A Christmas Eve Story
December 28, 2019
Y’all are back! Thank goodness because have I got a story to share this week! Remember how last month, there was an uncle who asked my dad for my phone number? Well, let me catch you up on what has happened since then…
My dad gave my number just before Thanksgiving, but it has been radio silence from the guy. To the point where I was starting to think, did he find someone else and that is why he did not even bother to send me a courtesy “hello”? Anyway, my mom asks his mom what the deal is (obviously in a more sophisticated manner) and his mother tells her he is not comfortable texting someone whom he has never met before. He will be coming home for Christmas, so maybe they can talk and get to know each other at that time.
Okay, I am not sure how y’all are when it comes to messaging strangers, but for me, I am not the type that needs to meet you in real life to send you a text message. It probably stems from the fact I would send cold emails and LinkedIn messages when I was job hunting. And even on dating apps, I would often be the first person to reach out and say “hey, how’s it going?” Which is why I thought it was strange this guy needed to see me in person before texting me; I mean, it is not as serious as a phone call, so why the formality? I have always thought messaging out of the blue was a millennial thing. But perhaps it is not. Perhaps it is an Aemi thing. And it is not out of the blue, I know he has my number. Ugh, this is why I do not like giving out my number, I lose control of the situation!
So now we fast forward to this week, to Christmas Eve. I had work, but only for half the day. I was working from home so that I could get ready as soon as my work was done. We planned to have a family portrait done since my brother was finally home from college. We were going to JC Penny dressed in our church clothes because we had Christmas Eve mass at our church. The portrait was the only reason I went through my whole makeup routine. When I do my whole makeup routine, that means I am putting on foundation, powder, lipstick, eyeshadow, eyeliner, blush, highlighter, contouring, the whole works! My mother, on the other hand, was fretting over every detail. She was going back and forth on my outfit the whole day! Finally, she settled on this red and gold gown I had worn at Victoria and Tim’s engagement. It is a gorgeous dress that I fell in love with as soon as I saw it, it has these shoulder straps that make it feel very Victorian and gives me boobs I do not have. A beautiful gown, perfected face, teased hair, and jewelry to match. Was I going to church or for a pennu kanille?
My family, being a very typical Malayalee family, runs on IST (Indian Standard Time, meaning we are always at minimum an hour late). So naturally, we were late for the appointment, ended up having to reschedule, and head straight to church. I am going to skip the part about the Christmas mass because it does not have anything to contribute to this story. After the service, I was putting on my shoes, wishing people merry Christmas, and trying to get to the dining hall. Noimbu (lent) ended and I want to break my fast! But of course, before I can get some appam and chicken curry, my mother comes up to me and starts speaking to me cryptically. She was acting weird because my cousins and friends were with me, but I understood her message loud and clear: do not run away, the guy is here, make sure you talk to him. Thankfully, there were too many people and he already sat down to eat his food, which meant I could go eat too. But I could not avoid the inevitable for too long.
It may seem like I changed my mind about meeting this guy. In the last post, I was somewhere between indifferent and hopeful about him messaging me. But now it seems that I am trying to avoid meeting him altogether. While it was true that I was using every excuse to delay our first encounter, it was not because of anything he did or did not do. But rather, it was because the first time I was meeting him was also the first time my parents were meeting him. I was not comfortable at all with the fact that I was unable to vet him in my own way beforehand. I did not know how he spoke, what his mannerisms were, or how much he knew about me or the situation. I was going in completely blind, and that lack of control makes me want to run for the hills.
As the night carried on, people were eager to get home, it is Christmas Eve after all. My support and shield started to dwindle as they got ready to leave. Time to face the music, I guess. There is an open walkway between the sanctuary (where mass is held) and the dining hall. My brother and the uncle were mid-conversation in this walkway as I came up with my mom and the aunty. My dad was already there standing in the typical Achayan pose: arms crossed and resting on his dad belly, legs slightly apart, his chest slightly puffed out because he is commanding his full height. All you Mallus out there know exactly what I am talking about. He was present and passively listening to my brother make yet another friend out of a complete stranger.
But you might be asking, where was the cherakkan (boy)? Well, come back next week to find out how this story ends. My stories may not be as captivating as Scheherazade’s (the narrator from Arabian Nights), but I hope you find them entertaining. Leave comments below about what you think is going to happen. I would love to read your predictions! So until next time.
- Aemi
