365 Days - Book II

242. Cheater

March 1, 2019

"Write about someone who is unfaithful."

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She stared at the mirror, hating what it showed; a slim and simple woman, with no great redeeming features but not ugly either, just a little above average woman with commonplace dreams and hopes. As she looked, she was that woman was pale, with dark circles and eyes red from weeping and then those accusations came hurtling through the glass, 'Please, you have known him all your life, do not tell me you did not have an affair then...' 'what is wrong with me that you have to seek him out?...' 'if you did not love me, why did you marry me only to run into his arms when he comes calling...' 'please, ten years cannot wipe out fifteen years of affection, what do think of me, I am a fool...' 'maybe I am one, for loving you, wanting to be there for you, even when you...'  As his voice echoed, she collapsed on the dressing stool, in another fit of helpless tears.

Why did he not believe her? She was his wife, they had been married for eight years, known each other for two years before that. She had thought they loved each other and were supportive and understanding of each other, it had to be, how else could their marriage still be strong when she had failed to conceive? She was the one who cried, every time of the month and he would be there to console her, saying that even if they, always 'them', never 'she' could not have children, there were other ways, IVF , surrogacy, adoption and she would smile despite her tears, loving him all the more. He did love her too, she was sure, how had he changed? 

But she knew the exact minute it had changed. It had been at their school reunion when she met Aditya, her childhood neighbour, classmate and best friend. She had been so thrilled to see him as he had been to see her and after the formal introductions were done, her husband Yash  and his wife Tanvi, were almost forgotten as they started catching up. The ease of being childhood besties was not lost, they discovered as the ten years they had spent apart were not a barrier to rediscovering their forgotten friendship.

And when they discovered that they were actually based in the same city, it became easier to keep in touch. She loved her husband, but then she did not have many friends in this city, and the few she had made, she let them drift apart; her being childless in a group of young mothers was not very comfortable for her. They did not meet often, but then they had common passion for art, something which neither of their spouses shared, so any art exhibition would find them together. That followed by a dinner with enjoyable conversation, and each found that they could shared an emotional bond that was somehow missing with their spouses, though each would readily and vehemently protest that they loved their spouses. But they could not deny the warmth and serenity they found in their company.

That was the trouble, Niti would come back home with a little bounce, humming softly, her face lit by a smile as she recalled her conversations, which were absolutely mundane and mostly revolved round a critique of the art show they had attended, but Yash had grown suspicious and then jealous and finally the taunting accusations had begun. She did not know if Aditya faced a similar situation at home with Tanvi, he never said anything of that sort to her and she was too ashamed and embarrassed to talk about Yash's jealousy. But now, after three months of trying to convince Yash that he was wrong, while trying to maintain a genial attitude with Aditya, she was tired. She knew that if she wanted her marriage to survive, she would have to give up on her friendship with Aditya, and that was where the problem lay, she did not want to stop being Aditya's friend, she did not want to give up the happiness she found in his company. Did that mean Yash was right, and though there had been no physical intimacy between the two, barring those few hugs, which were friendly, would their emotional intimacy be considered as cheating. She shuddered, cheating was such a strong word, especially when there was no transgression on the marriage vows. But then they were comfortable with each other, confided certain things which they would not even think about in their spouses' company, so was that cheating?

Her head spun and she hated it, it was her birthday, Yash was away on tour and Aditya had offered to take her out for a celebratory dinner as his wife was stuck in office, yet again. Niti had been happy, at least her birthday was salvaged. So she had thought as she got dressed and was about to step out when Yash had called. Somehow the conversation had veered towards her and Aditya and when she let slip that she was going out to dinner, she had not told him earlier, a little guilty but then she had not wanted a scene and it was just a harmless dinner, he had burst out on the phone. She could still hear his loud blustering voice as he accused her of carrying on an affair.

But then her mood was spoilt, there was no denying it and she could not pretend to Aditya, at least not today; having made up her mind, she picked up the box of chocolates that her husband had got for her, scrawled  a note that read, 'I am sorry' and called a cab. She would not meet him, but then she would not be callous enough to tell him by text. The traffic was not too troublesome, but she hesitated when she reached his apartment block, unwilling to  risking the security guard's curious glance. She got her chance when the security guard left for a break and she simply left it on his table, hoping that he would deliver the same to Aditya. 

On the way home, she stopped off at the park and sat at the bench in the relative darkness, her phone switched off, enjoying the solitude. Feeling better in just a few minutes, she got out of the park and started walking home, unaware of the truck that was speeding towards her.

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Yash rushed to the hospital from Mumbai, where he was at a conference, cursing everyone and everything. It had not mattered, Niti had been pronounced dead on arrival. Then there had been the nightmare of police investigations, a detailed scrutiny of their lives. He had put up with it for six months and once the investigation had been closed had shifted to Mumbai. 

It had not helped that by a  blasted coincidence of Aditya dying of poisoning, from chocolates. 

One year after Niti's death, Yash and Tanvi met up in a restaurant, finally feeling safe to be seen together in public. As Yash pulled Tanvi into a hug, she smiled and then settled into her seat. The champagne was perfect, chilled and bubbly and she raised a toast, "To new beginnings."

Yash grinned as he answered, "One that began at a school reunion. 

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Now I am not sure how it is, I had an idea which I hoped I managed to convey. It is a sort of open ended story or rather a vague one.