So we met Ruby, his wife and his two sweet little girls ages 7 and 12,on our 12 hour overnight train from Kolkotta to Varanasi . Ruby is Sheik, Ruby is chubby, Rudy is talkative, Ruby is DRUNK!!!! He kept his drink in a coke can and offered Charles some over and over again. Ruby said to us that he would protect us. “If anyone comes to bother you” he said “I will protect you”. “I will take care of them, just come to me. I will keep you safe”. If you are Sheik, how can you drink?”,we ask. Ruby says he is done with the old ways. He does not wear the turban and does not grow a beard and he drinks and he likes to have fun. Ruby calls his brother on his cell phone. He says “Monique, talk to my brother”. I take the phone and say “hello”. His brother says “hello” and starts laughing uncontrolably. Rubys takes the phone from me. He does not speak English ” Ruby says. He and his brother have a good laugh in their language. Then Ruby calls his sister. “Monique, talk to my sister”!!!!. “Hello to Ruby’s sister” I say. She says “Hello”, then silence. I say “hello, how are you.  Is this Ruby’s sister?” Dead silence. I think she got cut off. Ruby takes back the phone. “She cannot speak English” he says. He and his sister begin to talk. They have a good laugh.

Ruby says “Charles and Monique, do not eat the food they sell on this train. It is very, very, very bad. You must eat what my wife has made. It is good food” “No, no we say, we cannot do that” Ruby insist. His wife nods that there is enough. We are scared of Dehli Belly but we cannot be rude. We accept. “In the morning you will have breakfast with us. Not this bad tasting train food. It is not good”.

Finally everyone settles in. There were three beds on either side of the walls of our cubicle. Think bunk bed but instead of two beds, there are three. When the beds were unlatched from the walls for sleep, you could not sit up so you have no choice but to lay down. When one wakes in the morning one has no choice but to lay there, until the person in the other bunks comes down and closes their bed. If you are on the top bunk, you are so close to the the train roof, you can kiss it. I sleep with the pillow over my head because Ruby cannot sleep. He turns on music from his cell phone. He puts the volume really loud and plays Indian Music. He sings along really loud too. This went on for about two hours or so!!!!! Not one person on the train complains.

Next morning everyone wakes up. I am in the middle bunk. Charles is on top kissing the train roof. I have to wait for Ruby’s wife on the bottom bunk to wake up so I can get down. She is fast asleep. Ruby and his daughters have already woken up on the other side of the cubicle. He is sitting up with a sheet over his head, with only his face showing. His eyes are closed and he holds a book in his hand.  He is in deep meditation. Then breakfast begins to pass for sale. “Omlette, omlette, chai tea, chai tea”, the porter say as he passes with stacks of food and hot pots of tea. We don’t buy any so as not to offend Ruby, but we are hungry…starving. But we do not want to offend Ruby and wife by buying any of the passing food. Ruby’s wife eventually wakes up. Time is passing. She is not getting out the food for breakfast. We are hungry but cannot buy food.

Our stop is about another hour away. Then it is time to get ready to go.  Finally Ruby say “Monique and Charles your stop is about half an hour away”. Then as the breakfast guy passes Ruby buys breakfast for his whole family.  YEP, he buys breakfast!!!!! We were too embarased to buy for ourselves. We watch them eat breakfast!!!

We get to our train stop. We say our goodbyes to the family and Ruby, who is no longer drunk, is now as clam as a cucumber. Does he remember that he told us he was going to give us breakfast? Maybe he was too drunk to remember. Maybe his wife could remind him? We get off the train in Varanasi. We are starving. Ruby stays outside by the train door as the train pulls away. He is heading to Punjab and will be on the train for another 24 hours. He waves us a hearty goodbye.

Goodbye Ruby!!!!!! Now where the hell do we find breakfast????????????

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