| At family reunion time, my wife was moaning about our son's inability to find some focus in his life. "But he's only a teenager," said my brother-in-law who, though himself edging into middle-age, is a card carrying member of the tribe of forever-nineteens. "Teenagers these days are so smart," argued my wife, "but he seems to have no purpose in his life." |
| "What do you want him to do?" I protested, coming to the rescue of our first-born and heir. "When I was a teenager," pointed out my wife, "I knew exactly what I wanted to do." "Which," grinned her brother, "was to be married and a housewife." |
| "Our parents gave me no choice," she said sharply, "but at least my son's father was clear about his choice, weren't you?" she looked towards me. |
| "Well," I said, "I knew I didn't want to join the army, my parents wanted me to be a doctor, my friends thought I should do a hotel management course, and it was quite by mistake I ended up being a scribe." |
| "You're saying that just to spite me," said my wife; "only a mother knows how important it is to make sure their children will earn well and be able to look after themselves." |
| My son, who had been making us drinks from the bar, came over with the glasses and said to me, "That makes 149 drinks. You can pay me when I've made the 150th, and then I'll start over again." |
| "What's that all about?" asked my brother-in-law. "He charges me for every drink he fixes," I explained, "and therefore makes cocktails with a fairly stringent hand, so that guests ask for more than their usual quota, all of which gets added to my account. That way, he makes himself quite a handsome sum every month." "He has no sense of money," my wife moaned, "I don't know when he'll set himself a goal." |
| "But I'm saving up for a bike for college," said my son proudly. "Fixing drinks isn't going to get you that far," I said tartly. "That's right," he reminded me, "so can you organise the editing assignment you'd promised me last month?" |
| "Sure," I said, "I've been taking a break, but I should have enough work to take care of your spare time." "And what about my payment for the last job, it's now two months since it's been finished?" he asked "The publisher still has to send the cheque," I said. "If they can't pay in time," my son came back "I'm going to start charging interest on delayed payments." |
| "He'll never come to anything," my wife was telling her brother, "he's so sheltered, he doesn't know he has to stand on his own feet and earn a living." |
| "Here," my brother-in-law summoned my son, "why don't you sit with me and tell me your plans." "I'd love to," said my son, "but I have to go mix music, that's a little urgent." |
| "My brother has come to Delhi all the way from America for just a day, and you don't have the time to speak with him," exclaimed my wife. "But I have to organise my music CDs," said my son, "I can't spare the time." |
| "Can't you burn your CDs later?" I asked him gently, for my wife did have a point. "No," said my son, "the music shop that buys my CDs has an order that needs to be executed immediately, and if I'm late in supplying the music, they'll deduct a penalty from my fee." |
| "All you talk about is making money," sighed my wife, "when all I long for is to know that you'll be able to take care of yourself when you grow up." |
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