A mall opens down the road

Ever since we arrived in this new house four years ago, construction had been on in full swing at the intersection a short distance away, barely a short jump off my balcony. Slowly the concrete cement blocks and iron girders came together to form what seemed like either a five star hotel or a mall. It couldn’t be a mall, one thought, Inorbit was barely a hop, skip and a jump away. And the good lord wouldnt be so cruel as to place a mall next door when I was on a freeze the credit card abhiyaan. But no, a mall it was to be, the buzz gathered momentum and became a drone, which peaked to an incessant whine around the park, around the complex, around the neighbourhood.
Infinity 2 was opening here.
“The traffic is going to get effed,” said the spouse with a chin tucked into his waistband at the prospect, considering he is designated driver these days. No, I am not the designated drunk to that, if that was your next question, thank you.
“These kids will want to go to the games court every single day,” shuddered friends who had just about weaned their little monsters off the steady diet on charge cards which let them play infernal video games on machines that are so loud and so concentrated together that the venue could be ideal torture zone for crime perpetrators when confessions needed to be extracted. Five minutes in that infernal din and they would be singing any song dictated by the investigator in order to be taken to a saner, quieter place.
“I don’t even want to think about how much I’m going to shop now.” Yup. That was yours truly. Given that the perfect antidote to a bad mood, PMS and regular troughs in domestic situation has always been a good round of shopping for stuff I already have, or will never fit in, or use, or will salt away in the cupboard for perfect situation to air them which of course will never arrive given that I have a social life which would make worker ants seem like they’re living it up, I really didn’t need another mall right next door.
“We’re going to have so many lunches there!” This from more ardent advocate of the ladies lunch concept amongst our girl gang, given that Mainland China and Zaffran were opening up right there. I could just visualise us, eating up everything in sight at the buffet and spreading into pleasant matronliness within the inaugural month. What? We are already at pleasant matronly levels? Ah well…
This evening we just might be at Infinity 2. To check out the buzz, the mood, the vibe of a spanking fresh new mall. (Psst, is there a new mall smell I should watch, err, sniff out for, like new car smell?) Or we might just be stuck in traffic.