Which volatility is particularly prickly?" he asked cautiously
"Everything I seem to be doing, though I am not doing anything different from before, just seems so counter productive" she said choking up
"With work?" he asked softly
She nodded
"I self taught everything about this SW to fill in for Ashwini, fixed a few bugs, and now she is back on Wed and its a random occurance,
I strayed out of public Accounting into SW and got myself a MS in Info Systems and now I am mainly in a "deployment overseeing role"
"Its like I am going in all directions and making no progress" she whispered
He gently wiped her tears with his thumbs "Shhh shhh" he coaxed
She leaned weakly on him and exhaled
"I cant even focus and enjoy what I like to do, I have this back to back travel thing" she moaned
He grunted
"I married a man who lives overseas more than he lives in India" she shuddered
"shhh shhh" he soothed
"I want to be able to go to D II randomly some evening or Akka's or switch my paattu class to a week night,
I cant do a thing, After Punjab its UP and then Bihar and then Uttarakhand" she complained
He had no answers or explanations, SHE had willingly signed up for this project, so a part of him
didnt understand why she suddenly was missing home and everything about Delhi
She wouldnt tell him what the real reason was, RITU... if she still reported to Bally
she would be enthusiastic and chirpy, her boss made her feel bogged down and drained
Can u space out UP and Uttarakhand?" he offered
"But eppovanalum naa daane pohanum, dont u think? (only I have to go whenever it is)
She didnt translate for him though it was complicated, from her tonal inflections he "got it"
"I am just stretched so thin" she cried
It wasnt like her to hate anything he thought
She drive herself until she crashed every night...
He hugged her tight
"In that case u shouldnt have taken on the benchmarking study" he said bluntly
"I LOVE IT DA" she argued
He nodded
"When Ashwini returns can u take a two week hiatus?" he asked
"And then what?" she asked and held her breath
He sighed...
"When are u done at Bhatinda?" he asked
"Not before u leave" she cried softly
"Atleast another week, and then we have to go to Chandigarh again" she whispered
He sat her on the swing and texted
Leaning back again
Mahavir brought a tray with snack and juice
She didnt eat any chocolate, just drank water
"Have u talked to Bally?" he asked
"I will kal..." "But kal mujhe jaana hai." she realized panicking
"Tum chalogey?" she asked
"I can come in on Thursday the 20th" he muttered
"Just for a day??" she asked sadly
He nodded...
I dont know what we were thinking" she continued
"Why"
"U know... to get married and hoping to make this work and all" she cried softly
"Do u want to talk to Bally right now?" he changed the topic, she was driving him insane with all the accusations
He wasnt in a happy place either... it was goddamn frustrating to be away from her
He had missed two hike dates with his buddies in Paris, and there was even a plan to surf La Suzaie in
September, he might have to let that pass because he had to be in Brussels for a two day Eu Startup Summit
"Abhi?" she asked surprised as the thoughts ran through his mind
He nodded
She acted like he had just invented the light bulb or something
"I dont report to him anymore" she mumbled wiping tears
But he was texting Bally
"Hey Bally do u have a minute"
"Is that the tall brooding book worm?" Bally responded
He sent a half smile
"Kaho boss"
"Are u busy?"
"Teri biwi ke liye ho sakta hoon tere liye kabhi nahi" he sent a wink
"Nice" R&B ack
"Is she typing this?" "If she is then I better go up my life insurance by a few crores, bechari Suman"
"No its me" he said
"Prove karo" Bally asked
"HOW?" R&B was baffled
"Telling me something about her that only you know"
"She curses in Tamil?" R&B asked lamely
"Mujhe dher saari gaali de chuki hai, try some more" "BTW the question should have been, tell me something about YOURSELF that she doesnt know"
R&B sent a ROFL
"Hmppphh" said Bally
"I was going to surf at La Sauzaie in Sep" he said
"Phir to tu hai, is jagah ka naam bhi Iyer nahi jaanti hogi" Bally chuckled
Bally called
R&B handed his wife the phone
II smiled in shock and nervousness
R&B smiled knowingly "Its the same Bally u know... the dude u trust so much and like so much" his eyes told her
II nodded accepting his phone
"Hi!"
"Iyer pati tera admin hai kya?" he began
She chuckled... and sniffled
R&B walked away inside to grab a beer giving her the privacy to talk