Page 71 of Pillow Talk
‘We were kids. And I still don’t believe any of it,’ he teased, bumping her shoulder. Would his mother stop staring at him!
Jenene said her goodbyes and his family, together with Shona, made their way into the venue for the wedding.
The wedding was grand. Shona couldn’t find a better word to describe it. It was loud, flashy and far too expensive for Shona’s liking. As someone who catered for the wedding industry, she knew that couples went all out for their weddings. After all, it was a show of their love, devotion and everything else but Shona secretly didn’t like it. She didn’t expect brides to skimp on their wedding dresses, but some things were just ridiculous and a complete waste of money. Case in point: the personalised wine glasses that every guest at this wedding was given to take home. Why would she want to drink wine out of glasses with the names of Sen’s cousin and his bride engraved on them? The gesture was sweet but it wasn’t something she would go for. Anni’s weddinghad been simple, but that had a lot to do with her having only Shona’s family on her side. She had no other relatives and, with just a handful of friends, she wanted something intimate. At first Sam’s mother, who was very much like Sen’s, wanted her son to have a big wedding with all the expensive trimmings, but when Sam sat her down and told her about Anni’s background and wishes, she immediately let go of the reins and allowed Anni to have her own wedding on her own terms.
Shona wondered if Sen’s mother would do the same – not for her of course because she wasn’t marrying Sen. But one day when he met the one, would she easily give up the reins? It shouldn’t have bothered Shona, but the thought of someone else marrying Sen didn’t sit right with her. Maybe the wedding was affecting her or maybe it was because Sen’s parents were being too nice to her. She’d expected a cool reception. Instead, what she got was kindness and even Sen’s mother was happily introducing her to relatives as ‘Senthil’s special friend’.
‘You’ve really made a name for yourself, Shona. It’s clear your business is doing very well,’ Sen’s father complimented her again as they ate their meal.
‘Thank you, MrAiyer. It’s a lot of work but I’m happy with the way things are going,’ she replied.
He nodded and reached for a roti from the stack on the table. His wife swatted his hand away and pushed the dish of basmati rice towards him.
MrAiyer’s shoulders slumped and he helped himself to the rice with an expression that made it clear he thought it was the worst food on earth.
Sen sneakily pushed a roti towards his father while his mother glanced back at the stage where the bridal couple was accepting congratulations from the guests.
‘I heard you and Senthil participated in a fun walk recently,’ his mother said, turning back to Shona. Humour filled her eyes.
‘We tried to but there was an age restriction,’ Shona said.
His father and grandfather chuckled at the same time. Their mannerisms were so similar that it wasn’t hard to see that they were father and son.
‘I told Senthil that it was a kids’ event when he popped by the night before but he wouldn’t listen,’ his mother said.
Shona put down the spoon she was using to eat her biryani and turned to Sen, who was looking everywhere else but at her.
‘You knew but still made me get up at 5.30am for a kids’ race?’
‘But we did end up having an early start to the fabric warehouse, so it’s a win-win, right?’ he countered.
‘And I scored a ride there too, so I guess it was worth it then,’ she replied.
‘Hey! I thought you enjoyed my company but it seems you’re using me as your chauffeur,’ he teased.
Shona was about to reply, but she realised the sound of the cutlery clinking against plates at the table had faded. Sen’s family had been watching their interaction with interest.
She awkwardly picked up her spoon.
‘I do have my driver’s licence but having a car just didn’t seem sensible because the shop is within walking distance to where I live. But now that my business is doing well, I may start looking around for a car. I don’t want anything as flashy as Sen’s because…well not that there’s anything wrong with flashy things but I prefer something small but then I may need space for fabric but not something big like a truck because I’m not great at parallel parking. I still don’t know how I passed my driver’s test because I suck at parallel parking.’ Shona was babbling and she couldn’t stop.
‘But there aren’t many parallel parking spots in Rally so I think I’m safe, right?’
She looked at Sen to help her but he just grinned.
‘I like being your chauffeur,’ he said.
Her eyes widened. He was making it worse because in her mind, ‘I like being your chauffeur’ sounded pretty romantic and his whole family had just witnessed it. Sure, it wasn’t as awkward as watching a sex scene on TV with your parents, but Shona felt exactly as embarrassed as that.
‘I don’t do well with parallel parking either,’ his mother suddenly said.
Shona looked across the table at her and Malini Aiyer winked at her. Yes,theMalini Aiyer had winked. Sen’s mother had winked at her!
His father put down his spoon and stood up, saying, ‘We should meet the newlyweds.’
‘Shona and I will sit this one out,’ his father said. Obviously, the old man knew it was uncomfortable for a plus one to be captured in the family wedding photo album.
Sen stood and his hand lightly brushed her shoulder.
