time. She couldn’t wait to get tonight started, their first proper date as it were.
She ran, or rather tottered over, to the door in her ridiculous heels and yanked it open.
Her mother-in-law’s right hand smiled at her. “Pedamma is asking when you would like to have dinner, Madam.”
Veda shook her head, smiling. “Actually, I won’t be eating at home tonight. I’m going out with Chinna Babu.”
The other woman looked a little confused but didn’t argue with Veda’s assertion that she was going out with the younger master of the house. It had taken her a while to figure out the million unspoken rules of this house, but she’d finally managed to get a hang of a few of them. Rule number one being always keep the elders informed of where you were going to be after work if it wasn’t at home.
Veda had planned to tell Athamma their plans on their way out but maybe she should have done so earlier. Then her mother-in-law wouldn’t have made excess food for dinner. She was going to get mad if there was too much food leftover because the two of them didn’t stay home for dinner like they normally did. She fretted over the confusion and finally left her room to go looking for Agastya’s mother and to make her apologies.
She found Agastya’s parents clustered around the dining table with Priyanka. Harsh lounged on a day bed in the far end of the great hall, his phone held in front of his face.
“Priya!” Veda hurried forward to hug her friend. Sister-in-law now she reminded herself.
“Hey!” Priyanka hugged her back tight. “How are you doing?”
“Good. Very good.”
“You look beautiful,” Priyanka said, twirling Veda around to get a good look at her dress. “Something special tonight?”
Veda blushed. “Your brother and I are going out for dinner, our first proper date.”
“Agastya?” Priyanka looked astonished.
“No.” Harsh sat up, putting his phone down. “Me.”
Veda laughed, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. “We should do that too someday. Just not today.”
“You should go with them,” Agastya’s father said, his tired eyes scanning her outfit and made-up face. “Take Priyanka and Harsh and go. Anyway, dinner is boring only here.”
Her mother-in-law hissed in outrage. “The pulusu is your favourite.”
“It was,” he retorted. “Until you fed it to me every day and killed my liking for it.”
Amid the general laughter in the room, Veda snuck a glance at her phone. No message or call. Agastya was a whole hour late. She looked up and saw her father-in-law watching her.
“He won’t come,” he said. “He has a meeting with the Defence Minister.”
Veda’s heart sank. “But he said he would,” she muttered, looking at her phone again. “In the morning.”
“A lot has happened since morning,” Mamagaru said. “Don’t wait for him. Eat dinner here or go out with these two jobless ones.”
“I just came from work,” Priyanka grumbled. “Why am I jobless?”
Veda tapped out a message to Agastya asking if he was coming. The message stayed on one tick, not even getting delivered. Disappointment was a feral monster clawing at the pit of her stomach.
Harsh walked over slinging a heavy arm over her shoulder. “Come out with us. We’re the fun Kodelas.”
“Jobless,” his father muttered again before getting up to wash his hands.
“Change your dress and go,” her mother-in-law said as she too pushed back from the table.
“What’s wrong with her dress?” Priyanka demanded. “She looks gorgeous.”
“She doesn’t look like Agastya Kodela’s wife.”
