A long time had passed since her divorce, three years today. Raj and she went way back in time, he was her best buddy much before they got romantic involved. 20 year old's eager to explore the world, drunk on life, high on love. In times of doubt, like today, she would go back to those happy memories its was her happy place, the one thing she wouldn't trade for anything in this world.
She clearly remembered the day, they had been skirting around the issue for a while now, one of them had to initiate the conversation. As painful as it had been, it had to be said. Tears were shed, a lot was said. It was she who wanted the divorce. She had fallen out of love. She had been, for a while now. She couldn't pretend anymore. As difficult as it had seemed at that time, it was the right thing to do.
The days leading to the final legal proceedings weren't as stressful as they had imagined.. Raj and she had decided to make the best of the last few days together. Each day after work, they would order in from their favorite restaurant , pour in some red wine they had similar tastes and settle down on the couch just catching up on old times. Strolling down the memory lane, remembering the good, the bad and the ugly, mostly the good.
The first few weeks following the divorce were the hardest, for as long as she could remember ,he had always been there, she had never been alone alone , it had taken all her will power not-to-curl-up-into-a-ball and stay hidden under the covers forever.
They stayed in touch after the divorce. He was still listed as her next of kin in most places well that could change soon, was Shane ready for the next step ?
Raj had moved on , rather quickly, he was married within a year of their divorce, he had met Neha at a offsite training and it was love at first sight for both. He was in love again.
She had been distracted at work today , feigning a bad headache she had politely refused to join the team for drinks that evening. The sudden bang at the door jolted her back to reality. Shane wasn't home, perhaps he was running late from work. The first one was followed up with a second louder knock, who could it be at this hour? Shane had the keys she rushed to door.
It was Michael , her next door neighbor.
"Why aren't you answering your phone?, Shane has been trying to reach you for past 15 minutes" he said. Oh, she realized, the phone had run out of battery and she had forgotten to charge it .
"I am sorry, What do you need Michael? What about Shane?" she said.
Michael had already moved past her and was pushing up the window in her living room. She just followed him to window and followed his finger all the way down from her 2nd floor apartment to the road.
It was Shane! Wait, what was he holding in his hand? Why hadn't he come up ? She looked intently ,there it was, written on a piece of paper , he was holding up for her to read "Yes, I am ready! if you'll have me? "
She was smiling, she yelled back "Yes".
She was finally moving on....tears rolled down her cheeks as she gently felt her tummy Would Raj and she still be together if they had a child ? Well now its too late, she'll never know.
Great fiction 👍
ReplyDeleteThanks Bhumika ! Tried writing after a very long time . Thank you 😊
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