The Ideal NRI Couple mistake

19 Ishani

Ishani

With a heavy heart I packed my luggage only to see the Ideal NRI contest letter. It must have came yesterday when all I thought about was our date. I was surprised how I missed seeing it. Without any enthusiasm I opened the letter stating that we were one of the 48 couples and had to meet them at the preliminary contest exactly 10 days from now. I laughed and laughed until I started crying a concerned Neil came to the room. "We are so ideal Neil that we have been selected. So ideal that we hit each other and you assume I'm always ready to sleep with other men. Look at us the ideal couple that we are." And I started crying hysterically. As Neil tried to hug me before I flopped down on the floor but I stopped him. His touch wasn't what I craved for. His trust was. And without that trust I doubt I could handle this.

"No point though, I'll call Mrs Sahani and back out of the contest as soon as possible." I looked at the clock it was 3 am. I was packing any thing and every thing possible. "Ishani please don't go." I looked at him. My heart was literally breaking I knew running away wasn't the right way out but I needed some space away and with a bit of independence. As much as I loved him he did not realise that trust was the biggest part of loving someone. And if I remembered correctly, earlier it was Andy now Nishant. Every man I talked to would become an issue. He needed to learn to trust. And I knew this was not going to be a one day process. I was hurt, equally hurt, if not more but nothing justfied last night.

"Don't leave me Ishani. I don't think I can live without you. Don't call it quits, please," Neil looked at me and I froze. Suddenly I wasn't sure any more. "Quits?" I wasn't sure if he heard me I whispered the word. Never in my mind had I thought that this was the end. I dropped on the floor in front of where Neil sat. "Neil do you think I'll quit on us?" I asked softly. He looked at me with eyes filled with tears. He did not speak but his eyes told me his biggest fear ever. "Neil I love you. I just want a bit of space to work on us not run away. I'm not leaving you." And I hugged him and we both cried. And now that shitty ticket to India I had booked from his card for 7 AM seemed like a stupid idea.

I got up and confessed, "Neil I might have already booked my ticket to India from your card." He looked at me horrified, "Ishani it's your card too. Cancel the ticket." I looked at him. "No it's nonrefundable and I want to go meet everyone. It's easy for you. You wake up and go out to meet the world. I'm stuck here or my fitness centre. Let me go for a few days." He looked up at me while clicking on his phone, "well at least I'll empty the fridge from all that food you made," and we both smiled as he held up his phone, "you come back in three days it's booked too."

"You know at some point we will discuss this. But let's talk when you are back." Neil said. "Neil can we take a breather and not keep on calling each other for three days?" "Ishani it's a marriage and this is what we need to work on. You don't want to depend on me emotionally." I looked up horrified my tone as cold as it could be, "we will talk when I'm back. Now let me finish packing. I need to call my parents that I'll be home for three days." "Ishani you will stay at mine." Neil dropped another bomb. "Why?" I stared at him. "You are their bahu after all, they expect you to stay with them." He finished. "Fuck your thinking Neil. I'm going home and that means mine. I'll meet your parents as much as possible but I miss my family and that's where I will go." I closed the bag and turned to the wardrobe with a finality. Maybe marrying my neighbor was a mistake!

Neil

As we walked together to the departure I remembered how excited we were to start our life here. All the vacations Ish had planned and today as she left I realised I hadn't been the best husband. As she hugged me good bye I could see relief on her face. She was running away and I could sense it no matter what her words were. Thank god I had booked her ticket back in three days. "I'll see you in three days Ish. Go enjoy!" I said in a voice far more cheerful than how I felt inside. Maybe giving space to each other would allow us some introspection time.