A Bong's Kitchen

Almost an hour had already passed by then but there was no sight of Arindom yet. He had promised me that he would take me to the theatre for the latest movie. The last time that I had called him, he said that he was just about to leave his office and would be at the door in the next ten minutes or so. That was an hour ago. I had been waiting for him, all dressed up, like a fool.

Patience had never been among my strong points. I could feel my temper rising. I have always had a fiery temper and could explode at the drop of the hat. Arindom had bore the brunt of my ire a few times earlier as well. But as is his nature, he always remains calm, hardly says anything to me and instead lets me to cool down on my own. I too could never be angry at him for long, I love him too much. But this time, I was really furious. I was so angry that I decided to lock our flat and go and sit somewhere all alone. I had also switched off my cell phone so that he wouldn't be able to call me to know about my whereabouts. I wanted him to be a little worried about me as a punishment. I wanted him to wait for me just as he had made me to wait.

I simpled walked blindly into our colony's park without too much care and sat on a bench. I was still angry and was almost crying. Just then my eyes fell on an elderly couple sitting on a bench just across mine, holding hands and smiling at each other, unmindful of the bustle of activities around them. They just sat there looking over the park and enjoying each other's company.


They looked like they had been together forever! And even after all those years, they looked very much in love with each other, they were holding hands and they were still together. For me that was very cute. I kept on looking at them. They looked so happy, so comfortable together.

I kept on watching them carefully with all intent and then the old man said something to the woman while pointing his fingers at a tree or may be at a bird sitting on one of its branches and the old woman started laughing. I could hear her laughter even from the distance that I was seated away from them.

I couldn't resist myself from going over to them and having a chat with them. Though we hardly knew each other and I was meeting them for the first time, but for some reason, I was very keen and eager to hear their love story. They were very friendly and lovingly shared their story with me how they had met each other for the first time at a bus-stop, how they became friends which gradually turned in love and they eventually got married to each other.
"We have been married since the last 43 years. We saw both good as well as bad times. We saw some dreams together, we were able to fulfill some of them while the others couldn't be. We couldn't have all that we would have liked to, but we have always had each other and that is all we have ever needed," said the old lady, smiling from ear to ear and holding her husband's hand. That was truly an aww moment for me.

Suddenly I got reminded of my grandparents - how they used to fight almost every day and yet they were inseparable, they loved each other more than anything else. They had a love that stood the test of time. They remained together until they died. One doesn't see that anymore these days. That was true love. Then I also realised that true love isn't always perfect. The old couple whom I had been conversing with too would have fought with each other at some point. But their love for each other hadn't diminished, I was sure.

"Arindom too loves me sincerely with all his heart, though he is a little forgetful and somewhat unromantic," the thought of that brought a smile to my face. Nothing else really matters to me.

When I returned home, I found Arindom dialing someone's number. "He must be trying my number. Good that I had switched off my cell phone" I thought to myself. On seeing me, he sighed in relief but stood there with his head down like a little child was waiting for punishment for some misdeed. Somehow I managed to suppress my smile.

"He must be feeling hungry", I thought and so I went into the kitchen to prepare tea and his favourite mohonbhog for him. When I opened the fridge, I saw a small paper note being stuck on the milk container, that read "I am sorry. I won't be late again".
A smile slipped onto my lips. My anger had completely gone away by now. Still I acted like I was still furious with him. We sat together in our living room and he slowly handed over the TV's remote to me, as if he was saying, "I will watch today whatever you watch, even if it means watching a saas bahu saga!"

After a few minutes, he slowly leaned towards me and laid his chin on my shoulder. Then wrapping his arms around me, he whispered into my ears, "I love you".
I could feel his love in the blissful moment of warmth.
"I love you more," I smiled again.