"Hi! My name's Hwang," he said.

I was riveted by his eyes, the sheer blackness of the iris beckoned me. Black was mysterious. So at odds with the open smile he had. So intriguing.

I recovered in time to answer.
"Hello, I'm Veena."

"Veena," he repeated, pronouncing it with a W. I was giddy that he'd just said my name.

"Ok, let's go meet the rest of the brood." My brother, Hari steered Hwang away into the throng of guests who had arrived for the wedding. I expected most people to stare at the exotic creature amidst them but they were too busy gossiping with one another to notice.

The smile I had while being introduced to him was still on my face. It was a good thing no one paid much attention to me today. Nope, the spotlight was on my cousin, Deepika, literally. She was the bride - all made-up, and decked with silk and gold and flowers; the cameraman was having a field day capturing her radiance from every angle.

It was bitter-sweet to watch her bask in all the attention. She had begged me to forego my make-up so she would look good. I wasn't even wearing kohl! But, it was Deepika's day today and I wasn't going to grudge her that. Besides I had something else to distract me - Hwang.

Hari was flouting the fact that he was working at Singapore. Which was another way to brag that he earned more than most guys his age at the wedding. Which was another way to advertise that he was single and very eligible. He was doing it under the not so subtle cover of introducing Hwang.

Jerk!

Single. That was what I was too. Deepika was a year younger than me and by rights it ought to have been me who should be getting married first. I despaired at the whole arranged marriage thing, especially the bit where they tried to match the horoscope. There was a problem with mine. The blasted astrologer predicted that my husband would die quite young unless the prospective mate was born under some specific alignment of the planets and stars. I'd love to roll up that scrap of paper on which my fate was supposedly charted out and shove it up his... well, you know what I mean.

So here I am, a virgin at twenty five. And by the look of things they'll probably decide to get me hitched to the first guy with the right horoscope. I hope that when they find someone, I'd have enough of rationality left to scrutinise him before giving my final decision.

Hwang had disappeared while I was wallowing in self pity. Where could Hari have taken him? Probably the thickest part of the gathering where he could talk loud enough to advertise himself to everyone within earshot. I looked among the said bunches.

No Hwang.

Marriage meant wedding feasts. They must be in the dining hall stuffing their face. Boys!
I bet it would be a treat to watch Hwang pick at our cuisine. I wouldn't be surprised if the catering ladies fawned over him, plying him with the spicy curries and sweet kheer and the crispy papads and steaming white rice.

Hwang had that effect on people. His pitch black eyes, although mysterious, were taking in the spectacle before him with all the wonder of a little child. How I wished I could just grab those cheeks of his!

I rushed up the stairs to the dining floor, earning myself an admonishment and some advice about how women were supposed to behave from some obscurely distance relative, an aunt of some kind.

On the dining floor, I scanned the tables, it shouldn't be that hard to find him. Still, no luck. Where could they have gone? Did he get tired of the endless greetings and forced smiles, and excused himself back to his hotel room? That wouldn't surprise me. But Hari had brought him all the way over from Singapore, on a weekday no less. He wouldn't let Hwang go that easily. Maybe they have taken refuge in one of the guest rooms.

Their shoes were outside one of the rooms on the second floor. Just the two of them. Odd. I didn't bother to knock. I barged in.

They were inside all right. Not only did I find Hwang, I also caught Hari in the act of downing some kind of liquor. It had this nice burgundy colour to it. Definitely not a soft drink. I grinned as Hari's expression shifted from pleased to panic. Hwang looked a little uncertain.

Jackpot!

Born into a family of teetotallers, alcohol was something 'the elders' frowned upon. But to have someone from the family drinking it, oh boy, it was going to be Judgement Day for Hari.

"Shit, Veena. Get out!

"What's that? Whisk? Brandy?"

"It's Bourbon," Hwang volunteered.

"Does it taste sweet?"

"No. Not exactly."

I could just stand there and listen all day to that accent of his, but unfortunately I had a duty to do.

"Thanks for telling me it's name, but I doubt anyone in my family would understand. I'll just say it's booze and be done with it. Ta-ta!"

"Wait, Veena. Be reasonable. It would be rude not to join Hwang when he was drinking. This is my first time. I don't even like the stuff."

"Save it."

"You aren't going to blackmail your brother, are you?"

Hwang was handsome, handsome enough to turn my brain into mush. But some things were too primal to ignore.

"No," I said. "I wouldn't even dream of blackmailing."

"Oh. It all good then?"

"No, it's not. She has no intention of blackmailing. She means to tell the entire family," Hari wailed.

"Not the whole family, dweeb. Just dad." I gave them both my sweetest smile and left.

I found dad. He was talking with mom. More like a heated discussion. I interrupted. Mom didn't look all that pleased. So I didn't waste any time and narrated in detail what I had seen. I repeated the last bit again just in case they misunderstood anything.

"You were sniffing after Hwang."
Typical mom. I just brought her an important piece of information and she somehow found within the subtext something to accuse me of.

"You are missing the part where I found them both boozing in the room."

"You could have mistaken. He must have served it to his friend. People in Singapore drink at functions. It's called social drinking."
What I wouldn't give to slap my mom right there. Hari, her precious son, toiling away in some distant land, while I, the daughter whom she couldn't get married off soon, stirred trouble every where she went.

"Hari. Is. Drinking. ALCOHOL."

"Keep your bloody voice down. Someone might overhear you."

I looked at my dad. He looked a little stunned. Well, he should be. Mr Perfect wasn't all that perfect as he led them to believe. And for once, I'd be the better offspring.

"You will not talk about this here. I have found a potential match for your brother."

This was bull. I bring them news that their son's boozing and all they could think of was to shut me up. Mom glared at me like it was all my fault. I huffed and left them.

There had to be a way to profit from this situation. I went up to that room again. Hwang was standing outside looking awkward and apologetic. I bet Hari was sobbing inside, ready to plead guilty when, no, if dad bothered to go inside. The jerk didn't even know that our parents chose to overlook his little transgression.

Hmm... That just gave me an idea.

"If you don't want me to blab, then I want something."

He narrowed his eyes. "I thought you said you were above blackmailing."

I shrugged. "I'm flexible."

"What do you want?"

"Since it was _you_ who _tempted_ Hari into drinking. You should be the one to make up for it." I hoped that he took the bait.

"What do you want me to do?"

I loved him even more with that confused look on his face.

"Treat me to a sundae."

He blinked. "That's it?"

"That's it."

"You wouldn't blackmail him later?"

I held up my hand, palm facing forward. "I promise on all that I hold holy."

That satisfied him. He couldn't have known that there wasn't _anything_ that I considered holy. The same way he couldn't have known that this town frowned upon dating even more so than getting boozed. I was sure that this little stunt of mine wouldn't endear me to my mom very much. Then again I have a strong sense of justice hard-wired into me, especially where I was concerned. If Mr Perfect got a free pass, it was only fair that I get one too. This was going to be good.

I told Hwang to go downstairs and wait by the white scooter in the parking lot, "It's the one with the Mickey Mouse sticker on the front."

"What about you?"

"I'll get the key from brother dearest. Go on."

He stood there for a second but obeyed. The germ of a plan now crystallised faster, the details became more clear and if played right, oh yes!

I watched him go down the steps and once he disappeared, I knocked on the door. No response. Typical. I pushed the door open. The lights were on. Hari was sitting on the bed, his eyes red and hair dishevelled - pathetic.

They want to get this oaf married!

What he needed was an ayah. Oh well, I had things to do and places to be, and one handsome Asian to be with.

"Gimme the key to the scooter and your wallet."

"Bitch."

"That makes you a dog. We are related, remember?"

"What do you want the scooter for?" His brows knitted.

"Mom told me to drop-off Hwang at the hotel. And you are to remain here until you are sober. Dad nearly didn't believe me, you know."

I watched his face crumble. All these years he had built up his flawless image and just like that it was shattered, with a little help from yours truly.

That's what are sisters for.

It was somehow more satisfying than I expected.

"The key."

He moved like an old man digging his pocket for the key and threw it at me.

"Wallet."

He looked at me trying to work out why I needed his wallet.

"I need to pay for the fuel." I didn't wait for the slob to wise up to the the fact that I planned to clean one of his card out. He had three. He'd survive. I snatched the leather wallet from his numb hands and left him to wallow in self pity. It would build character. Just look at what it had done for me so far.

*

I made it a point to avoid the other guests. Mom might busy trying to secure a match for her oh-so-precious son but that didn't mean I was bereft of nosy relatives. I reached the parking lot without incident. He was there, standing by the scooter looking nervous. Well I did let him believe that he'd committed a serious breech of etiquette in a foreign land, which by the way he did. He smiled when he saw me, as if I were an angel sent to guide him out of this nightmare. I flashed him my most beautiful smile. It would have been even more stunning if I had worn my lipstick and gloss. People didn't appreciate the sacrifices I made for my family. I suppressed a sigh and lobbed the key to him.

He caught it, but looked unsure. And then it dawned upon me. They either hire a taxi or just ride the bus over there in Singapore. It still surprised me that he didn't know how to drive a scooter, though. The town's roads weren't all that rider friendly, nor were the other commuters, so I told him I'd drive. I plunked the shiny red helmet on my head and secured the straps. It was a little big, but it'd do.

I didn't realise how weird it was driving around town with a man in tow, not to mention a foreigner. I could feel the eyes following us all the way to the ice cream parlor. Good thing I had my helmet on.

"I remember this road. My hotel's nearby." I saw him in the side mirror; he was grinning grin like a kid who just learnt that numbers extended way beyond the ten fingers on his hands.

I smiled along with him, although for a very different reason. We arrived at the ice cream parlor. I didn't frequent this shop that very often, for the simple reason that it was quite a long way away from my house. So it had the advantage of offering me a relative anonymity.

We entered the air-conditioned shop through the thick glass doors. It didn't have that big a collection of flavours. I scanned the tubs of ice cream for pineapple.

Bummer.

I settled for a bean-vanilla scoop with strawberry sauce. He bought chocolate ice cream with melted chocolate and a brownie. I found us a seat away from the counter and the door. Besides us, there was another couple, they were busy minding their toddler. So no worries.

"So, how's the town?"

I bombarded him with mundane questions which he answered more out of a sense of obligation than real pleasure at the conversation. This wasn't how I imagined it to go. On the way over I fantasised us having one of those deep heart-to-heart talk. Well, reality sucks.

He asked me a few questions too, like what course I had done and stuff. Strictly polite. I had to do something if I wanted to salvage this. Else my plan to lure him back to his hotel room for some, you know, boy-girl thing, would just fizzle out. Once I captured his fancy, I'd tell him that I was feeling a little sick at which point he'd be the gentleman and escort me to his hotel room, to rest and freshen up since it was near by and then...

I felt all tingly just thinking about that.

"Do you have any girlfriend back at Singapore?"

He smiled. I smiled back. So close.
He reached for his pocket. Finally, time to settle the bill and get to that hotel. But instead of pulling out his wallet he took out his iPhone. He tapped the screen a few times and handed it to me. There was photo. He looked young in it, and was standing beside a lithe, dark-haired girl. I prayed that it was his sister even though it would be way beyond weird to pull out a sister's photo when talking about girlfriends.

"That's my wife, Mai."

I wanted to crawl into the freezer and stay there. Hopefully, by the time they thawed me out, a thousand years would've gone by. I kept the smile on my face even though it hurt my cheeks.

"She's beautiful." Somebody, just stab me.

"I'm going to be a dad soon."

I watched the fond smile he had as he said that while looking at the picture of his wife. The girl in the picture looked a lot younger than me, it was probably taken years ago.
I gave the waiter Hari's card and told to Hwang that we had better head back.
I didn't know how I got back, the return trip was all hazy. Hwang pointed at stuff and asked me about them. I thought I replied but I wasn't sure.

*

Back at the wedding venue, the groom had arrived and was now seated beside Deepika. Cameras flashed. I couldn't bear to watch. So I went upstairs to the second floor where the guest rooms were located. I went to room that Hari was in.

Misery loves company, right?

He was dressing up, putting on his tie. He had a silly grin on his face too. I suppressed the urge to claw at him, and slumped onto the bed.

"Aren't you coming? You're gonna meet your future sister-in-law."

I gave him that withering look I perfected just for him quite early in my teens. He shrugged and left; the clicking of his boots faded away.

This was getting old. Why couldn't I have something that I want for a change? What made Mr. Perfect so endearing while everyone barely tolerated me?

Damn them all!

I should have taken the job offer I got from the Global Hospitals group. They had offered a sweet package. I wondered if they still needed a clinical pharmacist?

That was it. I am going to leave this shitty little town and move to the capital. It wasn't like I would be terribly missed or anything. Maybe I could snag an MD.

***

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