Fear & Love

Thirty Five

Long chapter ahead.
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Recap : Gita gets a call that Daddu is in the hospital. Anand is not ready to accompany her.

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Gita got ready as soon as she can. She thought of letting Anand sleep till she gets ready. His jet lag must have evoked this reaction from him. It was natural to feel sleepy and not move an inch, once home, after coming from a work trip.

Anand slept at one corner of the bed wrapped in the blanket and AC at the lowest temperature. Gita always liked the fact that he doesn't move an inch in  his sleep while she gets to occupy the entire bed but the bad thing was he likes the AC to be at the lowest. It was always a chilled room wherever Anand was while Gita shivered. Although, her body has started to accept the temperature, it was still too much. Whenever, they argued about the room temperature, Anand countered back saying, " If you feel cold, you can take as many blankets as you want. What can I do when I melt with the sweat?" And so, Gita accepted that and chose the thickest blanket.

She tried to wake him up again and this time his face expressed annoyance at her constant disturbance.
"My sweet baby, to make it clear for the last time, I am not going to come to the hospital." Anand said and ducked his face in the blanket.

"Huh? He is in the hospital, we need to see him. I know you are tired, but we need to go." Gita explained. She found his indifferent behavior strange. Was he not affected by his grandfather's health? And Anand was never tired. He worked relentlessly for hours. There were days when he was so occupied with meetings that he never got to sleep for 2 days straight. She concluded he is choosing to be lazy now.

"Gitanajali, you are pestering me. Stop it right now." By this point, Anand was irritated. His wife thinks all relationships are important. But what she fails to understand is he doesn't care much of the old man in the hospital. Anand's stern voice stopped her but she told him that she is leaving for the hospital.

Like the good daughter-in-law she was, Gita spent few hours at the hospital with Isha and Anand's father. His aunts had come for some time. Strangely, nobody questioned Anand's absence. Gita feared what she would answer if they had asked about Anand and had already prepared her unconvincing lie but no one asked her anything about him. After the critical hours that passed, doctors informed them that Daddu had gained stability. Gita saw her father in law relieved at this news. She asked him to go home and take rest as she and Isha can stay there. There was no reason to worry as even the bodyguards and staff from the bungalow is here for help. Daddu was losing consciousness and was to be kept there atleast for a week. With bitter heart, she messaged Anand what doctors had said. She felt it was her responsibility to inform him irrespective of whether he wants to know or not.

Five days had passed and it was just once that his father asked about Anand. Gita managed school and hospital both but not once had Anand showed up. The first two days, Gita tried to talk to him and convince him to come to the hospital which Anand ignored. Upset by his disinterest and cold attitude  towards his own family, Gita kept away from him. She didn't want to ruin the few hours she was home at night. Anand was annoyed by her coldness. He didn't understand why is she upset if he is not meeting his own family member. It was not like he was ignoring her side of the family. He found it funny to see her keeping distance, so much so that she slept on the edge of the bed. As if that was going to keep him away from making her sleep in his arms.

Sometimes, in the middle of the night when she would wake up, she stared at his face for long before drifting off, not believing that this human can be so cold. She even questioned if he understood why she is keeping her distance with him. The first few times she really tried to understand why is he refusing to come to the hospital but him being Anand, he didn't give her any explanation. Gita has started to believe that they are evolving as a couple, having healthy communication and just then, he wants to screw up things by not sharing things with her. Beside, in any circumstance, she felt it is wrong for him to not visit his grandfather.