Fiction
Casual Leave
Kabir doesn't feel like teaching today. It's not the first time he has felt this way lately, but he is not sure if he can cancel class today. It is almost approaching the end of the semester, and he realizes that he needs to finish the syllabus before he can take a day off. Every now and then he feels like skipping class by calling in sick. Kabir particularly hates the early morning stats class, but the Dean of Arts and Science has been on the vigil against faculty members who are tardy or are "no shows". At the last Faculty Meeting, Dean Moriarty lashed out against faculty who he said "lack discipline" and warned that he would from now on be very strict about enforcing the "zero tolerance" policy outlined in the Faculty Handbook against cancelling classes without a strong and compelling reason. So, unless you are sick and have a note from the doctor to prove it, cancelling a class is a "no-no" unless it is announced in advance and a substitute faculty is arranged. All this thought is going through his mind as he lies on his bed staring at the ceiling, where the projection clock displays the time. As soon as the digits displayed reach 7:00 AM, Kabir sits up on the bed, somewhat reluctantly, and, almost in slow motion, heads for the bathroom to get started for the day.
Once he is up, and starts going through his daily rituals, Kabir knows that his mood would become upbeat, and any lethargy that he experiences in the morning would dissipate fast. With years and years of practice, he feels he has mastered the technique of self-mobilization, as he half-jokingly calls this process. First, he walks into the bathroom and enjoys brushing teeth in semi-darkness, rinsing his face with soap and warm water and drying it off with a warm towel that he left on the radiator grill on his way in. Then, he cranks it up a little further, and now running at sixty percent capacity, he heads for the kitchen, where he switches on all the lights to brighten up the small kitchen-cum-dining room, and habitually does a quick glance over the territory to make sure nothing has changed since last night -- no intruders, rotten food on the table, or any other mess from the previous night. While he is not as obsessive now as he used to be about cleanliness in the kitchen area, he still can't stand leftovers on the countertop or the stovetop. He just noticed a smudge on the granite counter top near the sink, and takes a paper towel to wipe it down. Then he is ready to put the tea kettle on the stove and put a slice of bread in the toaster. He does not eat cereal or eggs in the morning as he used to when he first moved to the USA. A toast, without any butter or jelly, is good enough and meets his need.
As the water is warming up in the kettle, he keeps an eye on the toast, and thinks about his lesson plans for today's lectures. Teaching an 8:30 class on a Friday morning requires an extra effort on his part. With the weekend knocking on the door, the decks are already loaded against him. And he doesn't necessarily blame the students for his predicament. If he were a teenager living in one of the dorms, as most of his students do, coming to a stats class on a Friday morning after a whole night of partying and drinking would rate next to jumping off of a cliff in terms of likeability. He tried to change the class meeting schedule on several occasions, but the Registrar's Office turned down his requests each time. Of late, he has been thinking of taking early retirement but he is not sure what he will do with his time if he retires. His chairperson had suggested that Kabir take a long-overdue sabbatical to recharge his batteries.
Just then, the toast pops out of the toaster. He holds the hot slice of bread lightly, pinching it with the tip of his index finger and thumb, and cautiously takes a bite. The warm morsel in his mouth, as he chews on it gently, gets him to think about the opening story that he is going to start his class with. The topic multiple regressions, which he is planning to introduce today, is a hard sell to undergrads, and they need to be humored with funny anecdotes about the practical relevance of the tools he drills in. He thinks of a conversation in Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland", where Alice is arguing with the Hatter, that might get their attention. Literary allusions in statistics class appear to get the students to sit up and take notice!
Water in the tea kettle has already started to boil and he turns off the knob before the shrill sound of the whistle from the kettle wakes Sumon up. He pours the hot water on the tea bags he placed in two coffee mugs. This exercise has been part of his morning routine for the last few years. Since the kids left for college, he has tried to help Sumon get out of bed by making her "bed tea", a practice she remembered fondly from her childhood, watching her nani who lived with them in her parents' house. He has embraced this little gesture of family togetherness although he never witnessed any of this in his house. His mother slept until 10 before she would come down from her "palong", he remembered. He lets the tea bag brew for a few minutes before he pours evaporated milk and sugar, and keeps taking little bites of the bread, along with sips of the steaming tea. Sumon likes to have her tea in bed, in regal style, and expects him to approach with the hot steaming cup before she cracks open her eyes. Kabir does not begrudge Sumon or mind this little gesture, since she usually has a long day ahead of her. She works as a teller at a bank, though she can start late since the bank does not open for business until 10:00. While she loves to sleep in whenever she gets a chance, today she will be up soon since Fridays are always busy at the bank, and in their social life. Sometimes he jokes with her, telling her that he wants to trade his job for her. "Just take my job," she answers back, "and you will leave after two days, after you spend six to eight hours a day on your feet. And, try to handle the type of customers we deal with! At least your students don't make a face or make fun of your accent," she says with a wry smile. Kabir smiles back too with understanding. He realizes that he really has very little option to start a new career at this stage in his life.
Kabir finishes his tea, does a few push-ups, and heads for the shower, by way of the bedroom where he passes on the tea cup to Suman. He's already starting to feel better and energized. But he still wonders what he is going to teach this morning. And then he also has an afternoon class. He suddenly remembers that he had promised to cover for another fellow faculty member who is at a conference, but he is not worried about that since those students are taking an exam. Thanks, he mumbles to himself that he did not call in sick today, and lets out a sigh of relief!
Kabir has been teaching at this university for eight years now. When they first moved to this college town, they were all very excited. Before that, he was teaching at a small Midwestern college, where he started his career after finishing graduate studies at Southern Ohio University. They lived in Eureka, a few miles from his work but after a few years, Sumon got sick of the life or absence of it, in the Midwest and was constantly on his case to find a different job, or to move to a college near New York or Boston, where there were a lot of Bangladeshis. Initially he hesitated, since the cost of living was very high in the big metropolitan areas of the East Coast. Price of a house was reasonable in the Midwest, and even though he did not have any savings, he could expect to save enough within a few years. Plus, he could borrow from his brother for a down payment. On the East Coast, on the other hand, the average price of a single-family house was at least five times the annual salary of a college professor. So he focused on getting his tenure, and worked hard to send out a few publications to referred journals. He explained to Sumon that it was necessary to have a few articles published, and may be a book from his dissertation before he comes up for tenure. If he moves now, he'll have to start the process all over again. "But why don't you look elsewhere or take a 9 to 5 job in a big city? I thought, you don't like teaching", Sumon once said.
While Kabir wanted to leave teaching, he soon found out that it was not easy to find a job outside academia. Plus, his immigration problems kept him from applying for corporate jobs. Fortunately, Sumon let the matter rest after the children were born, and he concentrated on his publications, committee work, and teaching, the three pillars of tenure decisions. His two daughters were born two years apart. Her mother came on both occasions, and stayed with them. Thanks to the generous housing policy of the Southern Ohio University, they were able to find a four bed-room house for a nominal rent. However, there were very few Bangladeshis in the area of Southern Ohio where they lived. The nearest Bangladeshi they knew lived two hours away, and they had to travel to Cincinnati or Bloomington for Indian groceries.
He comes back from his reverie, turns off the shower and makes quick plans for the day as he dries himself and heads for the walk-in closet to find his clothes. Thank God, Friday is a casual day, and he can wear slacks and shirt to class. He notices that Suman has finished tea, and while still in bed, is watching the Weather Channel on the small TV facing the bed. She hands him the empty tea cup.
"Hein, shunchho? We have to go to Habib Shaheb's house tonight for his son's graduation party. Please do not make any other plans, OK? "
"Sure, sure," says Kabir as he heads back to the kitchen with the empty cup, and goes through the final check before he heads out for school. His is not sure who this Habib Shaheb is, but has heard about them from Suman after she met his wife, Kochi, at the last Bangladesh Association cultural show to celebrate Pohela Baishakh.
Kabir reaches the campus parking lot at 8:15 and rushes to his office. The Duffy Building is pretty empty at this hour. He realizes it is Friday morning, when most faculty are off, and students are still in bed. Thursday night on campus is always humming with activities, and the whole school turns into a party town. Most students, even if they have a Friday morning class, would probably cut class this time of the year. He wonders how many will show up for his class. He sometimes tries to give them a quiz on Friday morning to ensure attendance and also to dedicate the weekend for grading. But today, he did not announce any quiz, being the end of the spring semester, and also to allow the students enough time to focus on their paper for his class, due next week.
Just as he was getting ready to go to class his cell phone rings. It is Sumon who called to remind him about picking up some Basmati rice and some Halal meat from the Pakistani grocery store on his way back. Kabir just remembers that Sumon had promised to cook some biryani for the party tonight. She was planning to come home a little early and cook, and work a few hours on Saturday to make up.
"Don't worry, I will pick up the items right after my class in the morning because I have few hours' time before the next class," he reassures her before hanging up.
He feels sorry for Sumon, that she has to cook for the party after work, and has to go to work on Saturday to make up the time. His chain of thought was interrupted as he glanced at the clock on the wall, and it was almost his class time.
After class, he spends a few minutes in his office, checking his email and looking at his notes for the afternoon class. The class he is subbing for the colleague should not be a problem, and he figures he can be on the Internet, working on the final exam on the Blackboard system while keeping an eye on the class as they take the test.
At the grocery store he ran into Munna, who lives in Cambridge. Munna and Kabir went to the same graduate school, and Munna's daughter is also enrolled at University of Massachusetts, where his own younger daughter is in school. They both live on campus located a hundred miles away.
"How is Dipti doing?" Munna asks.
"Oh she is doing fine. Spoke to her last night, and she was getting ready for the finals. I wish she was going to school nearby, can't even visit her at this time. Suman Fed-Exed her a box of some of her favorite chatnis and snacks. She was lamenting that she can't cook some of her favorite bhortas and paratas." As soon as he ended he realized that he had said too much about his own daughter and forgot to ask about Munna's daughter.
"Oh, sorry, I've been blabbering about Dipti! How is Sharmila doing? This is her senior year, right?
"Yes, but she is very worried because she hasn't found a job yet. I am not sure if anyone is going to find any employment in this bad economic environment. Aren't you lucky that Dipti does not have to worry about these matters for another year?"
"Well, who knows if things are really going to get any better next year Low-paying jobs are aplenty but its very hard to get a decent entry-level job in finance or in the technical field. "
"Yeah, I agree. Hey, nice talking to you, Kabir, but I've got to run. See you soon", with that Munna took off. Kabir picked up a bag of Basmati rice, five pounds of Halal goat meat, and other items that Sumon had mentioned when she called again during her lunch break.
The graduation party for Habib and Kochi's daughter was at a rented hall in their town. Kabir was familiar with the place, since they had used the same one a few years ago for the Sweet Sixteen party for Dipti. At that time, they had the food catered from a local Bangladeshi restaurant. His older daughter Fareen, a graduate student in Michigan, did not want a Sweet Sixteen party. Instead, she wanted to go to a school of her choice. Kabir knew it was because the University where he teaches is not among the top institution of this region. For her undergrad, she went to Tufts University, where she got a full scholarship. He did not object then, either. Sumon always says, "Let them choose their own university. It would be a little hardship, but we have to manage." Kabir did not raise any objection since Sumon is always very reasonable and smart with money. They have not taken any vacation in recent years, and have not gone back to Bangladesh in three years. Another reason they skipped vacationing in Bangladesh is the hot weather, and the relatives with whom they stay do not have any air conditioning. The last time they went was when the girls were in Junior High, and both of them had some bad experience after drinking tap water and the extreme heat.
The party went very well. The food was good, and Kabir enjoyed the skit that Habib's son's friends presented to entertain the guests, and "roast" the graduate. They all danced to a musical called, "Navid can beat the heat" set to the tune of the popular song "All the world's a game".
It was almost 11:30 when they came back, and Sumon got a call from Fareen.
"Hello, how are you Fareen? I am so glad you called since your Dad was asking about you this morning and wanted to know if all's going well with you!"
"Yes, Mom, everything is fine. I am walking to a friend's place and will stay there for an hour. Tell Dad I said hello".
"Ok, Fareen, will do. So, do you have any exams next week or are you done? I was going to call Wegman's and have them deliver some food, cheese, and other stuff that you like. Are you eating OK? …"
Before Sumon could continue any further, Fareen abruptly cut her off.
"Oh, Mom, don't worry about me. I am no longer a teenager! Anyway, you remember Alejandro, right? He is the sweetest guy on this planet. He does such nice things for me. I must have told you that before. Well, we're getting married!"
Fareen said the last sentence with such dramatization that Sumon was not sure if she heard the word correctly. She asked,
"What do you mean? I know Alejandro is your friend and you're seeing him every day, but I thought he's just a good friend. Did you say you two are getting married?"
Sumon could no longer contain her deep sense of anxiety and surprise once she realizes that Fareen is not joking and had made the most important decision of her life without discussing the matter with them. Sumon is aware that Fareen is very independent and somewhat very liberal about her choices. She went out with one or two of her college friends during her college days, but marriage was never a topic of conversation between mother and daughter. After she moved to Michigan for graduate school, she was very happy about the cosmopolitan student body, and started trying Mexican and Tex-Mex foods. She had mentioned once or twice that she had a new boyfriend who was Mexican-American. They have not met this boy, Alejandro, but knew Fareen was going out with him. Kabir was very upset at the beginning, but had accepted the reality hoping it would go away. Now they are getting married!
Sumon tries to find out more from Fareen, and even tries to hint that there is no need to rush into the big decision. Fareen, on the other hand just says, "You guys will not understand". After she hung up with Fareen, Kabir and Sumon talk about what they just found out, their responsibilities as parents, and what the news means for them, all with a sense of panic and urgency.
Kabir sounds a little frantic and is also worried. "Is she pregnant?" he finally asks his wife. "How would I know?" she replies back.
The next morning, Sumon calls her bank manager to tell him she is not coming to work on Monday. After they had finished their conversation with Fareen last night, Kabir and Sumon decided to fly to Michigan on the first available flight the next morning. Kabir determines he can call the Dean on Monday morning and explain his predicament in case he needs to stay an extra day or two with his daughter to sort things out. He is torn by conflicting feelings. He relishes the prospect of taking a few days off from class, even if the circumstances that brought about this new development is not something he was looking forward to. He is happy to take a break and see his daughter, although he is not sure what more he'll find out today. But he decides to deal with it when he reaches Michigan, and has a heart to heart talk with Fareen. He mulls over it a little longer and then heads for the shower, and already feels he's overcome the initial sense of helplessness. May be it's all a big misunderstanding, he muses. But, if Fareen has found the right partner in life, he is not going to stand in her way, he reasons as he steps into the shower stall.
Dr. Abdullah Shibli lives and works in Boston, USA
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