A snoopy town

                           Ann and Zach had just moved into a small town. Both of them, young upwardly mobile professionals, had to take this relocation in its stride. They could not get better jobs elsewhere. It seemed to be a little town set amid nowhere and they felt they can make friends and live there at least for a few years before they move on.

                                               So they came. They arrived one clear morning and checked into the only motel of the town. At the reception, as they wanted to check in for a day or two, they encountered Natasha. She asked them for the usual documents and they produced them. But she asked, "How long will you stay here? What is the nature of your business in this town?"

                                               Zach drew himself up and looked down on Natasha. He was all of six and a half foot high. Natasha, being five foot high, looked like a dwarf in front of him. Zach was also athletic in build and looked handsome. His wife Ann was also tall for a girl and had grizzly red hair. She was pretty and smiled a lot. Natasha, who was mousy in comparison, looked up at both of them with some antipathy. She was about to say, "Sorry we have no rooms free at the moment."

                                              However, locking eyes with Zach, she gulped and said, "We are a small town here folks and everyone is familiar with everyone else here." she said as she allotted a room for them. She took a cash deposit for three days and made them sign in the motel register. Then she handed over a key to them. She shouted, "Henry!". An elderly man in a porter's uniform arrived to take their luggage. Henry saw them to their room. He opened the room with the key offered by Zach. As he lowered their luggage carefully in their room, Zach asked him, "Henry, that lady at the reception, is her name, Natasha?"

                                   "Yes, Sir." replied the elderly porter as he wiped his brow with his handkerchief.

                                   "Does she always poke her nose at the guest's business?" asked Zach, as he opened his wallet to tip him. He offered him a five-dollar bill and waited for an answer.

                                   "Well, Sir," he said with some reluctance, "this is a small town as you well know. Any news is some news, so we all strive to know what the others are up to. Natasha is no exception, Sir. Thank you." He pocketed the money and made his way out, gently closing the door shut on them.

                                   "Honey, we seem to be in a tiny town where there is no such thing as privacy. I could see that this Henry fellow also was struggling to keep himself from asking us about our business!"

                                   "Zach honey, let us see how things pan out. We don't have to decide today. We will see more of this town in a few days. Please order some coffee for us now." replied Ann as she started putting up the things from her totem bag on the table.

                                   Ann washed all the grime from their long road trip and soaked in a hot bathtub before Zach. He answered the door and let the waitress in. She was a twenty-something blonde. She pushed the trolley in. "Shall I pour the coffee for you, Suh?" she asked, with a Southern lilt in her words. The freshly brewed coffee aroma wafted into the room and Ann, walking out from the bathroom in her pink bathrobe said, "Ah the smell of wonderful coffee."

                                   "Yes. Pour two cups of coffee for both of us, eh, what's your name, young lady?" asked Zach.

                                   Busy with the act of pouring coffee, she replied, "I am Daisy Suh. Will you both be taking cream and how many cubes of sugar?"

                                    "One cream and two cubes of sugar for both of us, Daisy,"

                                   Ann, being the more observant, saw that the girl was carefully examining their things which she had put on the table and the beds, even as she was automatically making their coffees. She asked her, "Daisy, what are you looking for? Can I help you?"

                                   Quickly looking away, Daisy lowered her eyes and replied, "Nothing Mam. Can I order some breakfast for you? Please come down to the dining room to have it."

                                   Zach took over. "Yes, please order two special English breakfasts for us and run down to get them ready, Daisy. I am starving. We will be there in a jiffy."

                                   Even as she was leaving the room, they saw that the girl was giving searching glances at them. As if she wanted to know more.

                                   Ann saw that Zach was observing this in the waitress. "What a town and what a motel, dear?" she said as they both sat to enjoy their coffee.

                                   After a hearty breakfast, they set out to the town. They hailed a cab. It was an old car with a Sikh driver. “Welcome to our town, folk. I think you are new here!” he said with a quaint Indian accent, “Namasthe, as we say in India, Can I help you?”

                                   “Please take us to the office of the town’s newspaper,” said Zach as they settled into the car. Ann smiled at him. This set the old man off. He rambled as he gunned the old car. “Dear Sir and Mam! Me Ram Singhji, old Sikh from the Punjab, India. Where are you from?”

                       “Tell us more about yourself gentleman,” asked Zach, “we are eager to know more about your country, India. What is Punjab?”

                       Ann smiled encouragingly as the driver rattled off. “Punjab is an important state in India, folks. We raise a lot of wheat there and have a lot of water to do so. I wish I could go back there now. But tell me also about your selves? Where are you coming from? Planning to stay long in this little town?”

                                   “We can’t escape this grilling Honey?” whispered Ann to Zach. Zach cleared his throat, “May I know why you are so eager to know more about us?” he asked.

                                   Ram Singh was dumbstruck. But only for a moment. “Here we are Sir and Mam, we are in the centre of the town and there is the office of the newspaper. We are small townsfolk and knowing what others’ business keeps us safe.”

                                   They paid up and left the Sikh sizzling with curiosity.

                                   Later on, as they came back to the hotel, they met Daisy. “Shall I bring some piping hot lunch for you Suh?” she asked.

                                   “Might as well have lunch and go up to the room, Ann.” Said Zach as they walked into the dining room.

                                   “Yes, Daisy. Bring us today’s special meal for two.”

                                   Ann whispered, “Let’s not talk about our business honey. These people are so eager to hear.”

                                   So they talked about the weather and completed their lunch, though they yearned to talk about their business. As they were going up to their room, Natasha gave them their key. “Surely your morning was productive, folks?” she asked sarcastically, “will be staying here tonight?”

                                   “Looks like she wants us to check out right now. The way she is saying it.” Zach whispered to Ann as they smiled and walked on. They took the elevator to their floor and reached their room.

                                   In the privacy of their room, they started talking to themselves. Zach, an avid reader of mystery novels, said, “We should ideally check this room for bugs, dear.” He opened their door suddenly and looked out, “am checking for snoopy waitresses with their ears at the keyhole, eavesdropping!” he said.

                         “Don’t be silly, honey,” said Ann as they relaxed on the sofa.

                                   “By and large, the offer we got at this newspaper is good, I feel Ann,” said Zach seriously, “What’s your take?”

                                   “I feel the same too.”

                        “But did you notice that the Editor and his aide were a little hostile to us? Perhaps they hadn’t seen a husband-wife couple as correspondents in the same office?”

                                    “No Ann. I feel that they feel threatened that we are well qualified and are from New York. At least that’s the gut feeling I get,” replied Zach.

                                    “Most people in this town are not welcoming to us, dear. I would be wary of taking up this job just for that. What do you say Zach?” said Ann.

                                     “I totally agree with your feeling Ann. What shall we do then? The salary and perks they offer suit us. The job profile offers a lot of time for us to read and write as we want to do. But the attitude of people seems to be totally against people such as us. Shall we take up the offer or refuse?”

                                    “What I suggest Zach is that we stay this night here, and sleep on it. We will go downtown and see what this town is like. Then tomorrow we will decide what to do.”

                                     “Sounds reasonable to me as we have travelled so long to come here. I would like to take a long siesta now dear!”

                                  “Me too,” said Ann.