Page 54 of Pillow Talk
‘I watched a movie where a bride said the most important look at her wedding was when the groom saw her for the first time, all dressed up as a bride.’
‘That’s dumb’ was Sen’s comment.
‘It’s not dumb! One day I’m going to have a bridal shop in Durban. All the famous people are going to shop there. You’ll be eating your words, Senthil.’ Shona was indignant, her eyes ablaze.
Anni had jumped up to run after a butterfly.
‘I’m serious, Senthil,’ she’d added earnestly.
‘Are you going to talk about wedding dresses all summer?’
‘Maybe.’
‘I should have stayed in school,’ he’d grumbled.
Now, sitting in her kitchen, he could still remember thedetermination in her voice.
‘Shona, what happened?’
Her lips quivered. At first, she looked away but then faced him directly.
‘The shop happened, Sen. Each day I got closer to my dream, the noose around my neck tightened. For the last few years, I’ve practically been running it on my own. My mother would go off to do her own thing, my father was there but was completely stuck in the way my grandmother had done things, and Aruna was there in body but not mind. She didn’t do anything. I was the one doing everything and I was stuck. I just couldn’t take it anymore. I snapped and walked out.’
Shona stopped for a few seconds.
‘Sen, it was too much. I tried. I really did. But I can’t,’ she said softly and then stood up to start the stir-fried vegetables to go with the lamb chops.
He watched her and his heart did a flip. Was that a heart attack? Sitting there in her kitchen, he noticed her beauty. Shona had always been beautiful – in a bridesmaid dress, in casual or traditional clothes, naked…but today in her kitchen, with her hair up in a messy bun, her oversized pink tee and grey shorts, she was stunning. She wore no makeup and her cheeks were flushed, either from her confession or the heat of the stove.
‘What were your parents’ exact words when they told you that you had to work at the shop and not pursue your dream?’
She lifted the wok off the heat and turned to him.
‘What do you mean?’
She fetched two plates and two serving dishes from the cupboard and placed them on the counter.
‘You said you were forced to work at the shop. What did your parents say to you? What did they say would be the consequences if you chose to leave?’
Shona paused for a moment and just looked at him. He couldalmost see the wheels in her head turning.
The air-fryer timer went off.
She quickly broke eye contact and transferred the lamb chops onto the serving dish. Next was the stir-fry.
Suddenly she stopped.
‘It was an unspoken demand. Every Shah had to work in the shop,’ she said and then removed the rice from the microwave steamer, which he hadn’t even noticed.
‘They said nothing when you told them you wanted to open your own bridal dress shop?’
‘Would you grab something for us to drink from the fridge? I have soda, juice or water,’ she said.
While he did that, she’d already made two trips to the dining room to place the prepared dishes.
She handed him two glasses and she carried the two plates and cutlery.
‘Let’s eat,’ she said.
