4 Chapter 4

She remembered when her father came into her room and had had a lengthy chat with her about Rohan. She was not going to yield to getting married before completing her super specialization no matter what.

"Sneha, had your mother been alive she would have had you married off long before you finished your specialization. It was her wish that you got married before you turned twenty-five. However, I waited only because you were so insistent on getting your Post Grad degree. Sumit is a very nice friend; both he and Ramona treat you like their daughter."

He paused for a minute and then continued. "What better family could I find for you? I will always have the satisfaction in the back of my mind knowing that my daughter is living happily. I've known Rohan for a long time, he is a brilliant child. He works in a good firm and draws good money; I think he is a perfect match for you."

Now he gave Sneha a scheming look and said, "Boys like Rohan are so accomplished and well settled that they don't wait very long. The fact that his parents are looking for a match for their son means that he doesn't have a girlfriend otherwise he would have been married a long time ago."

Sneha furrowed her brows as she answered, "Papa, please don't push me into marriage. I don't really know this guy, he is alien to me. I had minimal interaction with him even when we were younger. What does he know about me? Can you give me at least a month to get to know him?"

Raj knew his daughter too well. Within a month she would not only dissect Rohan's character, but would reject the proposal based on some lousy excuse. He would never allow that so he dealt with the matter deftly.

He leaned forward a little bit and looked Sneha right in the eyes. "Rohan is coming here the day after tomorrow. Sumit is pushing me to talk to you and arrange a meeting. He will stay only for a week and he has a lot of work to do within that week. You must understand the importance of other people's time too. Please do one thing for me…just meet him. We'll leave other things to happen over time," he finished with a smile.

"Papa, I'm being cornered by you and uncle Sumit. I want to spend more time with you and brother. Why are you pushing me out so soon? I have a great career and I'm earning well and have great perks too! Can't you find a match for me in this city? I want to stay near you and brother," she almost cried, tears misting her eyes.

Raj also wanted his daughter to stay near them and was torn. After all, he needed constant emotional support too. He wanted to look after his kids and needed assurance they would always be happy but this wasn't the right time to vent those feelings. Rohan was too good a match for Sneha. Even his wife would have agreed to this matrimony.

He said with a relaxed smile, "Dear child, City M is not far off; you can visit us at any time, it's only a two hour flight from here."

"No papa, I am not going to go anywhere," she said having to smile at his use of the familiar term of endearment for daughter.

Raj gave up and thought of asking Ramona to help him out. Ramona knew Sneha very well and as a woman she would be more convincing than he was. He went to Sumit's place to talk to both of them. Sumit was out for a job and Ramona was in the kitchen cooking some food.

He greeted her and said, "Ramona, Sneha is not agreeing to even meet with Rohan. She doesn't want to get married if she has to move very far away. She wants to stay in this town, near us. I think you would be the best person to try and drill some sense into her."

Ramona knew that Raj also wanted his daughter to stay close to them and that he was just fighting with his emotions. She looked at him with pain in her eyes.

On the one hand Ramona was dealing with her son's outburst to not marry Sneha, and on the other hand Sneha didn't want to marry Rohan. At one point in time Ramona had thought it was best if they didn't marry. She was fed up with so much negativity however, her better senses prevailed over her negative thoughts and she said, "Okay Raj, let me try and convince Sneha about doing this." And then she mumbled, "What's happening to kids these days? Have they become so modern they can't agree to their parents' wishes? Or do they have other people already in their lives?"

While she already knew about her son, she was wondering about Sneha… Even though she knew Sneha really didn't have anyone apart from family in her life, she started suspecting her anyway for a brief moment. Well, she was a typical mother-in-law in that sense! She was aware of Rohan's string of affairs but wouldn't want her daughter-in-law to be treated like that.

When Raj left, Ramona had a two-fold task - to convince Sneha as well as Rohan to at least see and talk to each other.

Ramona came over to speak to Sneha in the evening after she returned home from the hospital. She looked tired but Ramona decided to talk to her in spite of that.

"Sneha, you know why I have come here. Beta, why don't you want to talk to Rohan? He is a nice boy and will keep you very happy. Trust me, he is my son and I believe I have raised him well," she said with a lot of emotion.

"I know aunty; it's just that I want to stay close to papa and brother. I don't want to leave them. Who will take care of them when I'm gone?" Sneha pondered.

Ramona became a little bit angry and felt that her undying care was taken so lightly. "Haven't I taken good care of you kids? I have always ensured that you stayed well. Ever since your mom passed I have been looking after the two families quite equally. There have hardly ever been instances when I have let any of you down," she said with tears in her eyes.

Sneha couldn't argue the point so she agreed to Ramona's request. "Sorry aunty, I didn't mean to hurt you. I know you've been a pillar of support to us and I love you." She relented to her request, "Okay, let me know the time and date and I'll be there. Do I need to deck up too?" she asked with a dimpled smile. Ramona couldn't help laughing at this.

So the evening passed nicely and now Ramona only had one important job left to do…convince Rohan. She informed Raj about the small chat she had had with Sneha. While Raj was thrilled, he started choking up with emotion.

Two days later Rohan came home.