Sigh!

Posted by: Sakhi on: December 22, 2008

• In: Anguish | Fiction | Friendship | Life | Love | Marriage | Relationship
• 65 Comments

“Hello!” Shree said in a huffed voice in to the receiver as she came running from the kitchen.

“Hi, Shree! This is Komal.” answered her best friend from the other end.

Shree was happy to hear Komal’s voice. Though they talked almost everyday, they never seemed to have any dearth of topics to be discussed or dissected.

“Hey, wait a sec, I will put off the gas and come!” Shree knew her conversation with Komal is not going to end before at least half an hour.

As they resumed their talk, Shree sensed that Komal was not in her jovial mood.

“What’s the matter Komal? You don’t seem to be yourself today.” Shree got worried.

“There’s something I want to tell you Shree, but don’t know how to!”

Komal was a chatter box and she never had qualms about anything in life. This was the first time Shree had heard her best friend in a dilemma.

“I am already worried for you, yaar! Don’t create suspense. Shoot!”

“You said Abhi was out of town yesterday, but I saw him in the late afternoon at CCD with a woman, in-fact a girl!” Komal blurted out. She didn’t know how to put this softly. She loved Shree too much to cause her any pain, but at the same time she didn’t want her to be cheated on.

Shree didn’t know what to say. Their conversation ended in less than 15 minutes.

She forgot all about her lunch and sat staring at the telephone. Shree was in a state of numb shock the whole day. She didn’t know what to do. She had trusted Abhi and loved him with all her being. And in their 5 years of marriage he too had given her everything or so she thought! Though theirs was an arranged marriage, she had fallen in love with this down-to-earth person from the first day they had met. And the love had grown deeper with each passing day.

Five years of their marriage went in front of her eyes like a film reel. And the more she thought, more she was resolved to save her marriage. She had trusted and loved Abhi and she still did.

Abhi was in for a pleasant surprise. It was a while since Shree took pains to look beautiful for her husband. And the gleam in Abhi’s eyes was worth the efforts. They went for the dinner and to a movie later that night. Abhi sensed shree’s nervous efforts to please him but he couldn’t understand the reason but he didn’t want the spell to break.

Shree too was basking in Abhi’s undivided attention and she forgot the afternoon’s incidence.

But when she talked to Komal the next day she suddenly remembered about their conversation and got a bit uneasy. Though Komal didn’t broach the subject, lest it would upset Shree!

Their conversation didn’t last for more than 5 minutes.

Shree didn’t want to offend Abhi but she wanted to know about that evening.

“I trust him!” she told herself, but the fact was that she was feeling insecure.

She didn’t know how to ask Abhi without looking like a nagging wife. Her task was made easy by Abhi himself.

“Arey, Shree, I forgot to tell you that I met that girl, what’s her name?”

 

“Which girl?” Shree’s heart missed a beat. She was all ears.

 

“The one who called repeatedly for the membership of that club!”

 

Shree sighed. She thought, he might tell about “that girl”.

 

“Unh… ok!” she had lost interest in knowing about some sales girl and her club.

 

“Actually, the day before, I came back from Baroda a bit early. So went to office and there she called again. They had planned some get together for the prospective clients at CCD. I had an hour or so at hand so thought of giving it a shot. But, you know, I was the only person who was on time.

She really tried to sell me the membership but I think it is quite expensive for us. Wasted my hour there!”

Shree couldn’t believe her ears.

“These girls and boys are very young. They study and do part time jobs…..” Abhi was telling Shree about the event but Shree was not there to listen to him.

She was on the cloud nine. She threw the T-shirt she was folding and gave Abhi a deep smooch to shut him up. Abhi was surprised at this sudden display of emotions. Of course, he wasn’t complaining!

Shree ran to the other room and picked up the phone to call Komal. Their husbands had to sleep alone till late that night!

Chatterboxes were chattering again!!

Tags: Anger, Anguish, Fiction, Friend, friends, Friendship, girl friend, laghukatha, Life, Love, love-affair, Marriage, relation, Relationship, Short story, wife, woman