Part 34: Lunch for the needy or the greedy?

Today when I got home from work there was nowhere for me to park, I had to park on the pavement outside!

 We have a carport that accommodates 6 cars plus a double garage!!

None of the cars parked in the bays were any I recognized except Sumaya's. At first I thought maybe something horrible had happened, then I remembered MiL was hosting her ladies committee meeting today...

I walked in to what sounded like the Victoria Street market...i almost walked back out! The kids at school make less noise than these 10 women.

Every month my MiLs community outreach group meets to plan their roster, this month its my MiLs turns to host the meeting...she has been stressing over the menu for weeks and had Sumaya and Shireen on a hop yesterday cooking and baking up a storm.

"Everything must be to the T, I don't want any ladies saying our lunch was like this and like that and last month was better!", I heard her drill my SiLs last night.

Sumaya was quiet annoyed that she had to make such variety for the tea table, just because last month the Drs wife had a 7-11 spread...7 lunch dishes and 11 tea things! My MiL, was not to be outdone...she was having a bakers dozen plus one spread...im not even kidding!

I just find it so ironical that a committee that meets to plan a lunch roster for the local school and clinic, places so much emphasis on the lunch they going to eat.

Every month my MiL tells us all the details of this get together...what she ate, what was made, who wore what, who said what...she returns home with weeks worth of gossip and tons of leftovers!

MiLs outreach group prepares lunch for underprivileged children at the local school, despite the nationwide government feeding scheme that has come into effect, the group still continues with their private one. So honourable, right?

 Each lady takes two days a month to make and deliver lunch to the school and two days a month to make and deliver sandwiches and tea to people waiting in the queues outside the local clinic, between them, this group ensures that fresh food is served everyday.

They meet monthly to plan the menu so that the same thing isn't served twice at the school or every week at the clinic.

My MiLs turn is the first two Tuesday's of the month for the school and the second two Tuesday's for the clinic...its no big deal for her, she only provides the ingredients, its Tumi and Thembi that get all the real sawaab.

But the meeting is a different story...my MiL had to be the hostess with the mostest today...
By the time I got home, all the organizing was done it seemed...the topic was now much more serious and engaging...gossip.

Who, what, where, how, when, why...nobody in the community was spared from slander and speculation I think!

The amount of dirty laundry being aired was frightening...if my FiL knew that the 5kg queen prawns in Kashmiri sauce was for this, he would have donated his money to another charity  I am sure.

I tried to sneak past to my room but MiL saw me and I had to do the parade, you know...kiss kiss, "no,no I'm Alhumdulliah, hehe, nice to meet you"

At least two ladies thought they knew me from somewhere so my whole family history had to come out...lucky for me, one lady was missing, so I only had to do the dance 8 times.

Finally, I had been right around the room, I was about to turn and make an excuse to leave when my MiLs 'arch enemy' returned from the loo...

I had heard so much kooch kooch about this lady from my MiL, she was the 3rd wife to some rich business man and she was very fancy and 'upper class', when it was her turn to host the meeting, they all looked forward to finally seeing her house, much to everybody's disappointment she took them out to lunch
! My MiL was quiet pissed off back then.

"Fahmeeda, have you met my daughter in law Fatima, Imraan's wife...she is a teacher!"

 I turned around and gasped...here was somebody I never thought I'd have to see ever again.


"YOU!!!!" we both said together...


My MiLs face suddenly changed to a look of fear...

"Come here!", Fahmz opened her arms wide...i never forgave myself for not taking your number!"

Say whaaaaaaat...