neighbourly tales

My kind neighbour is a wife beater. And my maid is a big mouth.

See the connection? You are right. We share a maid.

After my jovial south Indian maid took up an extra job at the neighbours on the other side of the building, the morning sessions include little titbits from that house. Comprising husband, wife, a 9 year old daughter and a 9 month old son.

Since the usual stories she brings over are nothing very personal or juicy, I refrain from lecturing her on the ethics of a maid's job.

But the other day, as I shouted loudly from the kitchen to wake up hubby, she stands beside and tells me, "yesterday, they had a big fight."

"Hmmm..." I am preoccupied with squeezing a piece of lime into my glass.

"I am telling you, it was so bad, they were screaming at each other very loudly." She waits for my reaction.

"Really?" I immediately quit shouting at hubby. "Some people have loud voices and even when they talk you would think they were fighting if you didn't understand the language." I explained.

"See, Anna (implying my dear sleeping hubby) has a loud voice and it sounds like fighting when he talks." I continue.

"No, Bhaabi, this guy is a quiet fellow but she nags him a lot. Yesterday she was nagging him so much that he got really mad and dragged her into the bedroom and then beat her up." She knows she's got my attention now. "I was so scared."

I stopped queezing the lime out of shape and stared at it, horrified. My neighbours faces come to mind. Impossible.

"How did you know he beat her? And what were you doing?" I questioned.

"I saw them from the door. He was hitting her badly and she was screaming. I was minding the crying children. And later I saw her face all bruised and swollen." She replied.

Anger seethed in me. "Listen, why didn't you go in and stop him?"

"But I was scared, Bhaabi. This is the first time I have seen educated rich people living in big houses, fight like this." She looked at me almost accusingly.

I was disturbed. I went to drag the hubby out of bed to tell him. He was awake and had heard everything. There wasn't a thing I could do, of course. I made a mental note to be friendly to the wife when she called up to bitch about the maid or if I saw her downstairs. Usually I avoid talking to all the women who gather to chat and exchange stories in the evenings. They probably think I am too aloof or work too much, I let them think so.

I went back to the maid, "Listen, next time, anything like this happens, you are supposed to rush in and stop them, okay? Tell them, you are going to get in the neighbours, okay?"

I am hoping that my maid is making it all up. I bit my tongue just in time to stop another loud "How much longer are you going to laze in bed?" directed at the husband. Because I am also aware that if my maid IS making up stories, then the neighbours must be hearing tales about me beating up the hubby.