Till Forever Falls Apart

8. Mrs. In Love

I corrected my lehanga and looked at the entrance of this open space waiting for him to come. The wedding was on, and Ashima and Bhaskar were seated on the mandap as the priest was chanting mantras. I was anxiously waiting for my husband who has been deadly quiet since I woke up.

When I woke up, I saw him sleeping on the couch. I immediately blamed myself because I was sleeping in the middle of the bed, covering most of the space. I woke him up and asked him to lay down on the bed and sleep for a few hours more. Surprisingly, he meekly nodded and changed his sleeping place. He did not even remove his shoes which surprised me because he can't sleep in tight clothes.

Having enough of his absence, after a few minutes I called him. He picked up a few rings later.

"Hello..Adya?", his voice sounded sleepy.

"Hmm...why are you still not here? Are you still sleeping?"

It was way past his breakfast time.

"I'll be there in ten minutes."

Exactly after fifteen minutes, he appeared dressed in the white kurta that I left for him. Around his neck, was a heavy red embroidered drape that he carried very effortlessly. He looked pretty attractive to be honest. And consciously or unconsciously, we've been wearing matching clothes since my own dress was heavily embroidered red. I was hesitant about wearing red but it was Ashima who wanted me to look like a new bride on her own wedding also.

He came and stood beside me, a seemingly solemn look on his face. What is really wrong with him? He doesn't seem like his usual self.

I signalled a waiter and he brought a cup of tea for him.

He picked up the tea and sipped on it.

"You are late.", I commented after a few minutes.

He looked at me for a second, and his eyes softened considerably.

"I am sorry. I couldn't sleep last night. That is why.."

I looked down apologetic, "You know you should have woken me up. I slept reading a book on the phone. I know the couch was not comf..."

"I slept just fine... don't worry.."

"Did you drink last night? Or some girl tried to make a move on you?"

That amused him for the relief to my heart, "Everybody knows I am taken."

"Those were strippers. They don't care."

He chuckled, "Someone among the boys pranked you all. There were no girls. Only men."

"Ohhh..", And I spent my time worrying that someone may hound on him. He was looking good in that suit.

"They why are you so down? Did something happen back home? I haven't talked to..."

He looked at me, dare I say fondly, "You worry yourself too much. I talked to Ma. Everything's good."

"Then why were you down?", I asked. Now, he's trying to act like everything is fine.

He stared at me for a few seconds, not responding to my sentence but soon took my hand in his, "I'll tell you soon. Focus on your friends wedding for now."

I looked away and tried to take my hand back but he didn't allow.

Ashima and Bhaskar were now taking pheras, and I looked at them reminiscing my own marriage, which made me smile. I was so full of hope and happiness despite everything wrong between us. I had hoped that once 9we will be married, we can mend our differences. But our differences, they were too big. They are too big.