We are on vacation. We are dressing by turn in our AirBnb.
My mother takes out our clothes. She irons out the creases. She hangs them at the bathroom door. She
budgets well, that is why she said “I’ll do the cooking”, so she does the
cooking. She measures out Rice, watches it boil while chopping up garlic and
ginger. She stirs the sambar she got for free from the Indian Deli. She hands
my Father his glasses. She calls out my name, thinking I am asleep. I do not Stir.
She is rinsing the dishes. She packs dry lunch that she knew “would last us the
trip”. She budgets well, that is why she said “I’ll do the cooking”, so she spent the day before our trip chopping, frying, rolling, roasting.
She hands my Brother’s hand outstretched from the bathroom,
a towel. My Father asks for his Medicines. She puts tea to boil and asks him “to
take it out of the blue suitcase”. He cannot find it. She steps over the bags
in disarray and hands him his medicine, taken out with a Clean Sweep. She asks
him to watch the tea. The tea is about to boil over. My Father does not know how
to turn the stove off. He tells my mother “I don’t know how to turn this off.”
My mother steps over The bags in disarray and turns off the stove. She calls
out my name, thinking I am asleep. I draw the Covers Closer.
She pours out his tea in a mug and passes it to him. My Father
sees his WhatsApp messages. Bored, he lifts his spectacles and turns to my mother’s
messages. He tells her that her Father has sent her a message. She asks what
about as she takes out detergent. My Father tells her what it is about, but she
is half-listening. She calls out my name, thinking I am asleep, and tells me to
“Go bathe after bhaiyya”. She calls out my Brother’s name, noticing that the
shower has gone silent, and tells him to leave his clothes so that she can wash
it. My Brother paces out, says
“Fast Fast Fast get ready Fast”
To me and that is when I Finally Disembark from the little
attic I was sleeping in.
Half an hour later, my mother is waiting for my Brother and Father
to leave so that she can change her clothes for our vacation. She wears her
jeans, blue top, and begins putting away the blue bags in disarray. She tells
me “Go downstairs and tell them I am coming” before borrowing my earrings and
kajal and lipstick. As I leave the door, she is brushing out her hair. I climb down
the flight of stairs to meet my Brother fuming. “We are FIFTEEN minutes late!”
My mother follows in two minutes, carrying the boxes of
lunch she made earlier. My Brother turns to my mother and
Scowls.
“What Took You
So LONG?"
My Mother says nothing.
