The next day, Lynda was totally focused on planning on how she would explain to her mother who thought we were gone for a couple of weeks. She asked me if I had any brilliant ideas to help her and I said the answer was “NO”. She said you always get me in trouble, and I get to explain to her.
I said why this should be any different than when we went to Fredericton or Calgary?
She said aren’t you forgetting something?
I said like what?
We are not in Canada anymore.
I said what difference does it make. She is not going to dive here. Is she? It’s going to take little longer and but there are always direct flights to Vegas from Toronto. Moreover, we will continue to pay for her flight, and we will make sure that we will be at the airport here to see her. Nothing is going to change. I continued – knowing the fact that she likes to gamble, she may like to stay longer here in Vegas.
Lynda said don’t try to be overly generous as I am the one who will have to look after her, not you. I know she likes gambling I don’t necessarily like her to stay here too long. We got our lives.
I said just call her and tell her that you love her and she would understand right away that we are on a move.
She said I need to call my sister, too.
Once she was done with her calls, we decided to go to Henderson by ourselves and drive around to get ourselves familiarized with the area. We both were so happy with the bright and warm weather, but we went on weather channel to see what kind of weather they get in June. We learned that:
- High Temperatures: June is a hot month, with average daily highs around 100°F (38°C);
- Low Humidity: The desert climate means very little humidity, making the heat feel dry;
- Abundant Sunshine: You can expect plenty of sunshine throughout the day, with around 14 hours of daylight;
- Little to No Rain: Rainfall is minimal, with an average of just 2mm over a couple of days; and
- Cooler Nights: While daytime temperatures are high, the evenings will be cooler, with average low temperatures around 74°F (23°C).
We drove around to look at the city. Everything appeared to be so fresh, new, and bright that made us feel very comfortable. We learned about Henderson that:
- Henderson was notable for its extensive system of outdoor recreation facilities, including over 220 miles (350 km) of trails and 72 parks. Incorporated in 1953, Henderson was originally known for its role in magnesium production during World War II; and
- Though Henderson was just a quick drive from Las Vegas, the cost of living in Henderson is about 5 percent more expensive than in Las Vegas and around 13 percent higher than the national average. The prices in Henderson were increased in recent years, with the most significant increases in housing, transportation, and food.
But we felt as we had a bargain when it comes to housing here in Vegas in comparison with Canada.
The next day we explored the possibilities of finding a reasonable place to stay until we get the keys for our house. The motel was out of the way but closer to Henderson where we found a reasonable place to stay.
I took Lynda to Macey’s in the Galleria at Sunset mall where she spent a couple of hours talking and planning for the things that we will need in the house. She also bought some small pieces of household goods which we stored in the car. We knew that we didn’t have to buy appliances, but we had to buy furniture for our bedrooms and living room, not to mention the personal clothing as we only had enough cloths with us for a couple of weeks.
We heard from Cliff that they got the money, and everything is lined up as discussed.
We went to attend the meeting at the Mountain View as promised. We were delighted to meet those folks as everybody seemed to be friendly, and they were kind to us. Perhaps the reason was that they all were from different places in the east where they had been suffering from severe weather all their lives. It was indeed a nice break for all of us.
When meeting started and they came to the point when they started discussing who is going to do what to make things happen, I was sitting back and watching everybody volunteering for doing something.
I thought I should make it clear that I don’t know anything to contribute to the kitchen. I raised my hand said I am so sorry to let you good folks know that I am totally incompetent in the kitchen as I am not trained to perform any domestic activities. I continued, to be totally honest with you I am not allowed in the kitchen as I have broken plates and misplaced cutlery whenever I attempted to help Lynda. Everybody laughed.
Lynda said that’s absolutely correct, however, I am volunteering to cook fish & chips for you folks.
Libby said it’s a huge job, Lynda. We are expecting at least 50 folks, and which also means that you will have to cook more than 100 pieces of fish, not to mention chips.
Lynda said I can handle it.
Libby said you need to listen to me, Lynda. I am the chairperson for this committee, and I am telling you that I will help you, but you are being English, you should take the lead as English folks are known for their fish & chips.
Lynda agreed and a beautiful friendship started between Libby and Lynda. Coincidently, Libby’s husband’s name also was Cliff.
We moved in on June 30th and if I remember correctly, it was Monday. we brought in all the stuff that we had stored in our car put it in the corner of the living room and went around one more time to discuss all the things that we had bought. Perhaps the most importantly, the beds that were supposed to be delivered today in the afternoon.
I remember saying to Lynda that I don’t know about you, but I am used to sleeping on the floor and it will not bother me at all if our beds are not delivered today.
Lynda said you have been away from India more than 30 years, and I am sure you have grown used to not sleeping on the floor. In any case, she said, let’s go out and get some grocery as we need to eat something before, we are thinking about sleeping.
I said we are expecting more than one delivery this afternoon, we better hurry up to get some grocery first.
We had a huge double garage with a remote control to open and close the garage. We went out to the nearest grocery store which was only a few miles from where we were living.
I thought Lynda was going to pick up just a few things, but she decided to do the whole thing. She never stopped showing me the prices and comparing it with the prices back home. She was so excited with the fresh produce and the way grocery store was setup.
I let her do anything she liked and just going along by pushing the shopping cart.
Finally, when she was done, the cart was overloaded with so much grocery that I was questioning if all this going to fit in our trunk. But she was so energetic and happy with the grocery that I wasn’t sure if I ever saw her this happy in Canada when she did grocery shopping. She always used to complain about the increasing prices.
At last, when we got home using the remote control to open the main gate and another remote control to open our garage, I was wondering how long it would take to unload the grocery. Lynda had already headed in holding a couple of things in her hands. When I was trying to grab some big items to take them in, she shouted – Come in.
When I went in, I saw she wasn’t in the kitchen. She shouted again from the bedroom. Come here!
When I entered our bedroom, I saw her lying on a bed and a bunch of bags which were stored all over the bedroom.
What the hell is this? I asked.
She said, I wish I knew.
I came out from our bedroom and went into the spare bedroom and saw another bed was setup exactly the way we would have set it up.
I shouted did you see this?
She said what? Then she saw the bed and she was going to say something then we heard a knock on the door.
When I opened the door, we saw a couple of folks standing there.
The man said – My name’s Richard and this is my wife, Loval, and we are here to tell you that we unlocked the door to accept a couple of deliveries for you. The delivery people said they were not supposed to be here before this afternoon.
I said, great and thanks a million but how did you manage to pick our lock?
Richard said he didn’t have to pick the lock. He knew where the previous owner kept a key for emergency, and he took the liberty of letting delivery men in to help us out.
We both thanked Richard and Loval and asked them to come in for a minute.
Richard said they were living there for a couple of years, and they liked it.
Lynda said hope you are coming to the party on the 4th.
They said they heard about Lynda volunteered to cock fish & chips.
It was indeed a good start for a long friendship.
