Today, Rekha and I went to Westside to buy two pairs of trousers for me. As always, by the time we came out, we had bought one pair of trousers for me and two “unplanned, but too beautiful to leave behind” shirts for my wife.
After being with her for more than 25 years, I have realised that this is how the rest of my life is also going to be. She is always going to walk out with more than what I agreed on.
Today at Westside, I realized one more thing:
When, as a youngster, I would wander towards the ladies’ lingerie section on my way to the “trial rooms” to help Rekha select her clothes, I would be shooed away by the sales girls. To their credit, I remember being very “fidgety” once I was near the innerwear section.
Today, as I waited outside the trial room for Rekha to try on the pink striped shirt, I realized I was among a ton of bras and panties.
I looked around – they were available in all colors, sizes, and shapes. After a few seconds of glancing around, I took out my mobile and opened the Google News app.
That’s when Rekha got out of her trial cubicle and asked, “Does this fit well?”
If you know women enough, you will know that the fit doesn’t matter. Before the lady walks into the trial room, you have to read the signs and figure out which of the clothes she is taking in, does she like? And when she steps out wearing them, you are supposed to say, “Wow… it is as if this was stitched with you in mind.”
That’s exactly what I did, and Rekha went back in to try out the next one. Before she stepped out, I got a chance to survey the lingerie section once again. In those 60 seconds that Rekha took to put on the next outfit and come out, I realized the truth – I had changed.
Maybe that is what age does. Maybe that is what marriage does.
Over time, you stop noticing the noise around you and focus only on the person you came with.