14th June, 2014, 11.00 PM – The Celebration
Yesterday was a blur right from the morning. After all,
getting accepted at Stanford on scholarship was something Varun or his family
never imagined. As the festivities dragged on late into the night to
congratulate the golden boy, he noticed his father’s paternal pride increasing
in direct proportion with his liquor intake. But even Varun was surprised to
catch the gleaming rectangular object tossed his way by his father. The key to
370 horses lay gleaming in his hand, the other pride and joy of his father, his
latest acquisition. Ignoring his Mom’s disapproving look, he mouthed a thanks
to his beaming Dad and snuck out.
15th June, 2014, 02.00 AM – The drive
Driving the powerful SUV at breakneck pace was heady stuff
indeed especially while carrying on the party in the car along with your
friends, thought Varun as he chugged on a bottle of MaCallen he flicked from
the party. The vehicle moved like a dream – exactly what they promised in the advertisements
and the motor mags. Each prod from his right foot was rewarded by adrenalin
inducing fierce leaps. His friends were chasing beer with whiskey and he, being
the driver was ignored for a few rounds. As Varun turned around to take the
bottle from his friend in the back seat, he saw a small car trying to avoid the
path of his swerving SUV. He watched, limbs frozen in morbid fascination as the
SUV ‘s lights showcased the abject fear of its occupants, a young man and a
heavily pregnant wife. Time seemed to slow down for Varun; and his alcohol
addled brain admired the red and green shawl the woman was wearing while the Two ton plus SUV ploughed into the car.
The crash happened so fast that the two instances of admiring the Shawl and
seeing blood erupt from the driver’s mangled head seemed stitched together. His
only coherent action after the incident was to call his Dad.
His Father reached the spot in twenty minutes, after
checking his son and his groggy friends and finding them without much harm
thanks to expensive but protective German engineering. He spoke to them very
clearly and tersely for the next few minutes. All the alcohol he imbibed earlier
seemed to evaporate with the daunting responsibility at hand. After scaring and
swearing Varun’s friends to secrecy and dropping them off, they both drove in
silence back home. What his father convinced him to do was heavy on Varun’s
mind. As soon as they reached home, he took the offered glass of Single malt
from his Dad as the obedient boy he always was and drank three stiff shots one
after another as his father looked on with the same look of pride and love he
had a while back at the party.
15th June 2014, 8.00 AM Father’s day
His phone’s shrill alarm woke him up to face a hangover fit
for a boxer. He shook his head to remove the cobwebs of sleep and gain a grasp on
reality. As realization of what transpired a few hours hit him, he ran out to
the patio to the vision of his father being led away by the cops. About to
climb into the police vehicle, his father turned around and a silent
communication of understanding passed between father and son. His father’s eyes
begged him to remember and obey what was told in the wee hours of the morning. Tears
rolled down his cheeks as he stood rooted, silently accepting the Father’s day
gift from his Father.
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