New Beginning…

On a chilly Friday night, cabs sped towards the airport on the newly constructed flyover. In one of the cabs, Ayra sat on her father's lap & spoke constantly. The father checked his wristwatch & held on to his daughter as though his life depended on the next hour. No sooner did his cab reach the airport than Rayansh's family arrived. The kids were ecstatic to meet on a late night & jumped around with excitement. The adults got busy loading luggage from the car trunk to the trolleys. Meanwhile, Rayansh's aunt walked to the flight schedule display & noticed a delay in the flight schedule by half an hour. She informed everyone about the delay & they decided to grab some coffee to beat the cold.

The adults settled cosily in seats available in the open area & Ayra's dad ensured that she sat on his lap. He instructed her to be a good girl & not trouble the grandparents or Rayansh's family. While Ayra agreed with a smile to everything the father said, he teared up slightly. The grace period of 30mins passed by in a flash. It was time to leave & the sight of a little girl crying was heart-wrenching. No matter what anyone said or did, it was hard. Rayansh's aunt hugged & assured Ayra, "As soon we find a new house & school for you, you will join us." Ayra extended her right hand's little finger & asked, "Pinky promise?" Rayansh's aunt intertwined her little finger with Ayra & promised, "Until then, you can play as much as you want with Rayansh."

The little girl displayed bravery, held back her tears & hugged her dad for one last time. The father suppressed his tears & put up a happy face. An avalanche of guilt hit Rayansh's aunt & she clutched her belly. As the couple walked towards the airport entrance, the families stood by & waved at them. The couple walked up to the airline's counter & joined the queue for check-in. Apart from the baggage, both carried a truckload of guilt about leaving Ayra behind. Though, neither of them dared to put it into words. As they waited in the queue, she reached out to his hand & their fingers interlocked. She spoke softly, "I know... It's hard... Umm... Difficult... Painful..." She couldn't seem to form a sentence & despite being an emotional wreck, he waited for her to express herself. Finally, she uttered, "Thank you for doing this for me." He corrected her, "For us, doing this for the three of us." As she smiled warmly at him, he raised the interlocked hands & kissed the back of her hand. No sooner did they finish the check-in than he received a call that Ayra seemed to cope & had fallen asleep on the way home. He felt some relief & focused on the other travel formalities.

Once the formalities were taken care of, the thought that they were to start a new life began to sink in. The couple felt the same rush as in their college days. The flight to London was uneventful, but the duo were thrilled about the new beginning. They checked in to Airbnb accommodation which provided an easy commute to work. The weekend passed in settling into the new environment & overcome the jet lag. The first work week was chaotic, with finding the best time to commute to work & settling into a new workplace. Despite juggling their new workspace, environment & love life's second chance, the only constant was talking to Ayra. Ayra missed her father's presence & cried every day on the video call. The father repeatedly assured her that she would join him soon.

The duo wasted no time in looking for a house. During the first weekend, after consulting their colleagues & checking out online advertisements, they shortlisted houses. On the following Saturday, they set out on a house hunt. They checked out each house thoroughly & bombarded the agent with queries. Later in the day, they stopped at a Bistro to satiate their hunger & rest their legs. Once they placed the order, she listed the houses that seemed to fit their criteria. He looked at her with narrow eyes, "Really?" She looked at him with confusion, "Why? These are the houses that fit our criteria & well within the budget." He exclaimed, "None of the houses follows vastu!" The hunger & tiredness got the better of her & was ready to hurl a few curses. Fortunately, upon the arrival of a waiter, she suppressed her anger. She thanked the waiter, chose not to speak & dived into the food. The food calmed her stomach & nerves.

She expressed, "We cannot look at vastu or feng shui here." He was bewildered at her disregard for the culture. She asked, "Whatever made you think; that the houses here would be vastu compliant?" He hated it when she was right & this was another such instance. He chose not to speak & took another bite of the salad. She continued, "We can choose a fully furnished house. We can buy only the essentials & move in. Anyways, it's for the short term." He spat, "Short term! So, you have decided that this is not going to work?" She choked on the chilled beer, "What?" She wiped her mouth with a napkin & articulated, "I meant we are here for a couple of years. Why spend time & energy on something readily available? The sooner we decide on a place & set it up, the earlier Ayra can arrive." He chewed on the food & his brain her words. A few more weeks passed, and they finalised a fully furnished house.

On signing the agreement, they moved on to the other aspects of the house. The duo agreed to begin with the utensils shopping. As they walked past the kitchen storage section, he suggested buying a dozen small jars for spices & larger ones for lentils & other items. She turned towards him with a puzzled look. He corrected, "Oh, you want to buy more?" She groaned, "No! I do not want to buy jars at all." He was confused & wondered if he had heard her right. She explained, "We can buy those airtight holders & keep the masala powders, spices & other articles in their pack. That way, we know the expiry dates and need not maintain a cupboard full of jars. We can buy a few jars but not in dozens." He scratched his head in utter confusion. He recalled kitchen shopping incidents with other women in his life. Whether it was his mother, sister or wife, all wanted jars & more jars. As he moved forward, he thought, 'This is new'.

While she quickly scanned the utensils section, he loaded the cart with everything that caught his eye. She questioned, "Why do you need so many vessels?" He responded, "We have to eat three meals a day. We need it all." She persisted, "I carried a cooker from home. It has those sectional vessels. We can cook three dishes at a time. Also, we can stick to one-pot recipes on weekdays." As she spoke, she removed the rolling pin & board. He asked, "Eh! How are we going to roll chapatis?" She frowned, "Baby, we will not have the luxury of time to knead the dough or roll out chapatis. We can buy the ready-to-make chapatis." He opened his mouth but could not come up with anything.

She noticed he had picked two of everything, one small & another large. She strongly suggested that they buy one medium size of basics, based on usage, to buy more in the coming days. She reasoned they had no maid or helping hand to manage a large kitchen. He countered it by saying they needed everything in the cart as they had a dishwasher. She was running low on patience & he was pushing it. She voiced, "I've lived in several countries & we don't need these many vessels. One medium-sized of each would suffice." His anger surfaced, "You aren't the only one who has travelled abroad. I've been on adequate work trips." She tried hard to keep calm, "Travelling for a few weeks, eating all three meals at a hotel or making it a working lunch or dinner isn't the same as living abroad." He struggled to come up with a counterattack. She took advantage of the moment & ended the argument, "I do not want to fight every night about who will load the dishwasher, how many times to load it or who will put them back in the cupboards. We have to focus on Ayra, personal life & work."

While she walked to the next section, he stood with a loaded trolley. He tried to come to terms with what had occurred in the last few minutes. As he returned everything he had picked, his wife's voice echoed in his mind. The wife had repeatedly said, "The most five important words in any marriage was, 'I will do the dishes.'" Suddenly, a chill ran through his spine. He had assumed he was a seasoned player in the home game & here she scored without effort. He followed her to the linen & upholstery section. As he was unaware of what would happen next, he chose to play safe & let her decide. He stood quietly and watched her.

She looked around, felt the fabric & loitered. After 10 mins, she declared, "Pick whatever you want & how many sets you want. My only request is, don't pick anything white, floral or pink." Now she had thrown a curve ball & he lost another point. He did not move an inch & watched her closely. She raised her eyebrows in a question. He stood with hands on hips, "Do you know how it sounds?" She innocently raised her shoulders, "What?" He tilted his head, "Role reversal." She laughed, "I have been living in hotels & it is mostly all white. When I go back home, it is either pink or floral. It is as though there isn't another option." He teased, "Seriously? After the kitchen fiasco, you are allowing me to pick?"

She assured him, "Laundry is a weekly chore, which can be at our convenience, unlike the dishes. Also, I noticed you were very particular about the decor. I don't understand what goes with furniture, house decor & stuff." He laughed at her & shook his head at her thesis. She enunciated, "I trust your expertise." While he focused on linens, she curiously watched his choices. Each time he picked something that she disliked, her facial expression said it all. He would put it back on the rack & pick something they both liked. As they stood in the queue for billing, each wondered, 'Our thinking, choices & outlook towards everything is at extreme ends of a spectrum. What did we sign up for?'

Take Away: Some decisions seem so right until self-doubt sets in.

P.S: The story is a sequel to "A Sunday Meet".