Sunday Story "My Live-in Sasuraal" Season 1 - Finale - Meeting the families

Read the previous part of this story here!

“So, the new live-in concept has been finally approved by your family?” Manav asked grinning to Aakash, who in turn expressed his relief with a satisfactory smile on his face.

“Just don’t ask. I know the next challenge is to answer my relatives. But my parents will take care of it. That’s not my worry. I am worry-free now that Anika will be coming to my home. Once this trial period is over, and she is happy with my family members, we can get married.”

Though as easy as it sounded, Aakash didn’t have any faint idea what was approaching in front of him. He assumed that he won half of the battle and that Anika was going to be all ‘his.’

There wasn’t any wedding ceremony as it was not a full-fledged marriage. But both the families wanted to know each other. Anika’s parents thought that they were sending their daughter to an unknown family’s house without any wedlock. They wanted to make sure that Aakash and his family members were reliable and would treat their daughter well. Hence, a wedding function was replaced by a casual dinner in a plush restaurant near Andheri. ‘Getting to know each other,’ was the main motto of the gathering that evening.

Everyone preferred to dress in their best outfits. Anika chose a peacock-green chiffon saree while Aakash had out on a lime yellow kurta.

“Why are you so dressed up? It is not even the marriage talks, beta. It is just for dinner.” Aakash’s mother asked him in irritation. She supported his decision, but didn’t like that he was not getting married.

“Mummy, I want to look my best today.” He answered shortly. “Aren’t you happy with this?” He asked for the umpteenth time since he had put his idea in front of his parents.

“I don’t know, beta. I always thought the day when you will get married would be the happiest day of my life. But I am not feeling even semi-happy today. It is not an engagement, nor a marriage-talk, or meeting the girl’s parents, or your wedding. It is just a bubble that can burst any day.” She replied gloomily. She didn’t look cheerful like his aunties. Aakash was in thoughts, ‘was this a bubble that could burst any day?’ He wondered as he received a call from Anika.

“You look handsome in your attire, my hot boyfriend! I love that kurta.” Anika exclaimed on the phone as he picked up his call. He had shared his selfie after dressing up.  She was excited for the dinner, and didn’t even wait for him to answer.

“I am not going to send my selfie in this saree. I want to surprise you.” She said mischievously. “What happened, Aakash? Why aren’t you saying anything? Are you okay? Hello, Hello..” She assumed that the call was disconnected.

Aakash returned to his senses and muttered, “Hello Ani, sorry I was thinking about something else.” He said apologetically.

“What are you thinking? Is something on your mind? Tell me na, baby.” She pleaded and Aakash gave in.

“Anika, do you think this arrangement is a bubble that is going to burst one day? Please don’t hate me and misinterpret my questions. I genuinely feel for you, and I don’t want to lose you. But did I come up with a superficial arrangement that will never work?” He asked in concern.

Anika thought for a while. She expressed her feelings only when Aakash insisted that she speak up.

“I think we all are victims of mental conditioning. When we see a married couple, we congratulate them. When we say a live-in couple, we think they are simply having fun. And now, our situation is completely out of the box, hence, we are perplexed. Even I felt that several times.” She answered quietly.

Aakash appreciated her response and added, “If we would have been married, we might have got cold feet. So, let us go with the flow”

When the families first met, they were introduced by Aakash and Anika. Even Anika was meeting Aakash’s family members for the first time. She had once bumped into Aakash’s parents at a mall and Aakash had introduced them briefly. But at that time, they were merely friends and a live-in with them was out of the question.

Finally, they sat at the table, Aakash’s family facing Anika and her parents. The kids took the other table as they didn’t want to meddle with the seniors. However, the little kiddo perched on his mother’s lap and asked for chocolates.

Everyone glanced at each other awkwardly, not knowing what to ask. It seemed someone was waiting for an ice-breaker. The couple simply communicated through their eyes and gestures.

It was Aakash’s badi chachi who broke the ice by asking Anika directly about her profession, “You are a lawyer, right? Is that why you don’t believe in the marriage system?”

Anika glanced at her and Aakash intermittently, but answered bravely, “I believe in marriages. And I am a corporate lawyer and not a divorce lawyer. I don’t deal with marriage laws.”

“Oh, but why do you want to stay in this arrangement? I mean, stay with us for a while before you get married.” Badi chachi asked again.

“Aunty, I am not offending anyone in the family. I have never lived in a joint family and I have seen my friends squabbling with their in-laws. So, it is better to know the people well before I am moving to their house. One cannot expect me to mingle with the in-laws and adjust overnight. I will take time, and let us do it before the marriage.”

Aakash’s family members were lost in thoughts but nodded their heads in agreement while Anika’s parents looked at their daughter supportively.

The conversation between others continued and after a while, it seemed that both the families were alright with the live-in arrangement.

Aakash tried to fumble under the table and typed randomly on his mobile phone. It looked like he was checking some notifications. But within a fraction of seconds, Anika received a message on her phone.

It was from Aakash and read as,

‘Congratulations for our live-in relationship with the in-laws.’

Friends, this is the end of Season One. Stay tuned for Season 2 to know whether Aakash and Anika’s live-in setup turns out well or is it just a bubble.

Thanks for reading!