Friday afternoon, we finish our lunch, and go for our afternoon post-lunch walk. It’s drizzling, and J tells me there were fishes in the puddles. For a moment, I wanted to believe what she said, and I bent down to look for them. Of course, there was none. Somebody said the new coffee machine had been installed in the pantry. I gave myself one more chance to believe. J and I ran upstairs to the pantry, all excited about the new coffee machine. It made me feel nostalgic about my childhood, the way my brothers and I would get all excited and run about the house, every time a new gadget, a toaster, or a washing machine, T.V., or a tape recorder would be bought. Today was such a day. The pantry was bustling with people and activity. Someone said there were five kinds of tea, three kinds of coffee, badam milk, soup and even hot chocolate. Naturally, I did not know which to choose. Then Y suggested, I should start with one, and then try out the rest, as she bantered—“The office is not running away, the pantry is not running away, the machine, once installed, would not run away. The only factor not constant is you, who can be fired, for taking so much time deciding!” I think, I half believed her, and quickly made my choice. I chose cappuccino, and it did taste like real coffee. As I came out of the pantry, I realized that my tenure as the “coffee editor” (as Angshuman had designated me since I would get four cups of coffee for myself and my friends every day after lunch) had finally come to an end!
