Drifting

"Are we done then?" she dreaded asking, knowing that, given the situation and everything that had happened recently, there was an actual probability that the answer would be affirmative. Like most things, it started from something naive and escalated to something big. A planned weekend trip to Les Avants is precisely what both needed to escape life, particularly the work-related events over the past week. The itinerary was to arrive in Montreux in the morning, take the Golden Pass Panoramic train, do a few hikes and return in the evening - it couldn't be more straightforward. Tickets were bought the night before, and the bags were packed with snacks, two large bottles of water, and, of course, the camera.

"My goodness, it is half past nine!" she exclaimed when she woke up. She observed that he had already been awake for quite some time since breakfast was in the kitchen, and he was not in the house. He had said several times before that he would leave if she delayed the plan, but she had never thought it would happen. She was tired and hadn't recovered from working late on Friday evening. She immediately called to ask his whereabouts, but the call went straight to the voicemail. Frustrated, she texted him to call back immediately and started getting ready. She thought they would talk about this later, and he could at least stay in Montreux so they could board the panoramic train together. She put two breads into the toaster and went into the bathroom. While in there, the phone started ringing, and when she closed the tap, she realized he might be calling now. Half-drenched and half-dressed, she rushed to the phone, only to discover that her mother was calling. She answered that quickly and asked her to call later. She ran back; however, the floor was wet, and she slipped. In a frenzy, she grabbed the door handle, which slowed the falling and the impact. Thus, she didn't get hurt much, but in the process, the handle broke. Simultaneously, the fire alarm started blaring, seemingly because the breads were burnt.

"Really?" he was frustrated. The morning hasn't been good. He had tried to wake her up, but she wouldn't, delaying everything. He had considered taking her for a fancy breakfast. Once he realized it might delay the trip further to eat outside, he prepared it at home for both. The only things available were oats, eggs, and slices of bread, and he made scrambled eggs. He felt that once he was done, he should go outside and get essential things like milk, curd, and fruits for the future and the hike. He got ready and locked the door. It had rained the previous night, and it was still drizzling. He had forgotten to get an umbrella, so he had to walk three floors back to bring an umbrella since the elevator was not working. Within a few steps, he noticed he was walking on the road and moved to the sidewalk. At that very moment, a car zoomed right past him. He hadn't moved away enough, and the water clogged on the road splashed onto his body. He got angry but couldn't do anything besides clean himself with the new handkerchief he had bought. He successfully got the groceries but felt the bag was not strong enough to carry. Since the apartment was close enough, he didn't mind. Unfortunately, the bag broke down a few hundred meters away. He was already wet and getting more drenched each second, so he hurriedly rearranged everything and clutched the bag to avoid another mishap. He increased his pace, and suddenly, a gust of wind blew, which broke his rusty umbrella, and that's when he reached his patience limit.

"Too bad you don't know how to use a toaster properly," he commented after she informed him upon his arrival that the fire alarm had been activated. 
"If you were making breakfast, couldn't you toast a few breads and keep them aside for me? You left alone, didn't wake me up, and enjoyed the morning outside," she retaliated.
"Ah, yes, enjoy. See, I tried to wake you up, but oooh, surprise, surprise, you love to sleep too much," he was getting sarcastic.
"Again, with the sarcasm! You know how much I hate it. You know I was tired from yesterday, and you should have waited some more time to wake me up so we could have gone out together."
"Do you even know why I went outside? Are you going to buy all these things that I bought? I'm not talking about the general work distribution since we don't stay together for many days, but if we look at it this morning only, then definitely not!"
"Yes, bring it back to the distribution of work. Why can't you contribute slightly more to the chores? It's not like I'm not doing anything. Many girls I know don't do anything. And why would you start with the same complaint of not staying together? You know the issues very well. It's not my fault."
"Are you seriously trying to have this discussion now? Like seriously?"
It went on for more than half an hour until his mother called. While he was talking, she thought of the question, "Are we done then?" There have been several fights recently, both more busy in their work and less involved in their personal lives. 

"Are we still going to Les Avants?" She couldn't ask the question that had occupied her brain because she still loved him. 
"Yes, we should; you would love it." He couldn't say no as he couldn't imagine a life without her. The discussion hasn't been resolved. Several such discussions had been buried deep somewhere amongst both of them. She would fly back home in a few days, and they would return to their lives. They would talk for some minutes to an hour on the call. They would be thinking about where it all went wrong, wondering how it could be fixed, and pondering if it would all be okay when they stay together later in the future.

Siba Smarak Panigrahi
(A special shout out to the song Blue Mind by Alexi Murdoch)