A few minutes over a drink

They were meeting each other after a couple of years.. They had a less than an hour to catch up over a drink. Both with little time on hand, both tired with pending errands to be completed. There was a comfort level but a little akwardness too. The sort of thing that develops when your lives have gone separate ways, independent of each other. Yet you want to keep the connection going - in memory of what is was decades ago.

The door next to ours

Every day when I would come back from school, I would reach our floor and try not to look at any other direction but our door. Invariably I would cast a sideway glance. There she would be sitting there on her chair with her door open. She would smile …a toothless grin and I would return it with a shy smile of my own.

I do not know why I could never get used to this regular afternoon exchange. Perhaps I hoped that one day she would not be sitting there -that the door would be closed. It was a dreadful eerie ten seconds that I put myself through everyday for no reason.

She was our ‘next door’. neighbour in the apartment building we lived in. Literally next door as the entrances to the four flats on the floor were abosulutely next to each other. She lived all alone. Her son lived in Canada and her daughter lived in the same city and came to check on her once a week. A woman would come twice a day to cook and clean for her.

Her door remained opened through out the day and she sat there watching whoever came and went. I am sure she waited for me to come back from school and knew exactly what time the man in the opposite flat came home from office – we only saw him on weekends.

Her evenings were spent watching children play in the playground downstairs. We would see her seating and peering through the railings of the balcony as we sped on our cycles around the building. Sometimes another elderly woman from the adjacent apartment building would come over in the late evenings to chat with her. I would have just got back home a swimming session – and there would be the two of them staring at me.

I rarely spoke to her. My mother occasionally would send me across with some vegetarian fare – she would receive it with the widest of toothless grin and pet my head with a shaky hand. I would smile politely but never volunteered a conversation. She would ask me a thing or two and my replies would be as monosyllabic as possible. She would sometimes ask me if I was feeling shy and I would nod my head – desperate to run.

She used to like my grandmother. Whenever my grandmother visited us she would come to our house to talk to her. I would open the door to let her in, ask her to sit and then run away to my room. My mom would make tea for her, which she would pour on the saucer and drink. Her toothless mouth would make a loud slurping sound as she sipped the tea. ‘Shuuruuuuuuth’. This I would delightfully witness from a distance.

Our gang of friends named her Juju – a sort of code word for a scary person. We would talk about her and giggle. We would imagine bizarre situations with Juju in it. I would be teased about Juju visiting our house. We would mimic Juju’s broken quivering voice and the way she drank tea. One of us would pretend to be Juju and chase the others as they shrieked and ran away.

One day I came home as usual casting my covert glance at the door next to ours only to find it shut. I rang our doorbell. My mom opened the door and I saw Juju’s daughter sitting on the sofa – red eyed. Mom asked me to go to my room – where else. I tip toed towards the drawing room to hear what was on.

‘She is very fond of your daughter – used to wait for her to be back form school. Used to remind her of my brother’s daughter – she is also 9 years old. I am so grateful to you for checking on her. I really could not do much for her – you know how joint families are.’
‘Hope she does not suffer too much’, said my mom.

They spoke in low tone and I could not strain myself anymore to hear them. So I waited. I hear her leaving shortly and rush to my mom. Ma told me that she suffered a stroke and was taken to the hospital in the morning. Luckily, the woman who cleans was there and she called the neighbours.

‘Will she be okay ma?’
‘Well she is in coma- it is better if she passes away – she won’t suffer that way’

I rushed off to the terrace where my friends were and breathlessly told them the news. There was a silence and then one of them said, ‘Now she will really come as a ghost and scare us at night.’ ‘Shut up**’ we shouted said unanimously.

Could not sleep that night. Cried a bit. Wished that I had spoken to her – spent time with her. Promised to make it up to her when she was back. Prayed hard that she comes back.

But she never did. The door next to ours remained shut. Each day I dreaded to come back from school to be waiting for our door to open. I could almost feel her eyes on me…beckoning me but never demanding.

Standing in front of our door with that door on the side was eerie and suffocating. I could not tell this to my mom – she would have shut me up and I did not tell this to my friends for I was not sure of their reaction…So I suffered in silence – ridiculously avoiding eye contact with the closed door as I did when it used to be open.

The ordeal finally ended when some months later we shifted to another house. The distance did me good. I could finally sleep – I was finally at peace with her.

The gossip

She blew rings of smoke from her plucked lips and said in a bored voice, ‘Tell me something interesting yaaa….’
Pea glanced at me and I raised my eyebrows. ‘I have no news…I am very boring just work, pick up my kid and go home.’
‘Stop it yaa’. ‘Same with me,’ said Pea.
‘You shut Pea – gossip is your fodder.’
‘True it used to be but I just do not get any news anymore,’ said Pea sheepishly. ‘Why don’t u tell us some?’
‘Now what? Did I tell you I met Nina and she said that Ivy is getting her second divorce. That girl…could never stick onto anyone.’
Pea looked interested. ‘Any issues? Uh?’
‘Kids? None …saved yaaa.
Oh BTW I must tell u this one…remember Monica?’
I nodded, ‘Yeah of course…she was such fun…completely wild. Remember those sessions in her room?’

‘Yeah but u will be shocked to see her now. She is married and is living bang opposite my in-laws’ place. Saw her yesterday with a most hideous husband. Got a kid also...thin as a stick. She has bloated and looked haggard and was obviously shocked out of her skin to see me. Was kind of uncomfortable when she spoke to me. Said she will catch up but haven’t got a glimpse of her ever since. I did not bother…must be embarrassed to meet me…can’t believe SHE has settled into such middle class domesticity.’

We sipped our peach ice tea in silence and munched on our nachos. ‘So how are you doing?’ I asked her.

She waved her manicured hand and said, ‘Life could not be better …no complains. I have all the I could ask for. Hubby doing so well with his business… extremely chilled out and non interfering…My kid is big enough to wipe his own bottom and fix his own breakfast and is learning swimming, tennis, piano. We have a lovely house…you guys must visit yaa…tickets are so cheap now.’

Pea kicked me under the table. I looked tried to maintain a deadpan face. Lookgn at the time I said, ‘Oops I have to rush – got to pick my kid from the daycare.
I’ll make a move too,’ said Pea almost reluctantly.

We settled the bills and updated our contact details.

She slowly got up and put on her oversized sunglasses. ‘So when can we meet again? I am in the town till this Sunday.’
‘We can call and fix something,’ said Pea
‘Why call? Lets fix it now…let meet on Saturday for lunch.’
Not willing to commit I made vague noises: ‘Dunno …let’s see…will figure out ….’
‘Are you free on Saturday or not? she asked me categorically
‘Yeah.. Maybe’.
‘Ok Sat lunch around 1. You won’t see me till next year so please make an effort.’

‘Saturday 1pm Sounds fine,’ said Pea and gave me a stern look.
‘Let’s meet at the Intercontinental …have been there for ages yaaa’
‘Fine …will be there at the lobby’
‘Better think of juicy gossips to fill me up with …u have 5 days.’ This was directed at me with a prod in my belly. I gave Pea the look. Pea was clumsily extracting a chewing gum from its pack.

‘Hey, do you know the Royes?,’ asked Pea
‘Which Royes?’
‘Well they live in Rideshire too and are apparently your neighbours’
‘Oh yeah …well they are not immediate neighbours. Errr how do u know them?’
‘They are cousins-related to my husband. Very close to us. Visited us recently. It was such a coincidence – I was mentioning to them that I have a good friend in Rideshire and they happen to be your neighbours. Said they know you very well. Strange coincidence uh?’ Pea was smiling - chewing on her gum.
‘Yes bizarre coincidence’. She got busy putting things in her purse.

We stood for a moment outside the café hugging each other ( muaah muaah ) and saying our goodbyes.

‘So we see we meet on Sat then,’ said Pea.
I nodded. We both looked at her for affirmation.
She stood there inscrutable in her oversized sunglasses. ‘Uh let’s keep it open u know…we are flying off the next day so if case there is a family thing…you know with the in laws.’
‘All rightly then we confirm on Friday,’ said Pea in a firm voice.

We parted. I rushed to the car park dragging Pea. ‘I am bloody late P.’
‘Relax five minutes won’t make a different. The kid will be happy to have five minutes extra to play.’
‘Oh, shut up P.’

We were on our way. Pea suddenly said, ‘Sat lunch is off’.
‘Then why did we spent so much time discussing it ? What is your problem now?’

‘Not me …it’s. She will make excuses not to meet.’

I looked at Pea quizzically. ‘I thought she was the one who was most keen on it. Well…is there more to it?’
‘Well nothing much but just that I have heard from the grape wine that what makes her marriage successful is a young ‘lover’.’
‘Your cousins told you. How do they know?’

‘The community there is small and news travels fast. Infact she is much gossiped about for her loud behaviour and flashy ways. The laugh is actually on the husband who works his ass off -money-churning machine and madam gets her kicks elsewhere. Apparently was in the act in the swimming pool and some peeping Tom neighbour happened to witness it.’

‘She would not be so irresponsible with a kid around.’
‘Dahling …kid goes to a bounty of activities post school and is blissfully away till evening.
‘Pea!! Gossip is truly your fodder. This is total sleaze!’

‘Some people are never grateful. Gathering gossip is a work of art. Anyway came to good use today. Did you see her face when I mentioned my cousin’s name?’

‘Yeah she was rather abrupt. Anyway, be careful. Words do their rounds.’
‘They sure do.’

‘Leave her alone Pea. It is none of our business.’
‘What have I done? Don’t be a prig. I am not going to ask her. Just helped the breeze to find its way. Saved you from the Saturday lunch didn’t I?’
‘Oh shut up Pea.’

‘Well at least she will be not pester us for ‘juicy gossips yaaaaaa’’
We both giggled uncontrollably.
---
Saturday morning, both Pea and I got a message on our cell phone:

‘Sorry cannot meet up. Family dinner in the evening – last minute decision. Will be in touch. Au revoir.’

She is still there on my mailing list and sends me common junk mail from time to time. We still talk about her sometimes during our Friday lunches. Pea feels she did a good thing by giving a taste of her own medicine…I feel confused. How will it be when we meet her again - that is if we ever meet her again?