The mirror
One could easily mistake me to be mimicking her actions. Or it could be vice versa. As if there was an imaginary mirror that reflected an image of mine down to each gesticulation and ambulation.
While on a business tour to Mumbai, I was in the lobby of the hotel I was to check-in and there was this lady in another corner of the lobby, both of us animatedly trying to reason with someone at respective ends of our mobile phones. I was not sure what her reasons were but I was very irritated with and howling at my admin staff who had not booked a room correctly for me.
I hung up after I found I can't do better than wait till noon to check in. It was just 10 yet. As if on cue, she had hung up same time too. We made eye contact and despite her rather haughty and snobbish demeanour we managed to exchange a smile.
Icebreaker Smoke
I proceeded to sit on the only sofa-set in the lobby as she too came and sat across me.
"What happened? Resolved?" I tried to empathize.
"F@#$%^ won't change at all." She used expletives straight from Delhi Belly script.
"What happened? Anything I can help with?" I tried to be courteous.
"No, thanks. All of you men are alike. And even these kids are such a pain you see." She said leaving me with no option for relief even if I consider myself as a kid at heart.
Even as I was offended by her former statement, I was more taken aback by her comment on kids. "But why kids?" I asked her.
Possibly she snubbed me but I thought she enquired of me, "Who are you?"
Even as I tried to be brief in my description of my corporate role and the hotel room problem, she interrupted me. "Care for a smoke?"
"No, thanks. I don't smoke. But you go ahead if you wish."
We walked across the lobby to outside parking area to let her smoke, as I tried to recall all the harmful effects of passive smoking. She was a chain smoker and smoked like a pro. In fact it proved to be the longest smoke break of my life and I did my quota of a year's passive smoking...hopefully more than a year's. I knew now why her voice had such heavy baritone.
Sheetal-Shocked.
"I am Sheetal. I work for a PR (Public Relations) company." As her smoke-rings drifted like soaring kites, I wondered to put together her caricature sketch in my mind. But she caught me gazing at her face.
"By the way, you must be thinking that now that you have me talking with you, you can sleep with me..huh?"
I was rather shocked already and this made me feel I was in wrong place and something ominous may happen.
"I think we dont know each other so its better we just go our ways." I made my intent obvious.
"Don't pretend. You liar. Men think only that"
The sheer audacity had me benumbed. Not that I wished to join issue with her anyway. Smartly dressed in jeans with a loose top, she proved me right. She was as conceited in her talk as she looked. I started to walk back. She stubbed out her smoking stick and followed me hurriedly.
"Look, I had a terrible night and then this kid early morning had me fuming. And now here I am stuck waiting for this f@#$%^. Huh! what a way to start the week."
"Its ok. Calm down. How old is your kid?"
"She is 4 but why doesn't she behave in front of hers?"
"Can't blame the kids. They are after all just kids.She craves her parents' attention. Since you both work, she must get her share of time when you come home" I rationalized.
As always, my assumptions so easily get questioned.
"Not both. I bring her up alone. My hubby works in Surat."
"That doesn't change your role as mother still."
"Listen, when you dont know, ask. Dont go on sermonizing. She knows she has to sleep in her room, then why doesn't she behave?"
"Kid of 4 and you both alone in a house at night. Why would she sleep alone?" It was not as if I ignored her charge on my making assumptions but only realize it soon.
"Piya has no business to act cranky when my friend comes over." Piya was her daughter's name.
I was still dumb. Sheetal had to be blunt to penetrate my dumbness to reach my head. She spoke and I listened.
Friendly encounters
Sheetal's friend, Adi had come over for a 'good' night with her and her daughter was not allowing both of them the privacy. Poor Piya. Since Samanth, Sheetal's husband, was away in Surat, Sheetal used to spend time with Adi over weekends. Yesterday, on Sunday, her daughter kept crying incessantly and knocking her room-door. Adi was pissed off with her intrusion (to me Adi was intruder in hapless child's life but who cares). I have reason to believe he hit Piya but Sheetal ducked the question. She says, they had to venture out at night, get Benadryl and buy some peace by 2 am.
I asked her why did she bother about a man who doesnt care for her kid. She said he looks after all her needs in absence of Samanth. She told me Samanth was a weak personality and was not even Piya's father. She further told me Samanth knew about Adi after he found Adi in her bed, in one surprise visit from Surat.
"Does Samanth send you money?"
"Yes. But not much."
"Does Adi pay you for the good time?"
Sheetal ignored my sarcasm. "He used to. But now its more like we both like to be with each other and he is the only one in this city who can help me when I need."
Sheetal was mad at her creche staff when we first saw each other an hour and a half back, because they called her in the morning to say, Piya was unable to stay in Creche as she was crying. Sheetal couldnt drop her business meeting and argued with staff to do their best to look after Piya.
Suddenly, a suave gentleman appeared and interjected our rather involved discussion. "Ma'am you can go."
She stood up to leave. "You are nice to know. I am sorry, I was rude to you. I got to go now as my client meeting is due but please call me when you get time. Would love to talk" She gave me her number and left.
I looked at my watch. Still 10 minutes to noon. I lumbered up to the front-desk. I looked at her number unaware of what was to come my way from that number when I was to call her.
(To be continued)
(Based on real incidents and personalities from my life. Names and identities changed to protect privacy. Based on feedback received, I have tried to keep the length of the post short, used subsections for easy breaks in flow for the reader and dropped sermonizing, at least till I can resist the temptation :-). Do let me know your views.)
One could easily mistake me to be mimicking her actions. Or it could be vice versa. As if there was an imaginary mirror that reflected an image of mine down to each gesticulation and ambulation.
While on a business tour to Mumbai, I was in the lobby of the hotel I was to check-in and there was this lady in another corner of the lobby, both of us animatedly trying to reason with someone at respective ends of our mobile phones. I was not sure what her reasons were but I was very irritated with and howling at my admin staff who had not booked a room correctly for me.
I hung up after I found I can't do better than wait till noon to check in. It was just 10 yet. As if on cue, she had hung up same time too. We made eye contact and despite her rather haughty and snobbish demeanour we managed to exchange a smile.
Icebreaker Smoke
I proceeded to sit on the only sofa-set in the lobby as she too came and sat across me.
"What happened? Resolved?" I tried to empathize.
"F@#$%^ won't change at all." She used expletives straight from Delhi Belly script.
"What happened? Anything I can help with?" I tried to be courteous.
"No, thanks. All of you men are alike. And even these kids are such a pain you see." She said leaving me with no option for relief even if I consider myself as a kid at heart.
Even as I was offended by her former statement, I was more taken aback by her comment on kids. "But why kids?" I asked her.
Possibly she snubbed me but I thought she enquired of me, "Who are you?"
Even as I tried to be brief in my description of my corporate role and the hotel room problem, she interrupted me. "Care for a smoke?"
"No, thanks. I don't smoke. But you go ahead if you wish."
We walked across the lobby to outside parking area to let her smoke, as I tried to recall all the harmful effects of passive smoking. She was a chain smoker and smoked like a pro. In fact it proved to be the longest smoke break of my life and I did my quota of a year's passive smoking...hopefully more than a year's. I knew now why her voice had such heavy baritone.
Sheetal-Shocked.
"I am Sheetal. I work for a PR (Public Relations) company." As her smoke-rings drifted like soaring kites, I wondered to put together her caricature sketch in my mind. But she caught me gazing at her face.
"By the way, you must be thinking that now that you have me talking with you, you can sleep with me..huh?"
I was rather shocked already and this made me feel I was in wrong place and something ominous may happen.
"I think we dont know each other so its better we just go our ways." I made my intent obvious.
"Don't pretend. You liar. Men think only that"
The sheer audacity had me benumbed. Not that I wished to join issue with her anyway. Smartly dressed in jeans with a loose top, she proved me right. She was as conceited in her talk as she looked. I started to walk back. She stubbed out her smoking stick and followed me hurriedly.
"Look, I had a terrible night and then this kid early morning had me fuming. And now here I am stuck waiting for this f@#$%^. Huh! what a way to start the week."
"Its ok. Calm down. How old is your kid?"
"She is 4 but why doesn't she behave in front of hers?"
"Can't blame the kids. They are after all just kids.She craves her parents' attention. Since you both work, she must get her share of time when you come home" I rationalized.
As always, my assumptions so easily get questioned.
"Not both. I bring her up alone. My hubby works in Surat."
"That doesn't change your role as mother still."
"Listen, when you dont know, ask. Dont go on sermonizing. She knows she has to sleep in her room, then why doesn't she behave?"
"Kid of 4 and you both alone in a house at night. Why would she sleep alone?" It was not as if I ignored her charge on my making assumptions but only realize it soon.
"Piya has no business to act cranky when my friend comes over." Piya was her daughter's name.
I was still dumb. Sheetal had to be blunt to penetrate my dumbness to reach my head. She spoke and I listened.
Friendly encounters
Sheetal's friend, Adi had come over for a 'good' night with her and her daughter was not allowing both of them the privacy. Poor Piya. Since Samanth, Sheetal's husband, was away in Surat, Sheetal used to spend time with Adi over weekends. Yesterday, on Sunday, her daughter kept crying incessantly and knocking her room-door. Adi was pissed off with her intrusion (to me Adi was intruder in hapless child's life but who cares). I have reason to believe he hit Piya but Sheetal ducked the question. She says, they had to venture out at night, get Benadryl and buy some peace by 2 am.
I asked her why did she bother about a man who doesnt care for her kid. She said he looks after all her needs in absence of Samanth. She told me Samanth was a weak personality and was not even Piya's father. She further told me Samanth knew about Adi after he found Adi in her bed, in one surprise visit from Surat.
"Does Samanth send you money?"
"Yes. But not much."
"Does Adi pay you for the good time?"
Sheetal ignored my sarcasm. "He used to. But now its more like we both like to be with each other and he is the only one in this city who can help me when I need."
Sheetal was mad at her creche staff when we first saw each other an hour and a half back, because they called her in the morning to say, Piya was unable to stay in Creche as she was crying. Sheetal couldnt drop her business meeting and argued with staff to do their best to look after Piya.
Suddenly, a suave gentleman appeared and interjected our rather involved discussion. "Ma'am you can go."
She stood up to leave. "You are nice to know. I am sorry, I was rude to you. I got to go now as my client meeting is due but please call me when you get time. Would love to talk" She gave me her number and left.
I looked at my watch. Still 10 minutes to noon. I lumbered up to the front-desk. I looked at her number unaware of what was to come my way from that number when I was to call her.
(To be continued)
(Based on real incidents and personalities from my life. Names and identities changed to protect privacy. Based on feedback received, I have tried to keep the length of the post short, used subsections for easy breaks in flow for the reader and dropped sermonizing, at least till I can resist the temptation :-). Do let me know your views.)
As a mother, i am a bit shocked to read this. Do women like this actually exist ? Shudder ! Please write the rest !
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