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“This is ridiculous. They are ripping us off and you are not even bothered!”
Lolita wanted to shout at her husband of six months but since they were in a bus she refrained yet she definitely did not refrain from keeping the accusation out of her voice. Howard stared at her in disbelief and then turned his face to look out the window where the scenery was not even worth it.
He had bought a gym membership 3 months back and they were paying for it every month and he has never even bothered to step inside the gym. It’s not that Lolita wanted Howard to go the gym daily and buff up. The fact that bothered her was the every month without any delay the big gym corporation would withdraw the amount from their bank account and it’s not that she expects Howard to keep track of these things, she does that; but they are a married couple now and it wouldn’t kill Howard to show a little sincerity.
“You are not even listening to me!”
“I am…” Howard shrugged his shoulder but never stopped staring out of the window.
“Then what do you plan to do about the whole issue?”
“There is no ‘whole’ issue Lolita. You are just making it an ‘issue’.”
“How can you say that? They are withdrawing money from the account every fucking month and you are not even bothered.”
“Bothered about what?”
“See! This is what I am talking about. You don’t even listen.”
“I am listening; I just… I’ll eventually go.”
“Eventually… eventually! Howard it does not work that way. Sometimes you have to be serious about things.”
“I think you are serious enough for the two of us.”
“Howard!” how can he say that… !
“What! I am sorry but you are and please can we not be serious for atleast this bus ride. We can fight when we get home.”
“I am not fighting Howard.”
“Well it sure feels that way. I will take care of things at the gym and at the bank just please don’t…”
“Don’t what? You can say it… Howard ‘Nag’ I know you want to say it. I know you think that I am nagging.”
“I don’t know what to say it. I told you I don’t want to do this here.”
“If I am bothering you so much may be I’ll leave.”
Howard stared at her, “Where will you ‘leave’. the bus is fucking moving!”
“I’ll… I’ll go and sit with that creepy little balloon guy over there.”
“You are not sitting with the creepy little balloon guy…”
Lolita got up and with rage in her eyes and her mind red with anger, stomped towards the creepy little balloon guy in the front of the bus ignoring Howard’s hushed calling. She knew she was being unreasonable and egoistic and she knew that the nice looking lady sitting one seat behind the creepy little balloon guy will not mind if she sits with her but she still moved forward and sat beside him anyways.
That’s when she first noticed him, he was not at all creepy nor was he little, infact he was a really handsome man with freckles all over his nose, a ginger red beard and an easy smile. Crowbars around his eyes made him look even dignified, he must have been 6’2” and he had soft warm moss green eyes that were smiling in her black ones, the only problem was that he was holding about 20 or some balloons and he held to them as if his life depended on them.
She smiled back. She was a little embarrassed but she was not going to go back and give Howard the satisfaction.
“Trouble with boyfriend?” The not-so-creepy not-so-little balloon guy asked with the most genuine smile that reached his eyes.
“Husband.”
“How long…?” He indicated, with his eyes first towards Lolita and then in the back towards her husband.
“Six months…”
“Don’t worry it’ll get better.”
“Really!” Lolita wanted him to be right so bad.
“Na, I was just being nice.” Hi shoulder slumped and he eyed his red spherical balloons.
“How do you know?” Lolita asked.
“I was not always the creepy little balloon guy,” he smiled displaying the perfect row of beautiful pearly teeth, “I was normal once, before I was married.” He showed off his wedding ring. It was a simple, gold band that looked worn but still shiny. It was a very old design indicating he was married a long time.
Lolita was red now, he had heard him and yet he had welcomed Lolita in his seat, “We didn’t mean to… we are really sorry.” Lolita was officially very embarrassed now. This bus ride was slowly and gradually turning into a nightmare but to her surprise the nice freckled man just laughed off her apology, “Does your wife fight with you the same way?”
“Husband, his name is Jared and yes we fight the same way.” The beautiful man had the most adorable expression on his face, like he was reminiscing the fights and they were his fondest memories.
“I am Lolita.”
“Jensen Ackles.” The guy shifted his balloons from his right hand to his left and offered her a firm handshake.
She eyed the balloons and Jensen must have seen her because the next second he was looking at them too with utmost adoration and reverence, “Yeah, these are for him… these have always been my I-am-sorry bouquet to him.”
“Oh you guys are fighting too…” Lolita asked without thinking and then turned crimson and realized that she was prying.
“We are always fighting… you know the first time we fought as a newly married couple, it was the most stupid fight… ” Jensen shook his head and looked at Lolita with the green eyes as if giving her the permission to ask so she did and then he told her, “We fought over the color of the commode in the bathroom.”
“What! Really…”
“Yeah It was stupid he wanted this specific color that the sanitary companies had stopped making so I was like… its fine we’ll buy the generic white ones but he got so adamant that we fought over it.. I mean you tell me it’s not something that has to be kept in the drawing room right? But there is no winning with him… that was the first time I bought him balloons.”
“How long have you guys been…?” Lolita could not even finish her question when Jensen jumped to give her the answer.
“We got married 11 years back… May 17, 2004. Ours was the 9th gay marriage in the US under the Massachusetts’s law.” Proud and love was very evident on Jensen’s face.
“Wow! 11 years that’s a very long time?”
“Yeah… long and beautiful and since then it has become our thing, if we fight and I am at fault then I bring him balloons and if he is at fault he makes me my favorite dessert… his dessert and my balloons are the last straws… they say that we are done with the fight; but I think he got it easy, I mean he loves cooking but I!... I have to go all the way down to this little shop in the market that alone sells these red round suckers and I am also the one who gets called the creepy little balloon guy on the buses because of him.” Jensen roared on his own joke and Lolita blushed to the roots again.
“We use to fight over who gets to sleep on which side of the bed, he wanted the left side and I wanted the left side it was a disaster. Once I remember I was shaving and he saw me and he came over to stop me, evidently he loves my beard…”
“You do look very ruggedly handsome in it.” Lolita could not help but add and that brought out a smile from Jensen. He thanked her and then continued, “So I tell him that I have this important meeting at the office but he would not listen to me and he kept taking the razor from my hand; I cut myself on the cheek and it was so deep I had to miss the meeting, I did not talk to him for a week.”
“Then what happened?”
“What do you think happened! I went home one day and there he was with the sweetest dessert and the most innocent look in his eyes… I think out of the 11 years of my marriage I have spent at least 4 of them fighting and making up and then fighting again. I mean look at you two, newly married and in so much love but still fighting.”
“But I wouldn't change it, any of it and I guess you won't change it either.” Lolita guessed looking back at her husband who had his laser focus eyes on her. He looked so adorably cute like that, that Lolita had to curb her desire to run back to her husband.
“Not even for a second, you know we all think that life is so long and these things we are fighting over are so significant but we could not be more wrong, if you want to make up with your husband I can give you a balloon, but just one huh… otherwise Jared will know and I’ll have to go down and buy them again so… just one!”
Lolita smiled and shook her head, “Thank you but I guess I’ll make up with him by cooking his favorite dessert when we reach home or buy him his favorite author’s book, he’ll forgive me.”
“That’s good… that’s good and with that I’ll say a good bye to you. This is my stop”
Jensen got up and waved back to her, she waved to him too with a smile on her face.
But as Lolita saw on the seat where he was sitting she saw a small ‘I am sorry’ yellow card that Jensen must have left there, in hurry she went to the bus driver and explained to him the situation, he understood so she came down off the bus to look for Jensen.
He was nowhere to be found but soon she saw the flare of the red balloons.
She followed the flare and found herself in a graveyard where Jensen was sitting by a grave, on the ground with balloons in his hand, talking.
“Babe, see I got you the balloons, do you like them? I got bigger ones this time. I remember two years back, we were fighting and I went to the office and then your brother called, to tell me about the accident, about you in the accident. I’ve been bringing these balloons for two years now, will you not forgive me and talk to me… please.” Lolita saw Jensen wiping off the stream of clear water off his face before he continued. He smiled a little before he started to talk again.
“I… I umm I got the kitchen window fixed and that fan in our room that used to make that sound kit-kit-kit-kit, you used to hate it… I fixed it too. You’ll not wake up in the middle of the night now and remember we fought over you wanting to sleep on the left side of the bed, we don’t have to fight anymore. I sleep on the right side now… I leave the left side for you. Umm my brother wants me to go to the carnival in Brazil this year with him, you would have loved it, dancing and drinking I know you loved to see me dance…” Jensen did a little dance with his shoulders and hands when a swift wind made the balloons blow all over him.
“I love when these balloons wrap themselves around me… it feels like you are hugging me…” Jensen was still smiling his open and amicable smile when he started to frantically search for something, “Oh I must have forgotten the I-am-sorry card on the bus, it was yellow, your favorite color. You would have loved it... umm I’ll bring two next time; I promise…”
Lolita left the yellow card on the nearest grave and ran towards the bus, tears streaming down her chin.
She found Howard and hugged him.
“You okay Lo?”
“I love you. I don’t want to fight anymore. Forgive me?” She muttered.
Howard kissed her in answer.