203. CONNECTICUT BY DAY, CITY BY NIGHT

The following morning Mom and I are at Grand Central Station. Neither of us are big eaters so we’re in Starbucks getting lattes and scones. This is my fourth trip to Connecticut to visit my cousin and her family. Yet, they have never visited me, which sometimes annoys me. Getting to Connecticut from Washington Heights is not easy and they are the ones with the cars, access to the highway and all the conveniences of suburban life. She has repeated told me that the baby makes it hard to come to the City (which by the way is filled with babies). I sometimes think that the married with kids forget what it is like to be single.

I am also a little nervous about visiting them again. My cousin’s in-laws live 10,000 miles and seem to meddle in their marriage, leading to arguments, which I cannot imagine to be very good for their child. The husband also sounds cheap and small minded. He is never home because he works long hours and earns three times what she does, but insists my cousin pays for the childcare, maid service and baby-sitting for THEIR daughter out of her salary though he out earns her by thrice over.

We pull into the train station and the overweight husband, stuffed into a parka and jeans, retrieves us. He is still dutiful enough to get out of the car and touch his hands to my mother’s feet. Once we’re in the car he asks my mom, “Auntie, how are you liking Manhattan?” “It’s nice to spent time with my daughter,” Mom replies briefly but pleasantly. The husband and my mother begin chatting in Hindi and I tune out.

My phone rings and I reach into my purse. By now I recognize Dr. Froggy’s number as this is the third time he is calling in less than 18 hours. I understand that I owe him a call. But Mom and I didn’t get in until after 10:30 last night, which is too late to call someone you don’t know. We were out the door this morning at 7:30 a.m., which was too early to call him. Now I am trapped in Connecticut for the day and it’s rude to make calls while someone has invited you for lunch. After which Mom and I scurrying back to the City so I can meet Broke Back. This means, Dr. Froggy is just going to have to wait his until dinnertime today, which is the earliest I can get back to him.

Sometimes I wish I was a deli counter. I could simply issue numbers and ask the boys to wait their turn.