Flurys' Flavors

I walk into Flurys.
Attendant: “Good afternoon, sir.”
The attendant walks away. I have come to expect that in Calcutta- dismal service.
The maitre d walks up to us- my parents and me.
”Sir, can I have your name please.”
“Mr. Joshi.”
“You may have to wait for some time. The tables are not free.”
“Ok.”
“Please be seated there.”
“How long?”
“Ten minutes.”
We are at a table within the next five minutes. The service is slow. It gave a nice chance to soak in the sights and sounds of Flurys.

To my right are seated a mother – daughter pair. They are admiring my mom’s sari. My mom cannot see them, and the ladies do not know that I am watching them watching my mom’s sari.

A wedding cake is placed atop a centre table. A lady walks towards it and snaps a picture of the cake. I am reminded of the wedding cake at Donald Trump’s second wedding with Melonia, where the cake was 3 feet wide at the base, and Donald was so busy drinking, a joke goes, that he forgot to taste his own wedding cake.

Somewhere behind my back are seated a group of ladies (or girls, I do not know, I cannot see them) in the waiting area.
A female voice behind my back: “You are not supposed to smoke here. This is the family zone.”
Another female voice, the smoker: “How does it matter? There is nothing to separate the family zone from the non family zone. The smoke will anyway reach the other side.”
Intelligent female. Did I create an oxymoron?

To my left is a couple with their baby. The man appears to be an ABCD (American Born Confused Desi). ABCD Jr. is crying out loud. Mr. ABCD picks up the baby and starts walking around. He is now Mr. BACD – Back As Child’s Dad. Mrs. ABCD (now Mrs. BACD) starts eating her chocolate pastry.

By this time, I have received my order. I play it safe at Flurys after my first visit when I ordered something called Cheese Quiche. (Sorry, I cannot pronounce it; neither can half the Flurys service staff). And when that thing arrived, I was literally searching for it. So tiny. And I have spent more than $1 on it (accounting for purchasing power parity).After that bout of massive post purchase cognitive dissonance, I have stuck to familiar names.

I have finished eating. It takes some more time for the check to arrive. The place is crowded by now. I cannot distinguish the sounds. But the mood is cheerful. That’s what makes this place so wonderful, for the last five generations.