You and I, plus 2 years of marriage!

It is over…?

{3}

Strangely, a sense of guilt cropped up in his mind. After an hour, the doctor came out of the ICU.

‘We have removed the damaged tissues and stitched her wound. The medicines are going to keep her unconscious for another 5 to 6 hours. Only after she wakes up we will be able to ascertain the effects of this procedure on her. The good news is that she is out of danger.’

‘Thank you very much, doctor,’ said Naresh gratefully. 

The doctor gave few instructions to the attending nurse and left. She politely told them that only person could stay with the patient. Since Leela was not ready to leave her daughter, she stayed back and the rest left the hospital. Bhuvan dropped Karthik home and returned to his flat. He took a quick shower and walked into the kitchen. His appetite was lost and he only drank a glass of water. Sleep was far from entering his eyes and his last conversation with Uttara kept haunting him. After a few days when he had placed the divorce papers on the dining table, she had wordlessly signed them and gone to office. He was both relieved and disturbed that she had signed them without any protest. Pacing aimlessly in the living room he tried to shut his mind from the tormenting thoughts.

The doctor said that she was out of danger. So she will survive… but what about the effect it will have on her?

Bhuvan let out a long drawn breath and lay on the sofa instead of going into the guest room, where he had been sleeping for many months. His mind went back to the day when he had stormed out of their bedroom…

‘You could have at least made it for dinner. Everyone kept asking me about you. I was tired of answering their questions. It was Meena’s engagement!’ said Uttara folding her silk sari. Bhuvan unbuttoned his shirt without any comments. He was already drained out by the long tiring day at work. All he wanted was a good night’s sleep. He had hardly slept more than four hours for the past few nights. Unable to bear his silence she confronted him.

‘How can you do this Bhuvan? She is your cousin whom you treat as your own sister. Do you know how much it hurt her that you didn’t come? Amma and appa also were upset. Why the hell didn’t you pick my calls?’

She was on the verge of losing her patience and he was trying his level best to reign in his temper. He did not want an argument tonight.

‘I would have answered your calls if I had time. Today we had a project presentation at office. Do you even understand how important it was? I had no time to even breathe!’ he said throwing up his hands in frustration.

‘Everyone has work, nobody is jobless here. I too left a crucial meeting early so that I could make it to the engagement. Why did I do it? I could have given an excuse like you and comfortably come home. Moreover she is your cousin, not mine!’

‘I was not partying at my office! Why don’t you understand? I am struggling so hard for our life, our family!’

Bhuvan’s voice had already risen without his volition and she had lost her patience with him.

‘Which family are you referring to? Two people don’t make a family, Bhuvan. Even today amma advised me that we should have a baby soon. What reply can I give her?’ she said glaring at him.

‘Don’t get me started about a child! I was not the one who thought that having a baby in the first year of marriage was too early to start a family,’ he said coldly.

‘It’s well over two years. Why can’t we plan for a child now?’ she asked in an imploring tone.

‘Every month our salaries are spent on paying EMI for this flat and the car. We won’t be able to manage the expenses of the child also. Back then you were not ready for a baby, now I am not!’ he said acidly. She looked at him incredulously.

‘Are you blaming me for the abortion?’ she asked meekly. Her question had driven him over the edge.

‘Yes, I am! Why the hell do I even come back home? I have lost peace in life over never-ending arguments,’ he yelled and stormed out of their bedroom. He did not pause even for a moment to look at her. From that night he slept in the guestroom.

The memory of that night was strong in his mind. Bhuvan still could not believe that he had been so rude to her but he strongly presumed that it was she who had instigated that argument. Nevertheless he was constantly troubled by a twinge of guilt. Quietly he closed his eyes and after a few minutes he fell asleep.

The next morning he reached the hospital at 10 am. Straightaway he walked to the ICU, but she had been shifted to a special ward. He found his parents standing in the corridor speaking to his father-in-law.

‘How is she?’ he asked his father Shekar. He hesitated for a moment and let out a sigh.

‘The doctor said that her wounds will heal soon but the procedure has left a serious impact on her. Go inside and see her,’ he said squeezing his son’s shoulder. Shekar’s words and gesture made Bhuvan uneasy. He slowly entered the ward. Leela was seated on a chair beside the bed. Uttara was lying on the bed with her head bandaged and her eyes closed. Her mother slowly nudged her and she opened her eyes. She peered hard at him as he went closer. With a puzzled expression she looked back at Leela.

‘Who is he?’

Uttara’s words knocked the breath out of Bhuvan. He was stupefied! He stared at her in disbelief.

‘He is your husband, Bhuvan,’ replied Leela in a voice saturated with pain. She still could not come to terms with the fact that her daughter had failed to recognize her husband. Uttara’s eyebrows knitted into a frown. She gazed at him wide-eyed.

What!? You must be kidding me. I have not even seen him before!

                                                 To be continued...