The Momma Clan

The waiter hovered around the table again, and inquired, “Ma’am, may I take your order?”

“Could you give us just a few more minutes please?” responded Rhea. “We are waiting for our friend who should be here shortly”

The waiter nodded and went to attend another table, Rhea looked at her watch and exclaimed to Sharon. “Has there been a time in her life that this woman has been punctual? Vinod was fortunate that she came to their wedding on time”. She is the one who asked us to meet her yet she is late herself. Next time, I promise, I shall come an hour later than our chosen time.” Rhea fumed. 

Sharon listened to her and smiled. She knew Rhea could never be late. She was ‘Ms. Punctual’ in their group. She would always come before the decided time and keep waiting and fuming at others who came late. Surprisingly, there has been no change in her behavior.

Like Sharon, Rhea too was thinking of her two friends. She knows that Priya is poles apart from her. Priya could never be punctual if her life depended on it. Not only would she be late, but she would also talk her way through it and convince everyone listening to her umpteen excuses that she had a genuine reason. People just love listening to her stories as she has a knack for expressing with the right emotions and filmy dialogues. She is a born story-teller a.k.a ‘The Drama Queen’. She is friendly, easy-going but strong-willed and needless to say, always late. 

In comparison, Sharon is the quietest of us three. She is their ‘go-to’ person, after any arguments or disagreements. She would listen to both and give her reasoning. She is rational, logical, and fair. Both of us would concede to whatever she said. She, with her smile and few words balances and completes the group. She is tagged as ‘Ms. Shanti’ for her calm nature. She smiled as she recollected their childhood days.

 Gone were the days when the three would sit for hours together after or in between classes and gossip, analyze, and dissect people, personalities, movie stars, professors and discuss and plan things, under the sun. The world would end if they didn’t discuss the hot topics of the day. 

 Nowadays, it so difficult to even make a call. Like all, they too got hooked to WhatsApp to stay in touch with each other. The innumerable messages on WhatsApp to get a final confirmation for this meeting was a herculean task in itself, despite all the efforts, Priya was not on time.

No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than Priya entered the café. She quickly took her seat at the table, gulped a glass of water, and took deep breaths. Rhea and Sharon looked at each other and waited for Priya to settle down, and hear the excuse she would give for her delay today.

“Well, are you both not going to inquire about the reason for my delay?” questioned Priya. “Pri, my dear, we have known you since donkey’s ears. There is no excuse in the book which you have not provided till now. We are sure, you have already rehearsed today’s excuse on your way. We both are in no mood to listen to it, please!” declared Rhea.

Priya smiled sheepishly, ‘Sometimes it is best not to have friends who know you inside out.’ 

“Thank you for understanding me, girls. You two are the best. Sorry for my delay today but probably what I tell you will make it up for it. So, let me get to the point then,” Priya said.  

 “Can you please spare the drama, Pri, I am already hungry waiting for you. “Spill it out, why did you want to meet us today? “questioned Sharon.

Priya looked at her pointedly and continued, “The reason I wanted to meet you both is to share the good news with you.” She paused to look at both of them.

“Wow, Congratulations, Pri! So happy for you.” Exclaimed Rhea. 

“Oh! Wait! Hold on! Hold on! Don’t jump the gun! What rubbish are you saying, Rhea? What’s with you? Rhea was perplexed. Did she not hear the good news? Sharon smiled and said, “Rhea allow her to tell what her good news is”. Both Priya and Sharon grinned.

Rhea looked embarrassed and said, “I guess I am too hungry.”

   “I have received a job offer” exclaimed a joyous Priya to her two best friends.

“Wow, Priya. That is great news”. They both got up and gave her a warm hug.

“This calls for a party. So tell us more about your job. When do you have to start, How far is it from your home?” they kept throwing multiple questions at her. She smiled, “Thank you both. I have to start next month. For the rest of this month, I will be busy shopping, etc. I have booked my tickets for the 27th of this month.”

“What do you mean booked your tickets, where are you going”? Both questioned Priya in unison.

“Oh, did I not tell you, my job is located in London. It is a new project so they need me to set it up. It is quite challenging for me, as I have never handled such a big project before but, I am super excited and nervous also, at the same time”, said Priya. 

“London!” exclaimed Rhea and Sharon together. Wow! Priya, that is excellent. You will get to visit all the places that we have read in our romance stories. We will surely come to visit you”. 

“You both most certainly will. I am counting on it”. Priya was on seventh heaven. 

 “We will surely miss you, Pri. When will you all be shifting to London?” Sharon inquired.

“Not all of us, just me. I will be going by the end of the month. Vinod and Mehr will be in Mumbai itself,” Priya said in a matter-of-fact tone.

There was complete silence for two minutes. That itself was quite a task for these three women. They were so chatty that they did not need anyone apart from themselves to complete their world. Each would complete the sentence for the other. One had to think the other would say it aloud. But now they were lost in their thoughts and did not know what to say.

  “What do you mean, Vinod and Mehr will not be traveling with you? You will leave them here and go? How can you even think of leaving your ten-year-old girl all alone?” inquired Rhea.

“I am delighted for you, Priya. But who will take care of Mehr in your absence?” inquired Sharon.

“What do you mean leaving her all alone? Vinod is there to take care of her. She is not a little girl any longer. She can manage herself very well. I am very proud of my daughter. If I had the option of taking her and Vinod along, I would gladly do that, but I am unable to do so at this point”. She tried to make them understand her point of view.

“This is a new project and I have a lot of work. My company is not sponsoring the family just now. I will have to take it up with the management once I settle. It is too expensive for me to take them on my own.“ And now, when I have got such a nice offer, I am not going to let it slip away just to stop tongues wagging”, said Priya albeit defensively.

The three were silent again, lost in their thoughts.

“Pri, are you sure that you have taken the right decision?” questioned Rhea.

“Yes, Rhea. I am sure that I have taken the right decision. Vinod supports my decision.”

Priya, Rhea, and Sharon were friends since childhood. Growing up in the same locality, having studied in the same school and college, they were inseparable. 

Over the period, they got married and got busy with their lives. Rhea had shifted to Bangalore after marriage. Her family had relocated back a couple of years ago when her husband got a transfer. She was a homemaker who had given up a successful banking career to take care of her children. Rhea admired Priya for her go-getter attitude. However, today she was not sure that she had taken the right decision. She felt that she was taking her go-getter attitude a bit too far. 

Sharon is a divorcee. Her husband had left her a few years ago when their son was still young. Today, she is a successful estate agent who is living a content life. 

  “Pri, will you be able to live a contented life there knowing that your child will grow up without you around? There are so many things that only a mother knows about a child. Mehr is of an age where she needs your help the most.”

 Priya listened to their point of view calmly. “Let me ask you both something. What would you have said if I told you that Vinod has got a job offer abroad instead of me? Wouldn’t I be expected to stay here and manage the home without the help of my better half? If that is acceptable, why is the fact that a mother going out in search of better prospects considered unacceptable?”. “Why is it that only a woman is supposed to be responsible for the kids? If a man is ready to support his woman, why do you slay him down with your standards?” questioned Priya. 

“To be honest, when the offer came, I too was skeptical about it but Vinod stood by me and has encouraged my decision.” mentioned Priya. 

 “Rhea, you were the Assistant Manager for the bank that you were working for when you got married. Had you received support from your husband and family, today, you would have been the Vice president, maybe. But you had to forgo your dreams to take care of your children. Your husband supports you financially but is that all that your education and career are about?” She tried to make them understand her point of view. 

“Friends, this is a turning point in my life. I need your help and support here”.

She looked imploringly at Sharon and Rhea. But they kept quiet, lost in their thoughts. “This may be the last time I would be able to meet you as I would have to do all my shopping alone,” said a disheartened Priya. She hated shopping alone. She loved going with her two friends shopping and having a ball of a time. She knew she would miss these moments but accepted them as a part of life. They were more than friends to her. Since she was the only child of her parents, they were like siblings to her. There was no birthday, festival, a family function that they were not part of.

 When Rhea got married and had shifted to Bangalore they had hugged each other and wept, though they were aware that it was a different phase of life. They stood with Sharon when her unfaithful and abusive husband left her for greener pastures.

But today, they were not ready to stand with her, it appears. She felt disheartened but knew that they would take time but would definitely, understand and support her.

As she was thinking about this, Sharon & Rhea took her hands. Rhea said, “Pri, I understand, your point of view. You are right, had I received support from my family, I would have been in a higher position by now. But I won’t let it happen to you. Mehr will always have her maasi’s close to her, should anything come up”. “You go ahead and chase your dreams, girl.”

Priya embraced them both. They were interrupted by the waiter once again. “Ma’am, may I take your order now,” he asked.

“Yes, please” One choco-chip cookie dessert and two melting pot desserts with ice cream”. All the three listened to the order and laughed out loud.

“Best friends are the apple pie of desserts”, quoted Priya once the waiter left after taking their orders.

“I am not sure what I would do without you both”. Thank you for your friendship. Love you both’

-Cijie James