“Her” time...

Dedicated to the working women who are daughters, sisters, wives, mothers, bosses, cooks and the like. They manage their everything, their family, their world and their houses. They are an indispensable support predominantly emotionally and physically in the clan.

There were a lot of guests/ friends expected in the house party tonight. She decided the menu with him and paid extra to her maid for helping and reheating the exotic Italian and washing the utensils. She gave her’s and his clothes for dry cleaning. Cleaned the entire house, re-arranged articles, put the recent pictures and frames and crystals in front. Changed the sheets and covers. Cleaned the kitchen, drawing room and the bar, vacuumed the sofas and wiped the tables. Menu was planned and almost 12 dishes had to be prepared including appetizers and desserts. She got the groceries and started doing the preparations a day in advance. The previous night, the house was spic and span. She filled the salt and pepper in the swan like salt and pepper stands, she put the condiments in tiny bowls. The spoons were sorted and only the similar ones were taken out, the serving spoons were arranged at one end with bottle openers and forks. There was ample ice in the freezer, dessert was all done and festooned in the largest tray, and it looked so tempting in the freezer.

The garden and the entrance was neat with the weeds grabbed out. She tipped the gardener for painting the pots. The wall hangings and paintings were also cleaned with a cloth. She had her deadlines to meet in the office so she worked in the night too. Her baby was fed and was quietly sleeping and she went off to sleep, restless till the last minute and hiding unwanted stuff from the side tables of the drawing room, she arranged the magazines and newspapers and went off to sleep.

She got up early morning, groomed herself, painted her nails and shampooed her hair. The house was rechecked for any spider webs or dust, everything looked incredible, the curtains were drawn and the fancy china was on the table. She now went off to work. It was Friday. She returned hurriedly in the evening and did the cooking, changed and did the last minute preparations with her maid. The guests started coming from 7pm onwards. She picked her baby from the crèche and he went off to sleep after an hour of storytelling and dancing. Her husband arrived between 7:30 to 8:00 pm and quietly changed and attended the guests.

While the men were busy refilling their glasses, she was busy taking care of appetizers and the ladies. We are god gifted when it comes to chinwag or gossip. Blathering is in our veins, we can empathize, cry, laugh, and become angry all at the same time with different people of course.

So here was she, glowing and looking beautiful, wearing her pretty silk saree with those ethnic earrings and lovely bangles, very tired though, entertaining the guests, serving and talking about children, experiences, baby fat, feeding, discipline, how kids behave these days, what do they learn in school, potty training, teething, how her baby left bottle and graduated to a glass, stupid parents, good parents, people who aren’t parents, planning a baby, crushes, mother in laws, men, fashion, exhibitions, no time for shopping, office, bosses, weather, neighbors, sales, jewelry, recipes, how do they maintain the spark, menopause, nail polish shades and due manicures, house hold remedies, books and movies and actors, designers and shops where one can get first copies, facebook pictures, children , sister in laws, pest control, daily soaps, hygiene, scented candles, curtains, how to avoid split ends, complications of the body and relationships, sick parents, ailments, flab, constipation, foot wear, their last holiday, cravings, maids, exercise, how to store stuff in the fridge which can last long, importance of drinking water, Mrs. Oberoi smokes, affairs, olive oil and canola oil, blood pressure and cure, lipsticks, bed sheets, hand bags, how to store woolens …and much more.

The men still busy with eating, talking about property, policies, automobiles, gadgets, taxes, mobiles, cricket, stocks and alcohol.

Dinner was served at 11pm and all had an enjoyable time chatting and eating. The get together was a success! The food was fantastic and they all had a delightful time. They loved the dessert and took another serve till it was polished. It took another hour till the time they said bye to the time they reached the gate, they made the programs for a holiday, next vacation plan, men were a little tipsy, and women had their cocktails and were happy high, the food made them all sober though. And the “till me meet again” dialogues began at 1:30 am, someone decided on a place where they will all go for a vacation, they discussed the dates and discussed those dates when they could all confirm first, someone made a watsapp group, someone made an ONLY LADIES watsapp group and some naughty guy made a BOYS ONLY watsapp group, they added the lesser known on facebook and shared contacts of crèches, masseuses, maids, doctors and on call beauty parlor ladies, people shared resumes and some even added others as their emergency contacts, all of this happened between the door and the main gate, it was 2:00am.

Her saree was crushed and she couldn’t stand anymore. Between we should do this more often to nice to meet you to air kisses and hugs and waving good byes, she wanted all of them to LEAVE. RIGHT NOW. She had office the next day and her baby had to be fed again and wrapping it all up was in her mind. She wanted to store the left overs in the refrigerator and wear her most comfortable pajamas, sit in a corner with a blanket and sleep or read a book or watch her favorite movie. While there were people still chattering and thanking her for a lovely time, in her mind, she was already wrapping stuff and cleaning her carpet for any spilled curries or drinks. She wanted pin drop silence and was yearning for seclusion. She wanted him in solitude and wanted to cuddle and sleep and not to be disturbed for hours and days. She wanted to wake up late and wanted to be served with bed tea. Not that she wasn’t social or disliked the guests, she wanted to escape from the rush, she couldn’t smile or laugh anymore. She wanted no one for an instance and needed the silence …she wanted “her” time!