In Her Shoes

Like We Talk

"What a lovely day for a journey like this!" Mary remarked to Annie as soon as they settled on their first class seats on a train to London."Yeah! It hasn't been this warm and sunny the entire week ", Annie agreed. The two lovely ladies were volunteering for some church work this weekend. These were of peak hours and the train was sparsely populated. As much as they pretended they didn't want to, they were eagerly listening to a couple at the other end of the compartment, in an argument over the FB status of the boy.

A good fifteen minutes later, the couple went quiet and the ladies resumed their conversation. "It's so silly these days. Love was a lot less complicated in our times." Mary said.

"Hmm, there wasn't any need to proclaim it to the world with social media. Two people were enough. Things could be sorted with a call without involving the whole world, you know, his friends and her friends and their friends." Annie was not alien to technology or internet. She had a twitter account, a facebook profile and she frequently posted on Instagram. She had access to all the virtual gossip but she missed the personal touch in it.

"It's not just limited to relationships. I guess life has just become a little more complicated these days. Look at Clay, she doesn't say much but I can see she is having such a tough time at work. She is a very hardworking girl, I am proud of my daughter but her boss is a total jerk." Mary said, feeling very sorry for her daughter Clarissa or Clay as she called her lovingly.

" Oh! I understand, poor girl. Andrew is also very stressed out these days. From the looks of it his employees aren't very happy either.Especially his secretary but then I suspect there is something else going on in his mind about her. "Annie chipped in. Andrew was Annie's son, he ran a small but gradually expanding business.

Mary was delighted with this tiny piece of interesting news. Her eyes lit up as she asked Annie, "How do you know? Is he showing the classic signs?" Mary, like many others, at this age thought herself an experts in relationships with ample experience and everyone's love life was her own business.

"That, and in a way he admitted himself. He took me to dinner again last Saturday and that's quite a few weeks in a row now, so I asked him. I said that as much as I loved to spend time with him and appreciate these gestures, I would really love to see him invest time more carefully and find a suitable companion. Initially he just shrugged and tried to dismiss the issue but then I drilled him down to admit. He said he really likes someone but things were complicated between them. He couldn't ask her out for some reason. I tried to pursuade him to find other options but he seemed really reluctant."Annie rolled her eyes as she said the last part.

" Aww" Mary was really enjoying this chit-chat but she was eager to know the complete story so she asked "But how do you know it's his secretary?"

Annie couldn't hide the enthusiasm in her voice as she spoke " Oh, that was easy. I had already figured out it must be someone from work since he doesn't have much life outside work. When I noticed his schedule, I found he was manipulating it to spend maximum time around one person, her. She always accompanied him on business trips which lasted longer than required. Several times I also noticed him calling her for trivial things, things he could manage himself, things that doesn't solve any purpose except give him a chance to see her. Lastly, I noticed the way he looked at her and it was crystal clear. "

"Well, if he is so smitten, what are the so called complications? Is she already taken? Don't break my heart and say she is married", Mary was deeply interested, afterall this was Andrew, the only son of her new friend.

" No, it's not that but she is playing hard to get for some strange reason. I won't blame her completely, Andrew isn't exactly the easiest person to be it. It is like a game between them, no one wants to blink first. If only they could talk it out. "Annie said and then started looking out of the window, hoping inside her heart that everything turned out well for her dear son.

"Have you tried talking to any of them?", Mary suggested.

" You know how these youngsters are these days. They hardly share and I try to be a cool Mom. I will let him handle this. "Annie knew she would be overstepping if she pushed Andrew further on this.

The discussion then moved on to other appealing subjects like food, television and colleagues. The day was rather busy with both of them holding independent workshops to motivate youth and distribution of the latest Easter celebration related material. The journey back home was spent dozing off.

When Mary arrived home Clay was still busy with her laptop."What now, you are working late on weekends as well? "Mary exclaimed aghast." Yeah my boss called he needed these reports immediately. "Clay replied without lifting her head up.

" That jerk.. should I make you a coffee? "Mary asked, desperately needing caffeine herself.

" Thanks! That would be great. "Clay replied giving Mary a small smile.

" I don't know why you work for that idiot. I just don't get people like him. Is it too difficult to understand that other people have a life as well. "Mary was ranting again.

Clay was very used to her mother's babbling ways, she didn't bother to respond. She had an answer to that question though that she never told her Mom. Why she worked for him? Initially it was just damn good work then gradually it became something else. At first she was in complete awe of him, adored his working style, his passion for his business even felt a slight bit of attraction.The admiration gradually faded though, he was ruthless with her. It was like he was always challenging her, with more work, with tasks that were sometimes trivial but sometimes hugely rewarding. She just didn't want to lose against him. She wanted to stand tall in front of him and gain respect. She wanted to be noticed by him, not just for her good looks but also as an intelligent  independent woman.

"May be you should ask him what his problem is." Mary suggested handing over the coffee to Clay.

Clay could never really understand how "talking " seemed to be solution to every problem for Mary. She wasn't just the talking types. She always felt actions speak louder than words.

"May be you should tell me how the day was with your friend?", Clay tried to divert Mary's attention successfully.

" Oh! it was great with Annie, wonderful woman. She has a son, must be good looking considering Annie is such a beauty herself. "Mary was her usual chirping self again.

" OK, mom we are not going match making again. "Clay smiled detecting something  fishy in her mom's tone.

" Oh! no he is already smitten by someone else. The guy is crazy about his secretary. They aren't together yet though." Mary grew silent, her eyebrows furrowed as she sipped her coffee slowly, in deep thought.

"Why? What's the problem?" Clay asked casually, not really keen for an answer.

"You know your generation well. They would rather fight it out than talk it out. He likes her a lot. He even refused to consider anyone else, but for some strange reason keeps pushing her away. May be she can't see why he bombards her with work. Why he keeps her away yet close? Men really have different ways to show love, respect and care. May be, he isn't the traditional lover." Mary kept speculating thinking deeper than her normal self.

Her little speech brought a smile on Clay's lips. The feeling of being loved so much by someone made her heart flutter. That girl, that lucky girl who isn't even aware of the warmth in her life, Clay felt envious of her. In a way, She was similar to Annie's son, completely aware of her feelings yet scared of admitting them sometimes even to herself. She wanted to be so close to him yet she maintained her distance.

Ahem, Clay cleared her throat, realising they have been silent too long. She kept her hands on Mary's hands and then said to her "It's alright mom. They are grown ups. They will sort it out."

"Yeah. Annie Beaufort is a wonderful woman, so kind, so sweet. I just wish the best for her family. ", Mary smiled.

Suddenly Clay froze," Mom, is she Annie Beaufort, mother of Andrew Beaufort?".

"Yeah, Andrew is the name of the son she was talking about. How do you know?" Mary asked Clay.

Clay didn't reply. She held her precious breath steady and calmed her jumping heart. She was secretary to Andrew Beaufort.