Had my first girly lunch in a while. Indian food, Kheema Dosai which was as delicious as it was oily. I really wanted to try the blue swimmer crab puttu on an appam. That looked interesting but not spicy enough for me today.
Two older men sat at the table next to us. The one facing me ordered the blue swimmer crab on an appam and a biryani for mains. They both were talking so excitedly; gossiping like the two women my friend and I were.!! First they were talking vacuum cleaners (Dyson no doubt): he had two and was comparing them. Just as he started, the other man almost interrupted and said - "..what, you had two Dyson's? Was one for one part of your house and the other for the other part of your house?" I tried not to roll my eyes. That sounded exactly like a conversation my friend and I had on Monday, when we first met after a long time. The flow when two people are so excited to talk to each other they cant stop talking and neither minds the chop and change of it all.
Their conversation went on....".... and the mothers, who have children who are too young to have their own phones, they sit next to their children on their own phones. They should be having a conversation with the child, not ignoring them. Do they know how to talk to their child, interact with them ...... "
Until, just as I left, the blue swimmer crab one said, he had gone to visit a friend. She opened the door, welcomed him. then said - ".. so, would you want to come in for a quick one...." pause.. while the other man's eyes widened in disbelief .... "thats what I thought " while he repeated the situation that happened to confirm he didn't understand incorrectly, and the suspense continued. "... thats what happened and she said ... and what she meant was .... " We had stood up while my girlfriend was paying the bill. I didn't wait to hear the end of it, it wasn't polite to eavesdrop like that. And anyway, by then, I understood what that woman meant when he repeated her sentence, the same way every Australian woman would say when they invited one in for a quick cup of tea...
Can I roll my eyes again? Made me smile.
It was so wonderful to see men enjoying themselves like that. Being natural, doing what made them happy. If gossiping over a glass of red and a good curry made their day, it made mine too.
