My first short story for a class internal assessment. There wasn't much thought that went into it as I was time-constraint. But hopefully, this will inspire me to write a lot more in the future. A special thanks to all my patient "proof readers" who helped me through this assignment.
Hope you all enjoy this for now!
The Least Expected
I had stayed at home all
afternoon waiting for the children to come back from school, so that I could
tell them the exciting news I had come to know a few hours back.
“Didi, I finished cleaning
the toilet. Do you want me to also do the dishes before I leave?” asked Kansma,
the servant who had been working with me since the day my daughter was born.
I was lost in my own world of
happiness. Our family had been separated for the past six years now. It is not
easy for children to grow up without a father. It was even harder for me.
“No, that is alright. When
the children come back they will want to eat something. I will do them later.
You can leave now.”
As Kansma banged the door, I
heard the horn of the school bus accompanied by giggles and chatter from young
people. I ran towards the gate waiting to greet them. As soon as I reached,
their faces looked at me with great surprise. I could not blame them, as never
in these seven years had I come to the gate of our high security building to
fetch them.
“Is everything okay, Mama?”
my little, ten year old son Gaurav asked me with great concern.
“Yes sweety!” Why would you
even ask?” I replied
Nihara butted in. “Mama, you
never come to get us from the gate, let alone the fact that you’re not even at
home most of the time when we get back. My friends are staring at me now. Let’s
get inside soon.”
I grinned like a monkey. My
daughter had actually grown up! We ran up the stairs, as I did not want to
embarrass her any further.
I heated some food for them
and sat facing opposite to them at the table.
“So how was your day at
school today, Gaurav?”
“It was okay. We had one free
period and I got selected for the All India Football League.”
“Wow. Are you kidding me?
That is great news, son! I am extremely proud of you.”
“What about you, Nihara? Do
you have anything interesting to tell me?”
“Yes! Sam is throwing a party
this Saturday at his place. It is more like a fresher’s party to get to know
everyone a little better. If you know what I mean.” she replied with the air of
a teenager who cannot imagine her parents ever being young and fun once upon a
time.
“Hmm that sounds like fun.
But I was referring to school…. about your classes etc.?”
B.O.R.I.N.G was the look on
my poor daughter’s face.
“Okay, let me go ahead and say
this. I’m sure this is something both of you have been wanting to hear for a
very long time now. Your father is coming back to live with us on Saturday.” I
screamed with joy not being able to control my emotions.
My children just had blank
looks on their faces which made mine also become blank after a second. I
expected them to shout. Break the table or something. Finally, Nihara pipes up.“Dammit!
I will miss Sam’s party.”
Saturday came by so fast.
Maybe that’s how it is when you’ve been waiting for it all week. Being a single
mother hasn’t been easy at all.Running from football practice to piano class to
dropping and picking up from tuitions. These kids drive me nuts. I don’t know
whether I’m sitting or standing half of the time. But thank god I have the
support of my mother and in-laws most of the time.
I hear the doorbell ring
loudly. Both my children run together towards the door, thinking it would be
one of their friends. But much to their surprise, they see their father,
standing at the door after one whole year. The last time we were all together
was at Bali last year for my sister’s wedding.We Skype and Face time all the time,
even send pictures on Whatsapp and update our tweets and statuses but seeing
him in person is a whole different thing. He looked like a stranger to me with
his moustache trimmed off. In fact on the whole, he was looking more handsome
now than ever before.
I jumped into his arms and I
could see that he was very happy to be back too. Next in line were my children
and in-laws. I had planned a small dinner party for our family and a close few
friends so it was a big surprise to him.
“Son, it is so nice seeing
you after so long. Melbourne really seems to be doing you good.” my mother in
law said with such excitement.
My husband had been placed in
the Melbourne branch of the Oberoi Group of Hotels to manage their chain there.
He had always been good at his job and that is something I really
admired about him. It has
taken him to great heights. Out of his passion for baking, he is now opening a
cupcake shop here in Mumbai.
“Auntyji, you mean “done you
good?” He is back for good now,” I smirked
“Amma, both you and Papa are
not bad yourselves. I see that both of you are keeping good health.”
“ Haan… Haan... Touch wood!”
She replied like a typical desi mother.
I went to bring out the
snacks and came back to find everyone mingling with one another. Cracking
jokes, singing medleys and laughing their hearts out. My first party in ages
and it turned out to be such a great success.
The next day we all got up
late. Sundays are usually very lazy in my household. Mirul sits up on our bed
with the newspaper in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. Nihara lazes
around in her pyjamas either texting and listening to the latest hits with her
headphones on. Gaurav alternates between a game on the play station and another
one on the I-pad. And I catch up on my virtual life, updating my blog and
experimenting in the kitchen while chatting to an old friend on the phone.We
try not to interact with one another too much avoiding to get on each other’s
nerves.
Six days passed…
It was a chilly morning and
for Bombay standards, this is very rare. I didn’t feel like getting out of bed
that morning but suddenly it occurred to me that I had to send my children off
to school. Mirul was not in our bed which was a surprise to me. I went to the
kitchen to make their breakfast and I saw his phone on the bar counter.
Where could he be?
I was too busy at that moment
to even think, so went about with the rest of my work.
“Gaurav, please come and have
your pancakes fast, the bus will be here any minute.”
“Yaaa Mama coming”
Nihara was walking towards
the door. “Where are you going without eating anything?” She took the sandwich
from my hand and walked out of the door.
“Bye Mama. I will be back a
little late today” she shouted from below the staircase.
After both of them left I
felt good. I had the house to myself. I could pamper myself. But just then, I
remembered my absent husband, and his phone beeped twice. Mirul never believed
in locking his phone so I went to have a look and saw a notification that said
“two messages from Diera”. Curiousity got the better of me, so I opened to see
the messages.
“Hi love, Hope you have
reached safely. Tell me all about your flight.
The second one read “ Love
and miss you loads xoxo”
I had to read them over and
over again and it still didn’t register in that stupid, little brain of mine
that just takes things for granted. What did it all mean? I did not want to
jump to conclusions, just yet, so I played along.
Later at dinner today, my
husband came rushing in.
“Sorry I had an uncalled
meeting with the landlord this morning. Didn’t want to disturb you all. Am I
late for dinner?”
“Not at all!” I replied,
smiling sweetly at him. I served him some pasta and asked the kids how their
days went.
The rest of the evening I
tried to hint that I knew his little secret but he remained obtuse. Finally
before going to bed, I had to let him know that I’m not a fool. I had been one,
but not anymore. Casually I said,“ You got two messages today when you were
out.”
“Yup, I saw them later” He
saw them! What? That’s all he has to say? After cheating on me this way! My
insides were churning with rage. I could explode any minute.
“Who is Diera?” I blurted
angrily
“Just a friend of mine from
Melbourne. Why?”
“I read the messages.”
“So?”
Seriously? What was he trying
to do here? I just pulled my blanket and pillow and went to the hall to sleep
and slammed the door behind me. It became my permanent bed. The idea of sharing
a bed with him was just too repulsive.
The screaming and abusing did
not stop for days to come and I gave back as good as I got. We would throw
things at each other. I would fling whatever of his came into my hand. I was
turning into a monster, a really scary one! Till I realized that I wasn’t the
only one who was getting affected by all of this. So were my children. Gaurav
would close his ears tightly with both his hands and Nihara would just walk out
the door saying that she could not take any of this nonsense anymore and that
she was going to stay with Sam. I felt helpless. Did not know what to do… But
then it struck me that I had to make a decision or else I would lose my
children.
This was the man I had loved
for the last 18 years of my life. I did all I could to make him happy but I
guess there was something more he needed or someone else . I couldn’t be that
someone else.
The next morning I called my
mother in law. We have always been quite close and not the typical saas-bahu.
I cried into the phone. “He
has left me. He met Diera. It’s all over.” I could not control myself. I was
sobbing like a little baby. I bet she did not even understand a word I said.
“What? Is everything okay?
What are you saying? I don’t understand.” was her reply.
In the next five minutes, both of
them are at my house and they really consoled me.
“Don’t worry Beta. I will
talk to him. He is out of his mind. Another woman in his life it seems!” she
mumbled.
“I am done too Auntyji! I
cannot be treated like this anymore. I have two brilliant children who deserve
better. I would probably be happy with a simple divorce rather than these
hopeless attempts at a failed marriage.”
“What are you saying? How can
you say such things like that?” she replied.
My father-in-law just sat
there in silence.
It was this melancholic
atmosphere that greeted the children when they came back from school, with me
bursting into tears and my mother-in-law sympathetically patting my shoulder. I
looked at them and ran to the washroom to wipe away my tears. Then I came out
and told them to pack sufficient clothes for a week’s stay at my mother’s place
till I sorted my life out. They quietly went to their respective rooms and
after a while we left.
The next few days were very
busy for me. I was on a job hunt. I did not want a single paisa from “that man”
as I now referred to my soon to be ex-husband, although my in-laws insisted
that he financially supported my children. Finally, one of my really close
friends helped me get into Good Food Magazine as a columnist. I hadn’t really
utilised my degree in Journalism for the entirety of my married life and these
days most jobs require a certain amount of practical experience so I was really
lucky to get it.
“Tina, you are officially a
professional tomorrow. Are you nervous?” My friend asked me over the phone.
I did not know what to say “
Mixed emotions I think it is!”, I replied.
Contrary to my expectations,
my first day turned out to be more than satisfying. All my colleagues were
really helpful to me and I met a man at work who was extra nice to me, showing
me the tricks of the trade. I was pleasantly surprised especially when he asked
me to lunch the next day. ONLY ME!
Over the next few days we
became really close. It wasn’t long before he told me that he was interested in
taking things forward. I felt like a frivolous sixteen year old all over again.
But wait! That’s my daughter’s age… But I couldn’t care about how silly it was
at my age to feel that way because I was happy for the first time in a long
time.
Ironically, the first person
I told was my mother in law. I was scared at first but felt much relieved when
she shared my happiness with me.
“I am thrilled to hear this
news, beta! So have you’ll finalised the date as yet?” She quipped.
I had not even divorced her
son as yet. That was something she seemed to forget.
“Auntyji!” I replied
laughing “ He would like to meet both
you and Babaji. When is that possible?”
“Anytime! Just let me know a
day before and I will prepare a nice lunch for all of you.”
That day came and we all had
such a lovely time. He got to know my children much better and they actually
got along with him.
“ I really love your mother
very much.” he told Nihara my daughter
I thought she would be
embarrassed but she actually replied back saying, “If you really mean what you
say you have Gaurav’s and my best wishes too,”
with a big smile on her face.
I was so proud of them. They
have become everything I wanted them to be. They have imbibed great discernment
to judge right from wrong .My life is back on track. The past is left behind
and I see the future looking good. Whatever happens from now onwards, I know I
can conquer it all. I have my family’s support. That is all that really
matters.
