The Set-Up part 1

It was an ordinary weekend. With an unexpected twist.

I went back to my hometown on Saturday.

There was a small gathering of my father's close friends, most of which know me as well.

They all came to Ipoh for the tahlil arwah of their religious teacher, that passed away a few weeks ago.

I didn't personally knew him, but I've heard only good things.

Apart from that, I wanted to get my new spectacles. Yeay.

(but unfortunately, the optometrist overpowered the spectacles, so it had to be redone.)

My brother was home as well, him on his 1st semester break.

Upon arriving from the barely 2 hours trip from KL, I had a bit of a chat with the family.

Discussing stuffs like my cousin's wedding plan, my father's health and my upcoming trip to Indonesia.

Little did I know that another 'plan' was concocted, and from the unlikeliest of plotters.

I was casually telling my parents, that I was going back to KL early tomorrow (Sunday) morning, when my father blurted out.

"Abang tak boleh balik esok pagi!."

Huh?

"Kenapa?"

There was no immediate answer from my father, but a nervous laughter came from my mother.

"Ayah la ni,.. pandai-pandai."

Oh boy. I can sense where this is going.

"Hmm?", I said, trying to pry out the truth.

"Kawan ayah Aragorn (bukan nama sebenar) datang esok pagi..."

And then it came out.

"... datang bawak anak dia".


.

Oh dear sweet mother of heavens, I'm being set up by my father.

.

He goes on to explain that it was the mother of the girl's incessant complains about none of her children being married, she being worried etc2.

So he asks for my father's help in looking for a nice boy for her daughter, and my father, not knowing that many 20+ year old boys, suggested...

Me.

She's a final year medic student, studying in Australia.

Haha.

Haha.

(nervous laughter)

I said nothing.

But my brain was processing information at maximum capacity.

My body was present, but my mind was in the future. (back to the future moment)

The fact that it was my father, not my mother that arranged this, meant something.

The tone in which my father explained the situation told made it sound as if he had no hand in this, that he was merely trying to soothe his friend's worries.

Somehow I know better.

I was not at all against the idea.

The way I see it, if my parents already approve of it, then the choice would be up to me.

As compared to if the girl was my choice, I still had to get the approval of my parents.

I had the upper hand here.

Questions then popped into my head.

What is this girl like?

Would this actually lead to something?

How early do my parents want me to get married?

How would I actually interact with this girl?

Is this IT?

To be continued.