Rekindled

The Navy man's wife

It was 4am when Adu's office phone buzzed. He looked to see who it was. Admiral was calling him. Adu gently moved Gayu's head from his chest to the pillow. She whined in her sleep saying, "Enge porey?" He quickly kissed her forehead saying, "Idho vandhudaren maa. Office call. Nee thoongu." He quickly stepped out of the room and answered the call, "Sir good morning sir." Admiral said, "Lieutenant Adithya please report to duty at 6. It is urgent." He sounded very serious. Adi said, "Sir, yes sir" and hung up. He did not like the tone of admiral's voice. He sighed and quickly went to the kitchen to brew some coffee. He then went on to shower. He stepped out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist and was drying his hair when Gayu woke up. She looked at him with a smile, still laying in bed, and said, "Yummy aa irukke maams. Adhukulla enge porey? Inge vaa yen konja neram enkooda cuddle pannu. Enakku 10 manikku thaan ponam. Adhukulla rendu round polaame" and she winked. He laughed at her naughtiness but went on to the cupboard to take his clothes and said, "I would love to maa but Admiral thaan call panninaar. 6 manikku report pannanum" he said seriously. Gayu instantly became serious. She grabbed the night shirt and put it on covering her bare upper body saying, "edhavudhu prachanaiya maams?" Adu walked up to her and quickly pecked her lips and said, "I hope not." He grabbed his coffee and left. Gayu sat on the bed worried and confused.

There were 6 Navy officers at the Admiral's office, saluting and waiting to hear why they were summoned urgently. Admiral looked very serious. He looked up at the men and said, "We have received attack information from our secret agents. You have to leave today. You need to be at Vishakapatnam by 1400 hours. The submarines are ready to go. We are anticipating attack anytime starting today. Location will be provided once you get there. You may not notify your families or friends of your whereabouts for their safety as well as yours. As you all know, such assignments have no guarantees. So hurry up guys. Do what you do best. Our country is in your hands. Jai hind!"

For a Navy officer, this is a thing of pride. Army, Navy and Airforce are there to protect that nation and every young man and woman take pride in such assignments. Adu took it very seriously as well. He rushed home but all through, the only person he was worried about was Gayu. How does he tell her yet not scare her? When he reached home, he found Gayu in the kitchen making her coffee. She smiled when she saw him back and said, "Hey Maams enna Adhukulla vandhutte? Enna romba miss panniniya illai naan Appo kudutha suggestion ok nu thonitha?" He smiled and said, "Gayu maa, inga vaa. Unkitta oru vishayam sollanum" and he slowly led her to the sofa. He smiled but it did not reach his eyes. He gently picked her up and placed her on his lap and wrapped his arm around her, "Maa, naan unkitta idha eppidi sollardhu nu therila but naan oru Navy officer nu unakku theriyum illiya? Engaloda first duty namma country ya kaapathardhu thaan. Ippo..... ippo oru assignment kaaga naan kelambanum. Innum konja nerathula Vizag port poven" Gayu eyes were already welled up and with trembling voice she said, "Eppo......varuve?" Adu quickly held her tighter and kissed her forehead. Water started pouring down her cheeks. She pushed him away and stood up, wiping her tears, "Adi mama, eppo varuvel Adi mama, tell me the truth." Adu's heart broke looking at her. He knew he did not want to lie to her. The reality was that he did not know if he was going to be back but he did not want her to hear that. He voice was shaking too. "maa please inge vaa maa." She clung on to him and started weeping, "Nee solla vendiyadhu thaane ennoda Gayu va vittu ennala vara mudiyadhu nu. Enakku ava thaan mukkiyam nu yen sollale." He hugged her tightly. Then he cupped her face and wiped her tears. He kissed her lips tenderly, long enough to remember that while he was going to be away. He knew he had to pack and get going. He kissed her again and said, "Maa inge paaru. Unna naan romba love pannaren. I love you the most but my duty towards the country stands first. Naan unkitta sila vishayam solalaam engar regrets irukka koodadhu so her you go. I wish you all success always. Nee eppovum happy ya irukanum. You are the best thing that happened to me. Ithana varsham nee illama naan eppidi irundhen ne therila maa. You are my everything." Gayu started kissing his all over his face and lips like that would stop him and he let her have it. She quickly removed the chain she was wearing and clasped it around his neck saying, " idhu ungala enkitta kondu varum. Vaa naan Unna help pannaren pack pannardhuku. Navy base varaikkum naan varalama illai adhuvum vara mudiyadha?" Since she was not his wife yet, she could not.

She helped him pack. It was time for him to leave. She know that she had to stay strong as a Navy man's wife so, even though her heart was breaking to thousand pieces, she faked a smile and said, "Jai Hind. I am so proud of you maams. Jeichuttu vaa. Kalyanam pannikalaam, seriya?" Their lips locked before he waved and smiled giving her a flying kiss before driving off.

Brinda Subramanian

This chapter is a tribute to all the officers who put their life up front for our safety 🫡