Charles and Katie were married four years now. They had been living a happy married life with a lovely kid – Mia.
Since the day Katie had walked into Charles’ life, though Charles did not realize, his life had become a little more smooth and managed. All his utility bills were paid on time, no penalties in his credit cards. He seemed to wish al his friends without failure on their birthdays. He was on time for every possible event- on time to office, on time to the station, on time to meet Katie.
He hardly realized that along with his best friend Katie was also playing the role of her calendar-cum-reminder. However Katie did not have to spend much of effort doing that. She was spick and span with all her chores right from her school days. Right since she was six, her teachers have said that Katie never ever needed a single reminder. Even if it was about bringing a red-pen to school the next day, Katie never forgot that.
With the course of time Charles discovered that the key to all this timeliness and perfection was a small diary that Katie maintained. Charles slyly opened the diary one day after they had been married two years. He was on the floor rolling with laughter after he flipped a few pages. It was the diary in which Katie had maintained her “To-do” list since years. The initial pages had tasks like “submit assignment”, “a canteen treat pending for James”, “Dad’s coat from the laundry”, “chocolates for Kris”, “ a pair of jeans for self” etc…. And the more recent pages were like “Charles’ credit card bill”, “oats for Charles”, “weekend planning with Charles’ mom”, “Mia’s favorite soup this Sunday”, “ a new jacket for Charles”, “Railway coupons and grocery” “Cornflakes for self”, “laundry this weekend”….. When Katie entered their bedroom, she could see Charles rolling on the ground laughing his heart away. She could not understand the matter. When Charles saw his startled wife, he continued to laugh and said “Honey, you need a to-do list to remember all this day-to-day stuff?” Katie stayed calm and replied, “I had been doing this right since I had been taught to do so by one of my convent teachers”. She took the diary from him, slid it back to her drawer and continued with her day-to-day chores.
Days went by. Life could not have been better and smoother. Mia was growing to be as disciplined as her mom. Charles never missed the opportunity to call Katie as her “Alarm clock” or “calendar”. He at times even told his friends, “my wife notes down in her diary that she has to breathe and that she has to kiss me tonight”. Hs friends enjoyed the joke while Katie stayed silent.
On her thirtieth birthday, Charles bought a new dress for her. He wanted her to wear the dress for dinner. The dress was a gorgeous one. When Katie came out of her dressing room wearing the dress, Charles shrieked “O my God! Did I get a wrong size Katie? You need at least two sizes smaller than this one! Please not it down in your to-do list that you would need to get this altered.”
Mia noticed her mom writhe away and come back draped in another dress. This did not befit her well, but it kind of concealed the loose fittings.
Katie lost weight day by day. Charles was worried and he took her to a doctor. The results were all fine. Charles had no clue why Katie had become so quiet and weak in the recent past. One morning Charles woke up to see Katie still asleep. He kissed her forehead and shivered to find her cold as ice. He immediately summoned for the doctor and within an hour she was declared a corpse. She died of silent attack. She was depressed.
Charles cried. He and Mia were feeling so lonely without their calendar, without their alarm clock.
One evening after Charles was back early from office and Mia was at her music classes, Charles opened Katie’s drawer and saw the small old diary. He missed Katie. He remembered how he at times forgot to pack Mia’s lunch box, how he forgot to keep the soiled dishes back in the sink, how he forgot to keep the milk back in the refrigerator. Tears rolled down his cheek and in the blur of his tears he could read;
To-do
- To try my best to be happy and not let Charles understand that I am sad
- To alter all my old clothes to fit me again
- To slowly hand over Mia’s tasks to Charles
- To wear Charles favorite white gown to bed the night I feel the heart pain to be too much
- To cuddle Charles to sleep when I get the indication that probably this is the last time…….
Since the day Katie had walked into Charles’ life, though Charles did not realize, his life had become a little more smooth and managed. All his utility bills were paid on time, no penalties in his credit cards. He seemed to wish al his friends without failure on their birthdays. He was on time for every possible event- on time to office, on time to the station, on time to meet Katie.
He hardly realized that along with his best friend Katie was also playing the role of her calendar-cum-reminder. However Katie did not have to spend much of effort doing that. She was spick and span with all her chores right from her school days. Right since she was six, her teachers have said that Katie never ever needed a single reminder. Even if it was about bringing a red-pen to school the next day, Katie never forgot that.
With the course of time Charles discovered that the key to all this timeliness and perfection was a small diary that Katie maintained. Charles slyly opened the diary one day after they had been married two years. He was on the floor rolling with laughter after he flipped a few pages. It was the diary in which Katie had maintained her “To-do” list since years. The initial pages had tasks like “submit assignment”, “a canteen treat pending for James”, “Dad’s coat from the laundry”, “chocolates for Kris”, “ a pair of jeans for self” etc…. And the more recent pages were like “Charles’ credit card bill”, “oats for Charles”, “weekend planning with Charles’ mom”, “Mia’s favorite soup this Sunday”, “ a new jacket for Charles”, “Railway coupons and grocery” “Cornflakes for self”, “laundry this weekend”….. When Katie entered their bedroom, she could see Charles rolling on the ground laughing his heart away. She could not understand the matter. When Charles saw his startled wife, he continued to laugh and said “Honey, you need a to-do list to remember all this day-to-day stuff?” Katie stayed calm and replied, “I had been doing this right since I had been taught to do so by one of my convent teachers”. She took the diary from him, slid it back to her drawer and continued with her day-to-day chores.
Days went by. Life could not have been better and smoother. Mia was growing to be as disciplined as her mom. Charles never missed the opportunity to call Katie as her “Alarm clock” or “calendar”. He at times even told his friends, “my wife notes down in her diary that she has to breathe and that she has to kiss me tonight”. Hs friends enjoyed the joke while Katie stayed silent.
On her thirtieth birthday, Charles bought a new dress for her. He wanted her to wear the dress for dinner. The dress was a gorgeous one. When Katie came out of her dressing room wearing the dress, Charles shrieked “O my God! Did I get a wrong size Katie? You need at least two sizes smaller than this one! Please not it down in your to-do list that you would need to get this altered.”
Mia noticed her mom writhe away and come back draped in another dress. This did not befit her well, but it kind of concealed the loose fittings.
Katie lost weight day by day. Charles was worried and he took her to a doctor. The results were all fine. Charles had no clue why Katie had become so quiet and weak in the recent past. One morning Charles woke up to see Katie still asleep. He kissed her forehead and shivered to find her cold as ice. He immediately summoned for the doctor and within an hour she was declared a corpse. She died of silent attack. She was depressed.
Charles cried. He and Mia were feeling so lonely without their calendar, without their alarm clock.
One evening after Charles was back early from office and Mia was at her music classes, Charles opened Katie’s drawer and saw the small old diary. He missed Katie. He remembered how he at times forgot to pack Mia’s lunch box, how he forgot to keep the soiled dishes back in the sink, how he forgot to keep the milk back in the refrigerator. Tears rolled down his cheek and in the blur of his tears he could read;
To-do
- To try my best to be happy and not let Charles understand that I am sad
- To alter all my old clothes to fit me again
- To slowly hand over Mia’s tasks to Charles
- To wear Charles favorite white gown to bed the night I feel the heart pain to be too much
- To cuddle Charles to sleep when I get the indication that probably this is the last time…….
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