A Busy Day

Devi looked imperial in her diamonds. The stones set in an exquisite platinum casing sparkled in the morning sunlight, such that the room seemed to brighten up with the light it reflected. Holding the toast with her fingertips, she bit a tiny piece off its edge, as if she was wary of the crumbs sticking to her perfectly manicured fingers. 

"I told her it's not possible on a weekday." She addressed her husband who was busy tucking in the cheese sandwich as if there was no tomorrow, and washed it down with orange juice. 

"I fixed it for Saturday. You are free, right?" She was used to having a one-sided conversation, as the husband was a wise man and knew when to keep his mouth shut. He merely looked at Monika and pointed towards his empty glass. The glass was promptly filled with juice. 

"I am going to the club for a quick game of tennis. Then I will be meeting the ladies from the Society for lunch. And Sheena's coming down for tea. It's going to be a busy day." Devi soon got lost in thought, weighing the pros and cons of wearing the red dress for lunch, and whether or not it will match her diamonds. Meanwhile, Monika placed a cup of hot steaming coffee in front of her, and quietly cleared the half eaten toast. Monika waited on the couple till they finished their breakfast. Presently they got up, nodded a silent goodbye to each other and went their separate ways. 

Monika took a deep breath and relaxed her tense muscles. She waited for a minute, lest either of them return to give a final piece of instruction. Then she moved softly but quickly to clear the table of the expensive cutlery and the leftovers. The big tray, piled high, was transferred to the wash area. She then returned to wipe the table, leaving it so spotlessly clean, that it was hard to believe it was chock-a-block with spoons, forks and whatnot a few minutes ago.

Monika then turned her attention towards the delicate cutlery with elaborate design. She handled them as gently as a newborn baby. As she was wiping them dry, Swamy poked his head into the wash area enquiring if she was done, so they could eat something. 

"Come quickly. I'm so hungry I could eat the whole pantry," Swamy exclaimed as his head popped back in. Monika smiled. Swamy was always hungry, and his being the cook seemed a cruel joke. 

They had piping hot tea, freshly made, and the toast that was left untouched by Madam. The hot teacup enclosed in Monika's cold fingers gave her a feeling of warm reassurance. As she wouldn't eat anything in morning, this frugal breakfast felt like heaven. 

"You are sure she's not coming for lunch, right?" Swamy spoke in between mouthfuls of toast and tea. "Last week, she had something planned for lunch, but cancelled it at the eleventh hour, and was cross that lunch wasn't ready when she returned home. I had gotten so tense that day. One more word from her mouth and I would have stormed out."

Monika reached for another cup of tea. This golden liquid was the fuel on which she would run herself, and Swamy made the best tea, even better than hers. She ran through the list of to-dos in her mind, arranged them in order of priority, and reminded herself to be extra careful with the ironing today. She had left a few creases on Sir's shirt yesterday and had to redo it, causing her to fall back on her schedule. This led to a ripple effect and she missed her usual bus. By the time she reached home, the kids were impatient with hunger. 

"So what did you cook for dinner yesterday?" Swamy asked. Conversations with Swamy always revolved around food. 

"Nothing much, roti and tomato curry," Monika remembered her son saying that he would like to eat cauliflower curry, and she promised to cook it on the first of coming month. That was the only day of the month when she could cook her children's favourite food. Her salary would disappear in the next two days, then they would wait for the first of the next month to eat something good. Monika wished this cycle would break at least once, but found it was impossible, as money was always in short supply. She was the only breadwinner after her husband's death. Having had practically no formal education, this was the only job she could find. 

Dragging herself back to the present, Monika cleared the teacups. Today she had to wash the bedspreads of both the guestrooms. She quickly put them in the washing machine, so that as soon as it is done, she could put the daily laundry in too. Meanwhile she wanted to finish mopping and dusting.

The study cum office was her first stop. As a rule, she wouldn't touch anything on the table. She dusted the bookshelves, and as she did, she remembered how Sir had given her money to buy books at the beginning of the school year. She had thought he would say that money for those would be cut from her salary, but he didn't. Sir is a generous man, though he doesn't allow any leniency in terms of work. She also cleaned the wide windowpane from top to bottom. Sir wanted it done everyday, for he likes it to be spotlessely transparent.

She arranged the cushions neatly on the sofa. She had wanted to ask Madam for any old clothes, even torn ones will do. She wanted to make a pillow or two, had some rags herself, but they weren't enough. But now that Madam had gone out, she will have to wait till tomorrow.  

The master bedroom was the room that always took up most of her time. Making the bed, arranging the half a dozen pillows on the bed, and organizing Madam's dressing table with the numerous make-up items and knick-knacks was a time consuming job. Unlike Sir, Madam wanted Monika to arrange everything, for she herself found doing so very tiresome.

On the dressing table was the empty jewelry case from which Madam had taken out the diamond set she wore today. Monika, like any other woman, couldn't resist the shine of diamonds. They were so pretty, so dazzling, so mesmerising, that Monika fell in love with them at first sight! But Monika was a very practical person. She knew that the cost of those diamonds was worth a lifetime's salary. Her motto in life was to never dream of that which was beyond her reach; the diamonds too were beyond her reach. She had come to terms with the fact that she belonged to the poorer section of society. She took a deep breath and exhaled loudly, as if forcing out some unwanted thoughts out of her system.

 At last, the room was dusted, mopped and set in order. Monika attacked the bathroom, and found the mirror splattered with shaving cream. Why couldn't Sir be a bit more careful for cleaning the mirror everyday is becoming a task. She arranged the bottles of shampoos, conditioners, bodywashes, and noticed that their number seemed to have multiplied. She wondered how many shampoos can a person use at a single time. Her thoughts went to her daughter who had asked her to buy a bottle of shampoo, a request she had sidestepped. 

Monika washed up everything and on her way out picked up the laundary. The guestrooms were a breeze. The living and dining room was to be tackled with greater care. Madam had told her that she's expecting a guest in the evening for tea, so everything had to be perfectly placed. Monika took her time dusting the items that ranged from bronze to glass. It was made clear to her on the first day of job that if anything broke, or even had as much as a cracked, the money would be recovered from her. Money was a scarce commodity and she couldn't afford to loose any to carelessness.

In between, she had gone to dry the bedspreads, and refilled the machine with second round of laundry. It took her another hour to clean the living and dining room. Meanwhile a delicious aroma of cake was spreading through the house. Swamy was baking cakes on Madam's order. Madam had spent close to forty minutes in the morning discussing menu for the evening tea. 

Monika was tired. But before she could sit down, she had to check on the washing machine. She dried the second batch of laundry, while a big pile of previous day was ready to be folded and ironed. But they will have to wait, for lunchtime beckoned. They would bring their lunch from home, and Monika would feel ashamed when Swamy would insist on sharing. His lunch always seemed better than her plain food. Swamy didn't bother though, for he loved food too much to criticize it. 

After lunch, it was time to do the dishes that Swamy had so lovingly placed in a pile that almost touched the roof. Monika shook her head. Someone had to teach Swamy how to use utensils judiciously. Another hour passed by. Now to the folding and ironing. She was careful today and cross checked for any creases that were left behind. The ironing was finished just in time, for she heard Madam's car drive in. 

Devi did a quick look around and found all in order and as per her satisfaction. "Good," she aimed a little nod of acknowledgement towards Monika. 

Devi's friend Sheena dropped by. The ladies talked of this and that. Monika stood in attendance, serving them and clearing dishes, all at the same time. She couldn't help but notice that Madam's friend seemed more flashy. Perhaps she had more money to burn. 

Swamy had finished his work and was preparing to leave. He asked if she wanted him to wait for her, but Monika told him to go ahead. After washing the last batch of dishes and cleaning up the kitchen one last time, she was ready to wrap up for the day. "Will that be all, Madam? Thank you, Madam." Devi waved a hand in response.

She waited at the bus stop. As she sat there in the enveloping darkness, she had a recurring thought. Poverty is unforgiving. It's like a huge beast, that won't think twice before it tramples you under its feet. It outruns you in every race. You end up feeling like the locomotive which is always followed by the carriages; you try hard to get away, yet it keeps following you.

Monika let out a sign. She closed her eyes and fought a quick battle within. When she opened her eyes, she was ready to call it a day. Now all she wanted was to meet her kids with a smile, reminding herself that her highest earning and her biggest treasure were her kids. 

Tomorrow was going to be yet another busy day.