King of Dreams
by Harry N Down
Chetna storms off to find a shirt.
“I’m sorry,” I say to her mother who by
now has composed herself.
“Steve, I have not laughed this much in
a long time.” She heads to the sink and grabs a cloth to wipe up the mess. The
two of us are still giggling away when Chetna returns.
“GET IN HERE!” Chetna points to her room
and throws the shirt at me.
“It was so funny. Honestly it was so
funny.” I can’t stop laughing.
“GET changed!” Chetna demands.
Her mother laughs louder. It soon subsides
when Chetna’s stern look points her way.
Still laughing I enter her room taking
off my shirt and putting on the shirt she has given me. I sit on her bed and
still giggling over what has transpired look around the room.
It has a bed a dressing table. There is
a picture of her father. He passed away sometime ago. Her Computer sits near
the window. There is a small wardrobe but little else. Pictures of a guru. I am
not familiar with Hindu customs but it looks like a shrine. Small, still a
shrine. My laughter stops and I am some what humbled by what little she has.
There are books, plenty of books. This room lacks something. I just cannot
figure out what. Standing up, I tuck my shirt in and head back out.
We all sit around the kitchen table. Her
mother and I still smiling from the earlier events. Chetna still fuming.
I hand her the flowers. It tempers her
mood some.
Her mother makes her some tea and
decides she needs to get ready. Leaving us alone in the kitchen.
“Steve, you should be very careful what
you say.”
“Come on Chetna. Your mother hasn’t had
a good laugh in ages.”
Chetna smiles. “I am just not use to
your humour Steve. It scares me sometimes that you find fun in almost
everything. You are never serious or realistic.” She sighs.
If that didn’t put a damper on the
evening I don’t know what would.
The conversations become more
conservative, more refined. I am now out of my comfort zone, yet I persist.
Different cultures, different upbringings and different beliefs. I look back as
we speak and ponder yesterday was so good and yet today is so flat.
She looks at her flowers and sighs.
Kapil arrives smack bang on six o’clock.
“Different shirt Steve?”
“Long Story Kapil.” I give him the,
don’t ask look.
I open the door for Chetna and she
slides into the car. She seems quite content and happy yet I feel a wedge
developing.
Chetna’s mum on the other hand is having
a ball. She cheerfully talks with Kapil. Chetna remains silent.
It is a deathly
silence.
To be continued ............................... HERE
1 comment:
Much drama in this episode xxxx
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