In love with my husband

Meeting His Past (Avishek's POV)

"Take care of Seema okay, she really seems to have lost a lot of weight." Dad says, scowling at me as if I was the one responsible for her weight loss.

"Yes dad" I agreed simply because I was tired, I wanted to go home and sleep, and also because I didn't want to argue with him when we had just met after 1 month.

"I'll go wait in the car" I said, nodding my goodbye to him. "Bye."

It wasn't as if I hadn't noticed her weight loss, I just didn't worry much. She is grown woman, not a kid. She can take care of herself. People in our house are worrywarts.

Vibration from my phone interrupted my thoughts. I took it out to see it was a call from unknown number.

I accepted the call frowning at the number when I heard, "Hello" from the other side.

I froze mid-step. 

No, no it cannot be her. How can it be her? There are many people with same voice as her. How can you even remember after so many years?

"Hello" I hear once again, "Avi?"

I couldn't breathe. It was her. It was my Ruchika.

"H, h-hello" I breathe out.

"Avi, thank god you still use the same number", she laughs hesitantly.

"Ruchika" I couldn't say anything else. I couldn't believe I was hearing her once again after so many years.

"I, I'm here, Avi." She says quietly. "I'm in India. Can we meet?"

Hell yes, I wanted to fly wherever the hell she was.

"Where are you?" I ask.

"Same place" she says, her voice almost inaudible.

I couldn't stop my eyes from tearing up. When I told her goodbye, I thought that was the last time I was going to see her. Now, she was here, my Ruchika was here.

My legs carried me to the car without me knowing. The car door being shut pulled me out of my thoughts. I look to the left to see Seema pulling on her seatbelt.

Shit, how can I go with her? But then it's not like she is going to get hurt if I meet Ruchika. She has never asked me about my past and we live like housemates instead of husband and wife.

 Yes, that's it, she might be my wife on paper, but we've never had a relationship.

"You took the wrong turn" her voice pulls me out of the internal debate.

"I know. We have to go somewhere else first." I said.

"Everything alright?" she asks.

I couldn't reply. I was too busy thinking about what I am going to say when I meet her.

After almost 20 minutes, I stop the car before the familiar scene. This used to be our regular hangout, Ruchika and me . After I got married, I hadn't put a step inside this place. I couldn't bring anyone else to our safe place.

I step inside the café and search for the familiar face. My heart was beating so loud, I feared people could hear me. I looked to my right and froze.

There she was. Like always, she found me first before I found her. She hadn't changed one bit. Same big eyes, same round cheeks, same long hair. As if I was pulled by someone, I headed towards her. Even now, after so many years, I could tell she was going to cry, she was chewing on her lips, trying to hold back tears. Her frame got a bit blurry and I realized, my eyes had teared up too.

I couldn't stop the, "Ruchika" from my mouth.

"Long time Avi" she said as a one tear slipped from her eyes.