The life 'we' create

Chapter 3. What a life

Following the routine set since last three months, Naveen got home early from office. His chores and the time it took him to complete everything was all set. Keeping that in mind, he prepared himself for the upcoming tasks with a heavy breath.

After two hours of pacing around the house, he finally slumped down beside Kusum like a corpse, his wife slowly massaging her seven-month pregnant belly.

She had a book in her right hand, and with the left hand she caressed Naveen's hair. She was used to it now, so she didn't force him to chat with her.

Within minutes, her husband was fast asleep. She also closed the book and switched off the lights on her side. Inching closer to Naveen, she took his right arm in hers and hugged it closely. The soft snoring of her husband made her smile, and she closed her eyes, welcoming the sleep.

Around 2 a.m. into the night, Kusum felt something wet under her. She tried to ignore it, but the wetness irritated her, and she woke up with a fright as she realised what she had done. She had read about it but never expected it to happen to herself.

Removing her duvet and shifting herself to the side, she noticed a huge wet patch on the mattress, the smell of urine growing stronger. She crunched her face and smacked her forehead with her palm.

"Seriously? I had to wet the bed in the middle of the night?"

She glanced at Naveen, who was in a deep slumber, unaware of what had happened. A light coat of pink adorned Kusum's cheeks as she lightly patted her husband's shoulder.

For a minute, she thought she should let him sleep, but the thought of sleeping on a wet bedsheet sent shivers down her spine.

After trying for a few times, Naveen stirred in his sleep as he struggled to open his eyes.

"Naveen..."

"What...?" he groaned.

"Can you please wake up?"

"Are...you hungry... again...?"

Kusum's voice dropped an octave. "No, baby, but... I... I wetted the bed."

Naveen thought he imagined what he just heard and felt like falling back to sleep, but when Kusum nudged him again and repeated what she said, he turned his body to her side and raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" he asked.

He sighed when Kusum nodded, and the smell traveled to his nose. He pursed his lips, the traces of anger and annoyance flashing on his face.

For two minutes, he was like a statue as his eyes kept shifting between his wife and the bed. Holding back a curse under his breath, he painstakingly got up from his spot, helped his wife reach the bathroom after giving her other clothes, removed the mattress and the bedsheet, and again helped his wife get back on the bed.

Half an hour out of his six hour sleep were sacrificed and the thought of getting up again after three hours fuelled the stress bubbling inside him. It wasn't like he didn't get his sleep disturbed on most of the nights since last three months, but tonight, his patience was really tested.

He only wanted to sleep peacefully for at least one night, but that also seemed to be too much he was asking for. Almost 90% of the household work was on his shoulders and that didn't even count the amount of time he had to invest in babysitting his wife.

As all these thoughts stormed his mind, he tried to shake them off, but a tiny voice kept him busy all throughout the night; he stole glances at his wife, his eyes losing the softness each time he looked at her.

'She thinks that I don't have any work at office, doesn't she? Preparing breakfast, then going to office to work my ass off, buying groceries, and then coming home only to do more chores. Wow. What a life, Naveen. Here your wife sleeps 24×7 a day, and you can't even get one second of peace,' Naveen thought to himself.