How I Broke the News to My Parents on a Road Trip

It has to be tough sometimes, even for the parents, especially when they are Indian parents. I have no hesitation in admitting that I manipulate my parents when they apply the same tricks to me. The Indian parents have a nasty habit of altering almost every decision of their kid’s life, even when the decision seems legit.

So we had planned a trip to McLeodganj from our hometown in Delhi. We were already late while leaving from the house as we had to pick the Self Drive Cars Delhi Airport because of its proximity to our house. Anyway, we all packed our bags and left for the airport in a cab. Everything was going well, mom was packing her bags, dad was packing food, sister Shreya was busy packing her makeup, and I was chatting on my phone.

So we all left for the airport, picked up the car, and drove off to McLeodganj, which is more than 500 kilometers from Delhi. Dad and I love driving, so traveling to a far-off destination for more than 12-13 hours was not a problem for us. As soon as we reached the hills, I decided to break the important news to my family.

Me: Mom, Dad, I have to share something important with you guys.

Mom: What is it? Have you failed in your exams? I told you to study harder and quit playing cricket.

Dad: Do you need money for something?

Mom: Are you in love? I knew it. The look on your face tells me you have found someone on your own. I had already found someone for you. Now you will bring someone to our house and she will rule all of us.

Shreya: Mom, Dad, he has not even spoken a word about his matter yet.

Dad, who was enjoying driving on the serene hills, stopped the car and turned to me, “What is it, beta?”

(What is it, son?)

Me: See, this is something that has been bothering me for quite some time, but you all must know that I am homosexual. I like men.

Mom and Dad were aghast!

Their mouths dropped and tongues almost touched the floor of the car. Dad got out of the car, and Mom followed him as well. Now I was looking at Shreya, completely clueless. We also got out and turned to our parents.

Mom was crying and Dad was consoling her.

Mom: How could you do this to us? What will we say to the relatives?

Dad: Since when?

Me: I don’t know Dad, but I don’t find any interest in girls. I have a boyfriend and we plan to get married.

I could sense the cool air of the mountains around us suddenly fuming!

Mom: Please don’t do this Shreyas. We will find a good girl for you. You can also find one on your own if you like someone. We will not say a word. Just don’t marry a boy please.

Me: I don’t know Mom I will be able to do it or not. I love my boyfriend and I cannot leave him.

Mom was still sobbing, and Dad was still consoling her.

After ten minutes, I could not take it anymore.

I hugged Mom and told her that it was a joke. I am straight, not a homosexual person. Instead of smiling at me, she slapped me! And then hugged me.

Dad: We will have to get you married soon! This was a really bad joke!

I texted my girlfriend as I sat in the car, “Congratulations! Mission accomplished! We are getting married soon!

How My Husband Became My Best Travel Partner

Being a wife was never an easy task, and it was not so in my case as well. When I was in college, I never wanted to marry for the fear of losing my freedom. I was having a ball in my life when I started realizing that the pressure to get married was building up. Since I could not dodge the matter for too long, I began meeting guys. It was utterly unexpected from me that I would fall in love with someone so smoothly in no time. I met a person in a pub in Delhi, who had come to meet me in Pajamas. I was awestruck to meet such a person who would not care what people, especially a girl who might become his bride, would think about him. He was least bothered with his clothes, but his personality and speech spoke volumes about him.

Within half an hour, we both realized that we were heading in the right direction. He also wanted an independent female who would not depend too much on him or cling to him at all times. We found each other just perfect for each other, and I knew from Day One that I do not need to pretend anything in front of this person. He will let me be however I wanted and support me in pursuing my desires.

One of the main things that I never wanted to leave after marriage was travel. Roaming around in different cities and countries is my favorite thing to do, and I still had a lot of things to accomplish on my bucket list. After a week of talking to this amazing person I had met in my favorite city, I told him about my wish list. I was not surprised when he said to me that he also had such a similar record, and we shared many of the common interests.

We did not have to convince each other too much to do the matchless things we had thought of doing. He also wanted to live his bachelorhood after marriage just like me, so we decided to live like singles for the next 3-5 years. No doubt that he lived up to his words and he never forced me to follow the orthodox traditions of Indian society. The first trip was, of course, our honeymoon, when we went to Bali. The first naughty thing we did was to steal food from someone else's table in a restaurant. Many other such incidents happened when we fathomed that none of us had lost the freedom. By getting married, we had just found a stable life partner in each other. 

For our bi-annual fancy dinners in the  city, we would take Self-Driven Cars on Rent in Delhi and spend time at an exotic restaurant. This gave us the opportunity to drive vivid models of luxury cars and SUVs. Just by using the Car rental in Delhi, we have explored more than a dozen vehicles in the last few years. We have been to the hills, beaches, and crowded cities of India. I must confess that over the previous three years of our marriage, I have never regretted my decision to tie a knot with this person. Even though we have had our share of fights and arguments, I have never missed my single life. Just by having a right person in life changes the meaning of your existence forever. I might have accomplished fewer things in my bachelorhood had I remained unmarried for another few years. After being with my husband for a good deal of time, I look forward to many more anniversaries with him in future.