Arun looked at his grandson, then took a deep breath.

“Okay, ma. I’ll tell you.”

*******

The city of Bangalore was deep into the night. Everything was closed, and the streets were nearly deserted. The full Shivaram clan was heading back to Arun and Sandhya’s house in a rented Tempo Traveller, the only vehicle that would fit all seven of them and their luggage. It was late enough that their minibus was the only vehicle visible on the road.

In the front, right behind the driver, was Arun and Sandhya. Arun was asleep, but Sandhya was wide awake and kept moving her hand around as though imagining a conversation. Behind them were Ravi and Aditi, both awake, with Aarush fast asleep on his mother’s shoulder. And finally behind them sat Rani and Elena, dreading what would happen once Sandhya finally spoke to them again, for she hadn’t even looked at them since that afternoon in Karthik’s dressing room. Though Rani figured that this silence was better than being yelled at.

As the minibus pulled into the gated community, Arun woke up and gestured at the security to let them in. The drive from the main gate to the Shivaram house felt like the longest two minutes in Rani’s life… her heart was pounding. Will her mother say something? She then noticed Elena was squeezing her arm tightly, and realized that she was just as anxious.

The minibus turned onto the Shivarams’ driveway. Suddenly Rani remembered something: her mother didn’t allow Elena into the house. If they walk in now, then she’ll either have to let them in or break her silence.

“Hold on,” whispered Rani. Elena nodded, and gripped Rani’s arm even tighter.

Arun and Ravi unloaded the luggage from the minibus while Sandhya unlocked the front door and entered the house. Aditi, carrying Aarush, was about to enter as well when she glanced back and gave Rani and Elena a subtle gesture to follow her.

“Okay let’s go,” whispered Rani.

“Are you sure?” said Elena, worried. Rani nodded.

“Follow Aditi in. Ravi’s busy with the bags and Mom’s too angry to notice.”

Rani, with Elena still clinging to her arm, walked slowly towards the open front door, taking care not to let Ravi notice. Arun however, did notice, and made sure to keep Ravi distracted.

Rani stepped over the threshold. Elena hesitated, then did the same.

“Welcome to the Shivaram family home, at long last,” said Rani. Elena made an awkward smile.

“Well, better late than never, right?”

Rani chuckled quietly. This is why she loved Elena, for even during a tense moment like this she’d still find a way to crack a joke.

The couple removed their shoes. Aarush was zoned out on a nearby sofa while Aditi stood next to him, grinning with satisfaction at Elena’s long-awaited entry into the house.

“Okay,” said Rani. “You need to see the theater room upstairs, Dad went all out on–”

“HEY.”

Rani and Elena turned their heads slowly, dreading the source of that voice. Aditi darted her head back and forth, now worried.

“WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE??”

Sandhya had just come out of the kitchen with her hands on her hips, wearing the most murderous glare Rani had ever seen in her life. Elena, scared, backed away a little, but Rani stood her ground.

“Oh, so you’re talking to us now?”

Arun and Ravi, having unloaded the last of the luggage, walked into the house and closed the door. Ravi then widened his eyes with shock, apparently stunned with Elena’s presence in this house. Sandhya stomped over to Rani.

“I want her out. NOW!”

Rani crossed her arms.

“No.”

Arun and Aditi moved aside, worried about what was about to happen. Sandhya made a tsk.

“Don’t you see what she’s done to you? She made you do… that today! She MADE you a lesbian!”

“No one MADE me anything, Mom,” said Rani. “And I’m not a lesbian! I just happened to fall in love with a woman!”

“That doesn’t happen! These things aren’t natural, so someone like HER would’ve made you like that!”

Rani chuckled sarcastically.

“Oh, so I can’t think for myself? Is that it then? Do you think that just because YOU can’t, no one can?”

Sandhya fell silent, but the death-glare didn’t disappear. Rani narrowed her eyes.

“What’s this really about, Mom? Not just now, but from the very beginning?”

“What do you mean…?”

Rani cackled.

“Oh, where do I even begin? You forced me into football as a kid even though I begged you not to, you got mad when I cut my hair, you went insane when you found that love note I wrote for my classmate, and you went downright ballistic when you found out I applied to fashion school!”

“But I wanted you to be good at sports,” said Sandhya, scoffing. “For that letter I told you not to do such things until you got a job, and I didn’t want you to study fashion in US! Kids shouldn’t go so far from their parents!”

“Except I wasn’t good at sports, and I’ve found success as a fashion designer! Hell, several of my designs have now made it onto the cover of Vogue! Don’t you get it, Mom? For as long as I can remember you’ve never listened to me even once! You only saw what you wanted to see, and not what I actually was. You’re nothing but a– a control freak!”

Sandhya glared at her, her fury now reaching breaking point.

“How dare you…?”

“That is what you are,” said Rani. “Controlling!”

“No I’m not!”

“Yes you ARE–”

“I AM NOT CONTROLLING!!!”

Sandhya was breathing heavily. Arun, Ravi, Aditi, and Elena stared in apprehension as Sandhya finally spoke again.

“Do you even remember what all I’ve done for you? I fed you every day, made your favorite foods whenever you asked, and bought you whatever toys you wanted! And this is what you do? You ungrateful brat!”

“Except that’s the bare minimum you’re supposed to do as a mother,” said Rani. “What I needed was much deeper. I needed a mother who listened to me, understood what I said, and felt what I felt. And you weren’t any of that–”

“Enough, Rani.”

Ravi stepped forward.

“You abandoned us when you left for the US, and fell into this… ‘dyke filth’ right after. You have NO RIGHT to talk to Mom like that!”

Rani put her hands on her hips.

“‘Dyke filth’? Really? What Elena and I have is real, and I bet you wouldn’t even recognize it if it hit you in the face! I mean have you even looked at your wife ever? Have you not noticed how miserable she is?”

“How can she be miserable?” said Ravi, confused. “I make a lot of money and we live comfortably, why would she be–”

“Oh my GOD,” said Rani, slapping her forehead. “Are you really that dense? Did you ever, for even a second, stop and think about why she had you guys move into your own apartment, or why Aarush prefers us over you?”

“How can you talk to your brother like that??” said Sandhya. “He is better than you, don’t ever–”

“NO!” said Rani, stomping her foot. “This is your fault too! Because of you this idiot can’t think for himself! He has no idea who he is, to the point where he doesn't even realize how miserable he is!”

“How can he not know who he is? Do you not know who you are or what?? And Aditi should know if he's miserable, no?”

Everyone then turned to Aditi, a little alarmed that the spotlight was now on her. She made two steps forward.

“Um…”

Aditi hesitated. Elena then walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Actually,” said Aditi, softly. “He yells at I and Aarush quite a lot. It’s as if he’s… frustrated with something.”

Sandhya made a tsk and rolled her eyes.

“Ah, that’s because he’s a man! Men get angry, that’s all! That doesn’t mean anything!”

“Yeah, no,” said Rani. “He’s not a man, he’s a project. Your project. Every last little detail of his life has been micromanaged by you. The career path, the haircut, the wife, their son’s name, and even that stupid mustache! Still think you’re not controlling?”

“No I am NOT–”

“EVERYONE STOP!!!”

Everyone looked around to see who said that. It was Arun. Apparently Rani had forgotten that her father could project his voice out like that.

Arun slowly walked up to his wife. The others watched in anticipation.

“Sandhya.”

Arun stopped right in front of her. Sandhya looked up at him, frowning a little. Then Arun began to speak, calmly and quietly.

“Everything that Rani is accusing you of is correct.”

“But Dad–” began Ravi. Arun raised a hand, stopping him.

“Do you remember that afternoon when we first met at Bangalore Club? Your father didn’t seem to allow you to talk or even think for yourself. I could see it in your eyes Sandhya, that same fear I had of my father, you had of yours.”

Sandhya looked at him with confusion, but also intrigue. The others listened carefully.

“My father was abusive to me, we all know it. But what I realized that day is that your father was abusive to you as well.”

“My father never beat me,” said Sandhya, crossing her arms. “How can you say that?”

“Abuse doesn’t just mean beating,” said Arun, still calm. “The kind of abuse your father did to you wasn’t physical like mine. It was emotional.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

Arun exhaled.

“Actually it does. Look at your childhood, Sandhya. Look at your youth. You went to school where you were told, you went to college where you were told, you studied what you were told, and you even married who you were told to marry. Not once did your father ever ask you what you wanted.”

“And this is abuse to you?” asked Sandhya. “I simply listened to my father. I was good.”

“Wrong again,” said Arun. “You listened because he was controlling and you didn’t have a choice. And once you were finally free enough to make your own decisions, you started trying to exert that same control over everyone else in your life: your kids, your daughter-in-law, and even me, your husband, because this is all you know. I noticed this especially when Ravi and Aditi first met. You didn’t let him speak for himself that night, exactly like how your father didn’t let you speak when we first met.”

The entire house fell silent. You could hear a pin drop. Arun continued.

“When we decided to have kids I made a choice then and there to make sure they didn’t go through what I did. But maybe it was easier for me to make that choice because I knew what my father had done to me. If only you had also known…”

Arun paused to wipe a tear.

“Look at your kids, Sandhya. Really look at them, I’m begging you. Please try to understand what you’ve done to them. In spite of being twins they barely speak to each other now, all because of you.”

Sandhya then turned her head to look at her kids. There was Ravi, her handsome son. Good job, obedient, pretty wife with a son of their own, and lives nearby. Then there was Rani, her daughter. Weird job, difficult, made deviant by some gardener’s daughter, and lives far away. She then inhaled sharply.

“Do you even understand what you’re accusing my father of, Arun? Yes, he was strict, but he was a great man who kept us fed! You don’t deserve–”

“MOM!”

Now Rani was angry. She’d even started to tear up a little.

“Are you incapable of letting go of your ego for ONE SECOND–”

“SHUT UP, RANI!” yelled Ravi, stepping forward. “Enough with the self-righteousness! You don’t get to talk to Mom like that, not after abandoning your family for some... tatted-up Mexican whore!”

Everyone fell silent. Rani looked at her brother with shock and anger, but mostly disgust. She then threw her hands up.

“You know what? I’m done with you two. Fucking DONE! Come on, Elena.”

Rani grabbed Elena’s hand and stormed out of the house with her while Sandhya turned her back to them. As the door slammed shut Ravi turned to see Arun staring at him in horror.

“What did you do…”

*******

Arun, Karthik, and Aarush didn’t say another word. The clock on the nightstand struck midnight.

Finally Aarush spoke.

“I… I think I got it now.”

Arun quietly nodded. Karthik, looking around, suddenly decided to go back to his own room and so got up and left. As soon as the door gently closed behind him Arun started crying.

“Thatha…?”

“My kids hate each other… and it’s all because of their mother’s– I should’ve said something, I should’ve done… more…”

Aarush got up and hugged his grandfather. He looked out the window, and fervently wished that, even though it seemed unrealistic now, his father and aunt made up.

If only.