Note: All characters and venues are totally fictional; any semblance to real persons or places is merely coincidental.
Synopsis: Shanti meets Benny, Kamla, Sheila, Nikki and Aishwarya. She discovers the truth about her Boris.
Munni's LIA - Episode 27
On Thanksgiving day, Reddy went to Shanti's apartment in the morning, spent some time with her and then drove her to his house. As he approached his house, Shanti noticed a woman in Salwar outfit on the drive, standing next to a toddler child.
"is that Sheila ?", asked Shanti.
Reddy looked and said,"…no…looks like a white woman in a salwar outfit….may be Kamla had invited some local friend ….". He parked the car on street. The woman in Salwar outfit waited for them to walk up closer, and then addressed Reddy,"you are Reddy, aren't you ?"
Reddy didn't know who she was; he thought it may have been someone he had met previously in the house, when Kamla had friends over now and then. He answered,"….hi…yes, I am…..and how are you ?"
"….I am sure you don't remember who I am….and besides…", she said, pulling her salwar-top back around her waist to show she was pregnant,"…I gained some weight recently....Nicola Niebaum…..we met many many years ago in California ". The woman shook hands with Reddy.
"….Ooooh…yes, now I remember", Reddy lied and smiled. Then he introduced Shanti,"….this is Shanti, my girlfriend, she is a grad student at Ann Arbor….Shanti, this is Nicola, Sheila's friend".
Nicola shook hands with Shanti and said,"…call me Nikki". The child standing next to Nikki, hugged her leg. Nikki picked up the child and introduced her,"…this is Aishwarya Shah…..Aish..say hello to uncle and auntie..". The child said,"…hello". Shanti put her hands out to Aishwarya, and the child jumped across and let Shanti hold her. Aishwarya had her hands around Shanti's neck as Nikki said,"hey…she found another woman to spoil her now….". Then they all walked through the open garage door into the house.
Sheila and Kamla were seated at the dining table when Reddy walked in with Shanti carrying Aishwarya. Reddy introduced Shanti. Sheila came to Shanti, put her hand on Shanti's shoulder and said," Hi, I see my daughter has already found a nice auntie to carry her around..nice to meet you Shanti ". Kamla said to Shanti,"welcome…that is a nice kurthi… Aish….get off that auntie…you can walk now …". Shanti said," hello", and sat in the chair next to Sheila. Aishwarya got off Shanti's hold, crawled up the table, and sat on it looking at the new face, Shanti.
Sheila asked,"….Shanti, what are you studying ?"
"Economics..", said Shanti,and thought < my……Kamla and Sheila are pretty women….Kamla doesn't look much older than Sheila…>.
Reddy leaned to Shanti's ear and said,"…I will see you later…"
Sheila said,"….go on..cousin…we'll take good care of your girl…" and laughed.
Shanti said,"…yes…go ahead.."
Then Shanti asked Sheila,"…who is cooking the feast …"
Kamla said,"…we all are…Sheila made the pumpkin pie and the stuffing, and the turkey is browning in the oven now….Nikki made a beans and cauliflower dish. Aishwarya helped in making the cranberry sauce…..Benny stayed out of the way….and you helped by keeping Reddy with you all morning…didn't you ?" and winked.
Shanti blushed at that insinuation.
Sheila said,"…we used one of those baking bags…to avoid basting the turkey………we just took the bag off 10 minutes ago and let the surface brown a little…."
Kamla asked,"…Shanti…do you want a snack ?…we have samosas....we are planning to eat around 3 PM....you know....lunch time for California people."
Shanti answered,"no…no… I am not that hungry…..I can wait …"
Kamla went into the kitchen and brought a drink for Shanti:"…here …have this…and there are some indian munchies on the counter in the kitchen …feel free".
Shanti said,"…thanks" and took a sip. She liked the drink. ".auntie..what is this ?", she asked.
Sheila laughed out loud, with," you called her auntie…heehee".
Kamla said,"Shanti…you can call me Kamla…even….Sheila calls me Kamla..".
Shanti said,"oh…ok", a little embarassed.
Kamla got back to Shanti's question,"that is Fresca…a diet ginger soda…it goes well with wines…if you want to make a wine-cooler you can just mix ice cold Fresca and wine fifty-fifty".
Sheila asked,"how did you meet Reddy ?"
Shanti wished she had chatted with Reddy about this. So she gave a fuzzy answer:" we met on campus…."
Kamla said,"that is why parents send kids to good colleges….don't we ?"
Sheila went,"mummmie…we aren't going there….are we ?"
Then Aishwarya climbed off the table onto Sheila's lap.
"….she has green eyes," noticed Shanti.
"….yes…that is why grandma wanted to name her Aishwarya….," said Sheila.
"….kamla", said Aishwarya, pointing to Kamla.
"…see…no one calls me grandma….except you,"Kamla said to Sheila with mock annoyance.
Then Kamla got up to go to the kitchen and look at the Turkey. It had already browned well on top. There were several bowls of food in ceramic serving vessels on the counter top.
Kamla picked up a ladle, opened the oven door, and ladled some of the drippings back over the browned top of the turkey and closed the door back. Then she came back and said,"looks like we can eat in a leeetul bit….". Shanti asked,"Kamla,…can I help ?". Kamla smiled at Shanti and said,"yes…we can set the table".
Benny came in to the kitchen and said hello to Shanti, then he went over to Kamla and said,"…kitchen smells good….are we just about ready?"
Kamla said,"…Benny, did you say hello to Shanti ?"
Benny responded,"…yes..yes..I just did"
Shanti thought Benny behaved just like her father, very attentive and obedient to his wife. She thought Benny looked a lot older than she'd expect Kamla's husband to be.
It became a little past 2:30 PM after they got everything ready, woke Nikki back up from her nap, got Aishwarya into her bib and booster seat and everybody sat down to eat. Shanti had her first traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Benny carved the turkey and placed the slices in a large oval plate to start. Sheila carried the plate and walked around the table and served everyone before sitting down. Shanti and Aishwarya, (the youngest two) were each given the drumsticks. Aishwarya was the center of attraction. Kamla at the head of the table had Aishwarya sitting to her right, followed by Nikki, Reddy and Benny. On Kamla's other side were Sheila and Shanti. Benny drank some cocktail he had mixed himself. Nikki and Aishwarya drank milk; the others had wine to drink. They had pumpkin pie and ice-cream at the end of the meal. Aishwarya talked a lot during the meal and Nikki and Kamla translated her opinions. Under the table Reddy had his feet under Shanti's. Shanti found the vegetable dishes that Nikki had made taste much like south indian stirfrys. She complimented Nikki. Nikki was very pleased and said the greeks also use cumin and olive oil like indians. At the end of the meal, Shanti offered to help Kamla clean-up.
And Kamla responded," clean up ?.no..no..we don't do that…let the boys do that....you go with the girls to their room…". So, Shanti ended up with Sheila, Nikki and Aishwarya in the master bedroom on the same ground level of the house.
The room had a very large king size bed, a sofa set of three sofas, a TV-DVD set, walk-in closet and an attached bathroom. After Nikki had burped Aishwarya, she handed the child over to Shanti and went to the bathroom. Shanti sat in the larger sofa with one leg folded at the knee, and let Aishwarya lie down on her lap and placed her hand on the child's chest. Aishwarya held Shanti's fingers in her hands and looked up at Shanti's face. Shanti moved her lap up and down in a rhythm and tapped Aishwarya on the chest gently. Sheila sat in another sofa, and asked Shanti,"…can you sing any indian lullabies ?". Shanti had to think for a while. Then she said,"…I only know a few lines…and then..I need to hum the rest" and smiled. Sheila said,"..please go ahead…". Shanti continued to raise and drop her lap with Aishwarya's head on it, continued to tap the child's chest with her hand, closed her eyes and started,"…mmmmhhh…". Nikki returned from the bathroom and came towards them; Sheila placed a finger to her lips and said,"…shushhhh… she will sing..". Nikki sat on another sofa. Shanti started with the Tamil "….araaro…aariraro…" song and after a few lines…she moved on to the telugu song…kasturi rangaa…..and not remembering too many lines of that either, smiling to herself…she came back to the Tamil song a little later. The two american women watched Shanti in amazement as Aishwarya fell asleep still holding several of Shanti's fingers in her two hands. After a few more minutes, Shanti stopped and said softly,"…I think she is sleeping now…". "Let us put her on the bed", said Sheila. Shanti got up with the child and put her in the middle of the king sized bed in that room. Sheila took several pillows and propped them around the child.
Nikki, who had her head on the arm rest of the sofa was also dozing off. Sheila roused her up and asked her to sleep on the bed. Nikki joined Aishwarya on the big bed. "heheeh…you had put both of them to sleep ", Sheila said to Shanti in a whisper, and added,"let us go and sit in the living room..". As they came out, they saw Benny heading for the basement. Sheila asked him,"…isn't cousin Reddy helping you ?". Benny replied,"…he did already…I think he is taking a nap in his room upstairs.." "And where are you going ?"Sheila asked. "To take a nap with Kamla…where else ?"joked Benny, as he climbed downstairs to the family room in the basement.
Sheila smiled and asked Shanti,"…would you like to go upstairs and take a nap with my cousin ?". Shanti didn't expect that at all; she blushed and answered,"…no..no…I am ok ….not sleepy now..".
"Thank you for keeping me company….let us go and sit there…". After they got to the sofas, Sheila and Shanti sat side by side.
After they got settled, Sheila said to Shanti,"…I met my cousin when he first came to America many years ago….and then after that…we never met…life got busy….you know…..now I am so happy he has a sweet girlfriend like you…"
Shanti blushed even more and murmured,"…thank you"
Sheila went on,".when I first met my cousin….I knew right away he was a nice guy….but recently when my parents moved to California I found out a lot more about him..."
Shanti got very interested in that chat.
Sheila continued,"…my dad…Benny went on and on about what a nice boy my cousin is…how much he helped him and how responsible, how quiet, how hardworking…and so on….oh…I am sorry…I sound like I am selling him to you…don't I ? ...and here you are...may be you already bought his own sales talk...heeheee"
Shanti said,"…no…no…no….that is alright…I also know that Reddy is kind and nice…"
Sheila raised her eyebrows, put her hand on Shanti's shoulder and winked,"..hey..hey…hey…is someone here smitten or what ?"
Shanti had already liked Sheila when she had only heard about her from Reddy. The real Sheila sitting next to her seemed even more wonderful. Shanti decided to confide. She put her head down, blushed as she said,"..mmmmh….Reddy and I…we have an understanding…".
Sheila leaned to Shanti, kissed her on the cheek and said,"…my cousin is a lucky guy..".
Shanti said,"..thanks". She liked Sheila even more now. Sheila went on,"…he was so shy…..my cousin was…when I first met him….".
Shanti asked Sheila,"..tell me about that meeting..".
Sheila said,"…been a long time…but I can tell you about his old crush…he was so shy…he said he never talked to her….heeheehee...".
Shanti was very piqued; she said with a smile,"…please…tell me what you remember…".
Sheila told her the story.
Sheila started,"…you know…my cousin told me he played basketball for his college…you probably know that already…right?"
Shanti replied,"…I know he plays basketball…but please go on…"
Sheila said,"…I also played guard in the women's team for my college….Ol' Miss...in any case, when my cousin was in India…he said he took the bus to go to work…I don't remember the city …but they had city bus there that was always crowded…"
Shanti said,"…yes …Chennai city…I am from there also…"
Sheila continued,"…oh…then you know the scene….boys and girls go in the crowded bus and there is a lot of grabbing and molesting girls in the crowd…"
Shanti was confused; she couldn't understand where Sheila was headed. She continued to look at Sheila's face.
Sheila went on,"…you know…my shy cousin…sees this girl in a bus-stand and he decides to help…"
Shanti began to feel something in the pit of her stomach.
Sheila continued,"…so…when the bus comes….and there is no orderly line or anything....it is time for the crowd to rush to the bus, my cousin goes and posts himself on the step of the bus like he'd do on a basketball court, and stops everybody behind him, and lets his girl get in the bus with nobody touching her…hahaheehee…"
Shanti thought her hands and legs were shivering on their own without any control from her.
Sheila went on with the story:"…my cousin goes on doing this day after day after day…never talking to her or asking her out on a date or anything…..my cousin told me that the girl was plain but also beautiful….I never figured that out…but then…my cousin was so in love…he may be confused about things….what d'you think ?"
Shanti felt faint, but managed to ask,"….what else did your cousin say ? did he say he was in love with that girl…"
Sheila noticed Shanti's agitation…and went,"…he may have said he loved that girl….but hey…that was a long time ago…he probably had a strong crush....he had probably forgot all about her by now...don't you go and fret about that thing now…."
Then Shanti suddenly remembered a favorite book-mark she had used when in India. A picture post-card from California with a picture of the golden gate bridge. That card was signed "Sheila".
Shanti looked at Sheila and said in as best a steady voice as she could manage,"…yes…you are right…I'd be silly to think about that long ago girl…", and added,"..excuse me…I will go and take a nap now."
Sheila replied,"…yeah…Thanksgiving dinner puts everybody to sleep ….don't it ?" and smiled.
Shanti left, walked to the stairs, and after she took the first few steps to the landing and out of sight from Sheila, she climbed two stairs at a time and rushed to Reddy's room. She opened the door quietly, got in, closed it behind her, turned around and looked at the bed. Reddy was bare from the waist up and sleeping on his stomach. Shanti tip toed up to the side of the bed. She wanted to wake him up, shake him and ask him why he didn't tell her he was the same bus-stand Boris. Shanti had forgot the face of that skinny boy, but now she can add a mustache to Reddy and imagine a little less meat on his bones and cheeks, a few inches less for her own height and realize they were the same pair from that crowded Chennai bus. She was extremely livid as well as unbearably happy. She decided she needed to hit him first for torturing her. She decided she'd cup her hand and give him a painless, but resounding slap on his back. Then she would hug him and ask him why he tortured her so.
When she brought down her cupped palm with all the force she could muster, her fingers flared out and Reddy received a stinging slap in the middle of his back. Shanti was shocked, as Reddy made a strange animal sound and flipped over. He squinted at Shanti and blurted,"…Aaaee…what ? ..why ?". Shanti kneeled up the bed, fell on his chest, put both her arms around his neck:"…oh..my dear….sorry…sorry …". In the next fifteen minutes, in semi coherent Telugu and English Reddy heard Shanti's lament as to how cruel he had been for years and years, and also in the last few weeks when he had hid his real identity. Shanti got less incoherent and weepy as she went on. Eventually Reddy was able to put together something and understood that Sheila had told Shanti the bus-stand story from several years ago. Although the slap was painful, Reddy was relieved that the story was told and he didn't have to struggle as to how he would tell Shanti. Besides that complaint, he heard a lot more from Shanti as she lay on his chest and went on and on about the general nature of men in deceiving women, with the prime examples of Reddy, Rancho (Aamir Khan from "3 Idiots") and of course, Boris. Shanti eventually whimpered off to sleep. Reddy understood that, in summary, pretty much all males were indicted for torturing women with deceit, seduction and abandonment !!
Synopsis: Shanti meets Benny, Kamla, Sheila, Nikki and Aishwarya. She discovers the truth about her Boris.
Munni's LIA - Episode 27
Shanti Sings the Lullaby
On Thanksgiving day, Reddy went to Shanti's apartment in the morning, spent some time with her and then drove her to his house. As he approached his house, Shanti noticed a woman in Salwar outfit on the drive, standing next to a toddler child.
"is that Sheila ?", asked Shanti.
Reddy looked and said,"…no…looks like a white woman in a salwar outfit….may be Kamla had invited some local friend ….". He parked the car on street. The woman in Salwar outfit waited for them to walk up closer, and then addressed Reddy,"you are Reddy, aren't you ?"
Reddy didn't know who she was; he thought it may have been someone he had met previously in the house, when Kamla had friends over now and then. He answered,"….hi…yes, I am…..and how are you ?"
"….I am sure you don't remember who I am….and besides…", she said, pulling her salwar-top back around her waist to show she was pregnant,"…I gained some weight recently....Nicola Niebaum…..we met many many years ago in California ". The woman shook hands with Reddy.
"….Ooooh…yes, now I remember", Reddy lied and smiled. Then he introduced Shanti,"….this is Shanti, my girlfriend, she is a grad student at Ann Arbor….Shanti, this is Nicola, Sheila's friend".
Nicola shook hands with Shanti and said,"…call me Nikki". The child standing next to Nikki, hugged her leg. Nikki picked up the child and introduced her,"…this is Aishwarya Shah…..Aish..say hello to uncle and auntie..". The child said,"…hello". Shanti put her hands out to Aishwarya, and the child jumped across and let Shanti hold her. Aishwarya had her hands around Shanti's neck as Nikki said,"hey…she found another woman to spoil her now….". Then they all walked through the open garage door into the house.
Sheila and Kamla were seated at the dining table when Reddy walked in with Shanti carrying Aishwarya. Reddy introduced Shanti. Sheila came to Shanti, put her hand on Shanti's shoulder and said," Hi, I see my daughter has already found a nice auntie to carry her around..nice to meet you Shanti ". Kamla said to Shanti,"welcome…that is a nice kurthi… Aish….get off that auntie…you can walk now …". Shanti said," hello", and sat in the chair next to Sheila. Aishwarya got off Shanti's hold, crawled up the table, and sat on it looking at the new face, Shanti.
Sheila asked,"….Shanti, what are you studying ?"
"Economics..", said Shanti,and thought < my……Kamla and Sheila are pretty women….Kamla doesn't look much older than Sheila…>.
Reddy leaned to Shanti's ear and said,"…I will see you later…"
Sheila said,"….go on..cousin…we'll take good care of your girl…" and laughed.
Shanti said,"…yes…go ahead.."
Then Shanti asked Sheila,"…who is cooking the feast …"
Kamla said,"…we all are…Sheila made the pumpkin pie and the stuffing, and the turkey is browning in the oven now….Nikki made a beans and cauliflower dish. Aishwarya helped in making the cranberry sauce…..Benny stayed out of the way….and you helped by keeping Reddy with you all morning…didn't you ?" and winked.
Shanti blushed at that insinuation.
Sheila said,"…we used one of those baking bags…to avoid basting the turkey………we just took the bag off 10 minutes ago and let the surface brown a little…."
Kamla asked,"…Shanti…do you want a snack ?…we have samosas....we are planning to eat around 3 PM....you know....lunch time for California people."
Shanti answered,"no…no… I am not that hungry…..I can wait …"
Kamla went into the kitchen and brought a drink for Shanti:"…here …have this…and there are some indian munchies on the counter in the kitchen …feel free".
Shanti said,"…thanks" and took a sip. She liked the drink. ".auntie..what is this ?", she asked.
Sheila laughed out loud, with," you called her auntie…heehee".
Kamla said,"Shanti…you can call me Kamla…even….Sheila calls me Kamla..".
Shanti said,"oh…ok", a little embarassed.
Kamla got back to Shanti's question,"that is Fresca…a diet ginger soda…it goes well with wines…if you want to make a wine-cooler you can just mix ice cold Fresca and wine fifty-fifty".
Sheila asked,"how did you meet Reddy ?"
Shanti wished she had chatted with Reddy about this. So she gave a fuzzy answer:" we met on campus…."
Kamla said,"that is why parents send kids to good colleges….don't we ?"
Sheila went,"mummmie…we aren't going there….are we ?"
Then Aishwarya climbed off the table onto Sheila's lap.
"….she has green eyes," noticed Shanti.
"….yes…that is why grandma wanted to name her Aishwarya….," said Sheila.
"….kamla", said Aishwarya, pointing to Kamla.
"…see…no one calls me grandma….except you,"Kamla said to Sheila with mock annoyance.
Kamla picked up a ladle, opened the oven door, and ladled some of the drippings back over the browned top of the turkey and closed the door back. Then she came back and said,"looks like we can eat in a leeetul bit….". Shanti asked,"Kamla,…can I help ?". Kamla smiled at Shanti and said,"yes…we can set the table".
Benny came in to the kitchen and said hello to Shanti, then he went over to Kamla and said,"…kitchen smells good….are we just about ready?"
Kamla said,"…Benny, did you say hello to Shanti ?"
Benny responded,"…yes..yes..I just did"
Shanti thought Benny behaved just like her father, very attentive and obedient to his wife. She thought Benny looked a lot older than she'd expect Kamla's husband to be.
And Kamla responded," clean up ?.no..no..we don't do that…let the boys do that....you go with the girls to their room…". So, Shanti ended up with Sheila, Nikki and Aishwarya in the master bedroom on the same ground level of the house.
The room had a very large king size bed, a sofa set of three sofas, a TV-DVD set, walk-in closet and an attached bathroom. After Nikki had burped Aishwarya, she handed the child over to Shanti and went to the bathroom. Shanti sat in the larger sofa with one leg folded at the knee, and let Aishwarya lie down on her lap and placed her hand on the child's chest. Aishwarya held Shanti's fingers in her hands and looked up at Shanti's face. Shanti moved her lap up and down in a rhythm and tapped Aishwarya on the chest gently. Sheila sat in another sofa, and asked Shanti,"…can you sing any indian lullabies ?". Shanti had to think for a while. Then she said,"…I only know a few lines…and then..I need to hum the rest" and smiled. Sheila said,"..please go ahead…". Shanti continued to raise and drop her lap with Aishwarya's head on it, continued to tap the child's chest with her hand, closed her eyes and started,"…mmmmhhh…". Nikki returned from the bathroom and came towards them; Sheila placed a finger to her lips and said,"…shushhhh… she will sing..". Nikki sat on another sofa. Shanti started with the Tamil "….araaro…aariraro…" song and after a few lines…she moved on to the telugu song…kasturi rangaa…..and not remembering too many lines of that either, smiling to herself…she came back to the Tamil song a little later. The two american women watched Shanti in amazement as Aishwarya fell asleep still holding several of Shanti's fingers in her two hands. After a few more minutes, Shanti stopped and said softly,"…I think she is sleeping now…". "Let us put her on the bed", said Sheila. Shanti got up with the child and put her in the middle of the king sized bed in that room. Sheila took several pillows and propped them around the child.
Sheila smiled and asked Shanti,"…would you like to go upstairs and take a nap with my cousin ?". Shanti didn't expect that at all; she blushed and answered,"…no..no…I am ok ….not sleepy now..".
"Thank you for keeping me company….let us go and sit there…". After they got to the sofas, Sheila and Shanti sat side by side.
After they got settled, Sheila said to Shanti,"…I met my cousin when he first came to America many years ago….and then after that…we never met…life got busy….you know…..now I am so happy he has a sweet girlfriend like you…"
Shanti blushed even more and murmured,"…thank you"
Sheila went on,".when I first met my cousin….I knew right away he was a nice guy….but recently when my parents moved to California I found out a lot more about him..."
Shanti got very interested in that chat.
Sheila continued,"…my dad…Benny went on and on about what a nice boy my cousin is…how much he helped him and how responsible, how quiet, how hardworking…and so on….oh…I am sorry…I sound like I am selling him to you…don't I ? ...and here you are...may be you already bought his own sales talk...heeheee"
Shanti said,"…no…no…no….that is alright…I also know that Reddy is kind and nice…"
Sheila raised her eyebrows, put her hand on Shanti's shoulder and winked,"..hey..hey…hey…is someone here smitten or what ?"
Shanti had already liked Sheila when she had only heard about her from Reddy. The real Sheila sitting next to her seemed even more wonderful. Shanti decided to confide. She put her head down, blushed as she said,"..mmmmh….Reddy and I…we have an understanding…".
Sheila leaned to Shanti, kissed her on the cheek and said,"…my cousin is a lucky guy..".
Shanti said,"..thanks". She liked Sheila even more now. Sheila went on,"…he was so shy…..my cousin was…when I first met him….".
Shanti asked Sheila,"..tell me about that meeting..".
Sheila said,"…been a long time…but I can tell you about his old crush…he was so shy…he said he never talked to her….heeheehee...".
Shanti was very piqued; she said with a smile,"…please…tell me what you remember…".
Sheila told her the story.
Sheila started,"…you know…my cousin told me he played basketball for his college…you probably know that already…right?"
Shanti replied,"…I know he plays basketball…but please go on…"
Sheila said,"…I also played guard in the women's team for my college….Ol' Miss...in any case, when my cousin was in India…he said he took the bus to go to work…I don't remember the city …but they had city bus there that was always crowded…"
Shanti said,"…yes …Chennai city…I am from there also…"
Sheila continued,"…oh…then you know the scene….boys and girls go in the crowded bus and there is a lot of grabbing and molesting girls in the crowd…"
Shanti was confused; she couldn't understand where Sheila was headed. She continued to look at Sheila's face.
Sheila went on,"…you know…my shy cousin…sees this girl in a bus-stand and he decides to help…"
Shanti began to feel something in the pit of her stomach.
Sheila continued,"…so…when the bus comes….and there is no orderly line or anything....it is time for the crowd to rush to the bus, my cousin goes and posts himself on the step of the bus like he'd do on a basketball court, and stops everybody behind him, and lets his girl get in the bus with nobody touching her…hahaheehee…"
Shanti thought her hands and legs were shivering on their own without any control from her.
Sheila went on with the story:"…my cousin goes on doing this day after day after day…never talking to her or asking her out on a date or anything…..my cousin told me that the girl was plain but also beautiful….I never figured that out…but then…my cousin was so in love…he may be confused about things….what d'you think ?"
Shanti felt faint, but managed to ask,"….what else did your cousin say ? did he say he was in love with that girl…"
Sheila noticed Shanti's agitation…and went,"…he may have said he loved that girl….but hey…that was a long time ago…he probably had a strong crush....he had probably forgot all about her by now...don't you go and fret about that thing now…."
Then Shanti suddenly remembered a favorite book-mark she had used when in India. A picture post-card from California with a picture of the golden gate bridge. That card was signed "Sheila".
Shanti looked at Sheila and said in as best a steady voice as she could manage,"…yes…you are right…I'd be silly to think about that long ago girl…", and added,"..excuse me…I will go and take a nap now."
Sheila replied,"…yeah…Thanksgiving dinner puts everybody to sleep ….don't it ?" and smiled.
Shanti left, walked to the stairs, and after she took the first few steps to the landing and out of sight from Sheila, she climbed two stairs at a time and rushed to Reddy's room. She opened the door quietly, got in, closed it behind her, turned around and looked at the bed. Reddy was bare from the waist up and sleeping on his stomach. Shanti tip toed up to the side of the bed. She wanted to wake him up, shake him and ask him why he didn't tell her he was the same bus-stand Boris. Shanti had forgot the face of that skinny boy, but now she can add a mustache to Reddy and imagine a little less meat on his bones and cheeks, a few inches less for her own height and realize they were the same pair from that crowded Chennai bus. She was extremely livid as well as unbearably happy. She decided she needed to hit him first for torturing her. She decided she'd cup her hand and give him a painless, but resounding slap on his back. Then she would hug him and ask him why he tortured her so.
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