Monday, August 7, 2023
Westport, Connecticut
Morning Driving Practice, then A Long Day of Rest
It is badly needed—this day of rest and relaxation that I have decided to permit myself after ten hectic days of non-stop activity that did my knee in. My knee deserves rest, icing, a compression sleeve, regular applications of Moov (ointment from India that is always in my traveling medicine kit) and two strong painkillers (Tylenol Extra Strength) taken every six hours. This arsenal of medical remedies keeps me functional.
So when I awake to wash and then get a bowl of interesting and unfamiliar cereal (Keto friendly with slivered almonds) and milk, I am determined to keep the day light. Leslie is at hand to attend to my every need. I am moved by her hospitality. We chat non-stop—there is so much to say when two talkative women get together. She describes it as a “never-ending pyjama party”. And that is what we will have for the next week as her husband Sunil will remain in India and on his international business travels and we will have this home on Pine Street in Westport to ourselves.
When breakfast is done, Leslie (who has offered me the use of her car when she does not need it and indeed says I can drop her off ta work and then use it while she is on duty), asks if I would like to take her car someplace today. I tell her that it has been nine months since I have driven a car, that the US drives on a different side of the road to the one I am now accustomed (in India), that I have always been nervous behind the wheel of an unfamiliar car and that I will need practice before I can feel road-worthy again. She has a Subaru Forester (which, I realize later) is not too different from the car I drove (a Subaru Outback). However, her model is much more recent than the one we had. She has keyless entry, for instance, and a large TV-like screen in the front which assists in reversing, parallel parking, etc. I use the old-fashioned techniques that I learned at driving school with Rick (my beloved Driving Instructor, Rick), whom I often thought of and prayed for—because he taught me a skill for life).
The empty parking lot to which Leslie takes me is just at the foot of the hill where her gated community stands—it belongs to one of the many churches that dot this part of Connecticut. In the beginning, I am shaky behind the wheel. I have to find my nerve more than anything else. But Leslie is a brave and patient instructor as she shows me all the controls, indicators, signals, wipers, etc. I take several rounds in the parking lot and get a feel of the car and its controls. When I feel comfortable enough, we move out on to the street, heading towards Compos Beach and then the lovely backroads of Westport. It is not long before I feel confident enough to take on the task independently…but I have to say that the initial sensation of being behind the wheel after such a long time, is a strange one. I am glad I have managed to accomplish one more hurdle in the many tasks I am left to complete during my stay in Connecticut.
Buying Groceries:
I have offered to buy groceries for the week for the household, but Leslie will not permit me to do so as she says she has recently stocked up. Instead, my driving takes us to Stop and Shop from where I buy a few things I will need (and some indulgences I will like): for example, I am attracted by the giant, ruby-red cherries that entice me and I cannot help but put a bag in our cart. It is good to be at Stop and Shop again—the place from where I did our weekly supermarket shop for 30 years. It brings back happy memories of wonderful years spent in this part of the world. I also buy Alpen Muesli, Lipton’s Decaff tea, a fresh lemon (for my tea as I take it black with lemon), Blue Cheese Salad Dressing (as Leslie does not use salad dressing at all), a carton of Tri-Napolitan Chocolate Ice-cream from Breyer’s ice cream (I miss good chocolate ice-cream in India), heavy cream for my coffee (but then I see the hazelnut-flavored creamer and I buy it instead). That’s it! Armed with these essentials, my breakfasts will be covered. But I do need yogurt and since Stop and Shop does not have the honey yogurt flavor I like, we decide to stop at Trader’s Joe’s on the way home and buy a tub of that instead.
At Trader’s Joe’s, I do buy the yogurt. I resolve to return and buy a few other ingredients that I will carry back home to Bombay. I have my list and I will furnish it another time.
Lunch at Leslie’s:
When we get back home, we put our groceries away and Leslie gets ready to leave for work. She grabs a tortilla with peanut butter, but I wait to eat until after she leaves. Then I toast a slice of plain pizza that’s in the fridge, a baguette with Boursin cheese (I love it) and a small salad. It is a lovely lunch which I eat while keeping the TV on to a cooking program on PBS.
A Long Nap Provides Much-Needed Rest:
All at once, I feel very sleepy and I realize that jetlag is kicking in (as I am still on London time—as I grow older, my body takes much longer to adjust). I go into my room and decide to take a nap and think it will be no longer than my customary twenty minutes. But I end up sleeping for three whole hours! I cannot believe that it is almost 5.30 pm when I awake.
Leslie is due back home by 6.30—I make myself a cup of lemony tea and down it with a few almond cookies that she had bought for a guest and told me to finish off as she does not want to keep these in the house. I comply! I watch some more TV and apprise myself of the horrid events unfolding in the USA with the many Trump indictments. It is a terrible time to be in the USA—the country is sliding downwards towards some hell of which I cannot (and do not) wish to be a part. I feel fortunate and truly blessed that I now live in India far from the corruption that has a stranglehold upon the American electorate. Something, to quote Shakespeare, is truly rotten in the state of the USA! It does not feel politically pleasant to be here, to be honest.
Dinner and TV with Leslie:
When Leslie returned from work at 6.30 pm, she makes a large bowl of popcorn (her daily pleasure) and I nibble at a few popped seeds. It is good. We discover that she has Apple TV (I used to, but not any more) and as I have always wanted to see the last episode of Bad Sisters, I ask her to set me up with me. It is as I predicted. The outcome (the murderer) was someone I had predicted from the beginning. I guess I have seen too much crime drama and detective fiction…I know how to spot the likely perp rather early in the game.
Dinner is a repeat, pretty much, of yesterday, as we had leftover tortellini and sauce, roasted broccoli and salad to enjoy. It is a simple meal but really delicious.
We do not stay up late as I am still sleepy and tired and need my rest. I have a shower, brush and floss my teeth and get ready for bed. In bed, I read The Covenant of Water for a long while and edit my pictures and send them off to friends. I chat with Llew before it is lights out for me.
Until tomorrow…cheerio!
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