An Appointment

“I had a crush when I was in college,” she said as she was cleaning the morning dishes.

He did not notice. He was too busy browsing through the morning paper. It looks like the market was to go down further. He sipped on his juice and looked deeper into the editor’s column.

“He is here today; on a business trip; wishes to come down. I called him for lunch.” She pulled the chair next to him and sat with a bang and a futile frown on her face.

“Did you hear that?”

“What? Oh! Yes, I did.”

She smiled holding the last end of her sari and trying to chew it. He stands up throwing the newspaper on the dining table and looks busy.

“Ok, I’m off now.”

He prepares to leave. She extends his briefcase as he fastens his tie. She came till the door to see him off.

“What should I wear?”

“Anything!”

Her eyebrows came closer. He could perceive it.

“I mean, anything that would look great on you. After all, you are my wife and moreover, you two might be meeting after a long time, isn’t it sweetie?”

“Yes, after eight years almost!” she exclaims.

He moves towards his car, but stops before getting in and comes back to the door, where she was standing.

“You look good in anything you wear,” he extols her. She smiles at him; her eyes were dreamy.

“Ahem! You did not ask me to come back early today.”

“Oh! Yes,” she says as if she wakes up from a dream. “Come back soon darling. I will ask him to stay back till you come so that you can meet him. Try to come early.”

She tells all these in haste. He looked at her wistful eyes and grinned; and moves again towards the car and stops and turns back.

“What is his…”

“Hmm… Mainaak. Mainaak Sutrodhar.” She almost shouted the name.

He smiles; turned to the car and drove away to office with varied thoughts in mind.

It was almost noon. The environment was frozen and silent like a desert. The main door was closed as usual. The windows were unusually closed too. He came back from office abnormally earlier today. He walked up to the main door and raises his hand to press the calling bell; but then he thought to take a peep in if possible. He checks the windows nearby, but they were closed. There was no chance of him to have a look in. he left the idea and came back to the main door and pressed the door bell.

Ting tong! Ting tong!

Absolute silence! No one attended to his calling. He pressed the bell once again. Same result. His wife has this knack of sleeping in the noon; but then, today she was to be busy with her friend.

“Did she get too busy?” The thought itself startled his mind and he pressed the calling bell a few more times, when the door flung open.

His wife comes out with a dreary face, wearing a bath gown and the weirdest dyed face pack. He almost fainted; but was relieved too, for unknown reasons. His distress and reprieve were both visible on his face.

“Come in,” she smiled and moved away from the door.

“I forgot my meeting…”

“…files?”

“Yes; my meeting files. These are very important, so…”

“So you thought to return home and take them yourself.”

“Yes, absolutely! How do you guess?”

She bursts into a huge laughter, as if she is in a circus and he was the best clown in the town. Rather, she was looking like a clown herself and he was looking like a lost kid. He did not know if he should laugh, but tried to join her in her mirth. She could see all of it in his face.

“Darling,” she says as she hugs him, “you are the best husband in the world and the cutest too.”
He is still speechless; trying to avoid the face pack and hug her.

“Where is your friend? He was supposed to…”

“Wish you a very happy April Fool’s Day, love. I love you.” She keeps on laughing as she utters those words.

“I love you, too.” He hugs her tight; her face pack was all over his face now, as they kiss.
...

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Written as Prompted in:
1. Tell a Tale: Week # 3
2. 3WW CXXXI (Crush, Knack, Varied)