MATCH-MAKER MATCH-MAKER
Mrs. Marlene Vaz lay tossing and turning in bed for hours before she gave in and shook her sleeping husband awake. “Eddie. Eddie, wake up!” she called. “Why is this taking so long?”
Mr. Edgar Vaz, his movements slower and paunch larger than they were thirty years ago, turned more slowly than when he was a younger man. He looked at his wife with one eye open, the other choosing to remain asleep and mumbled, “Why is what taking so long, Marlu?”
“Isn’t that obvious? Finding a boy for Emily, Edgar.” snapped Mrs. Vaz, using her husband’s christened name as she only did when she was annoyed. She couldn’t understand how getting their baby girl married did not feature as prominently on her husband’s mind as her own. “Remember how simple it was with Abigail? I think Clive was the second or third boy she met and the two of them hit it off so well from the get go.” she paused and smiled, thinking fondly of her first-born and her spouse before continuing with a solemn expression once more. “With Emily, it’s been a completely different story. More than three years ago I told her that I would find a good, well-educated, financially stable man for her. I mean, if she wasn’t seeing anyone at twenty-three, I thought it was highly unlikely she would suddenly be bitten by the dating bug. I assumed that a sweet-natured, attractive girl like her, with those long tresses and never-ending legs, would have nothing to worry about. I know that she is getting sick and tired of all this. I can’t understand what is happening…” Her voice trailed off momentarily. “Two years Eddie. I really want her to find her match so we can see her well settled. Jesus knows why it’s taking so long.”
Mr. Vaz who had almost fallen asleep once more was awoken by the sudden silence and opened his eye again. He rubbed his rather large belly, as he was wont to do when he was contemplating something and gave what he hoped was an appropriate response to his wife’s monologue, “Perhaps this next boy will click. Don’t worry so much Marlu. You’ve told Abigail to come and help Emily get dressed, haven’t you? She was always better at fashion. This could be the end of the husband hunt. Although if it isn’t, it’s quite nice having her at home with us, isn’t it?” He reached out to pat his wife’s shoulder reassuringly and without waiting for a response, turned onto his side once more and promptly fell asleep again.
“Men!” Mrs. Vaz grumbled softly as she continued to toss and turn. Perhaps it was best Emily was still single and free. Then she admonished herself for thinking such a thought. She looked lovingly at the man who had been sharing her bed for decades now, his snores puncturing the silence of the night and hoped that Emily would be at least as lucky as she had been.
Some women want to fly fighter planes; others want to become Chief Executive Officers, while still others judges in the Supreme Court. Not Marlene though. There was not one ambitious bone in her body. Well, maybe there was just one. From the day she said ‘I do’, all she ever wanted was to see her husband and then later, her children excel. And she wanted to be their driving force. When at the social functions she often attended, she found herself bored by mundane things like politics and socio-economic conditions of the country and was on the constant look out for ways to steer the conversation to fascinating territory – the Vaz family. They were undoubtedly her sun and she had most happily revolved around them for the better part of her life. However small or insignificant their achievements, she made sure that the world knew how talented her family was. Her children too had flourished in various fields. While Abbey excelled in academics and music, she didn’t know any girls who could shoot three-pointers as well as her Emily could. Some people called her pushy, but the label didn’t bother her. She knew it was different.
It was no wonder, then, that she was itching to be done with the last of her major parenting responsibilities. She wanted to finally be able to brag about how both her daughters were ‘well settled’ in addition to everything else that they had accomplished. Sadly, it was taking the longest time. When she had excitedly told Emily about this new prospective husband – Ethan, her daughter had barely managed to muster up some sort of – she couldn’t even call it enthusiasm – and even that, Mrs. Vaz knew, was only to humour her. Left with no choice, she had called Abigail to help raise Emily’s interest once more.
******
Please come back to read what happens next tomorrow!
Am posting everyday in an attempt to complete the Ultimate Blog Challenge this month.
Filed under: Fiction, novella, UBC October, Ultimate Blog Challenge 
