She cursed the chai as it singed her tongue and scorched its way down her throat. She thumped the little glass on the dry mud next to her and looked around for anything that would dull the burn. There was neither sugar nor water in sight. All she could see was some dirty water floating around in the half-burnt aluminum vessel next to the flat tire of the semi-permanent chai shop on wheels.
She pressed her tongue against the roof of her mouth seeking some comfort. It had not been her day. At all. Or week. Or month. When she had left early this morning, she was sure she would be returning with the first beginnings of a bright future. All discussions with the investors had been positive. Today was supposed to be the day when they finally signed on the dotted line and handed her a dream.
Instead, it had all gone south real fast. The investors were pausing any funding for the moment. Nothing against her business. They still believed in her concept. But it was just bad timing. She might not know a lot, but she could always make out bull shit when she heard it. There was little to do after that. She got back into the rental she had booked for the day and started doing the mental math.
In the plush interior of the CRV she faced facts. The loans she had taken in hope of this investment had doubled her debts. She had to start paying back from the coming month. Without investment, her small business was not going to be able to bear the load of the piling debt. She had invested everything she had into putting up a show for the investors. In encouraging them to see the picture that she was seeing. And now she was left with nothing.
She was broke.
She leaned her against the soft leather of the car seat and finally admitted that she was broke. And beat. That was when the car swerved sharply to the right and the driver drew it to a halt.
“Madam, I think it’s a puncture, “ the driver apologized to her through the rearview mirror. “I have a spare. Just give me ten minutes.”
“Perfect!” She had thought to herself as she stepped out into the heat of an early summer. A mild breeze kept the weather bearable.
Spotting the chai shop she decided to grab a cup while she was waiting. She found a rounded stone by the edge of the deserted road and sat on it. Her mind had started its negative spiral into highlighting her futile situation when she had burnt her tongue. Now she cursed the chai. Her tongue. Her fate. Herself. Just about everything. What she really needed was a distraction.
She spotted two kids playing under the shade of a tree not far from the chai shop. They seemed to be not more than ten years old. Both boys. They were dueling with twigs and laughing about something. She envied them.
“My boys,” the chaiwala smiled. He must have spotted her staring at them. “Its summer vacation. School is closed. It is difficult to keep them home. They come here with me.”
“They go to school!” She exclaimed raising her eyebrows, her voice sounding every bit impressed as she was.
“It is what makes me wake up every morning and come here to make chai for passersby like you.” He nodded toward the boys. “ These two. All I can give them is a small home and some thirty-forty thousand saving. That’s it.”
A home that nobody could drive them out of and money to buy them food. He was doing better than her. She wanted to tell him that. But she kept quiet. She had no idea how she was going to make money for rent next month. Her landlord would definitely drive her out. If she could, she would trade places with her in a heartbeat.
The driver signaled that they were good to go once again. She smiled at the chaiwala and thanked him. She reached into her purse to fish out for some change.
“Let it be madam,” the chaiwala smiled. “You looked like you really needed that chai. Think of it as a small gift.”
She got into the car and rolled down her window. She watched the chaiwala walk to the boys and say something to them which made them laugh harder. She watched them diminish as the car sped away from them.
The haves and the have nots.