Beautiful and subtle short story from Kanchan. Again message is clear..English is welcome language...to be clear...Marathi, Hindi and English...stories can be in any of these languages.
Between Them – Kanchan Gogate
They really knew each other well.
He was relaxing at his workstation. It had been a while since he walked in. “Late again” he told himself looking at an empty chair next to him. As he was thinking she came, almost running, little perspiring, thanking she just punched on time.
He was fresh.It was a beginning of the day for him.
She was exhausted. It was just 9.30 am and she was through with so much…
She ran to washroom without noticing him, rather ignoring him.
“Good morning,” she was fresh when she greeted him. Oh, it was the first round of make-up and freshening up, he knew, she was particular about her looks and appearance. She wears something weird under the name of the summer, he thought to himself. He couldn’t dare talk it out.
“Hi, morning”, he replied and her look said it all. He knew he was wearing the same shirt for the third consecutive day.
“He will wear it till it’s torn,” she thought.
“Who has time to line-up dresses every day?” he thought.
They just smiled. They were not close buddies. Yet, there was no animosity. Work, they discussed a lot and yes, little they talked here and there exchanging pleasantries, weather, little movies, little cricket… that’s it. A special bond was absolutely a forbidden concept for them as they really knew each other well. They never talked much about personal lives, yet they had fair enough idea of their respective family-members. She and he still knew everything about each other miraculously.
“She is into fitness. Oh man, she reads all kinds of odd stuff on food recipes, relationships and some philosophy I can barely stand,” ...she realizes his passing remark
“He is whole day engrossed in politics and cricket as if the world will shatter if he doesn’t read expert columns. Man, how he balances between you-tube videos and work. Anyway, it doesn’t matter till he meets work deadlines…” he knows what she thinks about him.
Like this, their working days get over. He still takes it easy when it’s time to leave while she reaches swipe machine a minute before hers.
Someday, something wasn’t right with her, he could sense. Keyboard tapping on PC was faster than usual. She’s answering calls in irritated manner. It was not related to work… he was sure.
They didn’t talk much. They knew each other very well.
Some odd day, he didn’t carry his Tiffin and ordered food online. She guessed it right. Something was cooking. Perhaps, his cook had proceeded on a holiday without intimation and his working wife had asked him to arrange food on his own. It might have irked him…
She didn’t say it. He didn’t tell her.
One day all of a sudden, she was well-dressed and wrapping up her work with unusual speed to leave early… it was her birthday, he remembered when some colleagues wished her. He, too, as a courtesy wished her. He felt guilty. She was too happy to notice he wished late. He was relieved.
The other day, suddenly in the evening, he said he wanted to leave as early as possible.
“What have you forgotten today? Your wife’s birthday, anniversary or child’s big day?” she asked him straight.
“Our anniversary,” he reluctantly replied. He left hurriedly and requested her to take over his unfished work. She readily agreed.
They knew each other well.
The next day, she didn’t carry tiffin. It must have been very late at office and she must have had to leave early as she had important work meeting today.
He, too, didn’t carry tiffin as he was late from anniversary celebration and next day, he headed straight to office as he didn’t want to be late.
She was pissed off, he understood. “How did you score so poorly in maths though we had studied and prepared well?” he heard her shouting at her son on phone.
It was not a big deal. Generally he didn’t react. Yet he did tell her she was making the issue of a non-issue. “Yes it doesn’t matter but you know I balance between office, home and still manage to take his studies without enrolling him for tuition. I do my duties and still the poor scores…” she murmured.
Oh, my God, he didn’t ask for so much of explanation.
He thought he should take her for lunch. She knew, it’s been a while they had planned a lunch together. The plan was pending for more than six months.
“She is tough to handle beyond office. Lunch, just two of us?” he was scared actually.
“What would I speak to him over lunch when I have nothing to talk at office?” she was thinking.
They knew each other and yet they were uncomfortable.
“Let’s go to the office canteen”, their third colleague came to their rescue and they successfully postponed their lunch plan again.
In the evening, they wrapped up exactly on time.
“I would be late at home, tied up at office,” she heard while he phoned his wife.
She knew he was going for a drink with a colleague.
“You should tell your wife the truth. Why did you say assignment?” she confronted him.
“It’s not that easy to persuade her. She is a complex person,” he tried to explain. She didn’t buy it. They didn’t discuss it further.
One day, she was on leave and an emailed beeped. Her goodbye mail to all post resignation caught him unawares. When she put in papers, he was wondering. He thought she would have confided in him at least once before resigning…Next morning, he couldn’t dare confront her. He had thought it was his privilege to know this before entire office learns. He was going to miss empty chair next to him, perhaps… he didn’t tell her as he thought she would take it otherwise.
Next morning when she arrived, he greeted her with a smile and a best of luck. She returned it with thanks. She thought she should take him for lunch before the formal farewell which would be a team affair.
She didn’t ask him as she thought he would take it otherwise…