4. A Strange Place

After coming back into the house, Amita took off her jacket, went back to the cream sofa and sat back down, picking up the laptop to continue talking to her friends.

# Hii Mark, am back now!

# Welcome back! Is it as cold there as it is here?

# Sure is! So how has your day been?

#Not bad! Was a long day at the school!

#I bet, can't be easy teaching a bunch of 6 year olds!

#Not easy, but it's fun when they aren't causing chaos!

#So you're still enjoying it?

# Oh for sure. It's so rewarding to see them progress and learn.

# That's wonderful. I'd love to have a job that helps people to grow like that!

# It's worth the stress, usually!

#I'm sure it is... how's the wife?

Mark taught at a school in New Jersey in the United States. He and Amita started talking five years earlier after engaging in a heated argument about which Back to the Future film was best on a movie forum site. For the record, Mark thought the second film, whereas Amita was certain it was the first. They talked quite regularly, maybe once every few weeks, and tried to look out for each other as best they could whilst separated by a large ocean.

#She's fine :) busy with work, but we get to go out to the cinema tonight!

#Yay! What are you going to see?

# I have no idea, we couldn't decide so are going to make an impromptu decision when we queue up!

# Sounds exciting! Have fun won't you both :)

# We will! Take care you :)

#You too! X

#Bye x

Amita folded her laptop screen down, places it on the cushion to her side, and walked into the kitchen to get a snack.

“Hi mummy.” Amita said.

“Hi dear, thanks for taking the rubbish out.” Kanti replied.

“That's ok!” Amita replied, before putting her arms round her mum and hugging her from the side.

“Oof! Love you too dear.” Kanti replied.

Amita loved her family, seeing them more often was the only real benefit to living back in their house. Having had her own space for several years, it was very disconcerting to find herself with little privacy. Her parents tried their best to give her space, but simple things like not being able to sit down with a cup of coffee on her own seemed a long way away right now.

There was also another issue that kept cropping up, one that Amita was keen to avoid.

“So Amita, are you ready to start looking for a husband yet?” Her mum asked.

“Mummy I told you.”

“I know dear, but I wondered if things had changed.”

“No mummy. I'm really not ready, I don't know when I will be. If I ever will be.”

“But you can't stay single forever dear.”

“Why not? I have so much I want to do with my life. I don't need a husband to do them. I'm not even sure if I can even love someone like that, or if they could love me.”

“Don't be so silly dear. Of course you can. But you have to look!”

“I don't want to look mummy.”

“You'll have to one day.”

“No. I don't have to.”

Amita sighed loudly and walked out of the kitchen, through the living room, down the hall to her room. She opened the thick white painted wooden door, walked in and then shut it with both hands before resting her head against it.

'I don't want to get married. Why can't they understand that?'