But the mistake of taking my untried husband to T.Nagar was all mine. I should have taken my more ‘experienced’ mama and athai. But I couldn’t very well do that when we stuck in the middle of a crowd intent on going in a direction that my hapless husband didn’t want to follow.
The trouble started at home.Me: I want to go shopping.
Jeeva: What do you want to buy?
Me (annoyed): What have I been talking for the past half-an-hour?
Jeeva: (Looks blank. Reigning silence. He hazards a guess…) U wanted to buy a dog…?
Me: No. I wanted u to come shopping with me.
Jeeva: But why do you want me. I thought you wanted to go shopping? (He always talks in circles, when he doesn’t want to do something)
Me: (I change tactics) Are you going to change your clothes or not?
Jeeva: Why what’s wrong with them?
Me: (nearing tears) I don’t want to be seen in that horrid shirt with you. So you had better change it and wear a kurta.
Jeeva: But you don’t have to force yourself to see me in that shirt. You can go without me can’t you (hopefully..)
After 15 more minutes of he says, she says, I get him fitted out in a decent enough dress and we walk down to the railway station.
Jeeva: Ok. I’ll go and buy the tickets.
Me: Why?
Jeeva: We have to buy the tickets. No? (Very patiently as if I’m am cockroach with below average intelligence)
Me: But why do you want to buy tickets. Tickets – as in a plural noun, when you bought me a season ticket for three months.
Jeeva: Oh. Yes. Yes. Yes. Season ticket. Right. Right. Right. (grinning sheepishly) I’ll get a ticket for myself then.
Train arrives….
Jeeva: Did you lock the house?
Me: Yeah.
Jeeva: Are you sure?
Me: Yeah (but then I have my doubts)
Jeeva: You have the key with you.
Me: YES!
We board the train. But then I hurry through my shopping to get back home and check if I’ve really locked. After a year and a half of living with him, I have now started wondering if his doubts of my ability to lock closed doors stems from a desire to shorten the shopping expedition.
Anyway the next time I’m planning to catch him unawares and take him for a six-hour shopping spree in T.Nagar. Wish me luck
