A Normal Marriage

Chapter 23

Morning signifies a new day, a new chapter and a better you. Sunlight has the power to heal and lighten.

Anisha had learnt the art of pushing the things at back and moving on. But she had a liability. She couldn't forget the hurtful things.

This morning the alarm woke her up at five. She found a pair of arms surrounding her. She felt safe. She faced the man and ran her fingers on his face. He looked edible enough. Anisha was shocked at the way her thoughts were running. She was becoming shameless when it comes to this man.

She admired his crease free face, he looked peaceful, his beard and that powerful jaw. Oh man, was she developing a liking for this man's face! She was a goner when it came to his beard!

The second alarm broke her trance and that is when she looked at the time, 5:15 am. Time to get up or else she will be late. Getting up from his hold, she got ready. Today she decided to wear a saree. A beautiful, elegant saree for the day, it was.

After dressing up she made her way downstairs to find not a single staff on duty. She checked the time, it was 6:00, they were supposed to be here. But to her luck, they were not. She thought may be they must have got late and begun her work.

To her dismay she found the fridge empty. Only a jar of milk and a few fruits. There were no vegetables for lunch. She checked for any sprouts but found none. She had understood by now, it was a punishment.

A film of tears made her vision blurry. Quickly
she sniffed and wiped the layer. She had enough. If it was a punishment, she was sincere enough to overcome these hurdles and cook a decent meal.

She looked for green gram and set the water at boil. She soaked the green gram in the boiling water and covered the container to be kept aside. They will be ready by the next two or three hours.

Then she begun her preparations for dal, rice and roti. Meanwhile, she called the gate security and asked them to call her once any vendor selling vegetables is spotted.

When Abhimanyu woke up to an empty bed, he knew his wife was downstairs preparing everything his mother asked for. But when he went in the kitchen to make his protein shake he found her working alone. Never had he ever spotted anybody in his family working alone in the kitchen. He said,
" Anisha, where is the staff?"

" I don't know. They did not reach by six, I thought they must be late."

" Well it is nearly seven and they are not here. What about mom?"

" I did not check, Abhimanyu. Let it be. Don't worry. I will manage." Anisha replied calmly.

" Anisha..."

" No Abhimanyu, it is okay. I will manage. You go workout." She chided.

" Fine. Manage." Abhimanyu croaked.

When he made his way out the kitchen she suddenly called out.

" Abhimanyu, is it okay if I wear this to office?"

Abhimanyu gave her a top to bottom look and simply nodded his head in approval.

He turned and left for his home- gym. While Anisha begun her works.

By the time the table was set for breakfast, Anisha had a fruit bowl ready in the centre. followed by Poha in the next container and a jar of milk. She had also kept a packet of toasts on the table. Overall, the table looked wholesome.

On the other hand all the tiffins are filled and packed. She had successfully completed her punishment.

While she served the breakfast Daljeet looked at the table and spoke, " Anisha, why is the table so dull? There is no bread, no juice. Moreover do you think it is all healthy for bhabhi?"

Anisha's face dropped all the colour and her face had shrunken. Despite having minimal resources she had made full use of them, still she found the table dull!

Daljeet was also quick to point that her husband Abhimanyu did not enjoy Poha. Yet she made it.

Anisha said, " Mom, I'm sorry I was not aware the staff is on leave. And I was unaware that the fridge is not well stocked."

" How long will you keep on saying sorry?" Daljeet sassed.

" I've to go make roti you all please continue having breakfast." She squeaked. She was responsible for the fridge being empty but was she the only one responsible for all this.

With her disappearance Abhimanyu had his share without saying a word to anybody. Daljeet even asked him, " When are you going to be back in the evening?"

She had recieved no response.

When he was done. He pushed his chair and simply went back inside their room. His mother had become suffocating.

He picked his bag up and called Anisha on the cell, " Are you ready to leave?"

" Yes." She replied.

Within minutes he was downstairs and sat inside the car while his family was having the last of their breakfast. With Anisha's arrival they were off to a site.

" Where are we going? It is not according to the schedule." Anisha asked.

" Just a detour. I want to know the progress of this project and then office."

" Ok."

In a blur the day had passed and Abhimanyu had not uttered words other than work. She felt it was odd. She even asked him twice to which he just nodded his head in negation. He had himself buried in work.

When it was time to go back home Anisha requested him to stop at the D-mart to which he shouted at her, " Why are you buying them? Don't we have staff to do that?"

" Abhimanyu it is just a question of ten to fifteen minutes." She replied.

" You know what I'm firing the staff. They seem to take things lightly. If they simply can't go buy things from market  or assist you then they are of no use!"

" Abhimanyu, listen!"

" No. We are going straight home. I will order something. "

" We can't just ignore the fact that it is my incompetence that has increased my workload!" She shouted.

Good thing they were in the car.

" It is my fault you believe mom has nothing to do with kitchen. " Abhimanyu chided himself.

He faced away from her while she had an open mouth. He was upset because of this!