‘Thanks for pricing me,’ I said.
‘I am just saying....’ My mother said.
We remained silent for the next five minutes. My mother shifted in her seat due
to lack of space.
‘You could have booked a car. I would have paid,’ I said.
‘I didn’t know you’ll bring extra luggage from Chennai,’ my mother said.
I showed Ananya the guest-room. She kept quiet as she took out fresh clothes to
take into the bathroom.
‘Hey, I’m sorry about my mother. She’s all talk. Good at heart.’
‘Even murderers are good at heart. I thought you had told her about my
coming.’
‘I wanted to give her a surprise,’ I said.
‘Fuck off,’ Ananya said as she pushed me out of the room.
My father had gone for a business meeting. Ever since he left the army, he had
tried different ventures. These included a property dealership, a security agency
and a freight forwarding agency. None of them worked. According to him,
unscrupulous partners or corrupt officials had led to their failure. According to
me, it was his short temper and inability to come out of his army officer mode.
When you are used to a hundred people saluting you every day, it is difficult to
suck up to uneducated builders to allow you to sell their house. However, my
father kept jumping from one disaster to the next, which kept him out of the
house most of the times. Some even said he had a mistress somewhere, though I
doubt another woman could survive him.
Ananya hadn’t left her room ever since she came. My mother went for her
evening stroll at 6 p.m.
‘What are you doing inside? Come out, mom’s gone for a walk.’
She opened the door, her face still upset.