A laugh bubbles out of me, and Mom just shakes her head, not even defending herself.
These two could have been sisters in another life and universe; I can bet on that.
“Reyansh isn’t back yet?” I ask them.
They give me a sheepish look, and I just stare at them in confusion.
“Missing your husband?” Mom teases, andMaaelbows me like I am a teenage girl discussing her crush with her two weird best friends.
“No way,” I tell them. Not a chance. “He just said that he would be back in time because you two want us to watch a movie together.”
“Oh yes,”Maasays. “That’s right. Totally our plan.”
“What do you mean?”
Mom gives her a stern look. “Nothing. He isn’t back yet, but I am sure he will be. You go shower and change. We have been cooking all day for our movie night.”
“I have been cooking. She has been eating my ear off.”
I chuckle as they go back to their banter. I don’t want to be a bitch and say that I doubt he will show up. But my gut yells that he won’t. He has never, so why would he now?
I just hope I am wrong this time.
* * *
I have eaten half of the bowl of fries Mom put in front of me. I have finished a quarter of the Coke. I am onto eating everything else as we wait for my dear husband to show up.
He hasn’t picked up our calls, he hasn’t texted me back, and I just know history is about to repeat itself.
He is not going to show up, and I am disappointed at myself for thinking and hoping otherwise.
“He must be busy,”Maasays, giving me a sad look, and I just shrug. I am not even feeling bad for myself. I am used to this. I am disappointed for them because they still think he is the perfect guy that he was six years ago.
“He should have let her know then,” Mom comes to my support, and I don’t even hesitate in nodding in agreement.
“Never mind him,” I tell them, taking the remote and picking out the movie for today. “He is going to miss out on this amazing party.”
I don’t even know who I am comforting. Them or me. One thing I am doing is training myself for the future. When he is gone, I am not going to stop enjoying things by myself, which is exactly what I have been doing in the past.
“Not waiting for him?”Maaasks.
“He didn’t care to tell us, so why should we wait for him?”
She doesn’t say anything, but I see the question in her eyes and worry in Mom’s eyes.
But I am used to this.
Or at least that’s how I comfort myself tillAdityafromJab We Met’sface comes on screen, distracting me from my dooming life.
Reyansh Carter
“How much can a person screw up in one lifetime?” is all I would like to know. There must be a statistic, and if there’s not one, I am quite sure that I would be the one to build it and, unfortunately, top it.
I had promised Aisha that I wouldn’t miss it this time. She was sure that I would. While she didn’t say it in words, I could read it in her eyes. The uncertainty, the doubt. The fear.
I was determined to make sure that I proved her wrong this time.
When I came to the office this morning, I was hell-bent on finishing all my meetings first.
