GENESIS - PART 2 & PART 3

Pain & Gain

March 28th, 09.00 a.m
She squeezed her eyes to reduce the pain. But that was just psychological. Neha had been informed that she was due for the much awaited delivery. She knew it was going to be a rough ride. The thought of the pain frightened her. She reached for Sanjay’s hand and held it tight.

Sanjay knew. He calmly said, “You’ve got the best team of doctors around you. There’s nothing to fear”

“But I get these momentary lapses of fear. It’s killing me”. She was almost in tears but suppressed the grief. She knew Sanjay never liked to see anyone cry.

“Why do you cry? Only people with fear do that”, he said with a firm tone.

“That’s not true. Nobody cries for grief alone”, she retorted. “People cry for various reasons. Haven’t you heard about ‘tears of joy’ at all?”

“Neha. That is a myth. People fake these things. It’s better not to express these emotions, at least not now”

Neha kept mum. She knew when to stop. For the past 2 years, she had never won a single argument with him. Sanjay had unique justifications for every unique belief he had. In spite of all that, Neha was still in love with him. Nobody knew why.

Sanjay gave a blank expression. He was still looking at her. Two minutes later, he stood up and said, “I’ll have to leave now. As soon as my work is done, I’ll be back.” Sanjay picked up his bag and left.

Neha kept staring at the door even after he was gone. She kept thinking about their relationship. According to her brother, they were the most complicated pair anyone could ever come across. Her friends had found him to be an insensitive being. He hardly spoke to anyone and never showed signs of sociability. But Neha had a different perception altogether. She lay on the single bed. It wasn’t exactly comfortable but she closed her eyes deeply and drifted off to sleep.

04.00 p.m

Vinay was keenly listening to his favorite song in his ipod. Given the fact that he was a gizmo freak, he loved using it. Neha was awake now. The nurse had just left saying she was due any moment. This was becoming stale for her. She kept thinking about Sanjay.

“Why so serious?” asked Vinay, interrupting her thoughts. ‘You’ll be ok. I hear the doctors are weird but they are also the best. I know that’s a poor combination but it works. Do you know what’s funny? You go to a doctor because you are sick. He examines and formulates the fact that you are sick. But you already know it and that’s the reason you went to the doctor’s in the first place. Isn’t that funny?’

He laughed at his own joke. Neha was hardly amused. Vinay noticed this and pulled off the embarrassment by pretending to shuffle the songs in his ipod. Clearly, he was trying to bring in a sense of humor and cheer her up. But Neha wasn’t interested in humor. She needed solace and relief.

“So”, began Vinay, “Where’s Mr. Schwarzenegger?”

“He’s has to get some important work done”, she retorted. “And do not call him that”, she added.

“Why not?” ,he questioned with a smile. “I’ve never seen him smile or laugh, not even a possible human expression. And p.s, he ignores me often”

“That is not true. He has never ignored you. It’s just the fact that your so called humor remark has never amused him. As a matter of fact, it hasn’t amused me either”

“Ya right ! Even Charlie Chaplin cannot amuse him. And that’s because he is…” Vinay stopped midway and thought it was better not to say anything more.

“What is it? Finish your judgment” pleaded Neha

“Well, Inhuman was the word I was going to use”, he grappled.

Neha took a deep breath and began. “Just because Sanjay hasn’t shown any expressions or laughed at your jokes, doesn’t mean he is a man without feelings. According to me, he is a man full of love; love that is unexpressed but only understood. I take pride in the fact that I happen to be the only one who has truly understood him. He’s better than men who pretend to know everything about love and never realize the extent of treachery they do to women. He is a lot better than men who fake their love and hide the same fact without any remorse. And he is definitely better than you who keeps giving rueful expressions and pass sarcastic comments to his pregnant sister about her husband”

“You watch a lot of movies”, sighed Vinay. “So where’s Mr. Lovable?”

“He must be in office right now”

Vinay gave an abashed look. “Are you telling me Sanjay has actually gone to get some office work done when his wife is going to have a baby? I’m going to give him a call right now.”
Neha was calm. “Just a few papers to sign. His boss had called him yesterday. His work is indispensable. And it’s no use giving him a call. He’s left his mobile at home. I have no qualms about his tedious work.”

“So he decides to be Sanjay the company secretary when his wife is proudly presenting him as Sanjay the perfect husband!! Remind me, why are you married to him?”

Neha smiled weakly and said “Because we are meant to be. I love him and he loves me. In fact, it was me who urged him to-“.
Neha suddenly stopped speaking and closed her eyes tightly. She grasped the bed in pain.

The next thing she knew was Vinay calling for the nurses hysterically. The nurses arrived in less than two minutes.

06.00 p.m
The doctors were getting the operation theatre ready for the delivery. One of them had the anesthesia ready to be injected. The pain was weakening Neha gradually. But she mustered enough stamina to utter a single word.

“Sanjay”


Part 3

March 28th, 05.00 p.m
The meeting was over. Sanjay had been asked to go through a few more documents before they were ready to be drafted. He was totally immersed in the ocean of work that lied before him that he completely lost track of time.

06.00 p.m
Sanjay looked around. He couldn’t spot anyone in the vicinity. Someone had called out his name. “I’m exhausted”, he thought. He realized it was time to be heading towards home. But he looked at the pile of work that had to be completed.

08.00 p.m
He could have dropped dead any moment but he kept driving his car. It would take Sanjay a few hours to reach home.

10.00 p.m
Sanjay could barely walk. He felt thankful for the invention of the elevator. He opened the door to his apartment and looked droopily at the sofa. “15 minutes of a cat nap is harmless”, he thought. And the next thing he knew was the sound of a thump on the sofa.

To be contd...