Best-Laid Plans ...the Concluding part

…and started reading out the list of all the goodies that she loved so much, to the salesperson of the local departmental store. Within minutes she was making her favourite brand of 2-Minute noodles while nibbling away at her favourite brand of Chocolates. She hummed her favourite song and did a li’l jig as she stocked her refrigerator with varieties of cheese, chocolates, cans of condensed milk…
The next morning she woke up to the sound of the doorbell. It was the maid. She hurriedly washed the dishes of last night and picked up the clothes that were strewn all over the room. She went on blabbering to an uninterested Maya as she went on doing her chores. Then she mentioned her plans to go for her annual visit to her village, and promised that her friend Praveena would come in instead of her.
It was 10.a.m already. Maybe she could have a quick brunch. Time for some yummy upma. Harsh always preferred chapattis or parathas, and by the time she finished making his favourite breakfast, she was too tired to cater to her own tastes. She rummaged around in her refrigerator looking for ‘rawa/suji’ and met with no success. After a while, she gave up and settled for a packet of potato wafers along with a yummy cheese dip.
The very thought that she was realizing her dream of spending time alone got her into a euphoric mood. She plonked onto her chair in front of her computer. Pangs of guilt hit her as she gorged on those greasy crispies. She was already fighting a losing battle with the bulge and..’Oh never mind! I’ll do what I want now and worry about it later. She entered a Chat room and typed away furiously at the keyboard. She had just made friends with an Armenian guy. She seemed excited as he started teaching her a few basic of Armenian. She munched away at her chips as she regaled him with facts about India. It was a while before she could even glance at the clock. It was late in the afternoon and she realized that she hadn’t even bathed or combed her hair yet. She shrugged her shoulders and smiled, “Who cares anyway?”
She looked longingly at the bed and stretched out for an afternoon siesta. Oh what luxury! She woke up 3 hours later to the shrill ringing of the telephone. It was her husband who had called to inform her that they had reached safely. He was still sour about the whole thing. ‘He’ll come around, sooner or later’, she said to herself and went back to her dreams. She could do what she wanted to without having anyone around to ‘tell her off’.
Dinner was hot cheese chilly toast and chocolate milkshake. Over dinner, she made a mental list of things that she always wanted to do but never had the time to.
1. Reading books.
2. Watching T.V
3. Surfing the net.
4. Go shopping with her best friend (wait a minute! There was no best friend anymore..not after the tiff they had last month) Never mind! I can always go by myself.
5. Get lots of sleep.
6. Get lotssssssssssssssssssssssssss of sleep.
7. Pamper yourself silly..
8. Write a post everyday.
9. Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeep…

She woke up late next morning and took a swig from the milk carton in the refrigerator. Darn! The new maid hadn’t turned up! She muttered a few oaths under her breath and then aloud as she remembered there was no one around to hear her. She decided not to bother with the dishes or the grubby clothes. If the maid didn’t show up tomorrow, she would do them herself or look around for another help. Sigh! So much for her vacation!
She was starved. Time for some yummylicious ‘kheer’. She added dollops of ghee to the pan, threw in some dry fruits and had her favourite dish ready in no time. This evening she planned to order for pizza…
There was so much work to be done- making new posts and now was the time to start those recipe and photoblogs which she had always dreamed of. She sat hunched over the computer..
And so it continued day after day..
Days culminated into weeks. but who was counting? She simply lost track of time…she was busy, busy having the time of her life!!! The dishes in the sink were increasing day by day, there was nothing in the laundry though…. Who cared anyway? It was just her in the house and she didn’t mind the mess. She had always preferred a lived in appearance to those spic and span houses (which was a good idea for her next post). She typed furiously on the Notepad and made her first draft. There was so much work to be done- making new posts and now was the time to start those recipe and photoblogs which she had always dreamed of. She had always secretly prided at being a good photographer. Her old photographs gave her enough material to last for a lifetime.

A month later…

Her husband called up to say that he had been sent on an assignment to Chennai for a month, so Shivam would stay back with his cousins and granny, and he would pick them up on his way home. She asked to speak to her son. Shivam came panting to the phone to say a quick, ‘Hello Mom’ before rushed out to play with his cousins. No one missed her, not even her own flesh and blood she thought ruefully. Two big tears rolled down her cheeks as she squeezed her eyes shut. She shrugged off her feelings and decided not to let a petty incident ruin her holiday. She decided to make the best out of the next month. She called up her workplace to extend her leave for another month. A few minutes and conversations later, she was free...for another month.
She had one more reason to be happy. Her site had just crossed 10000 hits!!! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! She hit the keyboard and was back to blogging with a vengeance.
A week went by and then two, three, four…and then, one morning….
She woke up to the sound of the doorbell. She gathered her still asleep self to the door and opened it!
Surprise surprise!! There stood her hubby and kid. (Had a month gone by already? She had certainly lost track of time!!)
She came back to the present and opened the door widely and held her arms wide open, waiting for her son to rush into them..she waited… when he hesitated, she pulled him close waiting for the first human touch she would have in two months. Nothing could have prepared her for what happened next! Shivam screamed out loud and clung to his father.
She didn’t understand. She looked up to see her hubby who was clearly looking repulsed…she was stunned! What was going on here? She bent down to take the bags from his hands, but he wasn’t letting her take them. He gave the house a appalled look and said,’ we’ll be back in two days. I hope you will clean up the house by then’. And was gone..
She still didn’t understand. Scratching her head away, she looked around the house. For the first time in two months she noticed the stench…the tiny million roaches crawling away on the floor..on the sofa..the kitchen..the sink..thousands of plates with decaying food on them..the cupboard…..it was then that she looked into the mirror. At first, she couldn’t recognize the huge shapeless gray figure, with a hairstyle that would put the scariest ghost to shame. She shuddered with repulsion..
She sat down with her hands on her head! Oh! What had she done..rather..not done.. she was in the very clothes that she had been wearing when they had left. Her skin had turned shades of gooey gray. Her hair …She hadn’t bathed or combed her hair..she didn’t remember brushing her teeth either… she started sobbing.. a roach peeped out of her sleeve to see what was happening. With a start, she brushed it away and rose to walk towards the bathroom. ‘It isn’t too late’. she consoled herself. She would first clean up the hall and make it presentable and then…
She switched on the geyser to get water ready for her bath...she even had to do something about her weight…and…she would get a few insect sprays ...and…2 loud knocks brought her out of her reverie. It was a sound alert from her computer to tell her that some friend had just come online.. ‘Let me just peep to see who it is. I have just enough time to say a quick ‘hello’ before my bath water is ready’. She took her position in front of the computer and sent the friend her favourite smiley.. and then…got up from her place to turn off the tap before the water could flood her bathroom..
‘I still have two days before they come back….’, was the last thought she had before she went back to her chair in front of the computer…
The End