Just another afternoon... yet...

Cow was in town over the weekend. The whole of last week, innumerable e-mails coordinated the meeting with the lot that have survived in the city.

Rat's pad was it. And lunch the darling bitches were going to meet for. Cow complained about jetlag and how she would not be able to defend her honour without enough rest. Nobody was moved enough to move to dinner. I, of course, declared my inability to find time other than lunch in my socially active weekend.

One by one, excited women rang Rat's doorbell and stumbled in with an appealing package in hand, mostly containing food. I walked in with the biggest package and made the Rat squeal in delight "Let me take that!" Only to be disappointed when she found fleece jacket and curtain inside. Rat's off to Moscow next and the common jacket had to be handed over. (Jacket's traveled the world with whoever goes anywhere cold. It was with me since my skiing trip).

The curtain was the very light, white, airy type which you hang next to the heavy variety. This was to keep out prying eyes and allow Rat to prance around as she liked, with enough light and no lusting neighbour dying of a heart attack.

Anyway, there weren't any more hands left to carry anything else with. And once the arms were free, Cow jumped into them. She was looking great. The Irish husband and daily gym and yoga are doing her good. And the farting had almost stopped. (Remeber she was known more for her farts than any crap she could muster?) Church PR, usual sweet self, accompanied Rat the host and bought enough cans of beer to last an entire month's session.

Stream Engine, after the martyr talk of not coming to meet people who are insensitive and never bothers to keep in touch, was seen attacking a huge chicken roll. Then, before she was told to move her ass and make herself useful, she plucked out a piece of cross stitch and went on to make flowery patterns with the needle, in slow motion.

Cow asked "would you like something in your juice? Vodka perhaps?"

"I don't drink. I never drink, you know!" she growled.

"Oh sorry, sorry!" Cow promptly apologized.

SE then picked up my juice (spiked liberally with vodka!) mistaking it for hers, and finished it to the last drop. We remained quiet. Poor girl doesn't know she's very seasoned with all the spiked drinks we have been feeding her over the years! And she still believes she's a teetotaler!

D walked in with an XL bag and multi hued glares that blinded us all. When we screamed, she laughed hard and flung them aside. That woman would do anything for a CT! Then she got to work. Where earlier we were nibbling on out-of-the-box salami, mini pepperoni from Germany, tuna, and baked puffs, D whipped out of her bag, hot minced cutlets, peppers stuffed with spicy meat, roast yam and potatoes. Then she coated chicken with some magic portions and cover fried them. In no time, she also had another pot shimmering with coconut milk sauce and diced chicken.

After lunch, we lay around. On the sofas with legs raised on the wall, on the floor with legs raised on the sofas. We passed around our favourite bars of chocolate, licking the melted bit off our fingers. Nothing seems to have changed. We listened to Irish folklores and Celtic wiccan traditions that are a part of Cow's present life. We discussed work, relationships, adoption, sex and looked at sleazy controversial mms clips. Yet, so much has changed. In 10 years. (Personally, I felt we all looked better). Our perspectives, our lives, our needs, our dreams. Cow even ironed a bit of Steam Engine's hair which is of the dog's tail variety. She was thrilled and forgot cross-stitching.

The day got over too quickly and hugging each other, we rushed back to reality. To our different lives. I hastened to make it in time for a dinner party with my man, a man, it struck me, I got to know much later than my girls. My thoughts strayed to the others in the group, who aren't in the city, as I switched to part-of-a-couple mode. I kicked off my comfortable girlie garb and slipped into 5 inch heels and strode elegantly alongside my nice smelling man.

I smiled at the valet as he held my door waiting for me to glide out. Barely-covering-back blouse and gold pallu following. I smiled at 30 other similarly dressed couples and wondered if any of them had an afternoon as lovely as mine. We sat on snow white tables with chairs dressed in white and a huge organdy bow at the back. I smiled as I bit into designer delicacies, wondering if any one around had the pleasure of lying on their backs with old friends and licking chocolate off their fingers!