Page 60 of That Same Old Love

Stop checking your work emails and come out soon!

She looked out through the glass door and Samrat was watching her with an impatient grumpy look. She smiled at him and blew him a small kiss.

Then smiling contently, she reflected back their last fifteen days. She was dreading to go back to India since she was having the most idyllic time. She hadn’t been checking her group messages often since she was busing either getting laid or was at work. Rest of the time she was trying to catch up on as much sleep as possible.

Her friends called the initial period as thehoneymoon period, where everything the sexual partner did would seem cute or sexy. She did believe it herself too. Samrat was bossy and demanding, and like a typical man wanted sex multiple times a day. And she often agreed, since she was desperate for him and craved him like an addict.

His other quirks like wanting to keep the table tops clean and the bathroom surfaces clutter free would have driven her crazy any other time. But she found it cute for now, especially since they used the cleared surfaces in many enjoyable ways.

Mahi was still smiling to herself recalling one such episode, when she heard someone call her.

“Mahi?”

Mahi turned and was shocked when she saw her former mother-in-law. She recovered herself and smiled back, genuinely happy to see the woman who had always been kind and friendly with her.

“How are you?” Mahi asked and hugged her.

Even after the divorce, her former mother-in-law called her a few times to check on how she was doing and also sent toys for Aryan.

“I’m fine. I heard you moved back to India. You look healthy and great, Mahi.”

Mahi recalled the days when she had several eating disorders during her marriage, and she always looked tired and nervous. She binge ate when she was stressed, and Dinesh had always criticized her body and weight gains, making her throw up deliberately to remain thin. Her weight had fluctuated rapidly often drawing concern from her doctors. And from the past five years, she ate what she liked and she knew she was old enough to make healthy choices on her own.

“Thank you. I’m on a work related trip for three weeks. I’m going back in five days. Are you visiting as well?” asked Mahi.

There was a momentary silence. “Yes. Just for the week. Dinesh has married again. I am here with my daughter-in-law. She is waiting near the table there,” she said and pointed at a young and pretty woman.

“My parents mentioned that to me a few days ago.”

The new wife’s hands were fidgeting nervously and her eyes looked lost. Mahi recognized her former self in that young woman.

“Mahi… I have told you this before, but I’m very sorry again. I knew how my son was, and also how he was probably treating you, but I felt helpless. As a mother, I was torn between wanting to help another woman or to remain calm towards my son’s faults. Even now—” she broke off.

“No, I have never ever blamed you. Dinesh barely allowed anyone to stay home for longer than a week. There was nothing you or anyone else could do. I was in my marriage willingly. No one else was to blame for what I went through or did,” Mahi told her calmly.

Her former mother-in-law held her hand and said, “I hope you live a long and a happy life.”

Mahi hugged her. “Thank you. And I wish you the same.”

Mahi’s order was ready by then. Picking her food containers, she gave one last look to her ex-husband’s new wife and left the restaurant. But she couldn’t stop the memories of the traumatizing days of her marriage.

Mahi rushed into her house, her hands and legs trembling.

“Shit, shit, shit. Please god, let him be a little late. Let there be a huge traffic jam on 101 or let him be caught up at work. No wait! I take it back. That’ll probably put him in an even pissier mood. I’m screwed either ways,” she muttered.

She didn’t know why she even bothered to pray. Her life was screwed ever since she made a life changing decision by giving up Sidhu. Since then, instead of spending rest of her life with a man who gazed at her adoringly with a dimpled smile, she got someone who scared the shit out her, and became her master and owner.

“Enough! Focus now,” she muttered, hurrying up and donning an apron without even bothering to change into regular clothes from her work clothes.

The next thirty minutes, she hurriedly prepared dinner. His favorite dishes.

After she was done, she turned on the kitchen exhaust fan to an even higher setting and lit some candles.

Dinesh hated his house smelling like a bloody Indian restaurant.

“Come on… come on. Hurry the hell up!” She muttered.

She opened all the remaining windows too and sprayed the room freshener around.

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