I heard him slam the doors as he made his way to the guest bedroom. I slumped on the bed and reached for the phone. What had Anurag sent that had upset my husband so much?
The message was still unread. He had gotten angry about the fact that Anurag was texting me this late. Despite the gravity of the situation, I felt a smile making its way on to my face. I felt like I was back in high school. Our oh-so serious had been reduced to this. Some other boy texting me.
I quickly changed into my pajamas and made my way to the guest room.
The lights were switched off and the figure on the bed didn’t move but I knew he was awake. I crept under the blanket and snuggled up against him.
“Go away Anagha.” He muttered.
He was sulking! I snuggled in a little closer and after a while, he gave up and put his arm around me. And after a long time, I slept peacefully without the demons of my relationship harassing me. In that moment, I thought all my problems had dissolved.
The next morning, when I woke up, his arm was still around me and as the sun streamed into the room, I thought of how close I had come to losing my perfect relationship. To make up for my behavior yesterday, I decided to make a special breakfast for him.
To put it mildly, I’m a klutz in the kitchen. Rarely does anything that I make come out palatable, but today I was determined to make it work. It was 7 AM on a Sunday morning, but I didn’t think twice about calling Suchitra. If I was going to do it right, I was going to need a LOT of help.
“Oh my God Anagha, it’s 7 in the morning. Go back to sleep.” Suchitra, clearly was sleeping through the beautiful morning.
“No no no! Don’t hang up! I need help.” I said quickly. I heard her yawn over the phone.
“What’s up?” She asked sleepily.
“Okay.. I have to make a super breakfast and I need your help and it has to be really really good and easy to make, if possible.” I tried to be as clear and concise as possible.
“You? Are going to cook?? Wow, this is serious. What happened?”
“Later later. Just tell me what to make and how to make it!”
Suchitra was a fabulous cook and had been ever since I had known her. Some day she planned to open a restaurant and I had never quite figured out what she was waiting for.
Under her expert guidance, I tried to make a lavish spread. Of course, not everything was perfect. The pancakes too hard, the syrup too runny, the toasts a little burnt but all in all, I thought I had done a pretty good job. As good as could be expected from a noob like me.
I went downstairs and brought some fresh flowers and placed them on the table. I pulled out our best plates and put the coffee for brewing. Everything was ready and perfect.I made my way to the guest bedroom. He wasn’t there. I walked from room to room looking for him. He was in the shower.
I knocked on the door and hollered in a cheerful voice. “Breakfast’s served!”
I sat at the table and waited for him.
He didn’t come out for a good half an hour. I looked around in dismay at the spread on the table. Everything had become cold.
When he did come, he took one look at the table and turned towards me, “You think that’s going to make up for yesterday?”
I walked towards him. “Oh come on, I apologized for yesterday. Come, I’ll just heat up something.” I gave him my best smile and slipped my hand in his and tried to drag him to the table.
He pulled his hand away roughly. “You should have asked me before you made all this. I’m out for breakfast.” There was no hint of a smile on his face. His eyes were cold and bitter. I shied away, hurt.
“Well, can’t you cancel? I cooked all this for you.” I said. I forced a smile on my face. Maybe when he heard that I had cooked, he would change his mind. He knew if given a choice, I would never enter the kitchen.
“Sorry..” He said and walked out.
“Hey!” I felt sudden flashes of anger run through me. I ran behind him. “Where do you think you are going? I cooked all this for you and you’d better eat it.” I put my hand on his chest and glared at him.
He moved my hand off him and held it for a moment.
“Yesterday, you asked me for time, and I gave you that time. Today, I’m asking for some time.” He said simply.
“Time for what?” I asked in a small voice, the anger all but disappeared.
“To think over what happened. Just because you are normal today, doesn’t mean, I’m okay too. It’s high time you realized that there are two people involved in this marriage.” It was like a slap on my face. I had always considered myself to be those model considerate wives, I guess I was wrong. I stepped back quietly and watched him leave.
For the second time in a row, breakfast in my house reached the trash can.
