Untangled

Sheila sat with a cup of tea in her hand, lost in her thoughts. Her unseeing gaze fell on the busy tableau spread out in front of her; the usual morning scene, children in school uniform going to their bus stops, the milkman delivering milk in the neighborhood, a taxi cruising by and the sound of car engine starting after an idle night.

She was an interior designer and worked for a big architectural firm. She loved her work, was good at it and earned well. She loved creating homes from bare walls; working in tandem with her client’s vision, tweaking some ideas her and there, guiding a client towards beautiful but practical solutions kept her energized and on her feet.

Her husband Anand, a chartered accountant, had his own practice. True to his name, he was ‘happy-go-lucky’ and rarely let anything get him down and tread through murky waters on light feet. Nothing ever perturbed him and she marveled at his proclivity for brushing off the disquieting under the carpet. She thanked God that their two sons- Aarav, 15 and Sachiv, 12 had not just inherited his happy nature but were also hardworking and determined like her.

She burrowed deep in her chair and absent mindedly turned towards her left to speak to him. His empty chair stared back and she sat up with a jerk. He was not living with them anymore.

****************

It had all started at Diwali of that year. Like any Indian household, Diwali meant merriment, good food, laughter, fun, new clothes, fairy lights, diyas, gifts for everyone- sometimes a piece or two of jewellery for her- and happy days. She liked to start her preparations a week before; getting the diyas ready with their wicks immersed in oil for smooth lighting on the D day, setting up the fairy lights on the balconies and inside the house-she loved draping some lights around the windows from inside to give a festive look- buying new clothes for the boys, her gift from Anand and of course preparing the delicacies which were enjoyed by all.

Humming to herself, she had opened the safe, visualizing the things she needed to retrieve and clean. The safe had opened soundlessly and revealed its contents. A sense of foreboding took hold of her. She gaped at the open safe as if in a trance. A compartment which was chock- a- block with silver and jewellery, had only some spoons, small diyas, and other sundry items lying around haphazardly. All their silver and ornaments had gone!

*********

After a restless night, she had gone to the bank the next day. A feeling of déjà vu enveloped her as she saw the cashier approaching her;

‘Ma’am …. I am sorry… but…., your account has insufficient funds.’

 ‘How’s…... that possible? I rarely withdraw money from here and my salary must have come in too’, she quavered.

Hmmmm…... why don’t we check the statement?’

 A sense of foreboding wrapped around her. The screen blinked and her account details flashed before them. She squinted at the numbers displayed on the screen. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Only Rs 2654/? How??

‘Huuhhhhh…how’s that possible? I had over six lakhs here …where’s all the money gone?’ she spluttered, absolutely stunned.

The manager opened another page and was scrutinizing its contents.

 ‘Your husband had come with a signed cheque, Ma’am…. I remember…. he had to come to my cabin as the amount was rather large….’.

With unnatural calm, she had then requested to see her locker. It was no surprise to see it empty.

***************************

She has filed for divorce and has set about separating her affairs from his.

She is young, able bodied and has many years of work age still on her side. She is ambitious, always had been and has the will to succeed, both in her career and raising her children on her own. She knew she would survive.

Why are women born so trusting? Why does craftiness come naturally to some men? All these questions and seemingly unsurmountable problems face her today. How had she missed the tell-tale signs of his deviousness? It had finally come to light that Anand had no practice, his casual approach to work had taken its toll; his clients had steadily diminished over the years. So, in a fit of bravado and to keep his laziness under cover, he had been silently emptying the family coffers.

 Distrust has no place in a marriage. Love flies out of the window once trust is gone. Bonds untangle. It’s best then to separate and make a life for yourself; and that is exactly what she has set out to do!