Just living my life

“Ray, man, you’re really stepping in it,” Joey had said, shaking his head in disbelief. “This is like walking into a lion’s den and poking the lion with a stick.”Ray had frowned then. “I’m not poking any lions. I’m just… visiting.”“Right,” Joey had said, his voice heavy with sarcasm. “Visiting. While she’s at work. During lunch.”Ray had shot Joey a glare, but Joey only shrugged, as if to say, Hey, don’t shoot the messenger.Samira, meanwhile, had leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest in that way she did when she was about to lay into someone. Ray braced himself.“You think because I’m your wife, you can just show up unannounced and keep tabs on me?” she asked, her tone deceptively calm.Ray opened his mouth to deny it, but Samira wasn’t finished.“You didn’t want me to work in the first place, Ray. You wanted me to stay home and play house. But I’m not the kind of woman who sits around waiting for her husband to come home. I have a career, a life, and I won’t let you control it.”Ray felt his jaw clench involuntarily. “I’m not trying to control you, Samira. I just—”“You just what?” Samira interrupted, her voice rising ever so slightly. “Want to keep an eye on me? Make sure I’m not getting too comfortable here?”“Samira,” Ray said, his voice low and warning. “That’s not what this is.”“Then what is it, Ray?” she challenged, leaning forward, her eyes boring into his. “Because it sure feels like you’re keeping me on a leash.”Ray’s frustration flared. “I’m not keeping you on a leash. I’m just—”“Concerned?” Samira supplied words for him, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “Protective? Jealous?”Ray clenched his fists under the table, forcing himself to stay calm. “Samira, you’re twisting my words.”“No,” Samira shot back, “I’m untwisting them. You think I don’t notice the way you try to control everything, including me? I married you, and you know why I married you. I did not get married to a warden the last time I checked.”Ray’s temper, usually kept on a tight rein, slipped its leash. “And I married a woman who said she’d keep her promise because it was a choice she made herself. Not one who’d take every opportunity to defy me.”Their words hung in the air between them, sharp and heavy. For a moment, neither of them spoke, their eyes locked in a battle of wills.Joey, who had been quietly shoveling food into his mouth in a desperate attempt to disappear, finally couldn’t take it anymore. “Guys, can we maybe not do this here?” he suggested, his voice small.Samira’s eyes flicked to Joey, her expression softening just a fraction. Then she turned back to Ray, her gaze hardening once more.“I’m not defying you, Ray,” she said, her voice quieter but no less firm. “I’m just living my life. The life I had before you decided to drop in unannounced.

Ray stared at her, the frustration and confusion swirling in his chest. The last time he'd checked, she was the one who had taken the place of her friend Delly, who had ended up betraying her trust. He knew Samira was a force to be reckoned with—strong, independent, unyielding. It was part of what had drawn him to her in the first place. But now, those same qualities felt like a barrier between them.

“Samira,” he started, his voice softer, “I’m not trying to suffocate you. I just… I don’t know how to do this.”

“Do what?” she asked, her tone softening just a little.

Ray took a breath. “Balance. Between work, and the house, and… everything.”

He didn't want to tell her that he was bothered in the past few days since she started working about how late she had been coming back home.

Samira studied him for a moment, her gaze searching. Then, to Ray’s surprise, her expression softened further, the hardness in her eyes giving way to something more understanding.

“Ray,” she said, her voice gentler now, “I’m not asking you for anything big. I just need you to trust me.”

Ray felt something in his chest loosen at her words. He nodded slowly. “I do trust you. But I’m not comfortable with how you have been showing up late after work.”

“Neither am I,” Samira replied, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "I've always wanted to create my own perfume for a long time, but I never had the chance to. Since I’ve got one, I forgot everything about me and you, and I’m sorry about that."

Samira knew one thing in her life: whether married from love or arranged marriage, marriage was still marriage since she still had the legal certificate. She apologized because she felt she’d really gone wrong.

They sat in silence for a moment, the tension between them easing slightly. Joey, sensing the shift in the air around them, finally dared to speak again.

“Is it safe to eat now?” he asked, his voice tentative.

Ray and Samira both turned to look at him, and the absurdity of the situation suddenly hit them. Samira’s lips twitched, and Ray couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him.

Ray forced a smile, though his mind was racing. There was so much he wanted to say, so much he needed to understand.