Thursday, November 11, 2010

The Couple

The traffic was inching forward, an end-less lane of angry cars stretched as far ahead as the eye could see. The evening rush was worse than usual. He glanced at the clock impatiently, not wanting to reach home late. His wife would be waiting.

She was dressed and ready when he reached. A quick shower and they were off. He had advance tickets to the latest flick. More than the movie it was the memory of the old times that they wanted to relish. Somehow the seats seemed smaller now than they used to be just a few years earlier. Funny, she thought, how time comes to settle around the waist, like a tree’s girth around the trunk would tell the age. Then he took her hand in his and she forgot all about trees.

She had wanted to go to the road-side eatery they used to frequent. He thought they had outgrown it. They settled for a new restaurant that had come up in the vicinity of their old college campus. She liked the wine.

They went for a walk afterwards. A passing police-man recognized him and saluted smartly. He looked embarrassed. She smiled to herself, perhaps from memories of another time. Different memories.

A mild breeze blew from across the lake. Her smell still sent a chill down his spine after all these years. She slipped on the pavement, having worn heels after a while now. He caught her. She held on to his arm for one moment longer.

It began to drizzle. The evening was past. He called for his driver. They went back.

Then he dropped her and went home to his wife.

20 comments:

  1. Ha, that was a cruel twist in the tale!

    I liked "how time comes to settle around the waist" - that is so me :-(

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  2. whatta twist at the end !!! was guessing something else and it came out to be this :)

    Nice and crisp and after a long time :)

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  3. What? And all the while I was smiling along thinking how nice it is to see the romance is still alive in the marriage!
    Time settling around the waist, so true.

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  4. Ah, and I had visualized a happily married couple keeping their courting-phase romance alive!

    I liked that usage too 'how time comes to settle around the waist, like a tree’s girth around the trunk would tell the age'

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  5. Shades of O Henry, Doc! Great going! :)

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  6. Loved that element of surprise...

    I sure hope time does not settle anywhere in my vicinity , and i sure hope i do not end up being that poor wife , waiting somewhere..

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  7. Goodness!! Now I know why he was embarrased when the policeman saluted him!

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  8. @wanderlust: It may have been a cruel twist, but I really did not intend to write a cruel tale. But do cheer up about time settling around the trunk, will you! Sooner or later time catches up with everything does it not!

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  9. @Scribbler: Thank you. I try to keep my words short.

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  10. @Aparna: That romance never dies is what I had indeed meant to say. Long time, mea culpa!

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  11. @RGB: I too had visualized a happily married couple, ma'm. Such are the ways of love in the world

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  12. @Bala: Can't help but appreciate the academic quality of your observations. Thanks.

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  13. @Gymnast: I did not intend to portray any one as a poor victim (or a monstrous womanizer for that matter).. I only saw people trying to hold on to the fabric of life which they had clumsily woven for themselves..the wife was waiting, true, but neither had he wanted to be late.

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  14. and he also had 'dropped' her before he went home to his wife.. from his car, but probably also from his life.. who are we to grudge them a movie for old times sake?

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  15. @Sujatha: Welcome back, ma'm, long time. I had in mind a happy couple, may be two. Unfortunately man had begun to love before he invented 'Marriage'.

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  16. Wow! What a twist in the tale!
    A very well written piece, like many others have pointed out, I loved the phrase 'how time comes to settle around the waist, like a tree’s girth around the trunk would tell the age'.

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  17. hi destiny,
    my life can be summed up as one constant battle against the waist line.. perhaps thats why i got that one right :-)

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  18. Loved the read Doctor. I was already thinking 'what a wonderful couple and a happy marriage'..A twist of lemon at the end...lol.....Thank you for your visit tonight. Have not heard from you in a long time. I just posted something that may interest you; since you are a doctor.... Take care;-)

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  19. 'how time comes to settle around the waist' and much more. nice read!

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Thanks for giving me this moment of your life.