Crisis (Short Story)
"How do I put this now.... (breathing deep).. I'm pregnant and.. it's yours.."
Silence. That was all that he could hear. No honking from the traffic; no squabbling of the people on the streets; nothing.
Just pure and plain silence...
The woman sitting in front of him, looking at him with eyes expecting a reply. Scared, nervous, waiting for him to say something... anything.
It started as simple office flirting; a smile here.. a wink there; hands brushing accidentally or laughing at each others corniest jokes. Both were married; aware what comes next - forbidden; but they were too smitten to care at that point..
"I'll be honest.. It's sudden, not something I'm prepared for.. we're both married for god sake!!"
"Are you saying I should just forget I'm pregnant?? Behave like everything is fine??"
"What do you expect me to do??"
"I don't know. I'm scared to death. Confused. You've always had an answer. It's not wrong what we are doing. It's fine as long as no one finds out. This is inevitable and crap !! Now where's your answer ??"
"Ok. Ok. Are you really sure you are pregnant.. I mean we've always been safe.."
"That is what you have to say? Here.. the stick saying positive.. your proof and trophy !"
Everything had seemed to be going perfect. Till this morning. The sex was fun; something he always felt deprived of with his workaholic wife. With her around, he was lonely no more. When he got married, he knew what he was getting into.. but then somewhere.. somehow, that will broke when she walked into his office and life had never been the same after that.
It was taboo; he was committed; made his vows and yet some part of him gave in. And then finally at the party, the way they looked at each other; there wasn't much of his will left.. he was lost.. lost in his world of sin and there was no turning back..
It was ok; they convinced themselves. Just a short fling from where they would eventually move on. Never ever bring it up; they promised. But then .. a child; that changes everything. Promises do not matter anymore and you do not get to move on..
"What do you want to do?? I mean I'm willing to be there for you and the child; but are we sure we can tell anyone it's mine?? You and I are married and we both know where that road leads to.."
"So, the sex is over and now the smartass wants his hands off.. isn't it? Let someone else take care of his mess. Right? You men are all the same !! I should just pop up at your house and we can all have nice big discussion now .. shouldn't we?"
"Jesus!! Calm down!! No need to do something stupid !!"
That's exactly what he wanted. His hands clean and off. His boring life back....
"Calm down now.. lets just get to a doctor first. Ok? We'll figure out things from there. I'll get us the appointment. Just .. don't do anything stupid right now.. Please"
Running away was the only thing he could think of at this point in time. Leave everything behind. His wife, parents, job, hell.. even his name and start afresh somewhere new. Why? That's exactly what a coward would do and he wasn't feeling much of a hero tonight..
The wait at the doctor's clinic seemed like a lifetime in itself..
She only wanted his support right now. Dazed, guilty and confused, she had no clue what would happen next. The guilt was too much to bear and she was fighting out suicidal feelings real hard. The easiest solution for everyone. If she goes, no one has to suffer anymore. But courage had fortunately failed.
She loved her husband and yet somehow could not comprehend the feelings she had for him. How she turned into a lovesick puppy everytime he was around. His smile, the stupid jokes, the look he had whenever they stood in the office corner listening to her talk. The flirting innocent at start; but never realized when things escalated.
Marriage had made them take each other for granted over time. She craved attention, needed to be felt desired, to be told how beautiful she still looked, to be the center of someone's world. That is exactly what she got from him. And few drinks later at the office party, the wrong did not matter anymore. Especially when the bad felt so good.
She agreed when he had said "It's all right as long as noone found out", but she knew the truth. The convincing was just a formality. They were already too far into their relationship and sex was only a matter of time..
"So.. I have your results. Are you the husband??"
"Yes that's me"
The guilt, the fear clear on his face. He had never been so scared in life. Being a father was not an easy job and he was definitely not ready for this..
"You are not pregnant young lady. That was a false positive. Its something what we call a chemical pregnancy which tends to show up as positive. You need...."
What the doctor said next; nothing more than a blur.. They could hear it.. but they were not listening..
"You got what you wanted, didn't you?"
Though she was relieved too; some part of her was sad and she could not understand why. The feeling was right there, very hard to ignore.
"I'll be honest. I am relieved. But then another part of me had already accepted this. Even through the panic and the fear... I do not consider you a mistake. But then, some things are always better kept inside.. not all dreams are meant to come true.."
"So.. this is it.. isn't it? We go our own ways"
"That I think would be for the best.."
"Tell me this.. can we really love more than one person? Is that really possible? Or is it just a fleeting fancy that people use to hide behind their excuses?"
"To be honest.. I do not think there is any universal answer to that question.. It comes down to your belief of right and wrong... Nothing more.. nothing less"
Greetings from the UK. I enjoyed reading.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Love love, Andrew. Bye.
It's a nice read..
ReplyDeleteLovely !
ReplyDeleteNice
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely fabulous and fantastic write-up. Human beings are complicated. But again this is the harsh realty.
ReplyDeleteGetting better n better day by day....keep it up buddy....
ReplyDeleteLike your writing style....the words makes me visualize and experience the story....keep up!
ReplyDelete