It took five good minutes for the correct dimpled key to travel through the brass keyhole of the teak wood main door of his huge penthouse occupying the whole 11th floor of the Grand Towers.
‘Why one has to try all the keys to find the correct one in the last?’ he cursed the rest of the keys in the bunch which did not fit.
Apart from that extra ‘last’ peg, his filled bladders were not allowing him to keep his feet firmly on the ground. Finally, he managed to enter the house which was already sleeping. It was not new to him and to the house too. More over it was Friday night or Saturday morning by now.. who cares? He had already rung up his wife and if he hadn’t, it hardly mattered. She must be asleep with the little one.
‘Poor kid! I couldn’t even see her properly today!’ he thought for a moment. Then he remembered that it was a weekend and he could take both his wife and the kid for outing in some mall or a water park or any such luxurious entertainment park and could spend a few thousand bucks to buy some happiness and fun for them. He tossed the guilt and felt relaxed. No. In fact, he noticed the filled bladder again and the emergency to go and have a leak.
He turned to the bathroom in the half lit house.
“What kind of work is it that keeps you away from your family for so late?” a firm but caring female voice stunned him.
He could barely see. It was not his wife for sure. She gave up waiting for him long back and now, having the little one around, she didn’t want her to see her father out of balance. So, who was it?
“You seem to be working so hard, son, have some rest dear. The pressure has started burning you.”
‘Oh shit!’, he remembered, ‘how can I forget she was supposed to be here today?’
“Oh! Hi, Mom! Why are you up so late?” he tried hard to keep his voice low and controlled his fumble. His mother woke up from her half sleep on the large leather sofa in the drawing room.
“I thought I could see you before I sleep,” she got up to go towards him.
“But why, Mom? You know that I have to work late. We could talk in the morning,” he only knew how much efforts he had to take to suppress his escalating irritation level. He started walking away from her to hide the pungent smell of that sparking golden liquid.
“I can see the work is taking its toll. You are not even able to stand firmly,” mom, being a mother, notices each and every movement of her kids. He couldn’t help but being amazed for a moment. But then again regained his self.
“Enough of it, Mom,” he couldn’t hold it now. He almost yelled at her, “no need to be sarcastic. It is called social drinking and you don’t know anything and even you can’t. You are a told story now. Now, let me have some sleep.. bye”
If you can’t convince, then shout. He had developed this philosophy since he achieved that big cabin in the office.
“But, food.. son” her lame try was outdone by the noise of big thud of his bedroom door.
***
“Why does she have to come here?” the entangled shoe lace was equally irritating as his mom was, sometimes.
“She comes here to see us.. especially you. You are her only son and now mature enough to understand this,” his wife, who was used to his tantrums, was as cool as possible.
“I don’t like anyone interfering in my life.. not even my mother. Do I go to her to peep into her life? Let her come here.. enjoy her puja and all and play with her grand daughter.. that’s it!”
He looked at her as she didn’t talk anything.
“No. don’t give me that ‘she has done this and that for you’ thing. I know it already”
“Fine then. You know everything. Her whole life revolves around you” She put a full stop.
Luckily, the lace was finally untied and the imported black leather pointed shiny shoes flied somewhere in the corner. He had to rush to the bathroom.
***
“Now, where’s she?”
The bathroom visit took a little long. But it was good. Feeling much better now.
“Where could she go at 2 in the midnight?” he was wondering when she came from the balcony.
The little one was on her shoulder, sleeping peacefully.
“Where the hell were…”
“Shhhh”, she put her finger on her lips and whispered, “I was putting her to sleep.”
“At this hour? You were alone in the balcony? Sounds pretty brave,” sarcasm was splurging out from every word. She also didn’t forget the days when she used to wake him up even to go to the bathroom at night and now, she went in the balcony all alone in the dark.
“You won’t understand.. you have to be..”
“.. a mother! Yeah, I know..(the same old crap)”
“Good then.. you seem to be tired.. good night!”
She was used to this stage by now where she expected snoring in reply.
“Huh! These Friday parties!” she sighed and put her hand around the little one and looked at him.
He didn’t even change his clothes. Sometimes she pitied him. He had earned what he deserved. But the newly developed attitude not worth at all.
***
The clock hit the digit 10. Air conditioners put the heat so down that you couldn’t come to know whether the sun born or not. But it was Saturday morning. Thanks to the technology and thanks to the hard earned money.
‘Newspapers have nothing to tell but the gossips and scandals. Bloody hell! Oh, the breakfast seems to be happening.. at least the smell is announcing something good’
He sat on the chair next to the dish containing a spicy thalipeeth.
“Wow! Amazing, darling!!” the hot piece in the mouth made him take some efforts in pronouncing those words. But she deserved a word of appreciation.
“Thanks!”
“Hey, so you finally managed to achieve the same taste as my mother’s? The pickle’s great, yaar! By the way, where’s mom?”
“She’s sleeping..”
“So late? Previously, she used to beat me if I don’t wake up before 6 am even if it’s a holiday.. age is taking the toll”
“She’s not feeling well.. she woke up early as usual, but fainted. So I only forced her to sleep.”
“That’s why I don’t like her to be awake late in the night.”
“And more over she went to the market yard to bring fresh raw mangoes..”
“What? Why did you let her do that?”
“She brought them on her way only.. and then didn’t even caught a nap in the afternoon.. She had to prepare something for her son..”
“Oh! And I was wondering you only made this..” he realized what had he done yesterday.. He cursed himself, “..and she wanted to see me enjoying the tangy taste of the fresh pickle made in mustard seeds.. She still remembers it… I am a big fool.. But then I don’t understand, why didn’t she tell me anything?”
His wife put another hot thalipeeth in his dish and did nothing but smiled in reply.
She learnt this art of smiling, apart from the spicy thalipeeths, from his mother only.
“I understood. Don’t utter,” he sighed.. “you got be a mother to understand this and that a man can never be!”
***
