She is quite efficient, or at least that’s how she likes to see herself; though Boss doesn’t agree. She remembers how she left her regular office job to take up this, the housekeeper’s work. After two kids, she thought this was something she could do while keeping an eye on them.
However, it turned out to be quite a task. She wasn’t so good at it. In fact, come to think of it, she was just about average. Boss didn’t like that; being a perfectionist himself, ignoring goof-ups didn’t come easy and she bore the brunt of his anger afterwards.
Only yesterday before leaving for a meeting in a town close by, he had given her a list of chores to be done on a daily basis, just so she didn’t miss out on anything. She had looked at the list and wondered to herself how this busy man took the time out of his schedule to do this for her.
Anyway, she sees this as an opportunity to change his opinion about her forever. After sending her kids to school, she sets about working according to Boss’ list. So she tidies his pooja. Then she rummages through the fridge and the fruit bowl to check if anything’s going stale or wilting. Boss likes every fruit or vegetable to have that just-plucked-off-the-tree look. Never mind if it was bought a week ago. So she checks, reminding herself to give the wilting spinach leaves and a few oranges to the security guard downstairs.
Then she goes through the newspaper in detail to check if any discount sales are being held this weekend. She is also supposed to scan them, compare the prices being offered at different stores and list them out against her list of grocery items needed. Boss always shops over the weekend so she is supposed to keep that ready for him.
Once that’s done, she sets about mopping the house, making the beds, cooking and taking a shower. Usually Boss drops in for lunch but today she doesn’t have to worry as he will return by late evening. Today, she almost feels like a free bird. She just needs to fix something for her kids and herself. And the three of them aren’t so rigid about meals, unlike Boss. But then, where’s the comparison? They come from different worlds; Boss and she.
She is going by the list she had got and so far, has fared well. She fixes their lunch and gets down to cooking for dinner. Boss isn’t home for lunch so the dinner better be good!
Yesterday, a part-time maid had come __ she comes once a week __ to help her with more heavy duty work like cleaning the toilets, changing bed sheets and ironing. So Boss’ clothes are sorted. Everything is washed, ironed or folded and put away in his cupboard.
Then she leaves for school to fetch her kids. Once they come, she gets her well-deserved break from housework. Boss knows it, she is not doing it on the sly, and he has allowed her to as well, because she can lie down and help her kids with their homework at the same time.
By evening, girls from other households have started messaging her, asking her to come out for a walk. She goes through her list again. Cook: Done; Clean the house: Done; Light an incense stick: Done; Boss’ stuff in its place irrespective of where he left it: Done; Fridge, kitchen and toiletries checked for weekend shopping: Done.
She looks at herself in the mirror; Boss doesn’t like her looking shabby. “You represent me when you step out. So…” he had said.
Oh! Just as she is about to leave__her kids have gone ahead to play outside __ she remembers one chore she hasn’t done at all! She was supposed to empty his ashtray that sat on the patio table. Grumbling to herself she peers through the glass door that opens onto the patio and sees just one cigarette stub in the ashtray. “No! I’ve done enough for the day. Surely, one chore not done out of a list of about 30 won’t be such a big deal! Boss is a considerate man, he will be happy about the progress I made,” she tells herself.
So she steps out and spends an hour yapping with her friends while they pretend to be walking and keeping an eye on the kids who are also out playing.
As the street lights come on, the three of them return home and she notices Boss’ car parked in the garage. So he’s back! Why didn’t he call me to say so? She wonders. But who is she to ask? May be he was too busy to call.
There’s a spring in her walk as they rush home. She walks in, smiling, wanting to tell him how productive her day has been. He is out in the balcony, smoking. She reaches there almost at the same time as her kids who are yelling “Papa, you’re back!”
The three of them embrace and she waits to be drawn into this family hug when he lifts an eyebrow and goes: “You forgot to clean out my ashtray, didn’t you?” As she stands there wondering how to react, he adds: “Don’t make excuses about how busy you have been. One thing I tell you to do and you cannot remember even that! What do you do all day?”
She turns around and walks back inside, ruing the day she had started calling her husband Boss and he had started acting like one.
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