“Thank you for THAT!” Kalpana shouted.
Her husband Ashish merely shrugged at the marriage counselor who was eyeing them apprehensively. “What difference does it make if I gave her a gift that previously belonged to my friend!? She asked me for an I-pad and my friend was about to buy a new one. His used I-pad was working just fine!”
Kalpana shook her head. “Can you hear yourself speaking? It was the first gift I asked of you after our marriage!”
“Who asks for an expensive I-pad as the very first gift?? I should have realized then and there that you would be high maintenance!” Ashish exclaimed.
“HIGH MAINTAINANCE??” Kalpana shrieked.
The counselor cursed himself. What exactly had made him ask these two explosive dynamites to list the things that each of them was thankful for?! He decided to step in. Kalpana’s screams were now reaching a decibel-level that could be probably heard only by bats.
“Please calm down. There is an amicable way to talk through this.” He suggested.
Kalpana huffed and sat back on her chair.
Ashish appeared to have remembered something suddenly. “It was my first day in the office after marriage and she had prepared lunch for me.”
The counselor gave an encouraging nod. Finally, a straw to grasp as lifeline…
“I am thankful to her for the – HAIR THAT I FOUND IN THE CURRY! Do you have any idea how embarrassing it was to remove the seemingly-endless strand from my mouth while I was eating, that too in front of my colleagues!?” Ashish said, the memory of that fateful incident making him cringe.
“It was the first time I had attempted that recipe. But you would remember only the hair and not my efforts or the taste of the curry!” Kalpana said angrily.
“I do remember the taste of the curry, dear. No one can forget eating a curry with a major overdose of salt.” Ashish remarked drily.
The counselor pinched the top of his nose.
“You commented about my hair; what about your own budding baldness?” Kalpana smirked.
Ashish looked at her curiously. “You do have beautiful hair even today. What is the secret?”
“I keep telling you to apply the oil that I specially prepare at home! Next time I will prepare more of it so that you can also use the same. It will work wonders for your hair. Not that you do not look handsome now but still…” Kalpana finished uncertainly.
The counselor narrowed his eyes. What exactly was happening here??
“How do you look so young and beautiful even in your fifties!?” Ashish murmured while Kalpana blushed.
The counselor cleared his throat before he could get subjected to some un-asked for PDA.
“We have cleared our grievances for the day and would like to end the session on this note now.” Ashish said, exchanging a sly smile with Kalpana who giggled.
As they left the cabin, the counselor, primarily being a human, couldn’t help but mutter – ‘Thank you for THAT!’
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Deepa, I enjoyed reading The Counselling Session.
Loved the end. A simple one
This was so fun to read! I enjoyed the generous use of punctuation and all-caps in the dialogues to put across the tone of the conversation. The sudden shift towards the end was delightful, I was as surprised and much more entertained than the counselor. Really loved how the first and the last lines, though they are the exact same words, changed in tone and meaning with the context of who said them and why. It fit the story perfectly.
This was such a heartwarming read! I love how the conversation transitions from an argument into actual appreciation of each other, and the tone of the first sentence completely shifts from the outrage in the beginning to the comedic resignation at the end.
Couldn’t stop laughing! A delightful story! The counselor must be looking for a counselor now!