Salt and Sugar

The lawyer set out the papers in front of them and read it out loud. She went through the papers carefully and so did he. They were seated for the finalization of their divorce. All their marital property was divided.

They were seated together for the very last time in their own lovely mansion. The lawyer went on and on with the list but they were least bothered about what had come in each of their possessions. Maybe they were wondering where did it all end and why. 10 years of love had finally come to an end!! 

“This brings us to the end. However, there remains this one last item which still has not been divided and before we proceed ahead for the final signatures, we need to assess this as well.” the lawyer announced loudly. The lawyer too knew that the two were not at all paying attention to what was being said. 

 They both were brought back to the present by the lawyer’s words and looked at the item being brought by one of the maids.

There it was, the sparking salt and pepper shaker set. The bottles were made of glass with flower engravings, the top cap was gold plated with diamonds studded on it and the letter ‘S’ engraved on both the bottles. They both looked at it. It had no importance in comparison to the number of properties and the amount of money they both had, yet this was one of the things they left for the last.

They looked at it for a while and for the first time in years they drifted off together to that moment.

“So this is our date?” he asked her.

She looked at him with all that love in her eyes for him and replied, “Yes love, this is our date and this is how most of our dates will be if we got married isn’t it. Are you prepared for these kinds of dates??” She said those words laughing since she loved teasing him. He in turn loved the way she talked about their future.

If anyone needed a definition of love, they would just need to look at the two and they would know what love is.

They were shopping for groceries and she called these trips their date.

“Ohh please, I am not coming with you next time for these kind of unromantic dates.” he replied with a frown.

“You said this last time as well and you are back here with me. I love you loads. Now please get this weighed.” she said to handing him a bag of tomatoes and kissing him on his cheek.

He smiled and loved the way she handled his frown. He took the bag and said, “I love you too baby” and walked off to get the tomatoes weighed.

They walked out of the grocery store and were now the way to the kitchenware store.

“Honey I want to go home and spend time with you.” he cried to her.

“Yes we can go home once I have finished buying what I need. I have been delaying this for a long time now. And since you mention home, I have something important to discuss with you today.” she replied.

He stopped walking midway, pulled her back and asked, “What is it?? When you mention important discussion, my heart skips a beat. Just tell me what it is right here. I cannot wait.”

She could see the worry in his eyes and feel the panic. She knew there was no way out and she had to tell him then and there. She held on to his hand and started walking slowly and said, “Relax!! It’s not that bad. Mom had given me a call and she wants me to leave for home as soon as my resignation is accepted.”

He knew she was trying to ease the situation by the way she held his hand and walked closely by his side.

“For how long will you be gone?” he asked her.

“I don’t know.” she replied getting closer to him.

And this is exactly where the whole situation felt messed up.

“Right… So this means you will be gone for god knows how many months. And you cannot come back easily because you don’t have a job here anymore nor do you have any other strong reason. Am 

I right?” he asked.

They sat on a bench nearby and she turned to him holding his hand and said, “Look baby I don’t want to leave. I want to be here but just for you. And I know once I will be gone it will be very difficult to keep up with this distance and yes you are right I don’t have any other reason which my mother will accept and send me back here. But trust me I will not be giving up on us. I have decided about talking with mom about us.”

“Talking with your mom?? You very well know that once you talk about us, she will want you to be married right away. She has been waiting for your wedding. And ...” he said in panic.

“ Shoo !! Shoo !! Calm down. I know she has been waiting for long and I know she will ask us to get married right away and I also know that you are not ready for this yet. I know you want some more time to figure things out. But I will try my best and explain that we are both not ready for a wedding right now. And anyway once I say I am not ready for it there is no arguing with me then. Isn’t it.” She replied with a wink.

“But you are ready. It’s only me who is not ready. Why would you lie to her? And she is your mother. Mothers always know when their child lie.” he said.

“Mothers also understand their child’s heart. She will understand me as well. And since when did you start with I and You?? I told you in the beginning, whatever decision needs to be taken for us it will be taken by us together with a mutual understanding. I love you and if you need something then I am here for you, so please give me a smile and let’s finish our shopping.

They smiled and walked ahead to the store.

Her words, her understanding and the way she managed situations simply wowed him. His true love was with him. She was a highly educated, confident girl with some self esteem which her mother had built in her and now just for him she would give in. The thought of her portraying herself as the weak one in front of her mother irritated him.

Why had she never questioned him as to why is he not ready? It had been two years since they were dating. Everything seemed to be good. They knew everything about each other. Their good and bad habits, their career goals, their life goals, their likes dislikes and everything. Then what was it that he was not ready for? Here is a girl so perfect for him. Then why was he not ready? He thought and questioned himself.

While thinking of all this they were already in the store and she had finished picking up what she needed.

On the way to the counter, she stopped and noticed this beautiful salt and pepper shaker in a small crystal basket. It was made of glass and had nice silver coated engravings of flowers on it. She held his hand tightly and said, “Look … it is so beautiful.”

His thoughts were distracted and he saw the bottles. She was right, they were beautiful. And then it struck him. He grabbed the shaker set in one hand and also grabbed hold of her hand.

“Ahhh!! What are you doing?” she asked turning in surprise.

He looked at her beautiful eyes and knelt down. She was shocked and had no idea what was going on.

He was on his knees and said, “Sweetie if you really have to leave then today I want to give you a reason for coming back soon. Love is a flawed Perfection!! This is what you believe in right? It’s high time I believed in it too. I don’t want to wait for the perfect time or the perfect moment for marrying you. You are perfect for me the way you are and when we both are so perfect together why should I wait? I love you and I want to marry you. I know I don’t have a ring right now but I have this … this salt and pepper shaker. Instead of pepper I will add Sugar in it because this is what I want from you. I want you to be the salt and sugar of my life. This is what I want us to be. Sometimes sweet and sometimes salty.”

People around stood still, everyone watched what was happening. Her face had no expressions but her eyes had tears in them. And he went on to add, “Baby I love you. Will you marry me?” and he held out the basket in front of her asking her to pick one bottle up.

She was shocked to her nerve. Her heart was on the seventh heaven. The love of her life was in front of her making one of her dreams come true. He looked like a complete fool for proposing in this manner but she was so much in love with him right now.

Without wasting any more time, she picked a bottle from the basket and said, “Yes I will marry you and yes I want you to be the salt and sugar of my life too. I have always loved you and I always will.”

They hugged each other and everyone around them clapped and cheered in joy. This was their symbol of love, of their commitment.

Months later they married each other with the same salt and sugar shaker now with its new look, witnessing two souls becoming one on that beautiful altar.

“Sir … Ma’am …. Excuse me …” said the lawyer. They both were smiling lost in that beautiful moment and when they were back from their thoughts they looked at each other.

“Sir I am running late already. Could you please make your decisions faster?” requested the lawyer.

She stood up and picked up the bottle of salt and said, “There you go. The decision has been made. May I borrow the pen for signing the papers?”

He knew there was no point in arguing. They looked at each other one last time and signed the papers.

The lawyer took the papers and bid them goodbye.

She walked out of the mansion towards her car. She sat in and gave the mansion one last look. While she was taking in that one look of her beautiful house suddenly the house maid came running towards her. “Ma’am … Ma’am you forgot this bottle on the table. I have wrapped it in paper for you.” the maid said, handing over the bottle from the shaker set. She took the bottle in hand, thanked the maid and asked the driver to move on.

After a while she felt like seeing the bottle and so she unwrapped it. To her surprise, the bottle didn’t have salt in it; instead it had sugar. The paper in which it was wrapped had something written on it.

It read – “Don’t worry I did not swap our bottles. I still have the sugar you left me. I just didn’t want you to leave with salt. So I removed the salt from it and put sugar. I don’t know what happened or why it happened or when it happened but we just grew apart. I know you still love me and I still do. I wish you a life full of sugar ahead. Love you …”

She folded the paper neatly and kept it in her purse safely. She held the bottle closely to her heart and he sat in the couch holding his bottle close to his heart.

Love indeed is a flawed perfection. Sometimes it is not necessary for the two in love to be together. 

Love is just love, it never ends and it remains for eternity.