Chapter 6

“Nana…I ..I don’t know..”

The lady in the chair chuckled, “All you had to do was trust me, but ..well”

Siri rushed forward, knelt before the chair and held the woman at her knees. He looked up earnestly, his eyes tear-filled and red, “Nana. I trust you! Trust you with my life. You are ..you have been everything to me all my life! Why didn’t you say anything? Nana..I..”

“Why did I have to? Why should I have? You are the one who chose the easy way out..” Hearing the words Siri stood up abruptly, once again feeling the anger rising inside of him. His heart was barely holding it together, the pain was actually physical and the most important woman in his life thought everything was a joke?

“Easy? Easy?...There is nothing easy about this, believe me Nana! Nothing at all..”

“Is that so? Or maybe you just took the chance to break things off with that man..Good for you then..”

“Nana! No! If I wanted that, why would I have sought him out tonight? You can’t even fathom the pain that I am in right now! To have gotten myself into this sham of a marriage…just because..because..”

“Because you were stupid, huh?”

Siri’s shoulders slumped. Grandma was right, he loved whole-heartedly but was not brave enough to follow through. He knew his family had never said anything against his relationship with his Pai, but he had failed to trust them. And then suddenly one day his father a proposed this deal and instead of taking a stand, he did something stupid. Siri sighed and rubbed his hands over his face.

He turned towards his grandma, “But Nana, why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you let me know I don’t have to do this? Why didn’t you stop me, nana? Now look where we are! Nana..!”

“Don’t put this on me! I asked you clearly..I asked you the night before the wedding, didn’t I? And what did you say? Tell me, Siri? Your exact words were ‘yes Nana. I’m ready’ Am I right Siri?”

Siri could only swallow the lump in his throat and put his head down guiltily.

“That was after I had always told you that I wouldn’t be disappointed if you didn’t go through with this! Hadn’t I told you this again and again over the months, Siri?”

The young man could only stand there silently. He had made a huge mistake. He had ruined three lives in his efforts to make his father proud of him and also to show his Pai that he could be responsible. He had forgotten that the matriarch of the family would always take his side! She had always fought for his happiness, so why should this have been different? But then something else struck Siri. He had always seen his Nana being fair and just in every situation but here she had allowed Siri to marry a young girl. Did the girl deserve to be caught within this faux of a ceremony? A loveless marriage? His Nana’s take towards the girl puzzled him greatly.

“But Nana! Why didn’t you stop me? What about Boon?” Siri had met the girl twice before the marriage and she seemed like a gentle nice girl. She seemed interested and talked in what people might consider a sweet voice. She too may have married him due to pressure from her father but she seemed to really be

 interested in him. She definitely did not deserve this.

“Huh? Who?...Ohh..Boonsri. Don’t worry about her..”

“Nana! How can you..”

“Don’t look at me like that Siri. You think I didn’t ask her as well? Her answer was the same as yours. I’m really not worried about her much, she knew full well what she was doing. In fact she was quiet chirpy and smiley about the whole thing, like she was really interested in this marriage. All fake, might I add. And even if she had been given a choice she would have still married you..considering she’s just a gold digger. Not that unlike her father, per say. And the girl has a few rich lovers swarming around her.”

Siri stood there stunned at this new information. He never thought the petite girl who was now officially his wife would be such a cunning woman. The sweet and gentle side was apparently just a façade.”

The lady chuckled looking at her grandson’s shocked face, “Oh Siri! You have a long way to go..”

The young man sighed as he too sat down on the chair opposite the woman, suddenly really tired. He was not only confused with all the thoughts going through his head but he didn’t even know how to begin remedying the situation.

In barely a whisper Siri asked, to no one in particular, “What do I do now?”

“You will do nothing Siri. You made a choice and now I will have to clean up the mess. You have showed me that you are still not at the level that you can work independently. You are still getting influenced by others, still not trusting your own instincts and more importantly your heart..” Grandma said as she stood up, ringing the bell for a maid. She came closer to the defeated man sitting in the chair and patted his shoulder gently.

Siri sniffled as he looked up, “Nana..”

“I guess this is as much my fault..for not recognizing that you maybe the smartest of them all but you are still young and needed my guidance. Well, all is not lost yet, it seems. Go, wash up for breakfast. It’s almost time. And then we will talk. Okay?” Siri nodded.

The maid came in and Nana asked her to set up their breakfast. When the maid was gone, the lady Thanawat once again turned to her grandson. She said, “If you want out of this situation Siri, mark my words, you will do exactly as I tell you to do. Not a step out of line, is that understood?”

The only thing the young man could do was nod firmly as he watched his Nana walk away.