“In my House, I seat people around the dinning table”
Posted by: adonis49 on: January 18, 2015
“In my House, I seat people around the table” (Short story)
It’s Sunday around 1:50 pm. Josie and Yule have just arrived before flying back to London. Yule said that they have only 15 minutes to spare for eating. Josie suggested that they could extend their stay for another 30 minutes and get to the airport on time since she called her mom and agreed to have lunch with the family. Actually, Josie knew that her mother will cook a few extra dishes just for them and she felt sorry.
The table is set but many are busy finishing a game. I sat in the middle of the table to serve the asparagus soup in order for the people in a hurry to get something to eat.
In the meanwhile, I am hearing the father of Josie saying: Connor and Heine will sit by me. Connor and Heine are not here and probably might not show up or Connor agreeing to sit by his father: I cannot recall Connor , Virgil eldest son, getting a seat by his father Virgil.
I am busy serving soup around and Virgil is repeating himself ad nausea: Connor and Heine will sit by me, like a retarded kid demonstrating his enthusiasm. You should move your seating a little further. And I am asking my guests to skew a little to make room for another chair. Apparently, the formal chairs are too big for the extra space we managed to arrange for another formal chair.
It didn’t dawn on me first why Virgil was insisting so much. Connor and Heine finally got engaged last night at Heine’s parents. They have been living together for the last 10 years and once I overheard Bill saying that they were married, though not officially.
As if Virgil didn’t marry two of his daughters and his youngest son got engaged a few months ago.
Maybe I should have told Virgil: “Ok. I’m hearing you. I’m just waiting for Connor to show up…” . Anyway, he is very hard of hearing and it is Not a sure matter that he would have heard me.
And suddenly I hear Virgil uttering: “In my House, I seat people around the table”.
Virgil is my brother-in-law and has 6 offspring. He lives on the third floor and I am living with my elderly and ailing parents on the first. He is a retired army officer and was accustomed to giving order and expect obedience.
My blood made a turn and I got out of the table and cursed him and his house and said: “Damned me if I ever eat with you again”. And I stormed out of the flat.
Actually, this flat is my father’s and Virgil got it in his name in order to secure a mortgage on the flat for his shaky faltering business.
On many occasions I stormed out without saying a word as Virgil made it his habit to target me. This time around, and after dad passed away a week ago, it was an instant gratification for venting my pent up anger. It was becoming too much for me to silently bare all these bullshits.
Virgil is a typical humourless man, tight assed guy, very much on customs and traditions and not very updated on world events. He barely read and feels pretty unhappy when he sees me reading, writing and publishing on the net.
Most of his talks are repeats and very much known opinions and nothing new can ever come from his lips. And I was his favourite scapegoat target for long time since he got in terrible financial handicap and badly needed a smokescreen for his distressed mental state.
At least, Virgil got it firmly in his mind to save me from his opinions and suggestions: I badly want a relationship that is new, funny and different.
Adonis Diaries 
Leave a Reply