A Cup of Tea

Part 1

"Aya, make sure to mow the lawn. The Malhotras will be coming over for tea today. "

"Will do it, madam" 

"When shall I bring the samosas?"

"Oh, don't bother. The tea will suffice." She said, smiling shyly and dismissing her with a swift movement of her bangle-laden hands. 

Mr Oberoi returned from the office early that day. Mrs Oberoi used to work from home so she could manage both her house as well as her work. Therefore, she wasn't the one who was making fun of his spouse for calling him home early. After bidding a hurried goodbye to her, Mr Oberoi reasoned his monumental absence from the meeting with light humour, "Wife, you know. Wants me to come home early. She doesn't understand how important this meeting is." 

"Or the one before and the one before that", thought Mrs Oberoi silently. She was hurt by his comment but overlooked it on the pretext that he must be tired from work. He must have not meant it. He just wanted to lighten the mood. 

Mrs Oberoi greeted her husband at the door like every other day with an unfaltering smile. "How was your day, dear?" "Okay, I would like some water please". The fact that her question was never reciprocated never crossed her mind. Well watered and well rested Mr Oberoi then called for his wife. " "Where is the apron we bought on the last spree?" 

"Well, I wonder where it could be other than your wardrobe?" chuckled Mrs Oberoi while handing him the still-packed white apron. 

The Oberois were foodies. Master chef was the show which they watched together every night. The problem was, there were three foodies and therefore three different ideas for dinner but only one master chef in the house, Mrs Oberoi. Yesterday was her birthday and today, their friends were coming over. Gallant as always, Mr Oberoi gifted Mrs Oberoi a whole day off from cooking. He announced that he would prepare the dinner and the tea too, only for his beloved wife. 

Mrs Oberoi swelled with fondness for her dear husband. She was the luckiest woman in the world. "Yeep!" 

"Pardon, wifey?"

"Oh, nothing. Just devouring my sweet husband and his silly mistakes" 

"What did I do wrong?"

"That's salt, mister.", she giggled

"This is sugar", she said, bringing the jar to him. 

"My cute know-it-all, aren't you?", he whispered in her ear, wrapping her arms around her. 

"Okay, neither the place, nor the time", she said, escaping from his embrace.

"The Malhotras are on their way and they would like their tea brewed, not burnt.", she laughed, turning off the stove.

They prepared the tea together. Mr Oberoi stirred the contents while Mrs Oberoi added the ingredients, adjusting the heat accordingly. 

Tea was served with much pride and was partaken with a little  too many compliments. 

" For first-timers, this is actually good, man!", Mr Malhotra said as he patted his dear friend on the shoulder. 

"Good?This is really good! You're indeed very lucky, Mrs Oberoi" added Mrs Malhotra, sipping the tea a bit too enthusiastically. 

"Mom!" cried little Rohan 

"She punched me!" 

Disha came running shortly after Rohan's accusation. 

"He messed with my dollhouse first!

And that's what he gets for it."

"Disha! Enough. Is that how you treat your friends?" scolded Mrs Oberoi. 

"But, mom…"

Mrs Oberoi cut Disha mid-sentence and commanded her, "No, apologise to him."

"And you mister, stop crying like girls" 

"Man up and fix her dollhouse" ordered Mrs Malhotra

"Thanks, aunty, but I'll manage it myself"

"Sweetie, let Rohan help you. You could hurt yourself with the screws." 

Disha and Rohan left with similar scowls on their faces. 

"Kids!" Exclaimed their parents.

The tea was finished in a few minutes but the discussion on economy and politics took hours. 

Disha and Rohan returned with wide smiles on their faces. That's the thing about childhood. You forgive and you forget. Literally. 

"Daddy, Rohan agreed to help me with my essay." 

"That's great, sweetie. What is it about? "

"Feminism" They replied together.

"Uncle, could you help us with it? Dad tells me you're one yourself." 

"Of course, son."

"Okay, supporting women and giving them their rights dutifully is feminism."

"Could you give us examples?"

"The example is right before you, son. " explained Mr Malhotra 

"Today, your uncle made tea for us instead of your aunty."

"Does that make uncle a feminist?"

"Well yes, darling. In fact, when you help your mom with her chores, that makes you a feminist too." 

"Wow. So dad, when mom does stuff for us, does it make her a 'menist'? 

Laughs echoed and the question was dismissed.