Note: This story is in no way related to the real life characters and it is just a figment of my imagination and creativity. No offense intended.
He loved monsoons. He loved the rain and the sight of tiny water droplets falling on the car window trying to race each other. He loved the smell of rain and the sound it made falling on surfaces. It was the only time the climate of Mumbai was bearable. Even though he was on his way home from a long fourteen-hour shift and couldn't wait to see his wife, he loved this moment. This moment of the day when he was all by himself from the chaos of the sets. It was the only time he could reflect and hear his thoughts. For the past, few days...few weeks he has had only one thought in his mind. He was ready to start a family. He has been married for over three years now and he thinks it is finally the time to start planning for a family. He was in a good place, he was working, they were both financially secure and Divyanka was finally free.
He knew he had to discuss this with his wife sooner and he knew his wife would feel the same way. They had always discussed how the ideal time would be when she was free of any work commitments as she will have to dedicate much of her time to taking care of herself, which would not be possible had she been working. Now that YHM is also over, he thought this would be the perfect time.
In his mind he was preparing himself, thinking of the perfect way to start the conversation. Practicing what he would say and repeating it several times. He shook his head after the fifth time. Why was he so nervous? This is not a big deal. He knew his wife would agree to this and this would be a decision they would both be happy about. He knew they would both feel this is the right time.
He entered the house to the smell of cooking. Ever since YHM got over, his wife has been obsessed with cooking. Everyday he would come home to the smell of some food and he loved it. He knew his wife was, for once, enjoying being a wife. Something she wasn't able to do before.
"Honey, I am home!" he yelled from the foyer, with a smile. This has become their routine and he loved it. Removing his shoe, his wife came out smiling. Taking her into his arms, he kissed her head. "I can smell something really good."
"Well, I am making your favourite food. While I will admit, it won't be as good as your mothers, I thought I would try," she said, tiptoeing to kiss his nose.
"You made rajma chawal?"
"Yes!" she giggled.
"Wow! I didn't know what I was missing while you had work, Mrs Dahiya."
"You really didn't, Mr Dahiya! You don't know what kind of a wife I could be." She winked. "Go freshen up, I will have the food ready."
"You love doing this, don't you?"
"I won't deny I am enjoying it quite a lot." She smiled, watching him leave.
She loved being this typical housewife... being this homemaker. Pampering her husband and being a basic dutiful wife. It has been so long since she was able to be a normal person and she loved it. one of her greatest pleasure in life was to cook for her husband and see the content in his face while tasting her dishes. Even though they have been married for over three years, only now she had the opportunity to cook for her husband. And being the doting husband that he is, never once did he complain. She would admit, it was driving her a bit crazy having no work. She was a workaholic. Working was a part of her, it defined her. And to be completely free after years of working nonstop was getting to her day by day. She wouldn't admit it out loud but she missed work. She missed it more than anything. And seeing her husband go to work every morning would give her a pinch of sorrow, though, she would never admit it. She knew this was a part of her life. She was an artist and she knew there would be days when she would have work and there would be days when she wouldn't. Which is why she was ecstatic today. She finally got the call she was waiting for. She got an offer. And offer to do a web series for Alt Balaji and it was like a dream.
"I'm ready for fooood!" Vivek exclaimed, coming out from their room.
"And the food is ready."
Taking their respective seats on the table, they both served themselves and started eating. "Div, I wanted to talk about something."
"Me too."
"Oh really? What is it?"
"You go first," she insisted and he laughed.
"Alright alright. See, we have been married for almost three years now."
"Is it? It still feels new." She smiled.
"That is because three years is new. 10 years would be old. Maybe not even then." He smiled. "Anyway, I was thinking...wouldn't this be the perfect time to start a family?"
"A family?"
"Yes. A baby. Our baby. Don't you think we should have one?"
No. she didn't think it was the right time yet. Yes, it would've been the right time had she not have gotten an offer but now that she did, she didn't think it was the perfect time. She didn't want to have a baby while she was working and she couldn't anyway. Had this been a daily soap, the story could've changed as per her situation. But this was a web series and like a film, the story is fixed. And with the role she was offered, she definitely couldn't get pregnant.
"Div?" he asked when she blanked out into her thoughts. "Where did you go?"
"Hmm. I don't... I don't really think we should be thinking about this now."
"Not thinking about this now? What do you mean? Are you not ready for this?"
"No...I mean, I am..."
"Then?"
"Vivek, I don't want to talk about this. Can we not..."
"But I do. I don't understand. Why do you seem repulsed by the thought of having a baby?"
"I just don't think this is the right time."
"Why is this not the right time? You are free right now. We have been married for three years. I think this is the perfect time."
"Please Vivek," she said, standing up and leaving.
"Divyanka, where are you going?!" he yelled, behind her, but she had shut the door to their room.
He was trying to think of why she was behaving this way. This was as if they had never discussed about this. In the beginning, they had discussed about they bringing a baby into this world would be perfect after a few years when she was free and they had spent quality time together. After they had travelled together. Spent a few years together. So, he was not able to fathom why it seemed like a hideous thing to even think about this right now.
She looked at herself in the mirror and thought that she would not be able to bear the thought of him hating her. Because that is exactly what would happen if she had told him the real reason she was not ready for a baby now. Because she wanted to do the webseries. This role was something she had wanted for as long as she could remember and to want to postponed having a baby for this, might not be something he would be happy about. He loves babies and he had always talked about having one. And he would hate her for taking that away from him, he would hate her for making him wait more this. Making him long to be a father because she wanted to do this one role. She knew she would hate herself for losing this once in a lifetime opportunity to play a role like this and she didn't know if she could live with him hating her or her hating herself more.
To be continued...
