“Smiling?
Hey, what’s the matter?” Lulu, my parrot, asked me.
“I
remembered the plight of a friend who had not wished his wife ‘Happy Birthday!’
Ha…ha. He was in another city and remembered that it was his wife’s birthday
only when somebody reminded him.”
“What did
he do then?”
“Called her
up, what else?” I said.
“That must
have been some tense conversation…. Or ‘crucial conversation’ as some HR guys
say.”
“Oh, leave
them alone. But look at it this way… don’t you think too much is being made of
Birthday celebrations?”
“Looks like
you too were also a victim of ‘forgot-the-birthday’ syndrome.” Lulu said.
“Oh, many
times! But I can’t understand the mind of these ladies. Why do they make so
much fuss? After two decades of marriage?”
“That’s
simple. You divide your time between family and work. So effectively they
compete for your attention. That is why they say ‘Job is a jealous mistress.’”
“Oh yes,
but it is the job of the man to be the ‘bread winner.’ He can’t sit at home all
time and look after his wife and be lovey-dovey to her.”
“You are
arguing without understanding the point. A wife wants her husband to be a lover
and achiever, both! Not just playing one role.” Lulu said.
“Hmmm…..”
“So what
did he do? Did he buy her some gift? That’s the standard trick.”
“No.”
“Did her
take out for dinner to very expensive restaurant?” Lulu asked.
“No.”
“Did he
send flowers before his arrival at home?”
“Nah.”
“Then how
did he face her?” Lulu said in puzzled tone.
“He told
her that his boss had called a meeting suddenly early in the morning and in
the busy schedule that followed, he forgot to call her up.”
“Don’t tell
me she believed him.” Lulu said.
“Of course she
did not. Ladies can perceive truth almost intuitively.” I clarified.
“So?”
“She told
him that he could have still found time to call her up. But he came out with a
gem of an argument.”
“What was
that?” Lulu asked.
“He said – “Darling,
There was a flurry of activity as a result of this sudden early morning meeting. As you know, but for this meeting I would have surely called up. Oh, look at it this way.... half of life is ‘if.’’” I mean he
asked her to check the spelling of Life and pointed out that out of the four
letter word, two letters are ‘If.’” I explained.
“Did she
not then tell him that by his logic three-fourths of Life is a ‘Lie?’” Lulu asked
as he laughed and perched on my shoulder.
Vivek