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Spoiler! :
The two round wet eyes saw their owner in the mirror, which stood tall and gigantic in front of them. The eyes weren’t wet for no reason. Of course they had a reason to be filled with water. How am I going to run the household for the rest of the month? The brain of the body, which owned these two eyes thought.
“Where are you, Lila sweetie?” A heavy male voice brought Mrs. Cole back to the reality. She placed her gold earrings into her ears as fast as she could manage. She only got one last chance to take a look at herself in the mirror before her husband stormed into their bedroom.
“You are still here, honey? Mr. Jones must be on his way. Quick, quick…quick,” He uttered the last word rather in a hush as he saw a stream of water flowing down his wife’s eyes. He made a beeline towards her and took her in his comfortable arms. “What happened, Lila?” He asked, looking down on his wife.
Mrs. Cole looked up to her husband and started heaving louder. “How do I tell you this?” She said and scrunched shut her eyes; tears started flowing down more rapidly than before.
“Just tell me and get rid of the burden,” Mr. Cole consoled her. She opened her brown eyes and gave a slight smile. “What is it?” He asked again, in more of a panic now.
“I just…how do I say this…? I just spent all the money for this month’s ration on tonight’s feast.”
Mr. Cole gaped in awe, unable to believe what he had just heard from his wife. “What?” was all he could manage.
“Listen, Jack I am really sorry.” She mumbled and looked at her husband’s visage yet again which wore no expression.
“Are you serious? I mean, is this the…truth?” He stuttered, as he finally came to confront the truth. He pushed away his wife, though not roughly, and took a deep breath to bring in all the positive energy he could.
“I am telling you the truth. Sorry, please don’t get angry…we could find a way to-” Mr. Cole stopped her halfway.
“How could you this to me, to us? Didn’t you have the money I gave you two months back, which I asked you to save?” Mr. Cole bellowed at his wife, which was unusual of him.
“Yes, you’re right. I did have the money, but I spent it last week on…Luciana’s dress and books,” Mrs. Cole blurted out the truth, afraid of what might come next.
“Oh my! Dresses of the ladies!” Jack buried his head onto his hands, so Mrs. Cole was unable to see the worry lines that formed on his forehead. “Let’s go,” he finally managed to say.
X-X-
X-XWaiting for his boss to arrive, Mr. Cole paced impatiently in the corridor, glancing at the sun again and again. The clock, as we know it, doesn’t exist in this part of the world and neither does the word ‘measurement’. If a person of our world, of my world, ever walked to Coles’ and asked them about measurement, the person would receive huge disappointment. They do not have any measurements, and the cooking and the time mostly runs on guess work. They hardly have any technology to easy their work. Just like ancient times, but the only difference is that they are civilized and they have beautiful houses.
Master Cole ran down to his daddy and smiled.
“What is it Peter? Not now,” Mr. Cole dismissed his son. Peter’s brightly lit face changed into a disappointed one, and he walked away to his mother, who was busy carrying out the last minute preparations.
“They are there, Papa,” Luciana Cole shouted from her bedroom’s balcony and rushed down to welcome the much-expected guests. She took the wooden stairs down to the cloak room and then exited from there to the main gates. She had expected to see two people; a middle-aged man with his wife, but what greeted her was very much different. The family is much bigger than our expectation, Luciana thought to herself and grimaced.
“Good evening, Mr. Jones. How was your ride?” Luciana’s father bowed down to a plump man with a big mustache, and a wobbling belly.
The man roared with laughter at nothing specific. Papa just asked how his journey was. Why did he have to laugh? And that too a demonic one, Luciana thought, as her lips curled in disgust. She couldn’t bring herself to believe that her father, her very dear and caring humble father worked for a person who had such a laugh and who must have eaten all of the food in his house. Not to look rude or anything, she walked to where her father stood with her mother.
“Well, I had a great time riding through these woods. When you get a promotion, my boy, change your house. It’s beautiful, no doubt, but wolves might eat your little daughter.” Mr. Jones said and looked cunningly at Luciana and burst into yet another sardonic laugh.
“I will keep that in mind, sir.” Mr. Cole replied, trying his best not to show the irritation on his face, as he introduced his family. “This is my family,” he said holding onto his wife’s shoulders proudly. “Here my wife, Lila; my daughter, Luciana, and my dear little son, Peter, who might be on his way from the kitchen. The little boy is a foodie, indeed.” He burst out into laughter as his wife glared at him. How dare he make fun of my little angel in front of this guy who rather looks foodie, Lila thought, taking in a deep breath, and still glaring at her husband.
The little boy came rushing with a chocolate in his hands, looking down at the floor while running, and accidentally bumped into Mr. Jones. The boy, as was very small and naughty, forgot to apologize to Mr. Jones. Such an immoral boy, though Mr. Jones.
X-X-
X_XThe family was big, a very big one, that of the Jones'. It consisted of Mr. Jones, his wife, his three daughters, four sons, and two nieces, who had come for a vacation at their uncle’s.
“I don’t think we would be left with something to eat tonight,” Luciana whispered to her housemaid, Grace. Grace smiled teasingly. She put her hand in front of her lips, so as not to offend the special guests.
“The dinner is almost ready, Mr. Jones. Lila is a brilliant cook,” Mr. Cole boasted and then bent down to Mr. Jones’ ears and continued, “and also a perfectionist. Might be checking on everything again and again.”
Mr. Jones didn’t find Jack’s this joke anywhere near entertaining and growled in fury. I had expected a grand feast. But they haven’t even got the food till now. A thought like this was very common to him as he was a big fan of food, and especially when it was free.
Lila walked down the three stairs from her kitchen and landed in the dining room with a big tray filled of mouth-watering, savouring items. Her pink lipstick sparkled as she smiled on her give-us food-or we’ll-attack guests. Her smile worked; they all started smiling. Was it the magic of her smile or the dinner she had just brought in? Whatever it was, the only thing she wanted was a promotion for her husband. Otherwise, why else would she have spent all her day in the hot kitchen cooking for these beasts?
The beasts couldn’t be made to wait for long, and with the help of Luciana and Grace, Mrs. Cole was able to serve the food to them quickly. The smile on Mr. Jones’ face widened each moment something new on his plate was served.
The silence took over the dining room as the Jones family indulged themselves in enjoying the food about which Mr. Cole had always boasted. There was chicken, three varieties of it, pasta, beef, and special bread which Mrs. Cole had claimed to be of Italy. Other than that there were more dishes, which Mr. Jones didn’t enjoy much, so not much of them were served.
Mr. Jones took in a bite out of the chicken. Slowly, he chewed it and when he finally realized what was wrong with it, he couldn’t stop himself from shouting. “What the hell is this?” He barked like a dog. He took in a long breath and at one point almost froze.The beads of sweat that embedded his face was a sight to see. His face turned red. Not red because of the chilies that had been put in excess, but of the anger which took over him in an instant. “What is this, Mr. Cole? How dare you serve me and my family this crap?”
The Cole family, unable to understand why Mr. Jones was making such a fuss, ran over to him, when he brought out his tongue and panted like a dog. They all tried to give him a glass of water and he took it rudely and gulped down in one go. The water that they offered to him was taken by him rudely, and gulped down it in one go. Then followed another glass, some wine, another glass, until his stomach could take no more.
Meanwhile, the other Jones all this while watched the head of their family get nasty and didn’t dare touch their food unless he blurted out the truth. A bit stable, Mr. Jones narrowed his eyebrows at Mr. Cole and then Lila, and got up from his chair. “Was it chicken or a chilly farm? Eh?” He said sarcastically.
On finally getting to know the problem, Lila bent down her face in embarrassment so to avoid any eye-contact. How could I do this? This has never happened before. This was a new recipe which Mrs. Smith gave me. I must have put in more chilies than required,” Mrs. Cole wondered to herself, while looking down at the floor.
How can Lila do this to me, to our children? Forget about the promotion, he’s not even going to let me work in his company anymore, Mr. Cole cursed his wife. He waked to his boss and bowed down his head as an apology. “I am sorry, Mr. Jones and so is Lila. We’re extremely sorry. You might want to try the apple tart?”
“Apple tart? No way. I am not even going to have water of your house. You might have put in all the sugar available in Glaxo in the tart.” Mr. Jones shouted, burning with fury. “I can’t risk my life here.” He looked at his wife, who sat without any expressions, just praying to God for saving this horror to her and her children. “We are leaving this instance.”
“Please, sir…I am really very sorry. This was just a mistake. Apple tart is Lila’s specialty.”
“So was the chicken, wasn’t it?” Mr. Jones couldn’t stop growling. “And you’re fired. Forever.”
"But sir how can you do this to me?" Mr. Cole asked.
"The same way you served me this," an evil grin took over Mr. Jones' face.
"So, is it final?" Mr. Cole asked in fury.
"Yes it is," replied Mr. Jones determinedly.
"Now I have something to say. Listen. Your this big family has cost me so much at food. Working with you is like a nightmare. Everybody calls you a belly dancer, not because of your moves, but because of your belly. All the food of Glaxo goes waste in satisfying your hunger." Mr. Cole barked like a dog, unable to control the outburst that had taken over him.
"Shut up!" replied Mr. Jones, though now more calm and abashed.
Mrs. Jones knew her husband and his potential to start World War Three. So without saying anything she ordered her children and nieces to get up. The family went away, without any delay.
Tears started falling down Mrs. Cole’s face, and she brought close the sleeves of her gown to wipe the tears. She couldn’t believe that she had committed such a blunder, equivalent to a sin which took a toll on her family.
The Cole children, amidst all this action, had only one thought in their mind. They could now eat the food peacefully for they knew that only this chicken was chilly farm as it was their mother’s first experiment. Luciana looked at her younger brother, and they both smiled.
Mr. Cole sat there in his chair, holding his head firmly with his hands, which were quivering. He had no savings left and no job. How on earth would he support his family?
Then came a knock on the door, and then someone cleared their throat.
“Come in,” he spoke, more in a mumble.
In walked Mrs. Cole, abashed and sorry. “Honey, I am so sorry. This happened all because of me.”
“Hmm..what can you do now? Everything’s over.” Jack looked up, his eyes telling a painful story. “That Jones is an evil guy; he won’t take a minute in spreading this news across whole of Glaxo. No one would give us any job.”
Lila’s heart thumped in her chest and she felt headache. She had cried for almost two hours. In Glaxo, serving something when you have called them in for dinner is a sign of disrespect.
“But how did the chilly farm came?”
“Well, this recipe of chicken was something what Mrs. Smith told me. She asked to add chilly according to our taste buds and that’s what went wrong. I know how much to put in other things I made, but since this was new, I was confused,” declared Lila.
Only if this part of the world, the Glaxo civilization knew the importance of measurement, the use of it in our daily lives, story for Coles would have been entirely different.
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