Mixed Masala

Chapter 8

It was the 31st of August, the Malaysian Independence Day, and Lakshmi Devraj and her husband were in Kuala Lumpur for a week to visit with their children.

Raj had been commuting on and off between Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur for the past several weeks, even venturing as far north as Langkawi for a weekend with three of his closest buddies. But now, it was almost that time of the year when he would have to head back to London to continue his studies. He was due to leave on the 7th of September, exactly one week away. He had accompanied his parents to KL two days before and they were all staying with Jayashree and Ravi until Raj left for London.

"Why can't you come stay with us too?" Jayashree had asked her younger sister. And although Meera did not relish the idea of taking so much time to travel back and forth from work, she didn't want to miss out on "family time" either, especially with Raj whom she would not see again until he returned the following June. So, Meera had readily agreed to stay with her sister, her brother-in-law, her brother and her parents for a short while.

"I must be out of my mind," she thought to herself, but she had to admit that she was always the happiest when she was with them. There really is nothing like family, she told herself. You can't live without them, and God knows you can never seem to get rid of them.

This Sunday evening, the Devraj clan had invited Shanker and Sarala Nair, Vidhya's parents, over for dinner. Ravi's parents had only just left for their annual trip to India, otherwise, the invitation would have included them too. Ravi's two brothers were both living in Australia and his only sister had just had her fourth baby ten days ago.

"Everyone is either away or in confinement," Ravi grumbled referring to the month long "house arrest" that Indian women are forced to endure after giving birth. "Just once, it would be nice if somebody from my side of the family actually showed up."

It was close to six o'clock and Jayashree was happily lazing on the bed while Ravi was rummaging through their walk-in closet looking for a black T-shirt.

"Maybe you could call Sujatha and invite her over," Jayashree said, her eyes twinkling. "She's from your side of the family." Jayashree's belly was beginning to show plainly now but thankfully, her nausea seemed to have vanished. "Even if she can't make it, maybe Suresh can," she added.

Ravi sighed. "I thought you were on Meera's side on this? Has your mother finally managed to turn you to the dark side?" His wife made a face at him as he added, "Why can't you Devrajs leave my family alone? Isn't one poor suffering soul enough?"

He pulled out a black T-shirt, then threw it down on the floor and continued his search.

"That was a black T-shirt, wasn't it?" Jayashree asked, feeling slightly annoyed at the mess her husband was creating.

"Yes, but it isn't the one I want," Ravi said.

"Hmm ... Maybe I can help," his wife said getting up and joining him. "What does your black T-shirt look like?"

Ravi sighed. "Black." He suddenly laughed and put his arms around his wife. "You look beautiful, by the way. That glow really looks good on you."

Jayashree smiled. "Let's see whether you still feel the same way three months from now when I'm as big as a house and start waddling around."

"I promise, I'll still love you," Ravi whispered, then abruptly pulled out a yellow T-shirt from the closet and put it on.

"I hate to tell you this," Jayashree said, frowning. "But I think your colour-blindness is worse than we thought. That's not black."