Ruse x Truce

Nita’s face was red with rage. How could he do this to her?

Amit was engrossed in transferring his stack of shirts one after another, from his wardrobe to the suitcase which he had placed on the cot, close to where the closet stood.

He took out a pink shirt, the one she had spent about 2 hours to choose. It was neatly folded and pressed. He held it with care and stood there for a minute. Nita could see that he was trying to decide whether to take it or not. He finally placed it carefully back. He wasn’t going to take this one. He did not even want the shirt that she had picked for him, she thought.

Nita was sitting at one edge of the large wooden cot, diagonally opposite to where the suitcase was placed. She had a book on her lap. Her eyes appeared to be glued to the pages of the book, but her mind simply wouldn’t absorb or register anything from the page that was in front of her. ‘You’ve been betrayed’, her mind kept telling her. Nita kept track of every single move of his. Why had he married her? How on earth did she make the mistake of marrying a man who had no respect for her feelings? She wondered.

Amit disliked carrying too much baggage and always preferred to travel with as less as he could manage with. She knew that pretty well, but 1 suitcase was all that he had packed for a year's stay. This was too less by any standards. ‘Why should I tell him that? I really don’t care what he does’, she told herself.

Amit was whistling as he carelessly picked up his hair brush and dropped it into the suitcase. He was all set. He had just uttered those words and started packing. It had been so easy for him. He had not taken a second look at her to see how she reacted. ‘Why would he do that? Why would he want to know how she felt when he wasn’t the least bit concerned about it?’, Nita was fuming within.



They’ve been married for just 6 months and now he was prepared to leave to the US on an assignment for a year. They had already discussed it a week back and she had made it very clear that she wasn’t ok with the plan. It was a Saturday and they were on their way to visit one of his many aunts. She always admired the way he drove, with ease and confidence.

He was always quick, steady and silent…always, not just behind the wheels.

“I have a surprise for you” he had said with a smile. She was taken aback, for he was not the kind that gave gifts. He never has, not even for her birthday, the first one after they got married. “I’ve been chosen for an assignment. It would go on for a year and we could go together…”. He had suggested that she could take up a job there or just take a break for a year and get herself a job once they get back. She had listened to all that he had to say and had finally told him that this plan wasn’t workable. Why was he expecting her to let go off her job? After all her career is as important as his, she reasoned.

He parked the car close to the gate, in front of his Aunt’s sprawling house and said “If this isn’t ok, then there’s only one way out “ She didn’t bother to ask him what it was for it was clear to her that he was talking about forgoing this assignment. She could sense how much it meant to him and felt a pang of guilt. She shrugged it off and it was all forgotten.

This morning he had been to the office- Unusual for a Saturday. He was back at 12pm and had told her that he must start right away. He said that and had started packing.

Silence can sometimes be unbearable and that’s just how it was to Nita. Her whole life was falling apart. She cared so much for him but he really didn’t care about leaving her here for a year. She didn’t know that he had been preparing for the trip in spite of all that she had told him the other day. ‘Have I been too busy to notice?’, she wondered.

She threw the book away and walked to the drawing room. She switched on the television. She just didn’t want silence. Why was he always silent? Why can’t he just say something? He has always been this way, whether she was angry or sulky; cheerful or bored, he was always silent. She hated it the most.

It was time to make some firm decisions. If he didn’t care about her, and her presence or absence was of no consequence to him then it’s best to leave him alone, she thought. They should part ways. She decided that she would accompany him to the airport and would let him know what she thought.



He was behind the wheels. She still admired the way he drove and thought this might possibly be the last time she would be able to admire it. This trivial thought induced an avalanche of emotions within her. She just could not imagine a life sans Amit. She held back the tears that threatened to flow out any minute. He meant everything to her, but that didn’t matter because she meant nothing to him, she thought sadly. All her dreams of starting a family together, designing a house and building it…all the plans she had for their life together were just dreams and would soon be forgotten.

They were almost there. Amit was wondering what was going on in Nita’s mind. He knew her too well. She had always been impulsive and hasty, very quick at reaching conclusions. Aggressive and possessive to the core she always was. He would miss her and her endless chatter. He always preferred silence to noise but she was one noise he simply couldn’t do without now. He parked the car.

Amit turned to look at Nita. She was deep in thought and looked very serious. He stifled a smile and asked “What would you like me to get for you? ” .
..........
There was no response.

He placed his hand on her shoulder. She pushed it off.

“I don’t want anything. You don’t have to spend your hard earned money on some one who means nothing to you, besides, when have you bought me a gift?”

“What’s the matter with you Nitu? I didn’t realize that you care for gifts. Fine why don’t you tell me what you want?”

“Amit, I’ve thought a lot and come to the conclusion that I’m not all that important to you. If you can do without me now, you can do without me for life.”

He tried to interrupt but she held out her hand, gesturing him to stop. She went on and on for a few minutes.

“I’ve never been important to you. I’ve always wanted you to spend time with me, but you’ve always had better things to do. You would rather watch a cricket match than talk to me. I’m used to getting gifts on occasions but you don’t care enough to give me any. It’s not a question of the monetary value of the gift; it’s the mere act of giving a gift that I value immensely. You simply don’t care. I’ve told you so much about my dreams for our life together. You’ve never had anything to say because you don’t love me enough to think of a life together…” she paused to catch her breath and continued.

“You now want to go on this trip and you pretty well know that I don’t want you to. If you can go this far and stay away for this long then we might as well stay apart for the rest of our lives”. She stopped and looked straight into his eyes. Her eyes were brimming with tears but she was too proud to cry now.

Amit couldn’t hold himself from laughing any longer. Amidst ripples of laughter he pulled Nita to him and gave her a kiss.

“Nitu, why would you choose to leave me just because I’m going on a trip to Pune for 10 days?”

She couldn’t believe her ears. What was he saying now? As they walked towards the airport, he explained.

“If not that one, I simply had to accept this assignment and that’s what I meant when I said that there’s only 1 other way out, the other day…..remember? You weren’t happy with the surprise I gave you the other day, so I decided to give you an interesting surprise this time. So, how did you like this one?” He was laughing again.



Nita playfully slapped him on his back and quivered “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

“Well, you didn’t bother to ask me what it was when I told you that there was only 1 other way….did you?” He ruffled her hair as he always did when he thought he had convinced her about something and held her close as they walked on together.