Later…

“Later Kavita!” snapped Ryan, As Kavita, his wife tried coming into the room. Kavita’s bangles were heard chiming next, while she closed the door to his chamber. Ryan was a criminal lawyer in Delhi High Court and had a hectic schedule that Kavita was aware of. She tried to bother him as less as possible. Like the times she had to choose her jewelry for his office parties or his tie for the same, she would rather consult the maid or the next door Bulbul Aunty. Kavita knew that Ryan just didn’t have the time. It wasn’t intentional indifference that he showered on her being. He would enter the house, loosening his tie, keep the briefcase on the sofa and head towards the chamber. Kavita-“Listen, today’s electrici…” Ryan would be like-“Kavita, Later please? I just walked in.” Kavita was the wife who woke up and slept on the dinner table. Her life could be synonymous to “wait”. Never ending wait. She never seemed to mind. She paid the rent, the bills, did the shopping, cleaned the house and sometimes she just looked back and questioned herself on why she didn’t complete her MSc in Economics. But she was never taught to regret, and maybe that’s how she never raised her voice at whatever went wrong around her. She was a calming angel even to Ryan’s life. Ryan was the emotionally stunted sort, at least he appeared so. He was in deep love with the very concept of ” Kavita” , his college crush. He didn’t have to ask her out or ask her to marry him. He just knew that she would always be there- doing double home works for the both in class, for taking the blame when the professor saw Ryan talk. She was the sort that never complained. And Ryan admired that very quality in her, the best. When Kavita would sleep at night, he would tip-toe into the room, hug her tight and kiss her forehead like her bindi was the source of sunlight… He would stay up to see her snore her way to glory and would leave the room before she woke up, leaving no trace of his presence for those few hours. He was a silent lover. The instrumental sort that knew that she understands, and she really did. Unquestioningly, she accepted this and never was awarded for the same. One morning, Ryan rushed back from office and saw Kavita lying on the floor, phone on one hand and bleeding from the mouth. Ryan rushed her to the hospital near by and the doctor told him, Kavita had Cancer Stage Four. “Impossible” exclaimed Ryan, standing by Kavita’s bed.”Just a year back she did a check up from the oncologist. Nothing was detected. I even saw the…” Silence prevailed. Ryan carried on, this time the voice trembling in uncertainty-“Kavita? Did you take the reports back at all?” Kavita kept staring at the floor. When she finally looked up, she had tears. Tears that Ryan never saw since her Vidaayi. “I did. The report said Third stage.” Ryan was furious. “What the fuck?! Are you dumb? Why didn’t you fucking tell me that? What were you thinking?” Kavita kept quite for some time but finally said “You said Later, Kavita”.