first cousin to Ursula, the nasty octopus in The Little Mermaid But Carrie shook it off very quickly.
Doreen wasn't going to ruin her resolve.
After taking a shower in the now smel -free bathroom (God bless whoever fixed the toilet), throwing on a pair of jean shorts and a pink racer-back tank top, and wrapping her hair up in a soggy bun, Carrie grabbed her backpack on her way downstairs and stashed it in the corner by the front door. She was planning on waiting for the moment when everyone was distracted and then slipping out to the Help India headquarters. Since she had no idea when that moment might come, she figured it would be best to have her stuff within grabbing distance.
"Good morning!" Carrie said as she traipsed into the dining area. Sunlight filtered in through three large windows. The wooden floor was dotted with multicolored rugs in various states of wear and tear. Celia was pouring tea into faded china cups at each setting and Doreen was folding mismatched napkins.
"Someone's in a good mood," Celia commented with a smile.
"What can I say? I slept wel , I'm clean, and I'm no longer puking," Carrie replied, knocking on the nearest wooden chair.
She took a seat at the large communal table. Celia and Doreen joined her as a pair of men in their mid- thirties delivered the food from the kitchen through swinging doors, depositing heaping bowls and trays on the table. There was a huge platter of yellow rice that appeared to be mixed up with onions, a plate full of doughnuts and fluffy biscuits, and some kind of brown stew that smelled amazing.
This was going to be a good day. Carrie could feel it. She was taking charge and she hadn't felt this optimistic in weeks. Maybe that meant she was going to find her T-shirt today. She felt as if it were already in her grasp.
Celia stopped the two men on one of their many trips back to the kitchen. "Sanjee, Dan, this is Carrie," she said, smiling in her direction. "Sanjee and Dan run the hostel. They wanted to meet you yesterday, but by the time I brought them upstairs, you were already napping."
"Sorry. It was kind of a long flight," Carrie explained. "But it's nice to meet you."
"And you," Dan said. "Hope you like puris."
"And if not, we have cornflakes," Sanjee added with a wink before they disappeared again into the kitchen.
"What's puris?" Carrie asked Celia.
"Here," Celia said, placing a biscuit from the bread platter onto Carrie's plate. "They're delicious. But don't eat yet. Wait until everyone's seated."
Carrie smiled. Her mother would have said exactly the same thing. She started thinking about what her mom might be doing at that very moment. A wave of homesickness crept over Carrie as she filled her plate. She was glad that her mom had always experimented with recipes and raised her as an adventurous eater. She was also glad her mom had called up her dad and arranged this whole trip. Carrie had been thinking a lot about what her mom did--how she reached out to her ex-husband, even though she rarely ever talked to him-- just so that her daughter could go off and chase a T-shirt. Carrie would have to bring back the best souvenir ever, like a huge sparkling bejeweled bindi dot or something.
"Ooh ... I see you've taken the usal and the poke," Prandya said, eyeing Carrie's plate as she sat down across the table. "Good choices. Very hearty.
They will help you work hard."
"Usal and . . . pohe?" Carrie repeated, the words strange on her tongue. "Which is which?"
"The usal is potato-and-lentil stew and the pohe is rice and onions," Doreen replied.
"Very good," Prandya said, clearly impressed.
"Doreen read every book and looked at every Internet site she could find before we came here," Celia said, giving her daughter a proud squeeze.
"I recognized the cornflakes," Carrie joked.
Other workers started to trickle in and Celia introduced Carrie, who had been the only one of the new arrivals to sleep straight through dinner the night before.
"This is Amelie and
Doreen wasn't going to ruin her resolve.
After taking a shower in the now smel -free bathroom (God bless whoever fixed the toilet), throwing on a pair of jean shorts and a pink racer-back tank top, and wrapping her hair up in a soggy bun, Carrie grabbed her backpack on her way downstairs and stashed it in the corner by the front door. She was planning on waiting for the moment when everyone was distracted and then slipping out to the Help India headquarters. Since she had no idea when that moment might come, she figured it would be best to have her stuff within grabbing distance.
"Good morning!" Carrie said as she traipsed into the dining area. Sunlight filtered in through three large windows. The wooden floor was dotted with multicolored rugs in various states of wear and tear. Celia was pouring tea into faded china cups at each setting and Doreen was folding mismatched napkins.
"Someone's in a good mood," Celia commented with a smile.
"What can I say? I slept wel , I'm clean, and I'm no longer puking," Carrie replied, knocking on the nearest wooden chair.
She took a seat at the large communal table. Celia and Doreen joined her as a pair of men in their mid- thirties delivered the food from the kitchen through swinging doors, depositing heaping bowls and trays on the table. There was a huge platter of yellow rice that appeared to be mixed up with onions, a plate full of doughnuts and fluffy biscuits, and some kind of brown stew that smelled amazing.
This was going to be a good day. Carrie could feel it. She was taking charge and she hadn't felt this optimistic in weeks. Maybe that meant she was going to find her T-shirt today. She felt as if it were already in her grasp.
Celia stopped the two men on one of their many trips back to the kitchen. "Sanjee, Dan, this is Carrie," she said, smiling in her direction. "Sanjee and Dan run the hostel. They wanted to meet you yesterday, but by the time I brought them upstairs, you were already napping."
"Sorry. It was kind of a long flight," Carrie explained. "But it's nice to meet you."
"And you," Dan said. "Hope you like puris."
"And if not, we have cornflakes," Sanjee added with a wink before they disappeared again into the kitchen.
"What's puris?" Carrie asked Celia.
"Here," Celia said, placing a biscuit from the bread platter onto Carrie's plate. "They're delicious. But don't eat yet. Wait until everyone's seated."
Carrie smiled. Her mother would have said exactly the same thing. She started thinking about what her mom might be doing at that very moment. A wave of homesickness crept over Carrie as she filled her plate. She was glad that her mom had always experimented with recipes and raised her as an adventurous eater. She was also glad her mom had called up her dad and arranged this whole trip. Carrie had been thinking a lot about what her mom did--how she reached out to her ex-husband, even though she rarely ever talked to him-- just so that her daughter could go off and chase a T-shirt. Carrie would have to bring back the best souvenir ever, like a huge sparkling bejeweled bindi dot or something.
"Ooh ... I see you've taken the usal and the poke," Prandya said, eyeing Carrie's plate as she sat down across the table. "Good choices. Very hearty.
They will help you work hard."
"Usal and . . . pohe?" Carrie repeated, the words strange on her tongue. "Which is which?"
"The usal is potato-and-lentil stew and the pohe is rice and onions," Doreen replied.
"Very good," Prandya said, clearly impressed.
"Doreen read every book and looked at every Internet site she could find before we came here," Celia said, giving her daughter a proud squeeze.
"I recognized the cornflakes," Carrie joked.
Other workers started to trickle in and Celia introduced Carrie, who had been the only one of the new arrivals to sleep straight through dinner the night before.
"This is Amelie and
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