The Anniversary Dinner

"You look amazing," Ankush says, leaning on the doorway, arms crossed in a tuxedo.

She turns away from the mirror. "You aren't supposed to see me."

She is wearing a dark Maroon off-shoulder gown adorned with sequin embroidery.

He walks in. "I just couldn't help myself coming over here."

She smiles. "Now that you are here, please help me." She picks up earrings, "Which one?"

"The emerald one." He says.

She puts them on. "This Tux again? How long has it been? five years."

She holds the necklace, moves her hair sideways, exposing her nape. "Do you mind?"

He hooks the necklace, "Yeah, I got it fixed. What can I say? It has its moments. Your parents agreed to our marriage."

"You wore the same at the night of -" 

He puts his finger on her lips. "Shss. . . let's not bring that up now."

He folds his elbows. "Shall we?"

She smiles and wraps her arm around his. "I see; you have ditched the bow again."

He shrugs. "You know me."

He escorts her down to the hall. Several candles illuminated it, the Jazz music in the background has set the tone. There is an aisle made of round candles and rose petals leading from the stairs to the dining table.

She tightens her grip and looks at him.

"Did you like it?" He says.

She puts her arm above her chest. "I love it."

He pulls the chair for her and sits opposite her.

"Umm. . . it smells good; What do we have on the menu?" She says, looking into his eyes.

"Nothing sorts of special except your favorites." He adds, lifting the tops. "For starters, we have Lyonnaise Salad. Then we have Chicken Cordon Bleu, Croque Madame on the main course, and Passion Fruit and Lemon Meringue Tartlets for dessert." He pours two glasses. "and, Our favorite red wine."

"You didn't have to go through all this trouble." She says.

"I wanted to." He replies.

"Do you remember? When we're in Paris, busted, and you thought you could make the spoons vanish magically; and it hit that big guy."

"How could I forget," He says, slicing his bite. "It left me with a black eye."

She bursts into laughter. "We had such a blast on that trip. The view, the food, and the sex, it was amazing."

"Yeah, hang on! What do you mean by sex?"

"You know exotic places bring it to you." She winks.

"Now that I come to think of it, you dared me to make those spoons vanish." He takes a sip, "Yes, you did. You are the reason; we don't have any pictures with the Eiffel tower."

"Don't blame me. You were professing to be a warlock. I needed something more than just your words."

"Do you believe me now?" He smirks.

"As much as I hate to admit it, but yes." She circles her finger on the rim, lost. "It was our last trip before that night -"

"Here, try the tartlets." He cuts her off.

"You can't avoid it, Ankush." She grabs his palm.

"Can't we just avoid it, at least for tonight?"

"No, we can't."

"Not today, Please."

"It has been two years now. How long are you going to deny it." She says in a low voice.

"I am not denying."

"You are not making your peace with it either."

"How can you say that? How do you expect me to, after everything."

"My child, he didn't even get to see the face of this Earth; I lost everything that night."

"We. We lost our child, our everything."

"Yeah! easy for you to say, you choose to leave me here all alone."

"It wasn't a choice of mine to make, and you know it. It's not my fault that we are not together anymore, and it sure as hell, not yours."

"I shouldn't have taken the short route. I should have known better."

"Stop blaming yourself. You could have never seen that coming."

He gets off the chair. "Those fucking Mowzarts," Smashes his glass on the wall. "They were after me. It was supposed to be me."

"Look at yourself. It isn't right; it is killing you."

"What's not right? fighting for justice, making those megalomaniacs pay, for killing our child."

"Not that, this, us together, this isn't. You can't keep calling me anymore."

He sits next to her, takes her hand. "Don't say that. You are the only thing keeping me sane amidst all this chaos."

"There is a fine line between reality and fantasy, and you seem to be losing track of it, Ankush."

She cups his face, "There is the law for making someone pay for their wrongdoings; you can't meddle with nature. Don't choose the path your ancestors did; That's what got us here in the first place."

"I am just one incantation away, and the payback will be ours." He says, eyes glowing with conviction.

"-ough, -ough, -ough." His veins pop out, his face flushed, he continues to cough.

She pats her back. "Are you okay? Ankush! Ankush?"

He could feel the weight of her hands fading away. He blinks, blinks again, unable to see her. Every second passing, she is getting blur and blur.

He rummages through his pockets and takes out a vial. He strokes it to get the stuff out, crushes it in between his hands and puts in a glass, pours some wine, and gulps it all at once.

"This is what I have been warning you about." She says.

He looks at her, smiling. "-ough, -ough."

"You can't keep taking these magical herbs," She says, caressing his hair. "That lets you talk to your dead wife. It is killing you."

"This is the only way for me to live."

"No, it isn't. You can do better. It's time for you to give in to the grief and let go."

"No, I can't. You are my only anchor."

"And I am asking you to let go of it. It wasn't your fault, so stop punishing yourself. You have your whole life ahead of you."

 He takes her hands. "You are my life."

"Not anymore. You can't live your life tied up to someone; who's dead."

"I have lived my life. I can't see you live the rest of yours in torment and agony. Promise me! promise me you will stop practicing magic."

He looks away.

She puts her palm on his cheek. "This is what we want." She says, puts his hand on her baby bump.

Tears dwell in his eyes, rolling down as he squeezes his eyes shut. 

He looks at her, caressing her belly. "Yes, I will." He says, nodding.

He wraps her arms around her, kisses her belly, resting his head.

"Before I go, can we have the last dance?" She says, wiping tears off his cheek.

He nods, puts on The Way You Look Tonight by Tony Bennett.

Swaying to the music, he whispers. "I love you."

"Yes, we know, and we love you too."