GETTIN JIGGY WIT POP
saturday nite...chrst i cant even bring myself to say it..i had my most intimate interaction with a man yet..why did i just say YET?? and before u gasp or rub urself in anticipation..wtvr ur type...it was with my father!
yes, my dad! it was awful...he had to leave for dubai on the 7 am flight on sunday..and as luck would have it, i was the only other person at home..sis n mom at kottayam..so i was assigned the dubious task of...well, ill get to that after a little background detail..
now my normal relationship wt my father is based on a simple theory i like to call 'staying-out-of-each-other's-way'..its a wonderful theory n it works well for me..i wake up after he leaves for work..he comes home..i retire to my room..its a nice arrangemnt..im not sure my father is too happy wt it..hes more of a hugs-n-kisses person..but something abt somebody's facial hair tickling my neck, while a fifty-year old iron paunch pushes me up agnst the wall freaks me out..so strangers-in-living-room it is..except when we accidentally bump into each other by the TV or the terrace ( me smoke, him yoga, i go-go) when the script runs along the lines of:
moi: appa...
him: mone..good morning..those bastard neighbours smoking on their terrace agen..i can smell it out here..
moi: hmm..
him: so wt plans for the day? are u doing something constructive wt ur life?
moi: hmm...
him: can u help me do the yogashtana yamahasuraiyya asanastha? just sit on my knees while i try to get up n into a sitting position..
moi: i need to take a dump...
him: well, a man's gotta go what he's gotta go haha. run along then. see u at breakfast?
moi: hm..hmm..
him: next week?
moi: hmm..ok..
him: bye mone..eat well ok..vegetables n fruits very important in the summer..dehydration..avian flu...constructive things..life..
see what i mean? anyway, i knew something was in the air the moment he asked me to help him pack, a sis-n-mom area of speciality normally. i complied, keeping wt my anti-confrontational policy. into the suitcase went tie, suit, shirt, under-garments all neatly folded by over-worked me. he seemed a little less sure of himself, more fidgety than usual n i wondered what the hell was going on. maybe he changed his will n left me nothing? not so easy.
him: so ur mom n sis not here.
moi: hmm...
him: nobody here..just the 2 of us..nobody else..
moi: hmm..
him: listen i need u to do something for me. u understand i would hav asked mom if she were here, but shes not n these things r like itches, u hav to get them out of ur system or ull be frustrated for ever..
moi: hmm...HMM??!!
him: dye me
moi: TIE YOU??!!
him: dye. can u help me dye my hair n moustache? see its really easy, just add five teaspoons of water to this powder a apply lightly with this brush...
he wanted me to dye his hair! ohgodohgodohgod. this was a big step for me. i mean we had been talking the last three -four days, once in a while in the living room, or at the gate when i was locking it for the nite n he was taking a stroll. but dye his hair? after four days? i didnt know if i was ready for that yet. i wasnt sure if i wanted to take our fledgling relationship to the next levl yet. deep breaths u fuckface deep breaths.
i tried to be clinical abt it. he was a nice guy, he pays for me, he puts up wt all my anti-social behavior, he evn remembrs my birthday, sometimes he brings flowers for my mom. ok now the cons. he's a guy. hes a guy. hes a GUY!
i looked up at his slightly flared nostrils (we nevr make eye-contact-i shld write a book on successful relationships) and fought off the urge to run for the hills. or a motel.
moi: yes appa, lets do it in the bathroom though.
him: thank u. im a very lucky man.
as it turned out, u dont dye in 'five easy steps'. u DIE in five easy steps. water added to powder, i picked up the brush and applied it lightly to his salt-n-pepper hair. i wished i had a smoke, that might hav made me less nervous, my hand wouldnt stop shaking.
him: nothing to be nervous about, mone. the first times alwyz the scariest, but ull get used to it. just take it easy.
moi: hmm...
the dye kept dripping down his head n onto his neck and my attempts at blotting it wt the brush didnt work so well either. so he came up wt something else.
him: here just use a swab of cotton to wipe it off, n put some ponds cream on it immediately or itll stay that way for a week.
moi: hmm..
more massaging action then! awesuuum!
hair sooty n young, i readied myself for the big one. the moustache. my face 4 inches from his, nostrils exchanging oxyegn-carbon dioxide combos, we remained. me standing, him on the stool, nerves like live-wires. the next twenty minutes are a blur, i cant remebr much, except the deep feeling of relief at the end, its over, fin. i stretched and yawned, too embarassed to look at him, shoe-gazing. (well, feet-gazing, if u want to get all technical about it)
him: that was wonderful. u make me feel so young again. we should do it again sometime.
moi: hmm..
and that was the end of solomon grundy. u wish! to follow was greater ignominy. on his way out, he slipped a five hundred rupee note in my hand. if u need anything when im gone, he said. pretty woman, am i?!
but i confess i felt a sense of loss as he stepped into the car, hair n mush gleaming in the 4 a.m as the back of the lancer pulled away, i stood mesmerised at the quickness of it all, the smells, the sweat, the faux pas('s?), his amazement at the newly youthful man in the mirror, the fumbled attempt to kiss me goodbye. i half-smiled to myself. who doesnt love a man who makes u laugh?