As soon as the auto stopped in front of my house, I saw Amma opening the front door and looking.
“She is here” Amma shouted and started to run down the stairs.
“Liza, Sally come and help us with the bags” Amma shouted.
Amma took the Fly Buy Dubai plastic bag from my hand, Liza lifted the bag from the auto. She and Sally tried to carry my suitcase up the stairs. I took the money from my handbag and paid the driver.
Liza and Sally were struggling to carry the bag.
“You hold this end of the suitcase” Liza was shouting at Sally and telling her where to hold
“Stop yelling at me” Sally spoke
“You are dumb” Liza spoke
“Then you carry the bag” Sally dropped the bag and started to walk upstairs.
“aiyyah, you both have to start the fight in the morning itself ah?”Amma started
“What did I do?” Liza asked Amma
“Nothing, just carry the bag upstairs” Amma spoke
“I am not your servant, why don’t you carry it yourself?” Liza left the bag on the road and started to walk up the stairs.
We must have made such a din, because the land lady came out to see what all the noise was about.
“Oh!Hi Nina, You are home! how was your trip?”
“It was good aunty”
“How is your father?”
“He is fine aunty”
“hmm” Aunty mumbled and I knew she didn’t know whatelse to talk
“I will see you in a while aunty. I need to take a shower”
“Sure Nina” Aunty went back inside.
I tried to lift the bag and carry it upstairs. It was heavy and the steps were narrow.
“You hold one end and I will hold the other end” Amma spoke
“It is ok Amma, I will carry”
I felt, if I could bring this bag all the way fom Dubai, then I can carry it up the stairs without anyone’s help. I was so angry. I bought all the things for my sisters and they couldn’t even help me carry the bloody bag up the stairs? I started to drag the suitcase up the stairs
“Nina stop! you are damaging the bag” Amma was shouting. She tried to nudge me away and grab the bag. But the steps were too narrow for two of us
“Amma move” I hissed
“ellam nashipicho, nashippikkanundaya oru janmam, kashu kodukkandu ethokkey veruthey kittu vo (born to destroy everything.. does she think all these can be bought without money?)” Amma cursed
I ignored her. I wanted the bag to be spoiled, why should I take good care of the bag? For whom should I keep it for? My ungrateful sisters?
I was gasping by the time I reached the main door. Liza and Sally were sitting on the mattress couch.
“What did you get for us Nina?” Sally asked
I thought of telling her nintey Ammayi appantey thala (your father in law’s head). But I controlled my temper. I was thirsty, so I asked Amma
“Can I have something to drink?”
“Why didn’t you send the money Nina?” Amma asked
“huh?” I didn’t understand her response to my question. I was asking for something to drink. Why is she asking for money?
“huh? You didn’t know I had to pay Sally’s school fees? You promised you will send the money.Why didn’t you send?”
“Amma I couldn’t. I didn’t have a bank account and besides I couldn’t tell Appa that I want to send money to you”
“I had to borrow money from Arjun’s father to pay the fees”
“What? What did you say?”
“I borrowed money from Arjun’s father, what else can I do?”
“Arjun? Why Amma, why did you borrow money from his family?”
“You borrowed the money for the ticket from him, didn’t you? So what is your problem? Why are you screaming at me because I borrowed money from his family? It is only for a shortwhile No?”
No, it wasn’t ok. It certainly wasn’t ok for my mother to go to my classmate’s house and borrow money to pay my sister’s school fees. How could my mother do this to me? besides I lied to her when she asked where I got the money for the ticket. I borrowed the money from Beautiful Eyes, not from Arjun
“No Amma, you had no right to go to Arjun’s house and borrow money. He is my classmate, not my banker” I yelled
“oh like that ah. It is ok for you to borrow, but not ok for me to borrow to pay your sister’s school fees. I didn’t borrow to go for a trip to Dubai, I borrowed it to pay for my daughter’s school fees”
I didn’t reply. What was the point in arguin with my mother when she knows just what to say to hurt me. Then I remembered something
“Amma,How did you know where Arjun stays?” I asked Amma.
I have never taken Amma to Arjun’s house. How did she know?
“You told me once”
“No Amma, I never told you”
“You did Nina, May be you have forgotten”
“No Amma, I have never told you where Arjun stays, because I know you would give the address to George and he will start the next session of anonymous letters to Arjun’s father. I am not that stupid to give you Arjun’s address.”
Amma shrugged her shoulder. My God! That is all I could think? Does George know about Beautiful Eyes too? I looked at my mother to see if she knew anything else!
“Nina, what did you bring for me?” Sally asked
“nintey Ammayi Appantey thala” I screamed as loud as I can. I just had to scream. I was sick and tired of my family.
“Why are you yelling at her. Poor child, she was waiting and waiting for you to come home to see what you got for her. She didn’t even go to school this morning and you are yelling at her? What did she do to you? How can you be so mean to a child like that Nina?” Amma asked.
I took the key from hand bag and opened the suitcase. Liza and sally opened the zipper and started to take things out
“This is mine” Liza yelled and started taking things out. Both of them were fighting as to who gets what.
“Amma can I have something to drink” I asked again
“oh maduthu, drink, drink drink!! Can’t you go and get yourself a drink?” Amma asked
Of course I could. After all I have been getting my drink myself all these times any way. What difference did it make now that I just came home after a long and tiring journey. I got up to get the drink, leaving the vultures to go through their rightful assets.
“Liza arrange all the things neatly on the bed”Amma instructed. I saw her taking the snow flakes Dinner plates and examining. Then she looked at me
“Did you get the whole set?”
“No, it was expensive Amma, I couldn’t afford to get the full set”
“Oh!What is the point of having just the plates?” Amma shrugged her shoulder. I thought of taking the plate and hit Amma on her head. But I knew Correlle plates were designed not to break. There was no point wasting my energy.
“What is this?” Amma took the thermos lunch box and asked
“It is a lunch box. I got it for Chechy. She can pack her lunch inside and it will stay warm for atleast 4 hours. She won’t have to eat cold lunches”
“oh pinney, she is going to pack her lunch inside this and take it to work, when she can get fresh hot food at the office cafeteria!”
I saw Liza looking at me feet
“Nina, did you get shoes for me?”
“Yeah, this shoes is for you” I started to untie the shoe laces
“Why did you have to wear my shoes? See Amma, she wore my shoes” Liza started to whine
“I wore it, because I couldn’t tell Appa that these shoes were for you.”
“oh pinney, Why? Is he going to eat you up because you bought shoes for your sister? You just wanted to wear your sisters shoes, that is all, No? Why don’t you tell the truth Nina?” Amma spoke
There were lots of truths I wanted to tell. But like all the times before, truths stayed silent. There was no point in saying the truth. No one was interested in the truth.
I saw Liza taking all the t shirts I bought for myself, apart from the cloths I bought for her. I wanted to tell her, those t shirts are mine, but then again chances were that I would be called selfish. Why fight, when I can always ask Liza to share the cloths later?
“Nina, why did you buy the kettle without a plug?” Amma was holding the kettle up and examining
“That is how they sell it there”
“oh pinney, This is the first time I saw kettle without a plug, now I must waste my money and get a plug for this. Why don’t you ever do things properly? Did you get this kettle for a discount because it didn’t have a plug? I know you would have. You are like your father. Stingy!”
“Leave it there, you don’t have to waste your money, I will get a plug for you”
Amma threw the kettle on the mattress couch.
I felt so disappointed. I bought the kettle for her, so she can make coffee any time, instead of boiling the water on the gas fire. It wasn’t my fault that the kettle didn’t come with a plug. They guy at the shop told me that the plug point in India is different and there is no point taking the square pin plug with me.

Amma was exmining the sarees
“Amma, that white saree with brown flowers is mine” I had to stake my claims. All the t shirts I got for me had gone. At least I wanted the saree. I really liked that white saree.
I bought 6 sarees, 2 for you, 2 for me, 2 for Chechy, you can take any of the saree, but leave the white one for me”
“What about Aunty?”
“Which aunty?”
“Aunty downstairs”
“Oh, I didn’t bring a saree for her”
“pinney enna mannankatti aa pokki kkondu vanney? (what other crap did you bring?) What about Arjun’s mother?”
“What about Arjun’s mother?”
” I thought she treated you like a daughter and she was better than me”
“She is, so?”
“So you don’t have to bring anything for your ‘other’ mother?”
I could have bought everything for the whole world, but I didn’t have a magic wand. I could only get this much stuff for 1500 dirhams.
“Oh I forgot, Arjun had left a message for you. Your exams are preponed”
“When, which exams?”
“I think Pharmacology or something like that”
“When is the exam Amma?”
“Liza, when did he say the exam was?” Amma asked Liza
“I think he said Friday?”
I wanted to ask What Liza was doing with Arjun, but that was secondary. Today is Friday. I chose the Thursday flight from Dubai and the friday morning flight to Bangalore from Bombay, because my exam was supposed to be on Monday and I would get Saturday and Sunday to revise. And the exam is today? Oh my goodness. If I miss the internals, I will lose the rank and the gold medal. Damn.
“Amma did he say what time the exam was?”
“How am I supposed to remember all these Nina?” Amma lifted her hands up to the air to surrender
“Never mind”
“I will come back this evening and sort out all the things. I have to go now” I grabbed my stuff and ran down the steps. The luggage tag was stil on my handbag and I pulled it out and left it on the step.
“athu avidey ittittu pokko, vela cheyyan velakaari ayi oru thalla undallo evidey ( leave that tag there on the ground, you have a servan to clean after you, don’t you!)” I heard Amma speaking. I ignored her. I wondered if she knew what she was talking!