Will he ever even love me?

Shantanu and Surilee had been married for about two months. Theirs was an arranged marriage and even though they had spoken with each other over the phone several times during their courtship period, living together was an altogether different experience.

Since they both came from diametrically opposite backgrounds, most of their nights ended up in a tiff which left Surilee crying. Not that Shantanu did anything to hurt her intentionally, but the conversation somehow always ended in upsetting her. Of course, he went around the house doing nondescript things to help her and make her feel comfortable in the new setup, but his reserved attitude did not make him an expressive man and so Surilee always wondered whether he loved her enough.

On a lazy Sunday summer afternoon, when they were relaxing after a heavy meal, Shantanu’s phone rang. He had been idly fiddling with the remote, when Surilee handed over his phone to him. Shantanu perked up on hearing the voice at the other end and spoke over the phone in an animated manner. The conversation went on for about half an hour. Surilee looked at her husband with wonder! She had never seen him chatter like this. When Shantanu finally hung up the call, she couldn’t help, but walk up curiously to ask him who it was at the other end of the line?

 Shantanu excitedly told her that it was a long-lost childhood friend, Karan. They had spent the first fifteen years of their life together in a quaint neighborhood in Shillong and had been thick as brothers. However, Karan’s dad got transferred when they were in class 10, and the family had to leave for Gujarat. The teary separation was sealed with promises of weekly letters, which slowly turned into months, then years and finally the distance and passing time took its toll and the line of communication snapped!

Karan had finally managed to trace him today after about 20 years! Shantanu could just not contain his excitement. He had called up to invite them for his wedding. It was supposed to be a grand celebration at The Oberoi Udayvilas, Udaipur.

“Destination wedding!” shrieked Surilee with joy! She was a lover of exquisite architecture and this would be a perfect opportunity to explore the mystical town of Udaipur. Staying in the matchbox size apartments of Mumbai was never really her thing. She longed for large open spaces and this would be just the perfect getaway for her. The wedding was just a week away and so she quickly set down making the preparations. Since they had recently been married, there was no dearth of expensive clothing and accessories. It didn’t take her long to figure out that she needed to pack, nothing but the very best from her trousseau. For Shantanu, she picked up a sherwani and a tuxedo for the two events. She glowed on imagining how resplendent they would look in those outfits!

Shantanu applied for a four-days leave and they boarded the flight from Mumbai to Udaipur airport. Upon arrival, they were greeted by the Oberoi staff who escorted them to the hotel in a swanky BMW car. Surilee absorbed the sights and sounds of the city, as the driver drove nonchalantly down the roads to the hotel.

Once they reached the hotel, Surilee suppressed a squeal of delight. She was embarrassed at her own reaction, but Shantanu just looked at her indulgently. They were soon greeted by Karan and his family and the love and warmth they bestowed upon the couple, made Surilee feel completely pampered. Shantanu had Karan had a lot to catch up on and so Surilee decided to just take some time to rest. She retired to her suite and boudoir. The place made her feel no less than a princess. She took a nice long shower and then slept for an hour before lunch. The evening was set for the cocktail, for which she had a stunning evening gown to match up with her husband’s tux. The arrangements, the décor, the lighting – everything was like a dream for her. They enjoyed the evening and the event wrapped up almost in the wee hours of the following day. Tired of dancing all night in those crazy high heels for hours and hours together, Surilee was so exhausted that she slept almost up to lunch time. Thereafter, there were some ceremonies which they all attended with merriment and laughter. As they ended, Surilee took Shantanu for a stroll in the magnificent gardens of the property and stayed there till the sun started setting.

It was late evening and the wedding ceremony was to start in two hours. She walked back to her room, while Shantanu went on to check whether his friend Karan the groom, needed any help. As Surilee unpacked the sherwani, she realized it had crumpled up. “Oops”, she let out a scream. She had forgotten to give it to the laundry guy. There wasn’t any time left now, so she herself had to do it. As she sat down to iron the sherwani, she got a call from her sister who wanted to know all the details about everything. Surilee soon forgot about the sherwani as she chatted on with her sister, providing all the intricate details of the event. It was only when she smelt something burning, did she break from her reverie. “Oh my God! What the hell did I do?” Surilee could not believe what she had just done! The sherwani had now a large gaping hole right on the front panel of it. She had successfully managed to burn the outfit. Tears ran down her face and she was shaking with anger at herself and fear for what she had just done.

“What have I done? What will Shantanu wear at the wedding now? I’m such an idiot, I haven’t even brought any backup outfit. Will he ever even love me?” A volley of unpleasant thoughts clouded her mind and she was howling when the doorknob moved, and Shantanu entered. Ashamed of her callous attitude, she could not gather the courage to look up at him and continued wailing. Worried, he asked her what the matter was, but she mumbled something incoherently and just pointed out in the direction of the ironing board.

Shantanu was taken aback when he saw what lay in front of him, however he recovered from his moment of shock when he saw that Surilee was almost breaking down. He walked up to her and lovingly held her in his arms. She looked up at him and through the tear-stained face, said to him, “You’ll hate me forever for this. How could I have been so stupid?” and then again let out a loud cry. Shantanu’s heart was breaking to see his wife crying like this. He cupped up her face in his palms, kissed her gently on the forehead and said, “Our life has only just started together, and we still have a long way to go. We will both make many mistakes through this journey but what we need to know is that we will always be together in whatever we do. This is no big deal. Its just a piece of clothing. I can always get another one but what I cannot bear to see is you, all teary eyed. I’ll wear my Tux again, or maybe just any other shirt. As it is, when my gorgeous wife is by my side, I’ll be invisible in whatever finery I wear, so why bother!”

Hearing this, Surilee smiled through her tears. She held him tightly for a very long time. It was in that moment that she realized how truly and deeply he loved her.