A Day in Her Life

“It’s cold outside”, she said. “You might want to wear a light sweater inside the house”. She knew he could not tolerate even a slight chill and he fell sick. She had always marveled at his unfailing health in the summer but come winter and he was miserable. It was strange for a man of his size and resistance to take ill after a minor cold front.

“Did I tell you the story of my distant cousin who used to convulse every time the temperature went below 50F? Well, he just couldn’t take it. Every time he got out he would feel cold and start shivering. A few minutes later, the shivering converted into convulsing. He took care of himself though. He avoided the cold season and timed his vacations to tropical countries during winter. On one such visit, he got such a severe rash; he had to visit three doctors to finally get it to stop itching. He has never set foot in any tropical country again. The poor boy!”

She was in the mood for a cup of coffee. So she got up and laid the milk on the burner to boil. She had always liked her coffee with milk and sugar. One cup of milk, one tablespoon of coffee and one spoon sugar, this was how she preferred her coffee. The coffee maker was no good for her. That machine was for lazy, immature people who could not even boil water without burning their hands. What fun is there in drinking coffee black-no milk or sugar? It just left a bitter taste in the mouth. What with all the bitterness around, does one need the coffee to be bitter too?

“Do you want some coffee? I am making a pot right now. You seem to be drinking less and less of that these days. Have you taken a fancy for tea? I don’t prefer it but I don’t mind making it for you. It would be lovely to have tea in those new teacups I bought. Did you notice the teacups which were laid out in the shop the other day? Oh, they were so beautiful! I wish I hadn’t bought my bone-china tea set last week. Then I could have bought the ones in the shop. They were also cheaper than the ones I purchased. I always see the good thing after I have bought something else….The milk is boiling over. I’ll be right back”

By the time she reached the stove, the milk was all over the counter-top. What a mess! She hated to keep the counter-top messy. She took out a dish cloth and started wiping the surface not minding her coffee would get cold. She remembered when she was in university how her roommates and she would go after dirt in the house like hound dogs. In those days, all she had to do was study and party.

“Remember one of the roommates I had”, she said. “The one who never lifted a finger to clean anything but would be ever ready to mess up the kitchen. The dishes lying all over the place, sometimes for more than a week. She drove me insane with her habits. I knew you stayed away from my house at that time because my house was dirty always. It bothered me so much. I used to give out hints of the house being messy, the kitchen being a nightmare. But, somehow she never understood what I said. Maybe, she just wasn’t a cleanliness freak like me. She was a nice person. She just did not practice good housekeeping.” She rose to fluff the pillows in his favorite chair. She was always amazed at the unusual way he sat. The cushions were always messed up. No matter how many times she admonished him, he never changed. She smiled thinking how he was no different than the roommate.

“Do you remember the time when we had dinner at the new place in town? I can’t recall its name but it served good Chinese food. We had created such a racket there once. Was it you who challenged me? Oh no, it was my roommate I think. Yes, it was her. She made a bet with me that I cannot get a free lunch out of that place. They were just perfect in everything-the way the food was made, how it was served, the service of the place, the prices, just about everything was right with the place. I devised an evil plan where I claimed that they put meat in my vegetarian salad. Of course, they were sorry and I got that meal on the house. My roommate was furious and jealous at the same time. She was furious because I had won the bet and jealous because I got a free meal out of it. But I somehow, never liked what I did. Granted, I was young and stupid, but, what I did never seemed right. Then there was this other time, I painted mustaches on all my roommates in the night. Now, that was fun. It was hilarious to see them all in the morning. I just couldn’t stop laughing for hours. Oh, I keep remembering all the unimportant details of days gone by.”

She rose and crossed the room to close the windows. The wind was chilly and she had started shivering. She might as well start cooking. It was getting late and he might feel hungry in another hour. “So what would you like to eat today? Nothing fancy but I was planning on making some vegetables to go with rice. Does it sound good to you? I know you never have an opinion. See, now that’s something which has always bothered me. How you never voice an opinion. I have always wondered what goes on in that head of yours, because you never say. God knows, how your mother must have managed you when you were a kid.” She laid out the peas, carrots, beans and the cauliflower on the kitchen counter. She began to cut them into small pieces and pureed the tomatoes so that she could make gravy to put them into. “Last night, the neighbor’s dog was howling away for God-knows-what. I was worried it will disturb your sleep but you seemed to be sleeping like a log. I got up to get a glass of water and went outside to check what was wrong. The dog was just scared to be left alone outside. After all, it’s only a year old. I kept it company from our side of the fence for sometime. Then I started feeling cold and came inside. The dog did not seem to mind. It did not cry the whole night.” She opened the tap to rinse the vegetables. There was a loud knock at the door at that moment. She looked at the clock and knew it was the mailman then went to open the door.

“Hello ma’am. How are you today?” he asked. “I heard you were talking to somebody. Are you having company today?” “No”, she said, “I was just talking to my husband. I was telling him about my late-night adventures.” He gave her an odd look and handed her her mail. Then bidding goodbye, he left. From outside, he could hear her conversation with her husband who has been dead for nearly ten years. He shook his head and slowly moved on. Inside, she continued to do her normal routine activities like cooking for two, laying out two plates and having every-day conversations with her husband.