An Excerpt from Half-Cup Moon (Aftertaste - of a Half-Lived Life)

An Excerpt from the story "Half-Cup Moon"

Pihu squirmed in her seat.

Her “better-half” Akash was behaving obnoxiously, literally like a high-on-hormones teenager. Watching him flirt shamelessly with the resident hottie Chandni, Pihu was bubbling with indignation.

How did things get this bad? There was a time Akash wouldn’t look at anyone except her.

Nikki smiled sympathetically across the table. She was aware of the tension between Pihu and Akash, but she was wary of coming across as patronizing towards her friend.

Pihu smiled wanly and looked the other way. The room felt stuffy, smoke-filled and claustrophobic. She needed a break.

Nursing her drink, she made way to the balcony. It was quiet and secluded here.

The party was in full swing, with groovy music, drinks flowing freely, and spicy starters being passed around. Couples were either dancing or cozying up in corners. From the bay windows she could observe Farhan and Diti sharing a smoke, and later a kiss. Locked in a tight embrace with Sudha’s husband, Anand, was Kinjal.

Casual dating and hooking up for fun were two things that riled Pihu. She couldn’t fathom how people could make love without being in love.

The refreshing breeze with a hint of salt from the sea calmed her mind a little. Why was she getting so worked up, she thought. What was with the judgmental attitude? Live and let live had always been her mantra.

But why did it look like Akash was pointedly trying to prove a point to her?

As if saying, “look my charm is intact”.

This was the charm she had fallen for, five years back. She had risked the displeasure of her family and societal sniggering, when she opted to elope with Akash, who was just a junior manager in her office. Besides being younger, Akash was less qualified than her.

But Pihu, who worked as Communications Head, was totally in love and willing to stake everything for being with him.

Her seniors had cautioned her saying their company didn’t encourage romances between employees, but she was too much in love to pay heed.

Her family had objected, and even her close friends like Nikki and Revathi had tried to drill sense into her. Akash was at the beginning of his career, how could he match her, what if he turned insecure and jealous of her success, they reasoned. They also reminded her of their differences in upbringing and qualifications that could pose serious problems later.

She was well-heeled, an IIM pass-out, articulate, poised and good-looking. Akash was definitely better in the looks department, but as an engineer from a Tier-2 city college with a middle-class upbringing, couldn’t match her in any other area.

But what he did have was oodles of winsome charm, and a certain refreshing honesty. Recovering from a string of failed relationships, Pihu found that sincerity and disarming candour a refreshing change. And slowly, she had lost her heart to the handsome junior.

They had a simple marriage in court, following which their new life began in Pihu’s apartment.

Just the memories of those heady days made Pihu blush and smile. They were so happy, it was unbelievable.

Akash took housekeeping and cooking duties, while she was in charge of laundry and grocery shopping. They were so much in love with each other, nothing else mattered.

There were differences in choices of course.

Pihu, who preferred eating out at fine dining restaurants, had to get used to ordering dinner from pizza joints, dhabas and local eateries, as Akash didn’t like visiting expensive hotels except on occasions.

She had to cut down on buying designer wear. Akash preferred to pay for her apparel, and it was evident his salary was being stretched after one or two purchases. In any case, he preferred to buy comfort wear from online stores.

Then there was his aversion to holidays abroad. Pihu forgot when they last travelled to her favourite haunts overseas.

But these were minor issues.

What mattered was Akash was a caring husband, ever ready with a smile and an offer to make dinner when they both returned late from office. He pampered her, rubbing her tired shoulders and feet when she felt exhausted, and making her breakfast in bed every weekend.

He loved her deeply, but more than that, he had the highest respect for her. She could see the admiration shining in his eyes.

“Hey Pihu, watcha doing here, gal?” She started at Monisha’s loud voice.

“Just taking in some fresh air, darling. Can’t stand the smoke inside.” Pihu retorted.

“Yeah, things are getting a bit too hot in there, I bet!” Monisha winked meaningfully. “Akki has turned on his charm full throttle!”

“Umm, yeah, that he has. And Chandni has that effect on men too..” She tried to waive it off.

“Something wrong between you too, babes? He used to have eyes only for you till just a year back.” Monisha was bent on niggling her, it seemed.

“Naah, nothing serious… Don’t you worry. By the way, isn’t that Sameer with Riya there? I thought they weren’t speaking to each other?” Pihu unsheathed her own claws. Sameer was Monisha’s weakness.

With her attention diverted finally to her errant partner, Monisha slithered inside leaving Pihu alone once again.

Pihu felt very tired all of a sudden. At thirty-two, she didn’t have the stamina to party all night after a gruelling day at office. She stared at the sky, thinking how to make a dignified exit.

That’s when she noticed the moon.

The moon was a strange shape – it looked like an upturned half cup. So full of promises, yet incomplete in a beautiful way.

Strange, she had never really noticed that shape earlier. The full moon drew most attention generally, while the crescent shape was most common. But this half-moon was so unique, it seemed to be benignly smiling at her.

“Dinner is ready, guys….” Rukhsar’s voice came floating out.

Ahh dinner. Suddenly the smell of kebabs and biryani overwhelmed Pihu, who realized that her tummy was growling in hunger.

At dinner, Akash pretended to be busy having an animated conversation with Sameer and Rukhsar. Nikki who sat beside Pihu at the table, squeezed her hand gently.

This very public snubbing by her husband was getting a bit too much, even for the composed Pihu.

Not a word was spoken between them in the cab. But the moment she reached home, Pihu burst out, “So Mr. Flirt was in his element today! Turning on his charm at sundry pretty young things! Hormones raging high, aren’t they?”

Akash kept quiet, staring at the walls.

“Why stop at flirting? You could have taken one to bed too?” She couldn’t stand his silence and wanted him to react at least.

“Just stop it, Pihu! Behave yourself.” A stung Akash shot back.

“I will behave myself? Says the gentleman who came back from cozying up with half a dozen girls himself!”

“So? What am I supposed to do? You are giving me the cold shoulder for over a month now. There’s this wall around you. I am not a hermit, damn it! You don’t allow me to come within a mile around you, let alone physical intimacy.”

Pihu was furious. The gall of the man! He was accusing her of creating a distance between them?

“So, I am keeping you away without reason? What about that little detail of getting your check-up done at the gynaec’s? You had promised last month, and the month before that.”

Akash clammed up, suddenly sombre.

“I don’t want to talk about that. Whenever we communicate, you have to bring up those damn check-ups!”

“Yes. Because that’s the elephant in our room. The doc has given me the green signal, you know that. And I have been wanting to become a mother, since eternity!”

Akash stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut.

Read the remaining part of this story, and other engrossing stories in Aftertaste - of a Half-Lived Life...

Aftertaste