Chapter 19 A bouquet of love

The door bell rang shrill. The man pressing the button was impatient. He had all the reasons to be doing so. It was 11.40 of January night. The winter chill was seeping in his bones. Above all, his hands were getting tired, holding a 1000 red rose bouquet. A black forest cake was lying ignored at his feet and in his jacket’s pocket closer to his chest was a diamond solitaire ring waiting to be worn on the delicate, nimble finger of his beloved. And his heart was thumping. He wanted to see her expression. He pushed the door bell once again and refused to remove his hand for full thirty seconds.

Suddenly the door opened. Instead of his beloved, he saw an old man with a scowl on his face. He was clearly irritated at being woken up. That’s a different story he hardly got any sleep in old age. But, there was no harm in pretending that he had been disturbed from his sleep.

‘What made you so late today?’ he asked Akhil, glowering at roses and cake.

‘And why so much drama,’ he wanted to speak, but didn’t.

‘Thank you uncle,’ Akhil said and he ran on the steps with all his baggage. The cake was still on the floor. He dashed again to take it safely back. With spare key he opened the entrance to the flat. Carefully he put the heavy rose bouquet on the centre table of the drawing room and placed the box of black forest cake on the floor. He sprinted to his bedroom and saw at the clock. There were still two more minutes to 12. He waited patiently though he was running out of it. Sharp at 12, he bent down and kissed sleeping Ashmi on her forehead and began to trail a series of kiss until he reached her lips.

‘He put his lips pulsating with desire on hers,’ and Ashmi woke up all frightened.

‘Who is there?’ she almost shrieked, but her voice muffled as a heavy hand came shut over her mouth. 

‘Hey calm down, it’s only me,’ he told her.

‘How could you be here? Weren’t you supposed to come after two days from Karnal?’ she asked.

‘And you believed me when I said this?’ he said.

‘Why shouldn’t I believe you?’ she thought, but couldn’t say as Akhil dragged her to the drawing room.

Once there, he made her sit on the sofa. With a flourish he gave her the heavy bouquet of 1000 roses. It nearly fell off her hands as she took it, because of the weight. The card read, With Love, To you, From Me and tears welled in her eyes. She was shocked.

‘What was the need for this?’ she asked.

‘I love you darling. You are my midas touch, you’ve changed my life,’ he spoke and rushed to the kitchen to fetch a knife and a matchbox.

‘You shut your eyes,’ he commanded.

‘What for?’ she argued.

‘Stop it,’ he insisted.

‘Trust me,’ he pleaded.

‘Okay,’ I give in.

‘Now extend your hand,’ he instructed.

‘What’s this now?’ You ask a lot of questions and he sealed her lips with a kiss. She flinched.

‘No questions. Give me your hand,’ he requested.

‘Okay,’ she complied. He slipped in the ring in her hand.

‘Can I open my eyes, now that your woodoo is over?’ she laughed.

‘Certainly, you can darling,’ he said.

The sparkle of diamond caught her eyes.

‘It’s beautiful,’ she exclaimed.

‘You liked it?’ he wanted her affirmation.

‘I loved it,’ she told him and now it was her turn to kiss him. 

‘And this is not over yet. Now let’s cut the cake,’ he spoke.

‘Cake?’ she was a bit astonished but didn’t want to spoil the romantic mood.

‘And you know what we are going to do after that,’ he said getting naughty.

‘Yes, I do,’ she accepted.

One look at the cake and her confusion multiplied. It read Happy Birthday My Dear Wife.

‘But, my birthday is a month away,’ she blurted, though she never wanted to do so.

‘Come again,’ he asked now all shocked.

My birthday is on February 15 and tomorrow is January 15.

‘Are you sure?’ she was now surprised.

‘What kind of question is this?’ she asked a bit upset.

But from today onwards, I will celebrate my birthday only on January 15, she wanted to brighten him up now.

After all so much careful planning he had done, just to make that day special for her. She touched the roses.

‘They are lovely,’ she said.

‘You liked it,’ he asked as he fed her the birthday cake.

‘Tell me, how did you get this from the station in an auto?’ She wanted to know the details now.

‘Who told you that I took an auto?’

‘I took a taxi,’ he confirmed.  She registered it calculating the expense incurred in her surprise birthday party that had happened  a month earlier.

‘Don’t worry I got a raise and all that I have spent this month will get compensated in two months raise?’ he said smoothing the frown on her forehead. ‘Don’t do that, as long as I am alive. I can spend my life for your happiness,’ he was getting filmy now. She smiled and tentatively touched the scars on his wrist, from that night of slashing and kissed it gingerly.

‘It doesn’t hurt any more, but you woman are always in my thoughts. Even after a year of marriage, I can’t get enough of you,’ he said stroking her  bare arm.

‘Yes, I know that very well. Don’t you remember what happened just two months ago, when we were at village?’ she reminded him of an incident that he was so embarrassed about. 

‘How could I forget that? You had put me in a situation of indecent exposure,’ he said.

‘How could you do that to me?’ Even remembering that was enough to make him furious.

‘Stop it, it was just an impulsive reaction,’ she spoke.

‘I still can’t see your mother eye-to-eye even today,’ he spoke his predicament.

Ashmi’s grand mom had expired and she had gone for her last rites, as she was quite close to her. She was supposed to be back in three days but she changed her mind, and thought of coming back only after the terhanvi. The fifteen days of gap was too much for Akhil to endure. He called sick at work and took the first train to North Bihar.