Under The Mango Trees

Chapter Fifty-Two : In Between Lila, Lila, Lila

After we had parted that day without saying anything of relevance to each other except remarking about the food, Lila suggested that all three of us meet again in another café next street over the weekend. She had asked that as suddenly as light rain showers on us on a sunny day and I had no time to think, but nod at her. Later, I had four days to mull over this upcoming meeting and after screaming into pillows and crumpling pages of books, I tore my heart out of my body and had no feeling left.

I could have cancelled or refused to go without a word to her as she had left me, but what was I afraid of? I was with Dev now and nothing could stir those old emotions in me. For past friendship's sake, she owed me some answers that had wrung my soul for hours, days, nights, weeks, months even! Besides, Anthony would be there with us. Not that I was afraid anything would happen between us again, it was all over.

So with that feeling of having no feeling within, I sat on the little chair in the café with the aroma of hot chocolate wafting in the air around me.

In ten minutes, a flurry of white and frizz settled herself opposite to me. "Hey! Sorry, I'm late---"

"Something to do with your driving again?" I said bitterly, hoping she would understand how ridiculous it was for her to talk to me about such trivial things.

"How did you know?" Her eyes that momentarily met mine were full of surprise and I fought the urge to snort at her forgetfulness. Today, she was dressed in a plain white, summer dress that flared from her waist which would have looked like a petticoat unless the wearer was Lila. Round, black sunglasses with golden rims were perched on top of her head like a hairband. She took no notice of anything around her, not even me, her eyes trailing the words on the menu as if she was on a food inspection duty.

"When is Anthony going to come?" I asked her and abruptly, she dropped the menu and the round way in which her mouth opened made me realize what she was going to say.

"I forgot to tell you! He's not going to come."

"Why?"

"He didn't really tell me."

"Isn't he your boyfriend?"

She merely smiled at that, neither affirming nor denying it, making me want to wipe that smile off her face. Why was she being mysterious? For no reason at all?

"Let's try their pizza!" She pointed at the menu, but not eliciting a single response from me. That was when she kicked me, swift and playful, startling me. "Which pizza do you want? Let's eat the chicken one or how about this one? Have you tried this one? Oh no, ew, it has olives!" Her nose scrunched up and when I anticipated another kick, I tucked my feet behind my chair. The waiter arrived, but Lila was still eyeing the menu. I plucked it from her hands, forcing her to pick whichever she last remembered.

Minutes after the waiter left and Lila still hadn't broached the topic about important matters, I seized it in my own hands and blurted out, "Why are you here?" She looked like I had cracked a joke that she had failed to grasp, a queer mingling of humour and bewilderment. "I mean, why did you come back? You still have semesters to graduate and now is not summer in the US."

"I didn't tell you?" Again, she was so full of surprise that I suspected her to have dementia. As soon as possible, I wanted to get this over with and go home and never meet her again. "I left college! I teach French to nursery kiddies and they're so adorable! Ils sont très mignons et amusants!"

"You dropped out? And you teach children now?" I imagined her surrounded by children, a child herself and wondered if the teaching went both ways. "Why? Why did you drop out?"