Maya insisted she did everything herself, thank you very much.
She went to the bank herself every month to deposit her housemaid’s salary, even though they lived under the same roof. She walked one block and a half to her neighbor’s grocery store for fresh produce, even though their driver already went to the supermarket twice a week. She kept in close touch and visited her sister across town, even though her sister was willing to change it up every once in a while and visit her instead.
Every morning, her wrinkled hands gently wrapped her pitch-black headscarf around her head, carried her purse full of birdseed, and sat on the bench across from the school she used to teach at as the sun rose. She chucked seeds at the grateful pigeons, eyes lopsided and feet stupidly spread apart as they chased each other and pecked the asphalt for seeds.
‘You’re gonna have to stay home, mama,’ her daughter told her one day.
‘Nonsense! I need to go out!’
‘Mama! There’s predictions for a terrible sandstorm today and tomorrow. We’re all staying indoors.’
‘Who will feed the pigeons, then?’
‘They’re all well hidden in their nests to avoid the storm.’
‘And who will shop for our groceries?’
‘The driver has a car to protect him from the sand.’
‘What about –‘
‘Mama, please –‘ her daughter breathed deeply, calming herself. Her tone was gentler as she continued, ‘Mom, I know you love going out. But today is not a good day for it.’
‘If this is like the COVID fiasco all over again I will be very mad at you,’ her mother threatened.
A relieved laugh erupted from the other side of the speaker. ‘Don’t worry about it. It’s just a couple of days – and hey, maybe it’ll clear up sooner than expected.’
‘No month-long quarantines?’
‘Absolutely not.’
‘Alright then … but I still have the fresh produce to buy from the grocery store.’
‘Hey, they have a website!’ her daughter cheerfully remembered. ‘I’ll text you the website right now.’
‘My phone screen is too small for my eyes, darling, I can barely message you!’
‘Use the PC in the living room.’
‘The what?’
A sigh escaped her involuntarily, but then the sound of a smile. ‘A computer, mom. You know how to launch the internet. Open Google, type in the web address in the search bar, and you’ve got it.’
‘Alright,’ Maya gave up, already getting up from her armchair situated in front of the tall bay windows overlooking the street. ‘I’ll call you if I need anything.’
‘No problem. Love you!’
‘I love you too,’ Maya responded, and hung up. She quietly made her way to the first floor living room, the only thing puncturing the tranquility the sound of her slippers scraping against the hardwood floors.
‘Need anything, dear?’ her husband called from the room across the foot of the staircase. A football match was playing on the screen, but he momentarily diverted his attention to his wife on the stairs.
‘No thank you,’ she replied. ‘You can gape your mouth at the match once again.’
‘Ha! I’d retort, but I’m too busy!’
‘Sure.’
She took the stairs one at a time, her fragile fingers curving around the peeling handrail. Her son had offered to fix it multiple times, but her husband insisted he wasn’t too old for handiwork and that he will fix it himself.
‘But I can just hire someone to do it within two hours!’ their son had tried to reason once.
‘Strangers in my house!’ her husband exclaimed and refused to hear any of the remaining arguments. ‘I can do it myself, relax.’
Maya sighed with a smile, finally reaching the top of the staircase. Sitting on a cerulean desk in the corner of the open living room was a 20-inch tiffany screen, a matching keyboard, and an ergonomic mouse, the area below the desk hidden by a large, white, crocheted doily.
She took a seat on the well-cushioned chair and pulled herself closer to the desk, turning on the computer and setting her phone on the desk next to her.
I won’t need to call her, Maya thought, her disappointment at not being able to go out dissipating quickly. I’ll know exactly what to do, and complete the order, and she’ll be impressed!
‘Rachel?’ she called out as the screen whirred to life, displaying four light blue squares arranged in the shape of a window.
‘Yes, madame?’ a voice replied from the rooms on the right.
‘Please bring my purse,’ Maya instructed their housemaid.
When the computer was fully awake and the cursor was done spinning, she clicked on the shortcut labeled “Internet” on the desktop.
She unlocked her phone and slowly copied the website, letter by letter.
‘Dot … c … o … m …’ Maya sounded aloud, then hit enter.
‘Oh, my,’ Maya sighed heavily as the website came into view. ‘What am I going to do!’ she exclaimed aloud, moving her mouse across the screen aimlessly. Dozens of menus, links, and images popped up from every corner of the site, each demanding her attention with its bold fonts and flashy colors.
‘No, no, no,’ Maya resolved, already reaching for her phone. ‘This won’t do. I’ll call –‘
‘What’s the matter?’
Maya jumped at the sudden sound, looking around the room. Her finger hovered above her daughter’s contact.
‘Over here! Yes, here!’
Maya turned to the computer screen and was taken aback to find a pair of cartoon-like eyes staring back at her. The two orbs were just under her screen, sitting innocently on the bottom border of the monitor.
‘Excuse me!’ Maya prompted. ‘Who are you?’
‘I’m here to help you!’ The eyes moved as the words left the speakers, but no mouth was there. ‘You want to order groceries, am I right?’
‘Well, yes,’ Maya agreed, hesitantly setting her phone back on the desk.
‘Here you go, madame,’ Rachel said as she set Maya’s purse on the desk beside her.
‘Thank you,’ Maya absent-mindedly replied. ‘Hey, Rachel? Do you see the computer talking?’
‘Yes, madame.’
‘Is this normal?’
‘I don’t know, madame. I will let mister know and to take a look at it if you’d like.’
Maya rolled her eyes. ‘No, Rachel, the eyes.’
‘Yes, madame, I will let him know –‘
‘No need, no need,’ Maya waved her hand dismissively. ‘Thank you.’
She turned back to the computer, squinting suspiciously. She took control of the mouse, but as soon as she did the computer began speaking again.
‘What would you like to browse first?’
‘Uhm … fruits. Please.’
‘Well then, click on the drop-down menu … good job! Now move the cursor over here, over “Fruits”. Nice!’
Maya felt a wave of pride wash over her as the loud screen changed to a more organized one, with pictures of fruit organized in rows and columns.
‘There’s a search bar up here if you’d like to –‘
‘No thank you, Mr. Computer, I’ll just browse,’ Maya interrupted. ‘I want one kilogram of these apples …’
‘Type in the amount in the empty rectangle, then click the blue “Add to Cart” button.’
Maya gently typed a one in the rectangular field, then hovered her mouse over the blue button.
‘Here?’
‘Yes.’
She clicked it, and a bubble popped up in the bottom right corner. ‘What’s that?’
‘That’s a confirmation message,’ the eye winked. ‘You added it to your cart! Or should I say, your grocery basket?’
Maya beamed. ‘Yes, that’s what it is. Alright, what other things do I need …’
She spent nearly an hour browsing through the items and adding them to cart, then removing, then looking some more. The computer’s eyes were there, widening in surprise when Maya figured out something on her own and winking when Maya got the hang of it. Computer guided her through the checkout, and when Maya’s phone pinged with an “Order Confirmed” message, she couldn’t help but clap in glee.
‘Thank you, Computer!’ Maya enthusiastically chirped. ‘That was wonderful.’
‘Anytime!’ came its cheerful reply. ‘You did all the work; I just helped you through it.’
‘Let me send a message to my daughter, oh, she’ll love it,’ Maya said as she excitedly unlocked her phone and dialed her number.
‘Look at you finally using the computer!’ her husband said with a glow, taking the final step onto the first floor.
‘Oh, honey, come look! I ordered groceries online!’
‘Well, isn’t that nice,’ he replied, sinking into the nearest sofa. He turned on the TV and resumed watching his match; he was just in time for the timeout to be called off.
‘Look, dear, the computer helped me,’ Maya said, pointing at the screen with her unoccupied hand. ‘It talked me through it all.’
‘That’s wonderful.’
Maya looked back at her screen just in time to see the eyes wink one last time, then close themselves and disappear.
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