You and I, plus 2 years of marriage!

It is over…?

{5}

His phone began to ring.

‘Hi Karthi… yeah, she is awake… I may not be coming to work. Did you tell him?... what?! He is such a pain!... I will try… but… alright! I am coming. See you later.’

His eyebrows were knitted into a frown. He was shooting expletives at his manager in his mind, unable to bring them on his lips.

Why am I even working for that moron?

Uttara did not question him anything about his conversation but she noticed the disgust on his face.

‘I had decided to take the day off, but I have to leave for work. I am sorry,’ he said sincerely. She slowly shook her head.

‘It’s okay. You should go to office. There are a lot of people here to take care of me.’

He waited until their parents returned and explained to them that he could not miss work that day. Shekar was displeased with his son but Naresh convinced him to let Bhuvan go. He took leave from them and turned towards Uttara.

‘You take care. Bye.’

He turned to leave and took a few steps towards the door.

‘Hey…’ she called out meekly. He immediately turned around in surprise, looking at her quizzically.

‘Will you come here after work? Only if it is not too much trouble for you.’

‘Yes.’

That was all he could manage to tell her after swallowing the lump in his throat. It was a very simple question but it really tugged at his heart. He quickly strode out of the hospital. In the evening he kept up his promise and visited her. Every day he visited her in the morning and spent some time with her in the evening. Her wounds had begun to heal and the heavy bandage was reduced to a lighter one on her head. The camaraderie began to bloom very slowly between them. Nevertheless it was blooming!

‘I presumed that you would find excuses to not go and see her but your behaviour is quite contradictory to my assumption,’ said Karthik sipping his coffee. Bhuvan was concentrating on finishing the designs for the new project as soon as possible.

‘Why should I not go to see her? At least out of courtesy, I should visit her every day. Moreover we are friends now,’ he replied with a smile which had entered his face involuntarily.

‘Really??? I thought you both are still married. Wait a minute! Not only married, but also in the process of getting divorced very soon.’

Bhuvan abruptly stopped working on his laptop and gave Karthik a tired look.

He is not wrong. But what can I do? I cannot distance myself from her.

‘Until she regains her memory, I have to help her. She remembers nothing about the issues we had in the past. No point in bringing up the topic of divorce with her, in this condition,’ he said briefly and continued working.

‘All I am saying is, don’t forget that this won’t last long. Her memory loss is only a temporary problem. Once Uttara regains her memory, things will go back to being bitter between the two of you. But I still think that you can work things out. It’s never too late to save your marriage,’ he said intensely. But Bhuvan was not prepared to share his optimism.

‘We are just friends. Nothing more.’

In the evening, he went to the hospital around 9pm. There was lot of work to do at office and he gave a serious thought of skipping his routine visit to the hospital. But at last decided against it and rode to the hospital. When he opened the door, she was peering at the laptop in front of her. Leela was seated on the chair beside her and looking at the laptop screen with her daughter. Suddenly Uttara looked up and saw him at the door. She flashed him a cute smile. His heart skipped a beat.

God kill me! Did your smile always have this effect on me?

After a moment’s pause he smiled at both of them and went inside. He insisted his mother-in-law to go home and take rest for some time. He assured that he would be by her side until she came back. Leela was more than happy to comply.

‘What are you looking at?’ he asked her after freshening up.

‘Our wedding photos,’ she said beaming. He pulled the chair closer to her bed and joined her in viewing the pictures. The last time he looked at them was probably more than a year ago. They both were smiling in almost all the pictures. Their smiles were neither fake nor genuine. She kept asking him about the people she could not recognise in the pictures. He patiently answered her questions, with the memories of their wedding day flooding is mind.

‘We haven’t changed much, isn’t it?’ she asked him unexpectedly. He took a few moments to answer her.

‘A lot has changed,’ he said slowly. She assumed that he was referring to her memory loss.

‘Do you think we will go back to the life we were leading before my accident?’ she asked apprehensively. At that moment he seriously considered revealing her the truth about their relationship, but later restrained himself.

‘Uttara, I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. None of us know! So let’s just not worry about it. Past and future should not interfere with our present.’

His words touched her heart.

He in a nice man… It might not have been hard for me to fall in love with him.

‘How are you feeling today?’ he asked, in an attempt to change the topic. Speaking about the past disturbed him.

‘There is no pain. The doctor said that he will send me home in a couple of days,’ she said cheerfully.

‘That’s good news.’

‘How was your day?’

Bhuvan was pleased with her question. This was one question that every man expected from his wife when he returned home from work. It somehow made him feel loved and cared for.

‘Quite hectic. I have a deadline to meet on my new project and my boss is behind my back,’ he rued. She gently squeezed his hand.

‘I think you can handle it. You are smart,’ she said winking at him playfully. This light-hearted version of Uttara was quite interesting. In the past, his wife had been sophisticated and complex to understand. She once again looked at the picture taken during the wedding reception and gazed at him.

‘You are very handsome,’ she said almost blushing. Bhuvan was stumped!

Really? You never said this to me before!

He stared at that picture for a few moments. She looked splendid in that pink sari. Her eyes were lit up with happiness and her lips had curved into a lovely smile. It was as if he was staring at that picture for the first time. He also looked happy in a black suit. The way they stood on that decorated podium, holding hands, was picture perfect. They complemented each other well.

‘You are very beautiful,’ he said locking eyes with her. She could feel her heart flutter at his words. It was an intimate moment which was alien to her and he could not recollect any instance like that from their past. She was on the verge of losing her heart to him. He was falling in love all over again…

This is so wrong! I should stop this right here. It will only give us both more pain. She is not the Uttara with whom I lived for over 3 years. Once she recalls our past, everything will be over. Once again!

                                      To be continued...