“I have to write a whole new chapter insert to begin. I am unable to do that. Sherry is patient but her bosses won’t be for long.”
“Then start with something else.”
“I don’t want to leave this book unfinished, Atharva.”
“I don’t mean a new book. I mean, start editing from some other point right now.”
“No,” she sighed, looking sad for her profession. Given the sorrows they had seen, that was the best kind of sad. It was the bearable kind of sad. The kind of sad he could handle. Suddenly, the man in him that had always been able to fix things for her felt useful again.
“Alright, here’s what I offer — sit to write with me.”
“How will that make a difference?”
“You are about to find out.”
“But…”
“Grab your laptop and come up.”
“But the buns are baking.”
“I’ll shower, you wind up here in the meantime and come.”
“It’s late, you have to wake up early.”
“I am waiting, Iram. Come,” he took slow steps back, eyeing the 13 minutes left on the timer. “I mean it. 15 minutes. Come.”
————————————————————
Atharva showered at leisure today, enjoying a rare night because he had 15 minutes to kill. His body felt dry in the late November weather. Winter was just around the corner and even though a shower this hot would scald him, he enjoyed the burn for a few moments, tipping his face up into the water. It was cathartic, especially after the year he had spent.
“You summoned me in 15 minutes and are still not out yourself?” She knocked.
“You come in then,” he joked, knowing the door was locked.
“I am going to sleep!”
Atharva laughed. Aah, his life was back.
He shut off the water and dried himself at leisure, knowing she would either be pretending to sleep under their thick duvet freshly aired for winter, or sitting up on his side, glaring at him if he was unlucky. Atharva pulled on a pair of pyjamas and rubbed his hair dry, staring at himself in the mirror. He was smiling, grinning, plotting what else he would do to annoy Iram tonight and make her write, and then maybe fall asleep wrapping her in his arms. It had been so long since he had slept feeling her safe in his arms. He combed his fingers through his hair and opened the door.
She had taken option 1.
The lights were still on and she was soundly asleep, the duvet tucked tight under her chin.
Atharva grabbed his towel and began to ball it in his hands. He lifted it high and aimed.
“Don’t even think about it.”
His arm froze.
“How do you know what I am doing?”
“I know it.”
He strode to their bed and peered closer. One eye was cracked open, a tiny sliver of a slit.
“What a cheater I married,” he poked her side, making her shriek. “Shh,” he clapped his hand over her mouth. “He will wake up.”
