Keerthi woke up to a shrill noise.
She kept a hand on her heart, it was her mobile ringing.
Vikram, it read.
“Hello”, she answered.
“Were you asleep?”, Vikram asked, settling on his bed, as he looked at the time.
Eleven forty.
“No. It’s fine”, Keerthi said.
“What are you doing?”, Vikram asked, making himself comfortable as he lay in bed, crossing his legs.
“Nothing. Just”, Keerthi mumbled.
She didn’t know why she was so reluctant to talk to him. She was upset with her husband’s sudden departure.
“How was your day?”, Vikram asked after some time, wanting to talk to his wife and update her of his whereabouts.
“Fine”, Keerthi mumbled,”Why did you call?”
“What?”, Vikram asked, his tone conveying his confusion.
“Nothing”, Keerthi mumbled.
“Do you not want me to call?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“What does ‘Why did you call?’ mean then?”, Vikram glared at the wall in front of him.
“Vikram, I don’t want to fight with you.”
“What’s wrong?”, Vikram didn’t know what the matter with his wife was.
“Nothing.”
“Did anything happen?”
“Vikram, just let me be.”
“It’s useless talking to you”, Vikram replied, his jaw clenched,”I had only called to let you know I have arrived Mumbai and checked in to a hotel.”
“Right. You had called very early”, Keerthi said in a clipped tone.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?”, Vikram barks on the line, making Keerthi flinch.
“Nothing”, Keerthi mumbles.
Vikram takes in a deep breath. He wondered how is it that his wife knew the exact buttons to push.
“Look. I am not in a mood to argue with you right now.”
“Of course. I only argue all the time.”
Keerthi looked at her mobile in disbelief, the call cut tone mocking her, as her eyes filled with tears.
She threw her phone to the side, burying her face into the pillow as she fell asleep.
**
Keerthi woke up to her shrilling alarm, as she sat up, rubbing her eyes, dismissing the alarm.
She looked at Vikram’s side of the bed sadly. They had gotten into an unnecessary argument again.
Keerthi let warm water wash over her hair. She couldn’t find any mistake in Vikram’s argument last night, as hard as she thought. She only found her behaviour over the top. But in her defense, he had not intimated to her about the trip earlier.
She was startled at the realisation that she was mad at him because she missed him, his sudden travel plan unexpected.
Keerthi picked her phone, debating on calling Vikram.
She dialled his number on last thought, she would simply say she had called to wake him up if he was cross with her.
Keerthi grinned at her idea, as she waited for Vikram to pick his call.
Vikram glanced at his phone to see his wife calling. He ignored it, busy as he was, typing away a last minute email on his laptop. He went through other mails when his phone rang again.
“Keerthi, if I am not picking the call the first time means I am busy with something”, Vikram scolded without preamble.
Keerthi’s lips turned down hearing her husband.
She stays silent on the phone.
Vikram was annoyed when he heard her sniffing. He didn’t even say anything for his wife to cry.
“Is there anything you want to say or just cry on call?”, Vikram was getting late.
Keerthi sniffed again as she spoke softly,”I just wanted to wish you Good luck for the meeting.”
“Thank you”, Vikram said softly, feeling guilty at his greeting, as he cut the call.
He didn’t have enough time to console his wife though.
He promised himself he would do it later as he shut his laptop.
Truth was, he was pissed with his wife. The previous day’s argument fresh in his head. He just didn’t get her sometimes. What was her problem to talk? But he wasn’t a tit for tat type of person. He usually didn’t carry his anger for that long. He was just really busy when his wife called.
He let go of thoughts of his wife as he got ready for his meeting, wearing his tie around his neck.
Keerthi sniffed, wondering why her husband was amazing one moment and a total asshole the other, wiping a tear that rolled over her cheek,”What a jerk! Making me cry early in the morning.”
Keerthi’s day was relatively boring apart from the one text she had received from her husband.
Meeting done. Will start tomorrow evening.
She frowned at the message. It was only after 3 in the afternoon. Why would he stay back until the next day if his meeting was done.
She didn’t give it much thought though, still miffed with him.
She decided to visit her mother after work to get her mind off her husband.
She spent some time with her mother. It was only when she was about to leave that she saw her father entering.
“Dad”, Keerthi exclaimed, having missed her father.
“Keerthi! What a pleasant surprise!”, Arvind Verma was delighted to see his daughter as he made his way towards her, as she hugged the life out of him.
“I missed you too”, he chuckled at his daughter, patting his daughter’s back.
Though her father forced Keerthi into the marriage, she shared a brilliant bond with him, which sometimes made her feel guilty, as she glanced at her mother.
But she was grateful that her father had forced her. Vikram was a brilliant husband, though he had his moments, her mood instantly dampening when she remembered his behaviour this morning and last night.
Arvind Verma found his daughter’s hug desperate. It was like she was seeking comfort and reassurance.
“Everything Okay?”, he asked.
He was a terrible husband. But he was a fine father. He knew that. And if anyone laid a hand on his child, he would see their end.
He was a hypocrite and he knew it.
Keerthi blinked, tears making way to her cheeks, alarming her parents.
“Is something the matter?”, Amritha asked her daughter worriedly.
She smiled at her parents,”No. I just missed home.”
“Are you telling the truth?”, Arvind narrowed his eyes at his daughter,”I can help you if there’s an issue”, he added in a softer tone.
Arvind gave a sharp look to his wife, wondering if she knew anything about it. He wouldn’t mind handling his wife to know his daughter’s problems, if she was facing any and was reluctant to let him know about it.
Amritha Verma shrank under her husband’s gaze.
Though Keerthi noticed the exchange between her parents, she remained mute. Eighty percent of the times, she was the reason her father raised a hand on her mother.
“Everything’s fine Dad”, Keerthi reassured her father, scared for her mother,”It’s just been long since I’ve come home. So.”
“How’s Vikram?”, Arvind questioned.
“He’s good. He’s at Mumbai now though, for some work related issue.”
Arvind Verma raised an eyebrow at how quickly his daughter came to her husband’s defense, his lips twitching.
“Okay”, Arvind pats his daughter’s head,”Have your dinner. I’ll drop you later.”
“Yeah”, Keerthi forces a smile when her father glares at her mother. At normal times, she would bridge herself between her parents when her father got too aggressive. She didn’t know what to do today.