Love Lasts Forever (16 page)

             
‘OK, stop grinning,’ she ordered. ‘Don’t you dare make fun of my brother.’

             
I smiled. ‘I didn’t even say a word about him.’

             
She turned her gaze away from me. When she held my gaze again, her face was puckered in a frown. ‘I still can’t believe you guys put toothpaste in his ass. What kind of a psycho does that?’

             
At that I laughed out loud. ‘Now what has that got to do with this conversation? Do you girls ever forget anything or what?’ I dismissed with a shake of my head. ‘And by the way he reciprocated that gesture…thrice,’ I added quickly.

             
‘Well, ha, ha…my brother always wins,’ she replied before trudging down the hallway toward the washroom.

             
And there it was again…that bang!

Next morning was a haze of memories. Sunlight poured into our room when I rose up on my feet from the couch adjacent to the bed. Yes, the couch. She kicked me out the bed last night and said I didn’t even deserve sleeping with her.

             
While she was asleep, I had decided our schedule for the day and the list of places we would see. We’d start our day with the Naina Devi Temple located on the northern shore of the Naini Lake and offer our prayers, perhaps to steady our relationship. Since Aisha loved animals, a visit to the Govind Ballabh Pant zoo was a must. That might just recede her anger. I also wanted to the visit the Governor’s house or the Raj Bhawan. I’d heard it consisted of some 113 rooms and even a golf court. A visit to the snow view point offering a panoramic view of the Himalayan range like Nanda Devi, Trishul and Nanda Kot via a cable car was next on the list. We’d have lunch over there at one of the restaurants overlooking the hills, engage in a little mischief, romance a bit and, get our photographs clicked. And if time permitting we’d also visit the Eco Cave Garden, Tiffin’s top and the Land’s end which I heard offer a splendid view of the neighbouring country side and the hills.

             
By late evening while returning back to the hotel, she’d fall in my arms, and then well, who knows, she might just change her decision of no love-making in the honeymoon.

I wish I could say that everything went the way I’d planned, except that it didn’t. You see there was just a little problem. Aisha disagreed to budge from the hotel. She said something like she doesn’t want to go anywhere with a moron who shouts at his wife for no reason. So I spent my entire day watching television and Aisha…actually where
was
Aisha?

             
The next morning we boarded the bus to Delhi from the designated location after she finished packing in a huff. By late evening we were looking for an auto-rickshaw in Delhi, back to our place.

             
And with that, came an end to the most ‘uneventful’ honeymoon in the history of honeymoons.

2
2. OK! We are married now!

DAY – 6, Delhi

I spent the entire day out with my cousins
, as honestly, I wanted a break from my nagging wife. When they asked about her, I simply replied she wasn’t well. We watched a ‘Priyanka Chopra’ movie in PVR cinemas in a Saket mall and had lunch at ‘Pizza Hut’. As they enquired about our honeymoon and I slowly recounted the relevant parts, a thought struck me that I wasn’t even missing her.

             
When I reached home in the evening, few of my maternal relatives were home. Aisha was cooking dinner in the kitchen with our maid. I don’t know why was she even trying? She had to be the most awful cook I had ever known. I mean how could someone manage to ruin the taste of even our ageless ‘Maggi noodles’?

             
I extended my greetings to my relatives and tottered toward the kitchen. I was damn hungry. My sister and Aisha apparently were helping our maid. My mother was in the living room entertaining her guests. As I whisked my eyes through the dishes, wondering what to eat, I couldn’t help but notice Aisha didn’t even look my way, as though I was a stranger. Priya observed the cold vibes between us and glanced at me and her back and forth a couple of times.

             
‘Aisha what’s wrong with you?’ she asked. ‘Your husband is here and you don’t even look at him.’

             
With a faint shake of her head she glanced at me. ‘You can take something if you like,’ she offered.

             
Priya was taken aback. ‘That’s it?’ She forced a smile. ‘That’s all you are going to say. You know Aisha if I behave like this in my husband’s home, they’ll throw me out of there.’

             
‘OK, let it be Priya,’ I interjected. ‘Don’t bother; I’m not that hungry anyway. I’ll have dinner later.’ I walked out the kitchen and let the two women at it.

‘
Never interfere in women’s affairs, especially if they were related to you,’ Joe Singh once told me. ‘You’ll end up antagonizing both of them’. Behind me I heard their petty argument with Priya dominating all the way.

             
We had dinner an hour later. My relatives had left in spite of my mother badgering them to have dinner with us. They had other plans. Good for us.

On the dining table
I could sense those cold vibes between Aisha and Priya now. My stomach churned. Oh, it wasn’t a good feeling; it wasn’t a good feeling at all! I could sense from Aisha’s sulky expression, a long lecture awaited me in my room later. Again!

             
‘Oh!’ My grandmother threw up on her plate. ‘This maid has ruined the taste of
bhindi
.’

The mush sat on her plate much to our disgust.

              ‘Ha, ha, ha, oh gosh,’ Priya laughed.

             
‘What’s funny?’ I asked.

             
‘
Dadi,
’ she replied, ignoring me, ‘maid has not made that. That masterpiece is the work of’ - she threw a nasty look at Aisha - ‘your sweet daughter-in-law, ha, ha.’

             
‘Ew!’ Mom made a face through a mouthful. ‘It’s horrible.’

             
‘Ha, ha, ha,’ Priya laughed again.

             
Aisha glared at her. ‘Thanks for the encouragement,’ she whispered under her breath before glancing at me.

             
‘What?’ Priya said. ‘What did you just say?’

             
Aisha shook her head slowly. ‘Nothing.’

             
‘You know Aisha,’ she continued, ‘if I behave like that in front of my in-laws and husband, he would have divorced me long time back. You should be taught some manners.’

             
Aisha said nothing. She just threw me a look.
Oh boy!

Right then a
thought crossed my mind that in the last five days not even a single day passed when my wife wasn’t angry with me, or wasn’t in a cranky mood, or didn’t complain about something I did or said. In short, we didn’t spend a span of twenty four hours cordially with each other as we did before marriage. I was sure after dinner this would be the sixth straight day.

             
My thoughts were interrupted by my grandmother’s statement. ‘Aisha, you must accompany me in the morning
aarti
from tomorrow onwards. These two ladies’ - she motioned toward my mother and Priya - ‘are too lazy for it. But no excuse from you, huh,’ she declared without expecting an answer.

             
Aisha nodded submissively. Priya laughed as my mother looked on.

The door to our room croaked open an hour later and an uneasy feeling gripped me. She entered our room and headed straight toward the washroom. No bang…thankfully.

             
I leafed through a magazine on the couch and shifted the remote of the television to her side of the bed so she had something to do other than yell at me. When she came out of the washroom, without a bang again, she carried on with her chores slowly – from the ironed clothes separated her from mine, neatly stacked them in our respective wardrobe, changed the bed sheet and set the pillows, arranged the room in general. I took that as a good sign. However from the corner of her eyes, I could sense she was expecting something from me - an explanation about…something, perhaps an apology or some discussion or attention.

             
Ten minutes later after her poker-face expression had nothing to offer, I thought of indulging in some conversation. That was important, you see, otherwise next time she’d lecture me – ‘you are so insensitive and don’t even care why I’m in a bad mood.’

You are a woman, what else?
I should probably tell her.

             
‘It’s a bit cold today,’ I said, making my way toward our bed.

             
‘Em…’ she said, switching the television on. She lied down next to me and pulled the blanket over.

             
I waited for her to continue. She didn’t.

‘
7 Khoon Maaf
is a good movie.’

She tilted her head
toward me, and said, ‘you didn’t even ask me if wanted to come along.’ From her tone, it didn’t come as a complaint, just a general statement. Was it the lull before the storm?

I took a moment to answer.
‘Aisha, you have been mad at me for the last two days,’ I said as politely as I could. ‘You would have never accompanied me anyway.’

‘
So that means you’ll give up on me, huh?’ she said quickly. I sensed a tinge of sadness in her voice. ‘Would you not console me or persuade me like you used to do before marriage?’

I kept the magazine aside and took a deep breath.
‘I don’t know Aisha but things are not working smoothly between us for the last few days, I mean, you get upset with almost anything I do, anything I say.’

‘
Ronit!’ she said. ‘Please try and understand. I have left my city where I’ve been born and brought up for you, my home and my entire family for you. Don’t you think I’ll have some expectations?’ She propped herself on her elbows and faced me directly. ‘I wanted a special honeymoon, agreed you said you didn’t have money, then you booked us in an ordinary hotel and on top of that you yelled at me for shopping. I mean, now I don’t even have any right to spend your money, is it?’ She paused for an answer.

I didn’t reply. How deftly she has maneuvered back in lecture mode?

‘Your sister,’ she continued, ‘gives me such crap about marriage. I should be telling her look at you first. Hasn’t she ruined her own? And you were there on the dining table but didn’t say a word in my defense. And you know today, like you, your sister and mother had left me alone in the house with her notorious kid Rohan and your grandmother. Why can’t she take Rohan along to her kitty parties? Why not, huh? Tell me?’

Now t
his time I had to answer as she refused to withdraw her gaze from mine. I slowly ran my hand through my hair.

‘
Sweetheart,’ I said, ‘please understand. He’s a very naughty kid. Priya and mom have a tough time handling him.’

‘So they’
ll thrust him on me, is it?’ she howled. ‘You know how that six year old harassed me today?’

I slowly shook my head.
‘Please enlighten me.’

‘
Of course,’ she said, ‘I’ll
enlighten
you. That kid broke some of my cosmetics including perfumes, lipsticks and moisturizers. He drew patterns across our dressing mirror with my’ - she gritted her teeth - ‘
lipstick
which took me over an hour to clean. And then when I scolded him, he screamed his lungs out. He’s got such a high-pitched scream; you have to hear it to believe it. Then when he realized I was getting irritated by it, purposely huh, purposely, he leaped toward me and screamed in my ear. You know my ears are still ringing by that pesky noise of his. Then when I again scolded him he held my hair and yanked at it. He’s got such strong hands he managed to uproot few of my strands. Can you believe it? Oh God! I hate that kid.’

‘And your grandmother!
’ she continued after a grunt. ‘She’s no less by the way, huh. She’s hell-bent on having a grandchild right away. You know she said start trying immediately when Ronit returns home today. I mean, who does she think I am?’ She paused to draw a breath of contempt. ‘But still, you know, I’m ready to face all this because…I love you. The least I can expect is some love and support from you as well. Instead what do you do - you leave me all alone in the house and go for a movie with your cousins. Now tell me is that right on your part? And now from tomorrow I have to be up early so I can join your grandma for prayers. I hate getting up early, you know it. Can’t you do something about it, please?’

‘
Oh baby,’ I said, ‘come on, that won’t be much of a problem, you see, after the first few days…you’ll get used to getting up early anyway.’