Together in Love- Part 6

Story so far...

The elderly couple are in their last days- both fighting diseases and wishing to be together till the last breath. The story is recounted by the old lady- the story of her life with the incredible man she fell in love with. Their courtship is a melody by itself, the strains of a masterpiece by Bach...

Happiness...it starts as a tiny soap bubble, builds up, billows out and in a moment, bursts. The prelude to the wedding was a fairytale come true. The Prince Charming came riding his favourite white maruti omni! The lavish gifts of sarees, watch and perfumes had me hanging in mid air- suspended in time, elusive to everyone around me.

Hectic shopping, skipped breakfasts and long nights spent on the phone talking to my love- all that took its toll on me. The black circles around my eyes grew like nights on a bright summer evening. Something had to be done. A visit to the parlour might help, i thought. And a hefty chocolate bribe to the brother got me to the beautician.

Armed with wax, masks, creams and paraphernalia, the process of making me beautiful started. Only half way down the facial did i realise that i had not informed him of my visit to the parlour. I called him and started explaining where i was when it suddenly happened- i turned around and everything went blank- i passed out on the terrace of my beautician, armed with my mobile in lifeless hands.

He must have gone crazy with fear. The next moment he had called mother and lambasted her for sending me alone to the beautician. Next call was to father and by the time the car arrived with a cartload of relatives with worried faces, i was up and shining brightly. In all the hullabaloo, i forgot to call him. When i finally did on arriving home, i was almost skinned alive! For not informing him, for not taking care of my health and for not calling him when i was alright!

Shouldn't i have told him of my illness then? I wonder why i conveniently hid the fact that i was unfit for wedding then. How the doctor had warned me against getting pregnant. And how did i get into this mess called marriage? Questions that were answered in time. Answers that made me understand his love for me. I still remember that day- our visit to the family doctor, her apprehensive eyes, the pensiveness in the room and the tensed knots in his forehead.

Who wouldn't be happy to know his wife was carrying his baby? Every normal human would. But he was obviously not. Thanks to the kind doctor, who was intent on saving the baby. And i remmeber the stoic silence with which he drove me back home from the doctor. The determination with which he said he wanted to talk to my parents- alone. How nailbiting those few hours were, as i waited for my parents to arrive. How he broke the news to them calm and composed, that their daughter was an epileptic. How he took things forward from there- the regular visits to doctors around the town, the frequent injections, medicines and numerous tests. And how despite his care, i slumped in the bathroom with my unborn baby...

To be continued...