Tuesday, August 30, 2016

The Guest Who Never Came

Mr X was supposed to come to our place
for lunch this last Saturday
( He was in our neighbouring town on work)
And so I bought some extra milk
and some bananas, and used my last
mango of the season to make custard,
early on Saturday morning!
I took out the bowl of chholey
I had kept in the freezer, to defrost.
But then he said he couldn't come that day,
so the custard went into the fridge
and the chholey back in the freezer
and we went to Khan Market
to buy a present for
a young friend's fortieth birthday.
And so I acquired an exquisite pair
of silver earrings from Amrapali
and a stunning cotton saree from Cooptex,
and that evening, after dinner
I ate a bowl of custard.

Mr. X was supposed to meet us on Sunday
but we had prior commitments,
and he turned out to be busy too,
though we would have rearranged our plans
to meet  him!
So we went out for lunch with family members,
came home and had a quick nap,
before we went out for the evening function.
Since I couldn't nap, somehow,
I ate the remains of the morning's bread upma
and a bowl of custard, just in case dinner got late.

Then he was supposed to come over
on Monday afternoon
and spend the night with us,
before catching his flight home on Tuesday.
So I made up the guest room bed
and put fresh towels in the bathroom
all ready for our guest, whom we were expecting
in the afternoon or early evening
and was wondering what to make for dinner,
when the spouse called him
(just after we had had lunch)
to find out where he was.
I offered the spouse some custard
but he declined, so I had some
(it was thinning out by now,
losing texture, but still delicious).

He said he couldn't make it that day,
but would come today (Tuesday),
on his way to the airport.
I thought he'd be having lunch with us
so I changed my plans for a shopping trip
with a friend, only to learn from the spouse
that he was was expected only in the afternoon,
and not for lunch,
and that the spouse would go with him to the airport,
so that they could catch up on the long ride.

So my friend and I went shopping,
and I come home to discover that
our man X will not be coming home at all,
since he had got delayed at his work place,
but the spouse will be meeting him
at a hotel near the airport.
So the spouse has a quick lunch and leaves,
I have a leisurely lunch, and a bowl
of by now very skinny custard,
and put the dregs of it in the freezer.

My dear Mr.X, thanks to your not coming to our house consistently over the last four days
I have ingested a great many unnecessary calories.
The next time you plan to visit us, I will start cooking only once you are inside our home, after making sure that you are actually going to stay for a meal.






20 comments:

Sakshi said...

This is ADORABLE!

dipali said...

Thank you, Sakshi!

Indian Home Maker said...

Gosh how disappointing! But loved how sweetly and how patiently the custard thinned to skinny dregs :)

Indian Home Maker said...

Gosh how disappointing! But loved how sweetly and how patiently the custard thinned to skinny dregs :)

Dustedoff said...

I loved this, Dipali! So good. :-)

dipali said...

@Indian Home Maker, Dustedoff: Thank you!

Hip Grandma said...

God bless the guest who never came! I would have loved the excuse to gorge on mango custard. So don't ever feel guilty about it. After all you did offer it to your spouse and it was him that refused it! Ha, ha!

dipali said...

@Hip Grandma: Two of my kids dropped in on Sunday afternoon, and were offered the custard, and also refused. Where was the poor custard supposed to go? Contributing to the more of me to love factor :)


Unknown said...

Dipali God bless the poor guy, dosen't know what a treat he missed.You had a blast eating it,nothing else matters.

dipali said...

True!! And the frozen custard I polished off tonight was delicious too!

Sue said...

Any guest who cannot find time to eat your cooking doesn't deserve it. I'll bet that custard was yummy!

dipali said...

@ Sue: As the Hindi saying goes, daaney daaney par likha hai khaaney waaley ka naam.
It was definitely yummy, Sue :)

The Bride said...

I'm so surprised people don't grow out of this tendency to "ditch". I hope he had a very good excuse. But glad you enjoyed the custard anyway.

dipali said...

He was here on work, and his work commitments kept delaying him. The spouse was happy that he could finally meet him, and I certainly enjoyed my several helpings of custard!

SUR NOTES said...

The thinning custard made me hungrier as i went from line to line.
But next time set the custard even before a friend promises to visit.
Who knows, we might be able to slurp it down when it is thick.

Usha Raman said...

I can picture it all! Loved the poem, especially the refrain!

dipali said...

Thank you, Usha!

dipali said...

@SUR NOTES:Come when you say you're coming and I can promise you good, well set custard!
Ab aa bhi jao!

Anonymous said...

This is really funny, Dipali. Loved it. I'm coming over soon to have custard some day with you. And the invisible Mr. X, I'm really curious about when he will show up.

dipali said...

@batulm: Looking forward to a custard-y visit from you!