Mésalliance (Completed)

Chapter 9

"She is seventy apparently," Praneet commented to Madhu in the hotel lobby. She nodded disinterested. The grandma didn't step inside the hotel but had ordered everyone to assemble at the lounge for wedding shopping. The haste of the old lady irked Madhu.
Vikram paced around the hotel lobby. He despised the old lady and it showed in his mannerisms. The time was two p.m. already and the old lady would have reached Bangalore at noon. He couldn't wait for another minute to welcome his beloved grand mom and show her the directions to the graveyard.
His keenness confused Krish. "Are you glad to meet her?" He questioned.
The last meeting between Rati and Vikram as far as  Krish remembered was an attempted murder where Vikram threw a brick at Rati in a drunken state.
Rati had called Vikram a man-whore and cursed him to contract AIDS from his one-night stand.
"I am waiting to throw a brick this time," Vikram commented to Krish, passing a nasty stare at him.
His dad stood alongside Praneet and Madhu near the entrance with a sweet box in his hands. Vikram failed to poison that box.
A taxi reached the hotel entrance with a noisy passenger. The old woman threatened the driver and threw money in his face. Vikram scrunched his nose when he had a glimpse of her from the lobby.
His dad moved forward with a fake happy face to receive his mother. "Welcome home, maa," Sooraj hugged her after a long time.
"Is this hotel your home?" Rati questioned him, moving behind from his hug. He shrugged, "A usual phrase to welcome someone. Was the travel convenient?" Though he knew that his mom would have a hundred complaints, it was his duty to ask about her well-being.
Rati huffed her queries, "No, idiot! Private jets are convenient. I gave you a private space inside my womb for ten months. Can't you hire me a jet?"
"It's a two-hour trip, Mom!" Sooraj gave up on his words. "Millions of people travel by economy class. You came by a business class ticket."
"Sandwiched between a guy who leaned on my shoulder and a teenage bitch with a putrid perfume," she retorted, pressing her forehead. "I have a terrible headache now!"
Vikram interrupted the old lady, "Even if we had hired a spaceship, you would have complaints." When she returned a nasty stare, he turned his eyes to the ceiling.
Rati scowled at Sooraj, "This is why condoms exist."
Niyati walked to her grand mom to give a hug and welcome her but Rati pushed her behind, "Can't you seek my blessings?"
"Why not?" Niyati bowed at the feet of her grandmother to touch her feet. Rati pressed her down, "Use your spine to bow correctly! You are a lass, not a grand mom."
Niyati grunted in pain and stretched herself straight.
Rati turned to Vikram, "Do you need an invitation to come here?"
He waved his hands, knowing her trap, "I already have enough blessings."
Rati eyed Sooraj in displeasure and walked further inside, "What are you doing here?" She questioned Krish. He turned to Vikram.
Rati eyed the guys and announced, "I have heard enough," and marched towards Madhu and Praneet. "You are being trapped for that useless fellow. Hmm..."

Madhu couldn't suppose anything from her words. The marriage already gave her anxiety and the old woman worsened it ten folds. Rati understood her stress and comforted the young woman, "I mock my family a lot. You need not worry, lass."

Madhu nodded her head and bent in front of the old woman to seek her blessing. Rati patted her head with pride, "You are humble. Flap your wings like a butterfly and fly high like a falcon."

"She can walk like other humans," said Vikram who was pissed by the buttering words of Madhu. "Can we already go shopping?"

"Looks like you are keen for this wedding..." Rati smirked at her grandson. Vikram thought to himself that his wedding should happen after her funeral.
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Praneet suggested a posh shop in Bangalore to purchase the outfits. Madhu didn't fancy the traditional dresses that were showcased in front of her but the other women were eager to select her wedding outfit.

While Rati and Niyati suggested a lehenga, Ankitha and Revathy suggested a saree. Madhu scowled at the pricking artwork on the dresses. She didn't prefer the uncomfortable dresses though they were apt for her wedding.