Haresh Shah
Every Picture Tells A Story
Its crispy cold December morning. The sun is shining bright outside and I am having my usual Sunday breakfast of Shahmolette – so christened by Jan Heemskerk – our friend and at the time editor-in-chief of Playboy’s Dutch edition. Because in addition to mushrooms and onions, my recipe includes finely chopped, insanely hot Thai peppers and cilantro. Also our Sunday morning feast included freshly baked bagels from Skokie’s famous and the best in the world, Bagels & Bialys, and their home made cream cheese with chives. Carolyn is futzing around the kitchen when the phone rings. I hear her making a perfunctory but pleasant conversation with the caller. Not knowing or caring to know who she might be talking to, I flip the pages of that week’s Time.
‘Sure! He’s right here. Just a minute.’ She covers the mouthpiece of the receiver and mouths ‘Lee Hall.’
Lee Hall? That’s my boss. What is he doing calling me at home on a Sunday morning? It sure couldn’t be good news. I take the receiver and lean against the credenza by the phone.
‘Mr. Shah!’ I hear him say. Once in a while he would call me that endearingly. But still…
‘Sorry to bother you at home on Sunday morning – but as you know I’ve just returned from my far east trip and thought I fill you in on Hong Kong before things get crazy tomorrow morning at the office.’
A sigh of relief! ‘Sure. You want me to come over?’ I offer.
I miss the Evanston home – great memories there! Also miss those Shahmolettes!! So yummy! What a wonderful story about Lee!! Nice to know that there are men out there that love their partners to that extent to give up some of themselves for the greater good without regretting their decision.
Yes, life & relations sometime hard to belive and more hard to compromises people make to solve the mystries of it…