The day was Saturday and the time was 7:30 in the evening. Me, my husband and our three year old son had a dinner invitation at our friend Probir & Maloti’s place. They also had a three year old son – a couple of months older than ours. At their place we met Dr. Rajiv Dhusia, his wife Sucheta and their son of the same age group. The three boys got busy in some game immediately. The three men got busy with cricket on TV and drinks. We three ladies got busy chatting. After a while Maloti started preparing dinner for us, so Sucheta and I were helping her in cutting and chopping while we continued our chatting. We had a nice time together.
It was 11 o’ clock and the children were feeling sleepy after dinner. It was time to go back. We wished each other good night and my husband started his scooter. While adjusting my self with my sleepy baby on the pillion I asked him “Do you have the key with you?” “No” he said “It must be with you as you were the one who left the flat last.” I got down and stared to search the key in my purse. He also put the scooter on stand and started searching his pockets. No, neither I nor he had the key. We went back to Maloti’s living room. This time the men and the children also joined in the search. The chair cushions were moved, the divan mattress was lifted but the key could not be seen. The divan and all the furniture were moved to see if it might have slipped behind. There was still no trace of the key. We then moved to Maloti’s bedroom. Kitchen was also not spared. Her beautifully set home was ransacked – all in vain. Suddenly Maloti said “Mini, you and Sucheta had gone to her flat to fetch the cold drinks. Any chance you might have left your key in her flat?” I along with the two ladies and three children went there but could not find the key. I wanted to cry on my absentmindedness.
Back in front of Maloti’s flat my husband shouted in anger “This is the third lock I have to break in six months.” I was at the end of my wits too. I also screamed in full volume “No, this will be the second one in six months, because the first one was broken eight months ago.” We started to quarrel and blame each other. Quietly the doctor family moved away. It was almost 12 o’ clock in the night and my son was sleeping on my lap. My husband asked Probir “Please give me a hammer or something like that for breaking the lock.” Probir said “Wait, I will also come with you.” and took a hammer and chisel. Our flat was in sector 2 about 5 km from their place. At midnight, with no traffic on the road, we reached our place within minutes.
When we reached our apartment, the security guard opened the main gate. We climbed the stairs and when we were in front of our flat, we saw the key was stuck inside the lock and the door of our flat was open. Probir started laughing loudly and my husband frowned at me. I went inside and found that every thing was intact and our belongings were safe. I thanked my stars, our security and our neighbors. I came out and saw Probir and my husband were still laughing. Probir said “Good morning Mini it is past midnight now.” He had a hammer in one hand and a chisel in the other. I could some how utter “Sorry Probir da.” and slipped inside our flat.
No comments:
Post a Comment