Coffee Rings

She stared at the circular ring, made by the coffee mug on the table. It had dried up and was almost impossible to get rid off. She kept looking at it absentmindedly as the coffee was in her hand. A new mug filled with fresh coffee to make a new ring on the table. She was interrupted by the mobile beeping.

She looked at the message and coffee spilled out of her mug as her hands shook.

It was pouring that Sunday afternoon.

“My flyers are all destroyed. Damn the rains”, his tone had more anguish than anger. Usually it was always the other way around.

“That’s a first for you,” she looked up from her magazine, smiling at his more mellow outburst to his usual demeanour.

He looked at her, part angry, part bewildered, but mostly still upset at the loss of his flyers. As he sat down on the seat next to hers, his drenched jeans made a splashing sound. People around the cafe turned to look towards them.

She took out a pocket towel from her bag and gently wiped his face and also touched his wet hair. He instinctively tried to move his head away. He hated anyone touching his hair. But she held his face firmly with her hand as she wiped his head dry. He looked around the cafe to see if anyone else was noticing this “embarrassing” sight. It was a busy weekend evening. People were lost in their own worlds.

She loved him like she had never loved anyone before him. They were two of the unlikeliest people to be with each other. His political ideology his beliefs his outlook to life was at odd opposites to those of hers. Two people could not have been more different from each other as they were. And perhaps because of these differences they complemented each other. They filled out with themselves what the other had missing. If love was to have no sensible logic or rationale or explanation, then the two of them were loving examples of that line of thought.
They spent the rest of the evening together. Holding hands, whispering sweet nothings and generally having a relaxed time. It was one of those blissful evenings which remained etched in her memory long after.

“They just should kicked out of the country” he spewed more venom that usual, that evening.

It was her sister’s anniversary and it was one of the rare occasions she had taken him along to spend time with her family. He always preferred to be just the two of them. She too liked it that way. When they were alone she could see a side of him that the world rarely got to see. The tender, loving, caring side. To the outside world his cynicism, sarcasm and the blatantly right-winged side was familiar. In a way he was much misunderstood, she felt at times. But then again, he didn’t help his own cause by shooting his mouth off.

It was the same that evening. Someone had commented on the present scenario in the country, and he took it on himself to set the record straight.

“Either be butchered here or get the fuck out”, he seemed unstoppable that evening. She looked at him a couple of times to shut him up. Usually she managed to do that with a stare or two. But it just didn’t seem to work. He rambled on and on. Spewing out his venom at all present.

There was an awkward silence all across the room as his voice was the only voice that could be heard. His tone acerbic and cutting, his words hatred-filled, his actions animated like never before. Something seemed to have triggered him off that evening.

She had to no choice but to take him and leave the party. There was a deadly silence in the car as they sat next to each other. It was like the calm after the storm. No one said a word till they reached their respective homes.

“You know you need to learn how to behave in public and not speak whatever filth comes in your mind,” she left nothing unsaid the next morning as they met for breakfast.

“My apologies if the truth upset you and your phoney libtards”, he replied. He certainly wasn’t apologetic about his outburst the previous evening.

She was amazed at his arrogance, and she pitied his ignorance and dogma at the same time. She had a reply to each and every accusation he flung at her at the cafe that morning, but she kept quiet. Her silence was not as much for peace as it was an acceptance that the end was near. She knew she couldn’t make this work any longer.

She could maybe even forgive infidelity on his part maybe even a small fling. But to know of his ideology and accept it and be ok with it was something she just could get used to. Not in her head. Not in her heart. She knew this was it.

It’s funny how love can transcend all rational feelings most of the time, but sometimes the mind knocks the heart down with reasoning that cannot be ignored. Their parting however tragic was ultimately inevitable. It just could not be any other way.
She had cried that night, alone in her bed. Despite all his negatives, she knew she would miss him. She loved him. She could not deny that. Not even to herself.

The coffee rings on the table grabbed her attention once more as she came back to her present day. She looked at the message on her mobile phone once again.
“….the only saving grace was he didn’t suffer too much. He passed away in his sleep peacefully….” that part of the message was the only bit she read again. She shut her eyes for a minute in that family cafe as a couple of tears streamed down her eyes. The first to escape since that night.