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Naresh didn’t ask any questions, just told the driver what route to take. Agastya stared out of the window, his mind a whirl. When they pulled up in front of the dance academy an hour later, it was to find out that Veda had already left for the day. Disappointment knifed through him as he told Naresh to take them home.
He walked through the doors to the Chief Minister’s residence a bare half hour later only to find said Chief Minister prowling the living room like a caged animal.
“Why are you running around town like a crazy person? We should be working.”
“I was working,” Agastya said briefly. “Tell me what you need.”
“I need my son to get his head in the game. We found the culprit. Let the law take its course there. Now, we do damage control.”
“What are you thinking?”
“A press conference or a massive public party meeting to begin with,” his father said grimly. “We tell our side of the story. People need to hear us, Agastya. Staying silent makes us look culpable.”
“Okay.” Agastya rubbed his hands over his face.
“We need a show of strength when we speak, all our allies need to be present. And our constituents!”
“I’ll get it done.” Agastya wondered if that weight on his chest was physical or just symbolic of what he was feeling right now.
“And we need your wife.”
The weight doubled as he met his father’s unblinking stare.
“She won’t come,” he told Nanna.
“Make her.” His father’s inflexible response was exactly what was expected from him.
“No.”
“Show of strength,” his father reminded him.
“No.”
“Agastya-“
“I said no!” Agastya shouted.
Silence descended around them. Agastya was dimly aware of his mother walking into the drawing room from the kitchen, her worried gaze darting between her husband and her son.
“Whatever you did,” his father growled. “Fix it. I want that girl back here.”
“That girl, my wife, will not be forced to do anything she doesn’t want to do. Don’t even think of pulling some in-law stunt with her.”
His father glared at him. “Vedhava.”
Agastya agreed with his father. He truly was an ass.
“I want her back here because it’s better in this house with her around. Better or worse, whatever. She should be here.”
Agastya blinked.
“She’s a very bad influence on everyone you know,” his father continued. “She’s telling your Amma to try out sleeveless blouses. Can you imagine? Your Amma has nice arms and must show them off, it seems! Arms!! She’s convinced Harsh to get up in the morning and join us at the breakfast table. It’s very bad for my digestion to see his grumpy face in the morning. And-“
“And?” Agastya prompted, his throat thick with unvoiced emotion.
“And she reads the newspaper to me every morning because my eyes burn when I squint at the small print.” His father looked down at his feet, his cheeks turning a deep red. “She reads them in voices,” Nanna said, looking like a schoolboy who got caught with his hands in the cookie jar.
“Voices?” Agastya’s own voice cracked.
