The Private Life of Mrs Sharma (15 page)
Read The Private Life of Mrs Sharma Online
Authors: Ratika Kapur
I know that from time to time I have said that Sundays are boring, but I never understood until today that a boring Sunday can actually be a great blessing. Today started just like all Sundays. In the morning I did all my chores, and Bobby, even though he did not open his textbooks, he actually picked up the newspaper and seemed to be reading it quite carefully. We also Skyped with my husband as we do every Friday and Sunday, and today he looked much better. My husband looked less sad, less tired. He said that he has a new boss, an Arab also, obviously, but an Arab who hates Indians less. This Arab is very rich, my husband said. He eats fifteen or twenty almonds at one time, just like that. He eats almonds like peanuts. My husband said that he has seen it with his own two eyes. And then my husband said that just like me, he is also counting the days for 31 August 2011. He said that as soon as his plane lands, the first thing he wants to do is come home and eat a meal cooked by his wife, and then he wants to go with Bobby and
me to India Gate for ice cream. He said that he has this picture in his mind of the three of us in an auto, and it is raining, and he is sitting in the middle with his wife on one side of him and his son on the other side of him. He said that these days this picture comes to his mind every time he closes his eyes.
I almost started crying when he said this, but I controlled myself. I quickly started to talk about one news item instead, this horrible news item that the nurses were talking about in the clinic last month, about this young boy who sold his kidney to buy an iPhone because his parents did not have the money to buy it for him. I think that this was a good thing that I did. It was important for me to talk about this to remind both my husband on the monitor and my son sitting next to me why we have to live like this just now.
So, everything was normal, everything had that Sunday feeling, and after all my morning chores I had to go for Rosie's daughter's wedding. I asked Bobby to come with me but he said that he was tired, and I did not want to force him, so I went alone. The wedding was in a church near Connaught Place, and it was the first time that I had attended a Christian wedding ceremony, and even though it was quiet and everybody looked serious, even then, it was actually quite nice. And Doctor Sahib sat down next to me during the ceremony. There were many, many empty seats, but Doctor Sahib came and sat down next to me. So everything felt good and nice, and I was feeling very calm and happy, and I came back home and knocked on the door, because I always make Bobby latch it from inside, and Bobby opened the door, but then what do I see? In the hall, in my house, sitting on the divan side by side, who do I see?
It was Vineet, Vineet and that stupid friend of his Neha. In my house.
I thought that I was going to have a heart attack. My heart hit so hard and fast against my chest that I thought that then and there I would fall down to the floor. But I just walked into the flat quietly and smiled at everybody, and very calmly, very coolly and calmly, I turned to Bobby and said, Have you offered them some tea?
Bobby nodded his head, and Vineet said, He made us such tasty tea, and then Neha said, What a nice boy you have.
I sat down on the stool and smiled again. What else could I do?
After a few seconds, Vineet stood up and, fixing his eyes on my eyes, he said, We have to go now, but we will meet you at the clinic tomorrow.
And they left. Then after about five minutes I received an sms from Vineet. He said that he told Bobby that he and Neha work with me at Doctor Sahib's clinic and that he just wanted to drop off some sweets to celebrate the purchase of his new flat. I deleted the sms and then after that I did not know what to do, but then Bobby switched on the TV and I sat down next to him and did some deep breathing.
So what did you read in the newspaper this morning? I said, after some time.
Different things, Bobby said.
Like what? I said.
Politics, he said.
Reading the newspaper is a good daily habit, I said.
Then Bobby said, Those people are very nice.
They are quite nice, I said.
Is Neha Didi Vineet Bhaiya's girlfriend? he said.
Maybe, I said.
Why didn't Rosie Aunty invite them for the wedding? he said.
I thought that I would have another heart attack, but then I thought of an answer. Rosie Aunty's husband only allowed her to invite Doctor Sahib and me, I said.
Then Bobby said, Did you know that Vineet Bhaiya has some professional training as a chef?
I wanted to shout, Vineet Bhaiya? He is not your Vineet Bhaiya! But I said, He has talked about food from time to time.
He told me that he can cook all types of Indian and Chinese and Continental dishes, Bobby said.
I think that it is just timepass for him, I said.
That is because his father did not allow him to become a chef, Bobby said. But he has offered to give me cooking classes. Then Bobby smiled and got up, and went to the fridge and took out a box of sweets. Vineet Bhaiya brought this for you, he said. He has bought a new flat.
I should join Bollywood. The way I acted today, the way I acted so cool and calm, I should get the Filmfare award for Best Actress. A man that I met on the Metro, a man who is not my son's father but who I have sex with even then, this man was happily sitting in my house talking away to my son, and I acted as if this was such a normal thing, I acted as if our
neighbour had just dropped in to show me the water bill. What a grand performance, Renuka Sharma! You should be so proud of yourself!
The whole afternoon I watched Bobby carefully. I knew that he would not say anything to me directly, but, obviously, I wanted to know if he suspected anything of Vineet and Neha's visit, so I watched carefully for any odd signs coming from him. By God's grace, he acted very normally and when I was fully convinced that everything was fine, I told him that I would make him kheer, his favourite sweet dish, and I sent him off to the market to buy some milk. I had thought that while Bobby was out of the house I would call up Vineet.
I had thought that I would call up Vineet and shout at him. How dare you meet my son without asking me? I thought I would say. Why are you pulling my son into this? And how dare you come to my house and, on top of that, bring that woman with you?
But before I called him up I did some deep breathing and I thought about everything, and then I very quickly understood that it is not Vineet that I should be angry with, it is myself. My father used to say, The eyes will not see what the mind does not want them to. But today my mind has ordered my eyes to see the truth. And the truth is that the only reason that Vineet was sitting in my house today and talking to my son is because I invited him. See, wasn't it me who first went running to him when I had problems with Bobby? Wasn't it
me who first asked Vineet for advice about Bobby? Isn't that an invitation into my home?
It is also a sign, I think, this behaviour, a sign to Vineet that all that matters to this woman is her son, and so if he wants to be with her he has to show interest in her son. See? I cannot blame him. The only person I can point a finger at is myself.
Still, what has happened has happened. We have to look forward, and I will make sure that Vineet understands that he does not need to involve himself with Bobby just to be with me.
More than one time I have said that I have to keep Vineet away from Bobby because Bobby is my husband's son and because this relationship is only about Vineet and me and nobody else and especially not my child. I know that I have said all this. But I think that I have changed my mind. And I know that what I am going to say will sound a little bit odd, but what made me change my mind was actually my Bobby. Since Vineet came to our flat four days' ago, Bobby has been pestering me day in and day out to call up Vineet for those cooking classes and, until this evening, each time Bobby has asked me to call him up, I have refused. But then when I was sitting quietly in the prayer room this afternoon, my mind became clearer in the presence of God, and I decided that there is actually nothing wrong in allowing them to meet each other. Just by giving Bobby cooking classes, Vineet is not going to become Bobby's father. And teaching a child to cook is hardly a fatherly thing to do anyway. And if Bobby spends a little bit of time with
Vineet and me, that is hardly pulling him into our relationship, or whatever it is that you want to call it. The only thing is that Bobby must never ever know about this relationship. That is the main thing. That is what I have to be very, very careful about.
Apart from that, what is there to worry about? Bobby will see that his mother has a friend who is a man. Is that going to shock him? And what will he do? Call up his father? And will his father also get shocked? It is the twenty-first century. Even a good woman can be friends with a man.
So after I came out of the prayer room with my new decision, I told Bobby about it, and, what can I say? Bobby was so happy, so happy. He gave me such a big hug that I almost fell down. This in itself made me very happy, but then Bobby promised me something that made me even happier. He said that if the cooking classes go nicely, then he would stop going to that restaurant in Saket. All that I could do was look up and thank God.
Then I had to call up Vineet, because Bobby would not let me do anything else until I talked to his Vineet Bhaiya. With Bobby sitting on my head I felt quite nervous, but I picked up my phone, and in less than two rings, I could hear Vineet's hello. It was much more nervous than my hello. I think that he thought that I was still angry with him for coming to our flat. We have not had the chance to talk properly since that day. But I tried to keep my voice friendly and steady, and without wasting any time I told him that Bobby, my son, was here with me and how he wanted very much for Vineet to give him cooking classes whenever it was convenient. When I said this it seemed as if I had told him he had won the lottery. I could
almost see him jump. Yes, yes! he said. When should I come? Tomorrow? The day after? When? When? When?
If I had allowed Vineet or Bobby to decide the date, there would be a storm in my kitchen just now. But Saturday evening has been fixed. Vineet is actually on duty at his hotel that day, but he said that he has so many days of casual leave remaining that his boss cannot stop him.
If I ever complain that I don't have any fun, I should be given one tight slap and reminded about last evening when Vineet came for the cooking class. What fun it was! Even for me. Even though I had to stand quietly and watch my son, my own son, sweating in the kitchen as he chopped vegetables and grated paneer and kneaded dough, even though I had to watch him stand for hours and hours in front of the hot stove and then on his knees cleaning the kitchen floor, even then all that I can say is that we all had such a lot of fun last evening.
Vineet brought all the ingredients with him, and I am sure that he must have spent almost one thousand rupees. So, first he sat down with Bobby and he had a long, long talk with him. He told him that he would start him with some basic Indian cooking techniques, which Bobby did not seem very happy about, because Bobby thinks that he knows quite a lot about Indian dishes already, but Bobby is a good boy, a good student, and he kept quiet and listened carefully. Then Vineet
talked about some general topics, about how important it is to respect the great chefs and their methods, for example, and about how only after you are sure, one hundred per cent sure, that you have mastered a recipe, only then should you try to be creative. He also told Bobby about how important it is to be organised and methodical, and to keep your kitchen neat and clean. The kitchen is your temple, Vineet said.
I was not allowed into the kitchen at all. They insisted that I relax in the hall in front of the TV. Obviously I could not do that, how could I? So, I just stood at the kitchen door and watched quietly.
What happened in my kitchen was better than any cooking show that I have ever seen. They worked quietly and methodically. I was totally wrong to think that there would be a storm in my kitchen. There was no banging and shouting, and even though they were cooking so many different things all at the same time in such a small, little kitchen, there was never ever any mess. And Vineet's teaching method was so good. He would give Bobby some long instructions on something, he would explain everything so patiently, and Bobby would stand quietly and listen. Then Vineet would show Bobby something, and Bobby would watch him carefully and repeat it. The truth is that even I, a woman, learnt quite a few things about cooking from Vineet. I almost went to get an exercise book to take notes! I know that this sounds funny, but how many women know that when you want to grind cashew nuts in a mixie, all that you have to do is add a pinch of flour so that they don't stick to the mixie container? How many women know that when
you cut garlic, the best way to get the smell off your hands is by rubbing them on any stainless steel item?
The dishes that these two cooked in my kitchen were tastier than anything I have ever eaten. Even though they were everyday items, like dal and vegetables and paneer, pulao and salad, there was nothing everyday in their taste. I am sure that even a man like Doctor Sahib, who has eaten in every fancy restaurant in Delhi, who has probably eaten in every fancy restaurant in every city in the world, and I know this because I manage all his credit card payments, even Doctor Sahib, I am sure, would say that these dishes that Vineet and Bobby prepared were well and truly special.
After we all ate, and they had made me eat first, the two of them washed all the pots and pans and plates and cleaned up the whole kitchen, and I should say that the kitchen looked so good that it seemed as if I was the one who had done the cleaning. Then the three of us sat down in the hall.
For some time nobody talked. We just sat quietly, looking up and looking down. This made me worried. I wanted it to feel like a normal thing, like when some neighbour or relative comes to visit. But the thing is that nobody actually ever visits us. I don't have any relatives, and none of my husband's relatives live in Delhi, and when a neighbour comes to the flat, they just stand at the door to give me a bill, or return the torch or whatever that they borrowed. This is an odd thing. And I never realised this before. Still, I wanted it to feel like a normal thing, I wanted Bobby to feel like this was a normal thing, so I quickly thought and thought about what to talk about, and, by God's grace, I thought of the computer that Doctor Sahib is
supposed to buy for me, so then I told them, both Vineet and Bobby, that since they both know much more about computers than I know, they could help me decide which model I should tell Doctor Sahib to get for me.
This was a very good idea because then, for the next one and a half hours, this is what we talked about, the computer. We had to go into the bedroom, that is where our computer is. Bobby and I sat on the bed, and Vineet sat on the chair in front of the computer, and together we looked at many different, different desktop models on the Internet. Vineet thought that I should give Doctor Sahib some options in case there are availability problems with the vendor, so we made a shortlist of four models, one HP, two Dells and one Lenovo. There was this beautiful one from Apple that all three of us liked so much, but it was so costly that I did not put it on the list. Doctor Sahib would think that I have gone mad.
There was quite a lot of laughing and joking when Vineet was here, and this, obviously, was nice in some way, and I understood that my Bobby needs company from time to time, but now I am a little bit worried by this. I know that just by laughing and joking with Bobby, Vineet cannot become his father, but I don't want them to get too close. But I should not worry too much. Most of the time Vineet was very professional with Bobby. Still, maybe I should encourage Bobby to become friendly with the girl with the green eyes at the bus stop. I know that I sound like I have gone mad, but if you stop for one minute and think about it, think about it as a modern person in modern times, what is actually wrong with boys and girls being friends? This girl, more than Vineet, is probably the type
of company that Bobby needs. As long as she does not interfere with my Bobby's studies and career, which, from how neat and clean she looks, from how neat and clean her father looks, she surely would not do, I think that it would be good for him to have a nice girl in his life as a friend. Actually, I think that it is good for everybody to have a friend.
So, after Vineet left, which was around ten o'clock, Bobby and I had our baths and changed our clothes, and came into the bedroom. Then, while I was hemming one of my kurtas and Bobby was writing something in his exercise book, Bobby suddenly looked up at me and said, Ma, can you promise me one thing?
You know that I can't promise anything until you first tell me what it is, I said.
Can you promise me that you will not tell Papa about Vineet Bhaiya and the cooking classes? Maybe he won't like it.
This was almost funny. Wasn't I supposed to be the one asking for such a promise? But I just said, Fine, I will see, and then I put away my sewing kit and pretended to go to sleep.