The girl Wendy likes plain water for her drink; not the boy Darren. He likes sweetened barley. Very particular. The drinks cannot be confused. Must be careful to avoid trouble.
Brown
doll! Brown doll!
They are thirsty. Not surprising in the heat. Still, picking them up from school the rule is never to buy them drinks outside. No matter how they pester.
Brown doll! Brown doll!
They can't wait, sitting at the table kicking their feet at each other. Good children in the main like any other. They are never any trouble. Very fond of Auntie. Sometimes Brown doll, Brown doll.
Well behaved. They can be a little cheeky when the others are around, Mummy and Ah-ma. Ah-ma especially. When their real auntie Winnie is around they never do it. Ah-ma more than any one. Ah-ma particularly.
Confusing the two drinks would cause trouble at the table at the best of times. Having Ah-ma there makes it a disaster.
Auntie; Brown doll never confuses the two drinks. Careful and deliberate. Right hand water; left barley. They don't even look the same. How could one confuse them? The boy however can be a little devil. A good boy. But nevertheless. A dash of his heavily sugared drink in his sister's water can cause all hell to break loose. The girl tosses her drink onto the table. YUK!
Grandma over in a flash. What? How?... Ah, the telltale sweetness in the wrong glass.
They are thirsty. Not surprising in the heat. Still, picking them up from school the rule is never to buy them drinks outside. No matter how they pester.
Brown doll! Brown doll!
They can't wait, sitting at the table kicking their feet at each other. Good children in the main like any other. They are never any trouble. Very fond of Auntie. Sometimes Brown doll, Brown doll.
Well behaved. They can be a little cheeky when the others are around, Mummy and Ah-ma. Ah-ma especially. When their real auntie Winnie is around they never do it. Ah-ma more than any one. Ah-ma particularly.
Confusing the two drinks would cause trouble at the table at the best of times. Having Ah-ma there makes it a disaster.
Auntie; Brown doll never confuses the two drinks. Careful and deliberate. Right hand water; left barley. They don't even look the same. How could one confuse them? The boy however can be a little devil. A good boy. But nevertheless. A dash of his heavily sugared drink in his sister's water can cause all hell to break loose. The girl tosses her drink onto the table. YUK!
Grandma over in a flash. What? How?... Ah, the telltale sweetness in the wrong glass.
— Vashti!... All the maid's fault... Roundly
she is berated.
Getting the kid to own up is difficult.
— Look into my eyes Darren. Did you put your barley in Wendy's glass? Tell me the truth. Do you want Auntie to go back home?... Tell us now...
Minor triviality; heart-break the result for the maid.
The damn old Serangoon witch can be a nasty bitch far worse than this too. Into her sixties, a stupid old vain cow.
— This facial of mine, you know how much it cost? Girly, you know how much?... Preening herself if you can believe it before her make-up compact-mirror. At her age!
— ... You wouldn't know it's three months of your salary.
Old grandpa hasn't given her a touch how long. The fat old cow.
The maid is skinny and ugly as well as brown. Her grandchildren are fond of her. Somehow she has wormed her way into their affections. God knows how. They call her Brown doll.
— She's not a doll! How can she be a doll, ugly and skinny and black like that? Yuck!
Deserves to have her head put in the oven with the duck, just to singe her tattooed eyebrows. Silly old fuck.
Someone's "spoilt" the toilet. (The language used by these daughters of coolies!)... It could not have been one of the grandchildren. Could only be the maid! They shit in the bamboo where they come from.
Getting the kid to own up is difficult.
— Look into my eyes Darren. Did you put your barley in Wendy's glass? Tell me the truth. Do you want Auntie to go back home?... Tell us now...
Minor triviality; heart-break the result for the maid.
The damn old Serangoon witch can be a nasty bitch far worse than this too. Into her sixties, a stupid old vain cow.
— This facial of mine, you know how much it cost? Girly, you know how much?... Preening herself if you can believe it before her make-up compact-mirror. At her age!
— ... You wouldn't know it's three months of your salary.
Old grandpa hasn't given her a touch how long. The fat old cow.
The maid is skinny and ugly as well as brown. Her grandchildren are fond of her. Somehow she has wormed her way into their affections. God knows how. They call her Brown doll.
— She's not a doll! How can she be a doll, ugly and skinny and black like that? Yuck!
Deserves to have her head put in the oven with the duck, just to singe her tattooed eyebrows. Silly old fuck.
Someone's "spoilt" the toilet. (The language used by these daughters of coolies!)... It could not have been one of the grandchildren. Could only be the maid! They shit in the bamboo where they come from.
— VASHTI!....
They are all Christians in the house, by odd chance maid included. The old bitch's sisters attend regularly and donate. Prayers before meals, thanks for what they are about to receive, Lord save us, guide and protect us.
Always scolds the maid. Never can do anything right.
Poor girl is confined to cheap, labelless clothes. Look at mine! This is a blouse. You couldn't dream of something like this, not if you lived for a hundred years.
(Yes, bought in the market, the maid knows. Haven't you dragged me along five hundred times on your shopping expeditions? Scared and lonely going alone... They are scared of the smallest cockroaches in Singapore.)
They buy the maid all her clothes, underwear, her toiletries, tampons. It's the usual arrangement here. If it weren't for them she'd be back in the dirt where she was born, hungry and dirty and forlorn. A begging bowl.
The old witch suspects her son-in-law's having it off with the girl possibly. You never can trust a man, right enough. Where did she get that pink hand phone, an eye one? Some bullshit story... The younger daughter is gay. The old witch knows like all the rest of them. Can't hide anything from her. She might be in love with the maid like the rest of them. Is she putting something in the food! She's taught her herself to cook.
They are all Christians in the house, by odd chance maid included. The old bitch's sisters attend regularly and donate. Prayers before meals, thanks for what they are about to receive, Lord save us, guide and protect us.
Always scolds the maid. Never can do anything right.
Poor girl is confined to cheap, labelless clothes. Look at mine! This is a blouse. You couldn't dream of something like this, not if you lived for a hundred years.
(Yes, bought in the market, the maid knows. Haven't you dragged me along five hundred times on your shopping expeditions? Scared and lonely going alone... They are scared of the smallest cockroaches in Singapore.)
They buy the maid all her clothes, underwear, her toiletries, tampons. It's the usual arrangement here. If it weren't for them she'd be back in the dirt where she was born, hungry and dirty and forlorn. A begging bowl.
The old witch suspects her son-in-law's having it off with the girl possibly. You never can trust a man, right enough. Where did she get that pink hand phone, an eye one? Some bullshit story... The younger daughter is gay. The old witch knows like all the rest of them. Can't hide anything from her. She might be in love with the maid like the rest of them. Is she putting something in the food! She's taught her herself to cook.
The maid Vashti thinks it’s because of poison and
charms. That’s why the rule about outside drinks. Still sometimes she relents. Sometimes
she can’t refuse them.
The old
witch rarely berates her in front of her daughters. Usually when they are alone
with the children. Other times she’ll buy her little gifts or treats. The devil
only knows how it goes.
NB. HDB are Housing Development Board government flats; lower end of the housing market.
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