Opinion | Columnists
Oh! when will he not feel blue?
He is humming a tune as he rummages through his wardrobe. He picks a powder-blue shirt and, to go with it, a navy blue tie, with pin-striped trousers.
- By Mehmudah Rehman, Special to Gulf News
- Published: 23:50 October 14, 2008
He is humming a tune as he rummages through his wardrobe. He picks a powder-blue shirt and, to go with it, a navy blue tie, with pin-striped trousers. "Well," he says looking askance at me.
"Perfect," I mumble. Next day, he pulls out a blue-and-white striped shirt with a blue silk tie and I have no choice but to agree that the combination couldn't have been better.
The whole week he found different shades of blue to wear to work. His favourite is a designer creation (blue of course!) which he reserves for special occasions and which I have always wanted to get rid of.
As our wedding anniversary drew closer, an ingenious plan began to form in my mind. In normal circumstances, I somehow manage to wiggle the subject of anniversaries into nearly every conversation a few days before the date. This year would be different. I would not remind him. And behind his back I bought the perfect anniversary gift for him - gorgeous (and notoriously expensive) cuff-links.
With only three days to go, I tried to make sure that the man had, indeed forgotten about the big day. I looked around in his closet and found nothing that could pass off as a gift for me. So I assumed he had forgotten and I decided to give myself a present - from him!
Fingers crossed
With relish I opened the door of his wardrobe and decided to give the powder blue shirt to the maid's brother and the blue-and-white striped shirt to the watchman; the special one went to the gardener. I crossed my fingers and hoped that he wouldn't notice, at least not for another three days.
When I presented him the cuff-links, he was genuinely surprised, staring at them open-mouthed. Putting the second part of my plan into action, I said, "It's alright. I already know you forgot about the anniversary. But there is a way you can make it up to me. You know how that shirt of yours (the favourite one) bothers me? And that worn-out powder blue shirt? And that annoying blue-and-white striped shirt you bought ages ago? The least you could do is give them to some deserving person," I continued, sounding like a martyr.
I expected him to give in to my demand without question and then offer to do the phasing out for him - but I was in for a big surprise.
Smiling all through, he pulled out an exquisite, delicate gold necklace from his pocket, and tenderly clasped it around my neck. I tried to look delighted as my heart sank. "Don't you like it? Is something wrong?" he asked as he noticed the colour drain from my face.
I had started babbling about how the maid's brother, the gardener and the watchman had all specifically requested me for blue shirts when he interposed: "You gave my shirts away, didn't you?" I nodded. After a long silence, he spoke: "It's okay."
There are only a few times in one's life when one feels deeply sorry and as much as the colour blue had begun to irritate me, I apologised. Magnanimously, he forgave me, and indeed, promised not to wear so much blue - lest I be spurred to more generous deeds.
Back to square one
Cut to a chic men's store at a swanky mall. I spot a cream-coloured shirt and envision how classy it would look on him with a coffee-brown tie. I notice him eyeing a sky-blue shirt with a sparkle in his eyes.
"How about this?" we say at exactly the same time, holding up our respective choices. He is doubtless thinking about the old favourite I handed over to the gardener and gives me "The Look" and I return the favour. For us, it's back to square one!
Mehmudah Rehman is a Dubai-based, freelance writer.
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