This Blessed House

Unlike Raymond Carver's story, I enjoyed this story very much.
It starts off painting this scene of a newly married couple unpacking their belongings into a house that will one day hold more memories then things. Twinkle, the wife, becomes enamored with this bottle of vinegar she finds in the kitchen. Her husband is clearly not as excited about it but through this it draws out the type of people that they both are. I see Twinkle, as this indian, free spirited woman. Her husband Sanjeev a bit more contained.

The magic of this story begins when Twinkle begins finding these "presents" left throughout the house. When I was reading this I imagined a little girl holding a treasure map and upon each finding her face is glowing with excitement. I honest viewed Sanjeev as this reserved man wanting nothing to do with Christianity, as the story continues my view begins to change. I begin to see him as the guy who holds to not only tradition but sticks to what is familiar. Part of me wondered if he stuck to being a muslim because it was what he knew for so long.Twinkle begins to embrace the different things she finds in the house and to her, this faith of the previous owners begins to make her a bit more than just curious.
My favorite part of this story is when she is bathing and her husband walks in to throw away the overly sized Mary statue and I watch as Twinkle fills with rage. She storms down the stairs and you see and hear the most beautiful, intense, display of passion. Her husband for the first time can see her eyes filled so full of love and desire for something that he is swayed to surrender this battle. It was not just a dispute over artwork but a display of love.

The scene changes to a party where these statues of various saints are displayed. I can feel Sanjeev's uncomfortable, tense, pauses. He does not want these statues but he also wants to make his wife happy. I find it so interesting that these statues have him looking back into his motives of marrying Twinkle and what it was that caused him to "fall in love" with her. The flashbacks lead him to this moment; she is a rarity, a gem, and he is lucky to be with her. However, the way that the story ends has me wondering if he has just agreed with her keeping the statues in order to avoid argument.

When this story ended I tried to paint a "more complete" ending in my head. I can envision it now, the guests have left and bits of trash are scattered throughout the living room. It does not look like a brothel but it clearly is not neat and tidy according to Sanjeev's standards. I can see them looking are each other, smiling and falling back into the couch. They close their eyes and take a deep breath and replay the flashbacks of how they arrived to this point of their relationships. These flashbacks are not ones of regret but they are glimpses of the love they have for one another.