Meenakshi walked into a dark kitchen the next morning . She wondered where Ammu was , and gave a startled gasp as she looked at the clock . In another ten minutes , Kripa would be down for his breakfast , the lunch boxes need to be packed , she worked in

a flustered frenzy . “Am I coming down one hour later than usual every day ? Had Ammu been managing on her own all the while ?” , she wondered as she chopped the cabbage , and the pressure cooker shrieked a loud whistle of acquiescence , making her realise her folly .

Ammu heard the clang of steel emerging from the kitchen . She walked down slowly , feeling the breeze breathe in her fragrance even as it clawed her hair , like a naughty child . She smiled at her reflection , she looked like her old self , her faded denim had staged an appearance and so had the blow dried hair held back with a large clip , swinging like the tail of a pony . She felt like a rebellious mare , but harboured no ill feel .

She walked into the kitchen and began to help out Meenakshi . Meenakshi smiled a radiant smile of welcome which echoed several shades of relief . Ammu grinned back and busied herself with the work on hand .

Swathi was to spend a week with her parents . Jaya and Ishwar dropped her off on their way to the office . Meenakshi and Ammu had a lot of free time . “Cinema , shall we go watch a film ?” , Meenakshi suggested . Ammu was in no mood to go out , but she did not want to disappoint her aunt . So off they went to the nearest theatre .

The tickets were already sold out , and they were about to go home , when a woman came to them . “Akka , do you want tickets ? I will sell you the tickets , I want twenty rupees more for each ticket .” , she spoke softly . “Being a woman , how can you do such a thing ?” , Meenakshi asked her . “I have children to feed , what my husband earns is not enough to feed all of us . Others charge double , but I am asking only twenty more .” , she whined and they gave in , on humanitarian grounds .

Inside the theatre , they searched for their seats and found that they were in the middle of the middle row . They were sandwiched between men , and the man next to Meenakshi was issuing loud offensive beer burps . She was very scared and covered her back and shoulders with her pallu and looked at Ammu in agony . “Come let us go !”, Ammu rose , but she pushed her down into the seat , “Forty extra rupees , why should we go away ? We will ask the staff to exchange our seats .”. She waved her hand at the boy with a torch. “Thambi , can you change our seats ?”, she asked . The boy looked around and understood their predicament .He shifted them to another row .

They managed to see the movie , braving the bawls of a child, the shouts of its irritated mother , the stench of wet nappies and the whistles and claps of the college students sitting in the row behind them .

They came out happy that the generator had been switched on time , the movie had not stretched to beyond three hours . As they shared the stale popcorn -a peace offering and walked into the lounge , they realized it was not just raining, but pouring outdoors .

It was difficult to say whether the Gods had conspired to make them miserable that day or whether the Gods were jealous of their camaraderie , for it rained heavier , the drops pitter-pattered on the glass of the lounge and there was no place to sit , the wash room stank and so did the lounge . Still the bored and frustrated people purchased all the food available in the canteen , Ammu could not buy a bottle of water , because there was no more water left . “Water water everywhere , not a drop to drink.”, she thought as she dialled Jaya’s number . “Beast , we are stuck at Ratan Mahal talkies and it is pouring cats and dogs , can you pick us up on the way home ?”, she asked him politely and thanked him profusely as he agreed to do so .

That night for the first time the pizza delivery boy delivered two large pizzas , garlic bread and three bottles of soft drink .

Kripa , Jaya and Ammu enjoyed the food , Meenakshi was a sport and ate a slice of pizza.

But Ishwar made them listen to his opinion as he ate , he wanted to make it clear that he did not endorse the idea of a frequent pizza dinner .

“Garlic bread! Garlic is not satvic . And pizza is made of maida , the same as white bread , it will clog our intestines and stay there , blocking other things from being purged out.

And the price ! What a hungama for a circular piece of bread .”, he ws venting as he cut free his third slice of pizza . “Is it so difficult for two women to cook us some rice , poriyal , pachadi , and rasam ?”, he asked as he picked the olives and put them aside on his plate . “Huh ?” , he looked at Ammu waiting for an answer .

“Not difficult ,just boring .”, Ammu answered cheekily as she ate her second slice of pizza .

Jaya glared at her , but she looked back at him with mischief dancing in her eyes ..

Ishwar chomped on his slice as he chewed his thoughts .


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