The elaborate ceremony around the marriage finally concluded. The crowd ebbed away slowly.
The newlywed strangers were left to themselves. He approached her. The excitement of being with his new-found love was, somehow missing. She sensed his discomfort and asked him what the matter was. ‘Perhaps he is not well’, she thought.
“I was not interested in getting married. It was, kind of, forced on me,” he said.
“Why didn’t you tell this before the marriage?” she fumed/
An awkward silence left their minds equally noisy.
He knew he had a mammoth battle to wage. She walked towards the kitchen, washing the utensils of the morning with her tears.
She resumed office the next day, much to the surprise of her new family. For many years thereafter, she fought a long battle. Her home was her office and her colleagues were her family. He did not seem to bother as she was spending for the family. His lack of connecting, though, did not augur well in improving the situation.
Though she sensed his struggle towards building and maintaining relationships, she could not help him much. He refused to make her feel wanted in ‘his’ house. He came across as a lazy and selfish man. Though he had been employed for close to 8 years prior to marriage, he had not saved a penny.
His tantrums made her patient and resilient. One day he came home distraught. “I do not want to work anymore,” he declared. He wanted her to give money to start his own business.
“Where will I go for the money?” she asked him. For the first time, he realized the depth of her words.
“Can you help me find a better job? I feel useless,” he said.
She had applied for a job and the consultant had asked her to send her CV. But she was pregnant and a change of job at this point would not go in her favour. So, she decided to send his resume instead.
She told him, in the earnest hope of appealing to his good senses (maybe, it was time to check if he had any!), that he had to participate in the family’s financial commitment. He agreed.
The next fortnight was spent in preparing him for the interview. Mock sessions, general mentoring and general knowledge quiz became the order of the day.
The interview proved to be a cakewalk as also the first few months at the new job. She celebrated the new arrival and the new job with equal enthusiasm.
