I am a mess. Well, no surprises there but today, I have upgraded to the next-level mess. As I am slowly coming to my senses, I realize I have a throbbing headache. I feel sore all over my body as if I had done some extra 3 sets of all of my weekly routine all at once. I think about the gym and realize I have not been to one in over a week and that doesn’t happen often. What day is today? Thursday, leg day, I think I will skip today too. Not a good way to restart a routine. I wake up with a jolt and realize it is only Thursday today and the thud that woke me up in the first place was Meena didi leaving after cleaning up which means it is close to 10 in the morning and I am getting late for my office. Thursdays aren’t the best to be late. We have an early morning meeting with internal teams and report to our clients late at night; which means it is a stretch all and all.
Every day when Meena didi leaves with that thud, I am either on my dining table finishing my coffee and toast or having the final touch-up before I leave too. Today, however, I am still in my bed, wearing the same green dress I wore last night. I am thinking if I can skip the day; it is not like anything suffers in my absence but if I entertain the idea, it means I have to stay in and suffer alone, both physically and mentally. I will have headaches throughout the day no matter what but at least I will have distractions at work. I will myself to get up. I text in my team’s Whatsapp group, informing them that I will be late and probably will not be able to make it in for the internal meeting.
I get up and head to the kitchen, hoping to gulp enough water in my system to fight the hangover. Inside the kitchen, I find myself looking at a large glass of orange juice. We don’t take juice boxes because well, no matter what they say, it is basically 90% sugar. Apoorva and I both try to maintain a healthy diet in our daily routine. We exercise at least 5 days a week and definitely don’t waste our calories on packaged juices. As I wonder all that and take a closer look, I realize it is freshly made. It is not that orange and a little too pulpy. I take a sniff and yeah, surely a fresh. I contemplate and conclude that Apoorva must have asked Meena didi to make it before leaving. I will make sure to thank her tonight for dotting on me so much. She isn’t always this thoughtful or at least tries to portray that to the world but I know she’s a softie and doesn’t know how to express herself most of the time but to me, it is the little things like this that matter. It makes me wonder how come she didn’t ask me anything last night. That was surely unusual and unlike her. I think she must have pitied me in that state and will start with questions when she sees me tonight. I don’t need to think about it just now, no point in suffering twice. I will indulge in that topic only when someone will ask. Until then, it will be locked in a cupboard, where it always stays. Out of sight, out of mind or at least that’s what I tell myself.
I gulp down my orange juice and head to the bathroom. I take half of my regular time to get ready. I look much better than I feel. Orange juice is no magic potion. I think I will eventually have to take the medicine, as it will get worse as the sun will go further up in the sky. I take an apple on my way out to the office. I think about the deadlines and pending tasks, and matters in hand for the day as I climb in my car and start my day.