It was an idyllic afternoon. He was sitting at his desk in the study room and solving arithmetic problems to entertain himself. And why not, he was quite decent at maths, after all! It was his all-time favourite pastime. During this, the aroma of the sweet tea filled his nostrils. Basking in its glory, he scratched his large, bulbous nose. He knew that the tea was ready, and his wife would be bringing it any time soon.
Fully aware of her contempt for this hobby of his, he concealed his rough papers beneath a book, which also acted as a makeshift paper eight. Few moments later, his wife – a ravishing and a cultivated woman – entered the room holding a tray with tea cups on it. She glanced at him impassively, for she knew what her husband was up to. In return, he exchanged a few glances with her.
It wasn’t as if she was a termagant – far
from it – it’s just that she loathed this hobby of his, which she deemed a
waste of time. He couldn’t reason with her because her hatred for this hobby of
his was seemingly fathomless to him. She took a chair besides him, holding a
cup of tea and served him one as well. He accepted his tea silently.
After having her cup of tea, she dabbed her
lips with a napkin and cleared her throat. Visibly, she wanted to say something
to humiliate him, but resorted to not to speak her heart out. Instead, the
elegant lady inquired about the telegram which her husband had sent in the hope
of getting a job. He shook his head in reply.
To
this, she shuddered and thought about the future of the baby she was going to
bring to this world. She hadn’t even told him about the news yet, and looking
at the current situation, how could she?