handing over documents

i gave away sapphie's bowls yesterday. and i also handled over the maid's passports, the hdb letter, and all the needed documents to effect the hand over of my parents house to my brother yesterday. after going through what i went through last week, i told myself i will simply leave it with the maid and not enter the house nor talk to my sis-in-law. i did not text my sis-in-law this time round as i wanted to just drop the documents and leave. i had rehearsed and visualised in my mind what  would happen and i would say when i arrive - knock on the door, someone opens the door, children runs to greet me, pass the things to the maid (or whoever opens the door), say hello to the kids and explain that i am busy, and quickly excuse myself. and with this rehearsed in my mind, i arrived the block.

i drove into the car park, parked my car and walked towards the lift. as i walked, i recalled what happened the week before and started to feel a little uneasy and unwelcomed. i arrived at the lift landing and pressed the button. next thing i knew, the adjacent lift door opened. and guessed what, my sis-in-law was in the lift. she had just returned from outside and was about to take the lift up when i called for the lift. she looked surprised. she stood there, dumbfounded for that split moment before uttering "大哥" or "big brother". i didn't allow her time to proceed for i quickly push all the documents i was holding in my hand at her and told her to hand them to my brother. these are the documents needed for him to take over the house. and this is the maid's passport, i said.

by this time, she had recovered from her momentary surprise and asked if i wanted to head up to the house, your brother's not at home, she said. you know, it is weird how you get invited to the house only when someone is not around. i declined and simply tell her i needed to rush to attend a funeral (don't ask me how this excuse came, but it just came out). i didn't give her the chance to respond and simply walked away. i did not want to prolong the awkwardness of the moment.