True Fiction……

Affee's Dada Kaka and Havovi Fui

She isn't home from work yet. He looks at the phone, picks it up, nearly dials her number, and then stops himself. He knew he would upset her if she was working late. More than that, he was scared to distract her in case she was crossing the road or climbing the stairs. After all, she was sixty-six, even if she refused to stop working.

Minutes tick by. Slow, agonizingly slow. He goes into the kitchen and puts on a kettle to boil some water. He warms the milk, brings out the cups and keeps the packet of tea bags ready. With each passing minute, the agony of waiting increases. He promises himself, this time he would tell her off. He sits worried, wondering and waiting for her to return. She hadn't even called to say she would be late. Its past five in the evening, he wants his tea and she is out, gallivanting somewhere, probably at the library, picking up novels and having tea with Bipinbhai and Damjibhai or at Royal Stores getting some office papers photo copied.

He walks to the window and cranes his neck to see if he can see her walk into the building. The door bells rings. His neighbours, a lovely mother-daughter duo, Mary and Affee, who live on the same floor, have come over to meet him. They check in on the couple regularly and drop in for a chat. They come over quite often for a pot-luck dinner just so that the gentleman and his wife don’t feel too lonely. 

Seeing her neighbour in an agitated state Mary asks, “What’s wrong? Shall I make you a cup of tea?” He politely declines, and then angrily mumbles, “God knows when she will realize that it’s time to retire. We should be spending our days in Pune with our daughter and son-in-law and yet, here we are in Mumbai because she won’t quit her job. She doesn't realize that her body is taking a beating with her working day in and day out at this age. She just doesn't listen to reason.”

Mary understandingly nods her head. She tactfully refrains from commenting. She admires the wife who is brave, wanting to lead an active life even at sixty-six. But she also empathizes with the man worrying for his wife’s health, his wife of forty-seven years! She sticks to just nodding in an understanding way, while the man resumes pacing the floor, all the while muttering in his mother tongue, ‘aaje avse toh hu ene haath ghali ne levas ke tabiyat no khayal rakhtij nathi’ (Translation: When she walks in, I wont spare her today in regard to the callousness towards her health). All the while Mary and Affee continue nodding their heads sympathetically as if to say, ‘you are right, she should take care of her health at this age.’

The door bell chimes and Affee rushes to open the door, hugs her aunt, the wife, and whispers, “Hi Fuiji, we've been waiting for you.” In a giggling tone she continues, “Kaka, too is waiting for you. He’s been worried and very angry. He’s been a muttering mess the past hour.” The wife hugs Affee, winks at her and walks in with a smile.

She smiles at Mary, says ‘Hi!’ and walks up to her husband. He’s at the stove, re-heating the kettle for their evening tea. He turns around, sees her and his face lights up like a thousand watt bulb. They gently kiss each other on the lips. It’s their way of saying ‘hi and bye’ to each other when either of them walks in or out of the house. They've been greeting each other this way for forty-seven years hence Mary, Affee or the world being around just doesn’t matter to them. He looks down at her face with immense love in his eyes and in a gentle voice says to her, “I’ve been waiting to have tea, where were you held up sweetheart?” She begins to tell him why she got delayed. He pours out tea for all of them and for himself. He brings out the box of Batasa and Shrewsbury biscuits that his daughter has sent for them, from Pune. He peacefully sits down, listening to her talk about her day. Now that she is back home safe, he has forgotten all his anger and worry. All the angry, worried mutterings have melted away.

After tea Mary and Affee head back home. On the way Affee, with a grin on her face tells her mother, “Kaka’s anger just melted away at the sight of Fuiji. He was so furious when she hadn’t returned on time, and yet when she got home he didn't say a word to her in anger. All that mattered was that she was back home safe. I guess that’s the love, care and respect that have kept them together for forty-seven years and counting (Amen!). It’s hard to find such love these days and when I get married I hope my husband cares for me, just as much as Dara Kaka cares for Havovi Fui.” She smiles, a far away dreamy look in her eyes, wondering who would walk into her life and sweep her off her feet… for a lifetime.

~ Bawi ~

For Mom and Dad: The most precious gems of my universe <3