Comedy of Confusions

6. Minax: Monarchs, Slaves

"Sam scared away your first date" Cheney had tears in his eyes. He laughed clutching his stomach. It had been days that they had caught up.

"Scared is an understatement. These days the guy runs away if he spots me anywhere close to 100 meters around him.At this rate, my company will need to rent a neighboring office building to make room for both of us under the same roof." Minax sounded crestfallen "Perhaps it was never meant to be, how else did Sam of all the people in this world, turn up mid morning near my office at the same bloody cafe I happened to be? Looks like my wish for a boyfriend will remain unfulfilled." Minax could almost laugh at her predicament.

Cheney felt bad for her. Not that he approved of her quest for a boyfriend. It was just that her happiness mattered to him. She was his rock, his strongest bond. And he only wished her the very best. He tried to comfort her with distraction. "Forget it, it will happen when it happens." He dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "How is work?"

She brightened momentarily "Work? Hmmm" A tiny twinkle returned in her eyes, so did a small smile."I guess it is good. Pretty much filling in for Nandini ma'am on the WIP project. No increment, any way our organization is flat, so no promotions, but no bonus but all the extra work. Strangely I kind of like it. Extra hours and I am primary point of contact for the whole project. It feels powerful to be a sort of mini boss."

"So you have been bitten by the bug, finally". Cheney smiled knowingly.

"Bug?" Minax was puzzled.

"The bug, the one that drives us to do well, that keeps people like Sam, your beloved Nandini ma'am, working for 20 hours a day, happily at that."

"The overachievers. You are no less.. And I am nowhere close,10-12 hours and I go mad. Whatever the bug is, I will choose to stay away. My agenda is clear and it was o.k till Nandini ma'am was around. "

"I totally forgot about her. How is she now and the baby?" Cheney stopped laughing.

"She is on her sabbatical. Baby is ok. She is as good or as bad as she is considering she is still pregnant."

"It's a scary situation." Cheney looked away focusing on nothing in particular, just lost in some thoughts... the look of a lost boy was back on his face.

"It is perhaps scary to you because you know what is happening. Right? For us non-doctors, it is less scary. As they say, ignorance is bliss." Minax carelessly dangled her legs from the kitchen counter top while Cheney stood in front of the stove stirring his pot of simmering almond Kheer.

"But the patient is aware of something usual going on in his or her body. The fear is real. I see that every day.." Cheney stopped stirring and slipped into somber thoughts. Minax silently picked up the spoon to stir the pot silently. It was an experience she could not share nor did she want to share. She had to respect Cheney and doctors like him. It was not easy to see what they saw and yet show up to work the next day as if everything was o.k. She had seen Cheney grow into it. The first case where the outcome was not positive affected him for days. But now it affected him much less. Occasionally, he would get emotional about one of his patients. It was one such occasion.

"You know my new boss?" Minax forced a smile continuing to stir the pot. "He is Made in America Superhero Krish to the Rescue"

Cheney cast an empty look at Minax.

"I said I report to my CEO directly now. The greatest, one and only made in America and he is superhero Krish" Minax repeated dramatically. Her effervescence rubbed off on Cheney finally.

"Really? Does he wear a cape or underwear over his clothes? " Cheney got back to the stove and Minax handed the spoon back to him and he started stirring the pot of kheer again.