Marriage Under Repairs

Chapter - 8

"Swara, every person has the freedom to live his life on his own terms. Each one of us can have our own choices, which is not incorrect. Suppressing our own preferences for someone else is wrong."  He was trying to convince her to go out for dinner.

"I know Sanskar but I have been married into a family which is pure vegetarian." She countered back.

"But you grew up eating non-veg all your life. And I know you like it." He turned reasonable.

"Of course I love it, especially Dida's speciality fish curry." She made a puppy face.

"Then?"

"Sanskar you know Mom and Badi Ma will never like it." Swara and her logics.

"You are not going to cook non-veg inside this house or even eat. I am talking about, let's go out and eat." He was extreme when it came to logics.

"You are saying as if you will be breaking down on fish fry, Chicken 65 and mutton biryani with me." She huffed with amazement.

"Of course why not?"

"Sujata Maheshwari ka ladla chora chicken... mutton... fish khayega. This is the joke of the day." She pulled his cheeks jokingly before leaving their room.

Swara remembered the day when Sanskar came early from his office and was trying his best to convince her for dinner at a newly opened Italian restaurant in Kolkata.

Swara and Sanskar were returning back to their home after the party. Both were sitting on the back seat where her husband was busy with one business call.

Her decision to join her husband for this party resulted in an eye opener evening for her. Her heart riled with unknowns about her husband.

He ate non-veg.

He enjoyed it, his face was showing it.

He had a few drinks.

She turned to look at her husband, he was still on call. Feeling her gaze, he turned to her. He raised his eyebrows to question her perplexed look. She nodded her head in negative with a small smile, again turning back to see the moving road and traffic outside of the window.

She had so many questions going around her mind. All the other guests attending the party were congratulating her husband for some "Golden Connect Project" about which she had no clue. She felt culpable for being unaware about her own husband's achievements.

"What happened, Swara?" his concerned voice made her turn to face him.

"Nothing," she nodded, masking her face with a fake smile and mumbled, "Let's go home and then talk." She wanted to talk to him about today but of course not in front of any stranger who was driving their car.

Both returned back to their home, freshened up and settled down.

Swara was playing with her fingers thinking about ways to broach the topic for their discussion.

"It's not like I don't want to tell you or hide it from you that I love to eat non-veg food... it's just that I did not get a chance." He turned defensive, he knew what was going on in her head by one single look.

"No Sanskar, you had a chance, it was me who missed the bus." She lowered her eyes, biting her lips, being dismayed. "I remember, you used to plan dinner outs for us a few times back but I... I disappointed you." Tears started welling up in her eyes.

"No Swara... I never was." he lied but one tearful stare from her made him shut up.

'No Swara, don't dig into your past. Start fresh.' She mumbled her own mantra, closing her eyes for a moment.