She came out of the bathroom and walked straight into the arms of her husband who had awakened and was waiting for her. She giggled and let go of herself, as he lifted her up and made her sit down on the bed.
“How was your day?” he asked, lying down next to her.
“Oh it was good. Not a lot of rush today so not too tired” she said lying down and facing him.
“Any new patients or just the same old crying babies? he asked, letting his head rest on the palm of his hand so that he could see her face.
“Oh David! Do you have to call them that?” she asked, pretending to be cross, giving him a mock punch in the stomach.
“Ouch!”
“Stop pretending!”
“I am hurt. You have a strong fist”, he said, pretending to whimper.
She giggled again. He always did things like these to make her giggle.
“So any new patients?” he asked her again, poking her.
She giggled again. She had always been ticklish.
“Yes. A little boy had come today. The usual problem. Cough and cold. Slight fever. The poor boy was so scared. He sat on the stool and looked at me with such frightened eyes, I had to fish out a chocolate from my drawer and give it to him before he relaxed a little.”
“You always do that, don’t you?”
“No! Not always! I only give them to the ones who are scared of me.”
“Oh I am sure no one is scared of you. Can they be scared of my little darling?” he asked cupping her chin.
“And there was this little girl who had come with her mother. She had such an adorable smile! The moment she came in, I was reminded of our Sarah.”
He smiled to her. “Only Sarah? Not Matt?”
“Can it ever happen?” she smiled back, looking deep into his eyes. “They are sleeping?”
“Yes. Matt got his score card today.”
“And?”
“And what do you think, Jen?”
“He aced again?”
“Like father, like son! Yes he did.”
“Yay!”
“Top marks in four subjects! ‘Shows a lot of passion and potential for football’, his card reads”.
She jumped out of the bed. “That’s my boy!”.
“Darling! Where are you going?”
“To kiss Matt, of course.”
“But he is sleeping dear. You don’t want to wake him up.”
“I won’t”, she said, smiling at him.
“And what about me?” he asked, trying to pull off a sad face.
She came back to him and kissed him on the cheek. “You can do without me for some time”. She smiled and went out of the bedroom. He buried his head in the pile of pillows and went to sleep again.
--- * ---
She tiptoed upstairs, and gently opened the room. Matt and Sarah were sleeping in their bed, peaceful and silent. She came and stood between their beds. “My little angels”, she said, her heart swelling in love and pride. She kissed them on their head and watched as Sarah gently reclined into a more peaceful sleep. Matt did not respond. She came back downstairs and checked on David. He had fallen asleep again, his head hidden in the pillows. She loved to see him sleeping like this. It was as if he was a baby. “My three children”, she said lovingly to herself.
She went to the kitchen and started to make something for the kids. They would want desserts tonight, she mused. She would have to go out. She fixed some sandwiches for Matt and Sarah. Just then she heard the slow steps of Matt outside. He was up. He walked into the kitchen, carrying his teddy bear. He came in, eyes half open and hugged her. She lifted him high and kissed him a number of times. Then she put him down. He was such a little darling! Sarah walked in, still sleepy but smiling.
“Mommy?” Her heart went out to her. She kissed her twice and gave her a hug. Then she ushered both the kids out of the kitchen and made them sit down on the sofa in the drawing room. Just then David came out of the bedroom, yawning and smiling at the same time, which resulted in a very comical expression on his face. He kissed her on her cheek and sat down between the kids. They switched on the television and put on a cartoon show. Before long, Jennifer could hear all three of them roaring into laughter. She peeked from the doorway.
“David is such a kid when he is with the children!” she thought. The sandwiches were done. She took them and gave them to David and the kids. For a moment she stood there, watching in silent rapture as the kids gently nibbled on to their sandwiches, taking tiny bites, and David taking larger ones.
Presently she went into the bedroom and changed her clothes.
“David! I am going to the store to get a few things. Keep an eye on things. Be back, my little darlings. Will bring you a surprise.”
“Bye mom”, Matt and Sarah said in unison.
--- * ---
She drove to the supermarket and picked up ice cream. Then she picked up a big bar of chocolate for Matt and Sarah. She knew she was spoiling them but she couldn’t help it. The queue was long and she whiled the time away, thinking of dinner time. Matt would always be animated at dinner hour, speaking slowly yet with so much energy that one could not help but smile at everything he said. Sarah would be quieter, her head bobbing up and down to the rhythm of Matt’s speech. “Oh life is so good! It can’t get any better”, she said to herself, restraining herself so as not to burst out into a cheerful laugh.
She got the billing done, stepped into the car and drove back to her home. As she came closer, she could make out an orange-ish glow ahead. Then it became clearer. And clearer. And then it was all black.
--- * ---
“And this is your patient, Dr. Jackson: Mrs. Stone.”
Dr. Jackson looked at the woman sitting on the bed in front of him. Her hair was dishevelled, her eyes were wandering. There was a scar above her left eye. Her cheeks were hollow and there were dark circles under her eyes. She might have been a lively person but now her spirit was shattered. It was as if something had died inside her.
“Mrs. Stone?” Dr. Jackson called. She did not respond. “What’s her full name?”
“Jennifer Stone.”
“Mrs. Stone?” he tried again. “Mrs. Jennifer? Can you hear me? Jennifer? Jen?”
For one moment in those eyes, there lingered a trace of recognition. Some lost connection. Then it flickered and died again. Dr. Jackson and Dr. Smith went out of the room.
“What happened to her?”
“We don’t know much about her. She used to be a doctor. A child specialist. Had a clinic. Two children. A nice husband. One day she had perhaps gone to the store. While she was gone, the house somehow caught fire and the roof caved in, killing her husband and the kids.”
“Ohh…what a tragedy…have you got anything?”
“Nothing. She is completely gone. We have not been able to get anything out from her. She does not seem to even listen when we speak to her.”
“Nothing absolutely?”
“Nothing. Only that sometimes at night she speaks out suddenly. She insists on serving ice cream to Matt and Sarah. Her dead children.”
He sighed and looked inside the room through the glass pane in the door. Jennifer was sitting on the bed, staring out into emptiness. Presently she stretched her hand and spread her palm, as if reaching out to someone. Then she smiled to herself.
“She must have had a lovely smile”, he thought. Then they turned their back and went on with their round.
-Parekh, Pravesh
April 13, 2013; 05:30 PM
This story is touching, very very touching.
ReplyDeleteThe perfect family picture which you create, the happiness, the satisfaction is infectious, had a huge smile throughout those parts. Every little act adds on to the feelings, makes imagining the story an amazingly pleasant experience.
But the end, the sudden sadness, the way you wrote it, brings goosebumps, hits hard on the reader (even when the reader expected a sorrowful ending). Why should it end this way?!
So wonderfully written, all those emotions so beautifully expressed. Loved reading it!
Keep up the great work :)
Tender. Too tender. As if all of it did not belong to this "world" was happening inside a bubble, as if a single touch, or even a heavy breath can steer it away, and the bubble did burst, and how.
ReplyDeleteThe ending was indeed impact-ful, but what will linger in us, your readers is Matt's nibbling, Sarah's "Mommy?", David's eyes, and Her smile.
Beautiful and Overwhelming! One of your best!
The familiar feeling of being at home,the familiar warmth of family,the familiar knowledge of belonging,the familiar aspect of being known...so beautifully etched in this piece of writing.
ReplyDeleteEvery bit of it is capturing,mostly because of the set up that is so realistic,known and close to one's mind. The familiar essence of underlying hurt,pain and unease that masks all past glories and happiness has been captured almost like that child in the clinic with the bar of chocolate.
The sheer expanse of emotions overwhelmed me,almost like I was there witnessing their journey.
A rather captivating read. Kudos to you!
Very well structured and beautifully continuous. Captivating, its a pity the story ended so soon. The juxtaposition of the imagery of the hum-drum of normal life and the depression in the last part, is especially noteworthy!
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