Canvas

Chapter 1

"Dhalia, can you help me? I'm in my bathroom trying to put my teeth in and I can't find the paste!" Bibi cries at the top of her lungs.

"Bibi, either turn up your hearing aid or stop yelling! Anyway, I'm here!"

I rummage through her drawer and find the denture glue, right where I left it last night. I grimace in grossness as I apply it to her teeth.

"I tried making it louder but this is as high as it goes. Look!"

She pulls out the wax-encrusted device and holds it up. I back away a few steps to try and control my nausea.

"I'll see if we have the budget for new batteries but those are expensive. You might have to make do as is for a while. Besides, at eighty-two, everyone should be listening to you instead of the other way around!"

"I might have to WHAT?"

"Bibi, please stop shouting! The last time you shrieked at me like this the people across the hall called 9-1-1 thinking that you were in some kind of trouble!"

"Oh, is that why the people in the park rushed over and pried open the outside door? I thought they were excited to try some of my fresh Jalebi!"

"No Bibi they thought you were being attacked."

"Well that explains the concern that was on their faces. Why did they end up laughing then?"

"Because just as the boys were smashing through the door to save you, I was coming out of the shower!"

Bibi throws back her head and laughs heartily.

"That's right but there is something that I can't remember. Were you naked? Some of those boys were rather cute..."

"BIBI!"

"Stop blushing, Pothi. Your cheeks get all blotchy!"

She then turns to me and strokes my face affectionately with her hands. I immediately feel my body slacken and my brain goes into some kind of trance. "Boys quickly become men and having a good one at your side is nothing to sneer at."

"Well then, what about Brian? Are you going to start dating him? Who cares if he's twenty years younger! You guys get along so well!"

"Dhalia, we've been through this a million times. How can I date a man when I am still married to your grandfather?"

"But Bibi, Dada has been dead for ten years."

"That is a minor detail. Your grandfather and I don't worry about such things. We know what matters most."

How can I argue with that?

She then reaches out and grabs me by my shoulders, pulling me against her chest. I practically suffocate as she continues.

"I am so excited to one day arrange your marriage, just like I did for your mother. You are so beautiful, Dhalia. Just like her. I wish she and your father were here to see you all grown up."

Tears well up in her eyes as she pushes me away. She then turns my body to the right and forces me to stare at my reflection in the mirror.

"Look at you! Your high cheekbones come alive when you are happy and I swear that there is no smile in India to compare to yours. Your eyes are so deep and soulful that all of the oceans could fall into them. Your skin is perfect, like the sun kissed it while you fell from heaven! You have all the poise, innocence and grace of the most beautiful cows. Nobody compares to you, Dhalia!"

"Bibi, you just called me a COW!"

"Stop being so North American! There is no greater compliment that I can pay and you know it!