Pancakes shaped like snowflakes

Merry Christmas everyone! I'd love to spread some holiday cheer with the return of another tale of Maya, bumbling through her life. Hope you enjoy it! 

December is a rather fascinating month. It signifies the end of a year, the birth of new beginnings, and most of all, the season of holidays. It’s a time when families gather at home putting up their decorations, stuffing themselves with delicious food, and following beautiful traditions that forms and rekindles their bonds. It’s a season of never ending sales at all stores, what with people needing to find outfits for the multiple wedding ceremonies, Christmas get-togethers and wild New Year’s parties. It’s also the time when people want to slow down and reminisce another year of memories, hardships and good times. However, slowing down becomes difficult as an adult when you realize that the deadlines pile up and rain like a mammoth sized downpour over those plans.

“I am sick of looking at these balance sheets! I swear I will throw something if Prabhu suggests getting another audit done before the year end!”, Maya screamed with frustration. It's Christmas Eve, and she just returned from the office with work for days to accompany her “holiday”. It’s all hunky dory when corporate offers you a two week leave at the end of the year, but not so much when the current work is dumped on your team for completion before entering the next year. Maya’s new job was located in a different city, and she was supposed to be in Pune celebrating the holidays with her college friends. Except when her team was asked to complete the leftover work, she was asked to stay back for getting it done quickly. So Maya’s return to her messy apartment made it even worse for her already tumultuous mood. She decided she’d make it bearable with a bath followed by wine and takeout.

She had just gotten out of the shower when her doorbell rang. Twice. She grabbed her wallet and walked to the door, except it wasn’t her Taco Bell at the door. “It’s good to know that you love me Dumbo, but you don’t need to pay me to keep me around”, joked Nathan, leaning at the doorframe with a smirk on his face. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be halfway home by now?” “Well, it doesn’t bear well on my conscience when I know I’ll be leaving the Grinch alone in Bangalore to terrorize its poor citizens”, he said as he strolled into the living room. “Seriously, green, Maya? I know you’re the Grinch, but you don’t need green underwear lying around to prove it,” Nathan said with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Oh shut up egghead!  I am not the Grinch, and it is rude to comment like that about my home! I just came back from work a while back and was expecting my dinner” Maya replied, before picking up and throwing her clothes in her empty hamper. “Besides, what have you brought that UberEats doesn’t have?”, she retorted. “For one, great company. Don’t pretend you aren’t happy to see me.  Your friend has left a feast at home to spend it with your sorry ass. And two, the sanity which seems God forgot to give you before sending you here. Now I hope your takeout is at least worthy of a Christmas dinner”, he said as he rummaged through her cabinets.

What he said was true though. Being in a new city had been tough for her. It wasn’t easy making new friends, and difficult to stay in touch with the old ones when everyone was busy living their own lives. Nathan was a constant though. His frequent business trips and surprise visits made her feel like her life was still in one piece. From early morning drives to scenic hills to late night karaoke competitions, he was the sanity that kept her from adopting ten cats and becoming an early croon. He may have had the money, the swanky job and the girls who couldn’t stop throwing themselves at him, but he always did come back every few weeks to annoy her gloom out of her. Even if he wasn't there, his daily meme spam annoying texts kept her from feeling lonely. And truth be told, he was more than just her sanity. He was the anchor that kept her grounded, and now he was here on Christmas eve, standing in her kitchen making her heart beat like she just finished a marathon.

“I hope Taco Bell and wine meets your criteria, Nate, because I have no food left in the kitchen.” “Maya, that my dear, is a sad excuse for a Christmas dinner. But I do have something to redeem it and make it a little merry,” rolling his sleeves and getting some bowls out. “What’s that?” “Pancakes! You may not have much else, but there are enough ingredients to make a great breakfast dessert,” he says with smile. “How about this? Let’s see who makes the sexiest Christmas themed pancakes while we’re at it. Loser washes the dishes.” “Oh you’re on. You’re challenging the one who did your drawing assignments for you in school,” Maya replied with a mischievous look, tying her hair up. “Be prepared to eat dirt, and while you’re at it, maybe start washing those plates.” “We’ll see about that.”

And so the two of them began with their amusing contest. While both of them were creative people with their handiwork to prove it, pancake art just wasn’t a domain they could master. “I swear this looks like Santa Claus, Maya, can’t you see the shape of the beard and the hat?” “I am not blind Nate. Sure it does, if Santa landed in a tragic accident.” “Then what’s yours supposed to be, idiot? A reindeer’s nose?” “Actually, I’ll have you know it’s a snowflake. They all have unique shapes. You just don’t have the artistic flair to see it,” said Maya, sheepishly looking at her botched attempt at what was supposed to be a Christmas tree. “Sure Maya, your kooky imagination of a snowflake is so much better,” he retorted, flicking a spoon at her which fell at her side. They both stared hard at each other with deadpan faces, before looking at the failed pancakes and bursting into laughter. “Fine, we both lose. Let’s call it a truce and do the dishes together?”, Maya asked with a warm smile. “Yeah, I believe that works out,” Nate replied with a chuckle.

A calm silence washed over them as they did the dishes. Maya snuck a look at him and asked, “So what are you really doing here instead of being at home? I know you didn’t have any work here this week.” “Yeah, but Christmas isn’t what it what once was when you need to be battle ready preventing your parents from murdering each other. The holidays really seem to bring out the worst in them. And what about you? I know your dad’s been asking you to book a flight home since November,” he peered at her, keeping the dishes to dry and pouring themselves some wine. “Well, it’s easier to go to Pune than go home. Christmas without Ken just seems sad you know. At least there’s no family tension in this place,” she sighed taking a sip from her glass, savouring the taste. “They’re still not talking to him?” “You know how they are. Besides, I don’t have any right to complain. He’s finally living the life he deserves. He and Varun are vacationing in Hawaii, and Varun makes life so much better for him. Ken honestly won’t shut up about it, he’s that happy. I’m thrilled for both of them, and maybe all of it’s for the best,” she continued, taking a bite out of Nate’s pancake. “They’ll come around someday, you know that right? And it looks to me you’re doing just fine.” 

“What makes you say that?” Maya asked, he moved closer to her. “Well, you have the independence you've always wanted, and a job you love despite how hard the task may be. And most importantly, no matter which part of the world you’re in, you’ll always have someone at your door at 1 am on a weekend taking you for a night time spin,” he replies taking the glass out of her hand. “You’ll always have someone stealing food from your plate, someone to scare you just after a jump scare ends in a scary movie, just so they can give you a hug afterwards.” Maya felt her cheeks warm up as he removed the clip from her hair, setting it free. She reassures herself that it’s just the wine, obviously. Nathan continues, “You’ll never have to worry about transforming into a crazy cat lady, because I’ll be here every Christmas, New Years's and every other holiday driving you crazy. Now don’t be rude to the mistletoe,” he said, taking another step closer. “B..But there is no mistletoe in the apartment,” she stuttered as he stared down at her. “Just imagine it like that snowflake shape pancake of yours. Merry Christmas, Dumbo,” he said quietly and leaned in, closing the distance between them. There may have been no Christmas decorations, but Maya felt the house had been brighter than ever before.