Tom, Jerry and the E.....M

Shhh.....I beckon to my Girl Friday. The cook comes following her to see what's up. I open the bucket full of what anyone in their senses would consider to be garbage, muck, filth ...... call it by whatever name, the stench should be equally bad. But no, it does not stink. I dump some more of my garbage - vegetable waste to be precise - into the bin and shake it up gently to see if I can see any sign of activity at the bottom of the pile. Yes, there they are, rushing to crawl into their dark corners. The girls watch with a mixture of awe and disgust. None of us mentions the taboo word ... it starts with an E and ends with an M.

Me? Know a word that starts with an E and ends with an M? Oh no! My English is not so great! Just the previous noon I had gone to get my friends home. I usually smuggle in all the stuff I know I want but which would be forbidden if the BH ever gets wind of it. (GG, I try to learn how to accept a "No", but I do it differently). It is done furtively when he is away at work. Whoever thought of sending men to work knew what they were talking about. I get back home with my friends and some more stuff. We enter the parking lot. "S***" (or the Marathi equivalent of it) says the driver. BH's car is in the parking lot. He has not gone in to work today. I was weary and decided to skip going to Star Bazaar and returned home. "Let's go to Star Bazaar says the driver! That won't help. BH is going to be home even when I get back from Star Bazaar. So I crawl in with my creepy crawlies as well as other stuff into the house - I have my own set of keys. I hope BH does not see me. I intend going straight to the balcony. But BH has ideas of his own. Just when I hope he stays burrowed into his own corner, he decides to be social and comes to the door to welcome me!

"What's all this?" he demands on seeing the new buckets, the cocopeat and sundry stuff. "I need them" I say. "......." he goes on. I keep a stiff upper lip and don't utter a word - very hard for me. I especially steer clear of words that start with an E and end with an M. I quickly grab a sandwich and skive off to Star Bazaar. BH's time out, or is it mine - quite literally? I come back home. Peace has been reinstated. I go to the balcony. I get down to planting some seeds and housing my creepy crawlies. BH comes to find out what I am doing. "Oh, just some gardening" I reply. "Be careful of your head" he says referring to my misadventure a couple of weeks ago.

Today, over lunch, BH very generously tells me to take a break and go visit my cousin for a week. HUH???!!! Now what is this all about? thinkingsmiley "I have my projects at hand and can't go anywhere now" I reply. "What project" he asks. "Oh, my composting"

"What do you have to do? It is the earthworms that feed" he replies. :eek :shock:

My jaw drops. My mind works overtime. So he knew the E...Ms were at work in the balcony! He did not throw me or the E...Ms out of the house! He did not even protest or mention the word himself! Relief floods over me. On the other hand, does that mean that he just threw a stone without knowing what he was saying and it hit the nail? Does he know or doesn't he? I am not going to try to find out. What was it that they say about curiosity killing the cat?

 

Sabitha, I can only hope he knows and has decided to do nothing about it ..... I mean not even crib.

Earlier he protested against my composting saying it was worthless and only vermicompost could be of any value. I did not even have any intentions of introducing worms into our family circle. But then ..... oh well, the universe just said "tathaastoo".