Author's Notes: Alright, to my credit, this was written eons ago, a time when I was all nice and happy and dreamed of Unicorns and Butterflies. So this is my excuse for this cheesier-than- Cheese-Burst-extra-cheese-pizza one shot.
Still the story is dear to me because its kind of a real life experience.
(Written from Gunjan's point of view)
Valentine Encounter
It felt as though I was watching a tennis match. They were good opponents each winning a point with every argument they made. "They" here refers to my sister and her dearest husband. Spectators: me and their 7 year old son. We (that would be me and the kid) were happily eating cotton candy and watching Popoye show when this so called tennis match started. The reason was quite simple (at least in my opinion) - he forgot to get her a gift and blah, blah, blah on Valentine's Day. A dull ache was picking up on the bridge of my nose. Suddenly from a silent spectator, I was promoted to match referee. The ache had now spread to my eyebrows.
"He does this every time." She whined. I hate whiny voices. I took off my specs and gave her a toothy smile. It was going to be a long evening.
"It's just a dumb day. 15 years back, you didn't know that this kind of celebration even existed. Now so called Valentine's Day has become a big commercial gimmick to make gullible women like you spend more and media is going to have a field day interviewing any random couple who walk on the street. It's simply overrated celebration. Seriously, I don't know why you are making a big deal out of this." Apparently this wasn't the right thing to say.
"We celebrate so many festivals. I enjoy those holidays and enjoy the ethnicity that comes with that package. Aren't these festivals commercialized? Of course they are. Every channel comes with special programs and you have a dozen film stars wishing you in any channel you tune into. Still, we shrug off that bit and choose to ignore the fact that these festivals are as overrated now as Valentine's Day and still celebrate with all pomp and glory in the name of tradition. So, why not celebrate Valentine's Day?" The girl had a bit of point here.
Time to change tactic.
Perhaps I need to glorify her husband a bit here. He is a sweet young man. A brilliant guy by definition but a bit dense to be frank when it comes to matters like these and not to mention that he is an awesome dad.
"I completely understand if you want to channel your frustration of having to tell your friends about your non-existent romantic valentine evening with your husband, but I'll tell you this; he is the most romantic person I have ever seen. Including you." He almost fell off his chair, she was staring at with her eyes wide and her mouth was opening and closing like a fish out of water which was quite funny to see. I had this confident fake smile on my face and now the ache had spread till my temples. After full five minutes she started laughing.
"That was a good joke. I really needed that laugh. He is the least romantic person I ever happen to meet. Even my son who is all of 7 years is more romantic towards the little girl who comes to his painting class." Her husband glared at her, the kid had the grace to blush and I started to rub my temples. Now, it was war.
"This whole romanticism is a perception thing. People like him see romanticism in most ordinary and most mundane things of everyday life. They are not the kind of people who proclaim their promise of commitment on top of their lungs. Candle light dinner perhaps would make them uncomfortable and might feel that spending an entire evening in a blanket of shimmer and glamour in the name of romance is a big waste of time. They are very rare. They are subtle romantics." Take that sister.
"Basically you want me to assume that there is romanticism."
"No. Not assumption. Here is the theory. People see what they want to see. If they don't see it the way they want to see, then they assume that it's absent. Got it? You want to see all the clichd things that a college guy does to impress his little girlfriend, but your husband is not a college guy anymore. I believe things are seen pretty differently once you are married. It's just more maturity than a college romance." Have you ever hit your head on any hard surface repeatedly, say for fifteen minutes? That was the intensity of ache in my head. I hoped she would shut up for some time.
"I have never noticed something like that in him. I would have noticed if he even attempted to do something remotely what you are saying." Ooooh...she is caving in. This is the time to make her feel damn guilty about the entire blaming thing and give her husband a little peace. The poor thing was watching cartoon with his kid.
"Oh come on, even I have noticed certain things. Like the other day, he got thick curtains for your gallery without you telling him to do so because he knew that you would be working in the gallery in afternoons and there is a shade of sun coming in during early afternoon. Like the way he switches on the AC as soon as you come out of the kitchen because he realizes that it would have been really hot in there. Like he skipping dinner every Thursday in the name of diet but in reality he accompanying you in your fast. Little things, mundane things which you wouldn't even acknowledge unless you pay attention to makes him the most romantic person I have ever seen. Try seeing things in him rather than his creativity on a valentine day." I had a full blown migraine by now. If she is going to be stubborn about this, they can continue with the argument from where they had left off. I seriously was exhausted.
"Hmm....maybe you are right." Her husband had an idiotic grin on his face, she had a small smile of acceptance and apologies and I sighed. It was suddenly very quiet in there. Even the kid stared at me blankly as though asking - "What did you do to my parents? They are on mute!!" Now they were making all ga-ga eyes at each other, she was blushing and he was still grinning like a fool.
Totally pathetic and yucky. I had to do something. So I told her.
"I still can't believe he didn't even wish you on Valentine's Day. Hell, I even saw our neighbor's grand pa giving a rose (stolen from our garden) to grand ma. You both are useless." The bickering started after a minute. I went back to watching Popoye and finishing half eaten cotton candy. My migraine started to disappear and this time, I ignored their arguments.
Sometimes, truth is overrated.
Aami Daakini
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