Love Lasts Forever (20 page)

I held out the beer mug
and took a sip. Then slowly I told him the rest of the story.

             
Joe Singh listened with sincerity. His eyes were fixed on mine and I could tell from his earnest expression, his mind wasn’t wandering. For once it felt good to talk…really good to talk to a man. When I finished, I let out a huge sigh. I nibbled at the cheese nachos producing a crunching sound.

             
Joe Singh leaned forward and placed his beer mug in front. He gave me a thoughtful glance before he parted his lips. ‘I think it’s your fault,’ he finally said after his rumination, stretching out his hand and drawing a handful of nachos. ‘You haven’t been supportive enough. Don’t you see she just needs your love and support?’

             
‘What are you even saying?’ I let out another sigh and eyed the people around me. Damn these women! I hated even looking at them now. I gulped down the beer in long, gurgling sips.

‘
How? Why?’

             
‘Ronit are you blind?’ he said, narrowing his eyes. ‘I mean can’t you see that Aisha has sacrificed so much for you. Women are very sensitive dude; they’ll take all the shit from every one provided their husband is good to them. All they want is our support and constant assurance that we love them and care for them. And you, my friend’ - his index finger almost touching my nose – ‘have done neither of it.’

             
‘How do you know so much about women, anyway?’ I asked; the question occurring so many times in my mind. ‘You don’t even have a girlfriend.’

             
He laughed. ‘Oh, you don’t want to be going there,’ he said, throwing out his hands playfully. ‘That’s for some other day. Anyway, you better settle things with Aisha. I got my butt stuffed with toothpaste so you could get married, if you remember. Damn that Priyanka bastard!’

             
I laughed. ‘Yeah, of course, I do remember that.’

             
Joe Singh’s eyes lit. ‘Wow!’ he said. ‘He had such soft hands, you know. His touch against my butt felt so…wonderful. I don’t mind getting it done by him again.’

             
‘Ew! I said, struck by revulsion. ‘Why have you always been so infatuated by my
sala
?’ I took a long sip of the beer. ‘Even during our pre-sea days, you actually were ogling at his butt while applying the toothpaste. And what sort of a psycho puts a screensaver of someone’s butt, and that too, of a
guy
?’

             
Joe Singh giggled. His moustache slithered, the long bushes of which were half drenched in beer. ‘Yeah, yeah, funny isn’t it? Anyway,’ he said, gulping down the remaining beer in his glass, ‘let’s not divert and talk about his sister. She’s such a lovely person, and you love her. What are you doing, man?’

             
No, I didn’t love her. Perhaps I have never loved her; it was an infatuation if anything. She’d been gone for a week now and I didn’t miss her. On the contrary I was thrilled about it. In which part of the world would that be called love?

             
I ordered two more beers.

‘Joe Singh,’
I said. ‘You are my best friend. Why do we always have to be in contradictory terms with each other? Few years earlier you always dissuaded me to be away from her, and now, when I’m happy to be away from her, you tell me it’s my fault and settle things with her?’

             
‘OK, firstly,’ he said, ‘stop calling me Joe Singh, just call me Joe. How many times have I
told
you that? ’

             
I smiled.

             
‘And, secondly,’ he shook his head, ‘you’re a bloody idiot, that’s why I always disagree with you. Now Aisha is your wife, loving her and keeping her happy is your responsibility. You think
now
I’ll tell you to be away from her?’

             
‘Maybe,’ I said with a slight shrug.

             
He tutted. ‘Oh, you donkey! Now listen…’

             
His rant went on for another hour until I couldn’t take his insane women advice anymore. He left me with a horde of tips on
How to make your woman happy?
and
What not to do in a marriage?

             
On my way back home, again, as always, I wondered how the hell he knew so much about women. The guy never even had a damn girlfriend!

Later that night while smoking in the balcony I couldn’t escape the thought that despite Joe Singh’s words, I felt happy to be away from Aisha. In fact, I dreaded her return.

It was then when the thought of a divorce first occurred to me.

2
7. Alright, I’m out of here

June 2011, Delhi

Three weeks had passed and
Aisha wasn’t home yet. There had been no calls from her to me or my family. I didn’t call her either.

             
It wasn’t that I cared or missed her. I was just…angry with her unconcern. How could she be so callous and inconsiderate? Mom and Priya had completely lost it by then. A series of questions flooded me about her whereabouts. I was sure a huge drama awaited her arrival.

However
, whatever said and done, I was pretty content with my life. These three weeks had to best three weeks in my married life. I had seen it in movies, read it in books, how elated a husband is when his wife is not around. I always thought that was sarcastic, why would a husband be happy without his wife? But now, I know, it’s a one hundred percent truth; life can’t be more peaceful for men.

             
Unfortunately, my happiness didn’t last more than the first week of June. One afternoon, while we were having lunch, there was a loud knock on the door. I made my way to the door anticipating the maid. And there she was, the big suitcase beside her, and a faint smile playing at the corner of her lips.

             
‘Hey,’ she said, making her way in.

             
I nodded. ‘Where have you been all this while?’

             
‘I think I told you before leaving,’ she replied curtly.

             
‘
Beta
, where were you?’ Mom called out from behind the dining table as she came in sight of her. ‘It’s been three weeks now.’

             
Aisha walked toward her and they shared a perfunctory hug. ‘Mom, I was in Mumbai with my parents,’ she replied, pulling back. ‘I told Ronit before leaving.’

             
‘Yeah, I know,’ mom said looking at Priya, ‘but no calls, no mails…nothing?’

             
‘Sorry mom, I was really busy an-’

             
‘So what did you think, huh,’ Priya bellowed, interrupting her. ‘We have nothing to do here; just wait for your arrival and hope everything is fine with you. You know how much everyone has been worried about you here.’

             
Aisha drew a deep breath and tucked her hair behind her ears. ‘Oh really,’ she said. ‘And that pretty much sums up the reason why no one called.’

With that she swirled around
and trotted toward our room. The rest three of us in the room shared bitter glances.

‘That is no way to talk to my sister!’ I said, barging into my room right after my lunch.

             
‘Ronit, stop!’ she said and turned on her heels toward me. ‘Don’t get me started again. You also know she was the one who instigated me.’

             
‘But she was right,’ I countered. ‘You didn’t even bother giving us a call.’

             
She huffed before walking toward me over the other side of the bed. She crossed her arms, pouted her lips, and gazed at me. ‘So did any one of
you
call to check on me, whether my flight landed or crashed, if I was dead or alive, huh, TELL ME?

             
That dreaded devil was back. I shook my head and cradled it in my hands.

‘
Oh God, not again,’ I grunted. ‘WHY DID YOU EVEN COME BACK?’

I moved backward
, away from her.

             
There was a momentary pause. ‘FINE, YOU KNOW WHAT?’ she yelled back. ‘I’LL LEAVE!’

             
I gnashed my teeth. ‘Oh, no, actually…’ I took a step toward her, held her arms, and shook her violently. ‘I WILL LEAVE!’

             
With that I hauled my phone out from my jeans and dialed a number. She panted loudly by my side and I felt like slapping her at the sight of her crocodile tears.

             
‘Hello, Sahni uncle,’ I said after three rings.

Sahni uncle
is the crewing manager of Nautical Marine Company, and my mother’s cousin brother.

             
‘Oh hello Ronit, what’s up?’

             
‘Uncle, please assign me a ship as soon as you can, I’m in urgent need of money.’

Aisha
’s teary eyes popped up.

             
‘What happened, all of a sudden, is everything okay?’

             
‘Yeah uncle, sure, everything’s okay. Just tell me when can I join?’

             
‘Hmm…let me check.’

I heard the muffled sound of flicking pages and a pattering of keyboard. I glanced at
Aisha wiping her eyes and sniffing.

‘
Hello…um…Ronit.’

‘
Yeah uncle, tell me?’

‘
Look son,’ he said slowly. ‘The only vacancy I have is on a ship two days later. Other than that we have no openings in this month.’

‘
Fine uncle, good enough, I’ll be ready in two days then.’

‘
But…um…there is a problem Ronit,’ he said hesitantly. ‘Actually this ship passes that Somalia region frequently, you never know with the pirates these days. Why do you want to take a risk? I’ll give you a ship with a better run next month.’

‘
Oh no uncle,’ I said quickly. ‘That’s alright, doesn’t matter. Just confirm me for it; I’ll see you in the office tomorrow.’

I
snapped my phone before he could say something. How would he know getting stuck with Aisha is worse than being with pirates?

             
‘GOODBYE!’ I howled in her face and a flood of tears stormed their way out her eyes again.

Two days later while handing my passport and ticket to the lady behind the check-in counter at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, I came across an envelope in my bag pack. I pulled it out and inside was a letter.

             
A letter from Aisha…

             
An hour later after completing the immigration and security formalities, as I slouched in the waiting lounge, I pulled out the letter. With a heavy heart, I began reading it.

Dear Ronit,

Nothing in this world has given me more pain than our time spent together in the last few months.
As you leave tomorrow, I can’t help but wonder what went wrong? My heart is sore with pain and I find it difficult to breathe. I wish God brandishes his magic wand at us, transporting us back to February, on our marriage day, so we could give this a fresh start. Maybe things would still be the same or maybe they won’t.

It would be difficult to live without you in the coming
months, but then perhaps, you are right. Maybe taking a break would help, as they say - distance makes the heart go fonder. But even then, I secretly wish if you could cancel this trip and come back home to me, and we could try our marriage again, all over again…

Your wife,
Aisha.

Without second thought I crumpled the paper, tore it till it was a cluster of a hundred small pieces, and flung it in the dustbin beside me. Forcing out the thoughts about Aisha and her damn letter, I made my way to the passage way leading to the aircraft which would further take me to the port where my ship was anchored.

2
8.  The afternoon before the pirates boarded - 3