Page 7 of Pillow Talk
‘Have you spoken to Anni? Told her how you feel?’
Sam nodded. ‘She says I won’t understand.’
Sen ran his hands through his hair. ‘She’s right, you know,’ he said.
‘To some extent, yes,’ Sam replied.
Sen shook his head. He stood and walked to the ceiling-to-floor window. He looked at the city below him and thought about Rally, the small town where everyone knew your nameand business. It was nothing like the city Sam had grown up in. Sen’s office on the top floor of a high-rise building gave him a bird’s eye view of people rushing about their business. No one smiled at anyone. They didn’t even greet one another. In Rally, you couldn’t walk a couple of steps out of your front door without someone stopping for a quick chat. Sam would never truly understand what life in Rally was about or how his wife had grown up. But he had to at least try to explain.
‘To more than just some extent. Sam, look around. Look at us. We grew up with silver spoons in our mouths. Anni grew up with an abusive father, who left when she was five, and a drunk for a mother, who sold her prom dress – which the Shahs had bought for her because her mother needed her next bottle. Life has been tough and she’s afraid that she won’t fit into your world. She’s afraid that she may embarrass you,’ he said without turning back to look at Sam.
‘Damn, Sen. I never thought about it that way. And how do you know about all of this?’
Sen turned to look at him and walked towards his desk. He removed his jacket and hung it over a coat hanger on a nearby stand.
‘I listen, I observe. And I grew up in Rally. You didn’t. Sure, I was at boarding school for most of my childhood, but I spent my summers and other holidays there. And let me tell you, it wasn’t easy. My father was too busy at work. My mother spent most of her time in Durban helping my father in the firm and I was left to my own devices. Granddad was there of course, but he wasn’t the kind of company a young boy wanted. I was desperate for friends. I’m embarrassed to even say it out loud,’ Sen explained as he sat down again.
Sam was speechless and wide-eyed.
‘Don’t look so shocked, my friend. Don’t believe what the papers say. I’m only heartless in the courtroom,’ he joked.
Sam chuckled and ran his hands through his hair. ‘I know the real you but I didn’t know this part,’ he said.
Sen sat back. ‘I would go out every day trying to insert myself into someone’s little gang. Obviously, Avi was a dickhead so I didn’t stand a chance with the popular guys. He used to call me poor little rich kid. I honestly don’t know why I tolerate him now,’ Sen pondered.
He shook off the thought and continued. ‘I found two ridiculous girls. They were outsiders themselves. By the time I was 11, I looked forward to summer just to catch up with them. It wasn’t exactly the kind of friendship where we would confide in each other, but they never ever told me to get lost.
‘The summer I turned 16, Anni and Shona were almost 15 and no longer the girls I knew. Or rather, they were the same but they didn’t look the same. They were young women… beautiful young women, and people – guys specifically – started to notice.’
Sen stopped, picked up a pen and clicked it twice. Sam was sitting almost on the edge of his chair.
Sen sighed. ‘I don’t think it’s right that I continue. I think it’s best that you speak to Anni.’ He folded his arms and looked away.
Sam sat up straighter. ‘Sen, you can’t start a story and then suddenly stop. Anni is my whole world. I love her more than anything. She just won’t tell me about her past. She won’t open up. We’re best friends; you can trust me. I promise not to breathe a word of this conversation to her or anyone else,’ Sam pleaded.
Sen didn’t want to reveal that the real reason he was uncomfortable telling this story was that it had dawned on him how vulnerable Shona had been and when he remembered that day, his heart raced thinking about what could have happened if events had turned out differently.
He took in his friend’s despondent expression. He would tellhim, although maybe it was more to get it off his own chest.
‘Fine. Not a word.’
Sam nodded.
‘We’d made plans to meet outside the library in front of that ugly statue, to take a bus into the city. Shona and Anni were proud – they always insisted on paying their own way. Shona had saved her pocket money and Anni was given some cash for her upcoming birthday. It was from an anonymous source,’ Sen said.
‘You?’ Sam asked.
‘No, Granddad. We’d been talking about this trip for days and we had it all mapped out. But when I got to the statue, they weren’t there. I was so angry; I thought they’d ditched me. I was about to board the bus to go on my own to get back at them and my parents, who would be livid when they found out that I’d used public transport alone, when I had a weird feeling. I started running towards Anni’s house. I’d only ever seen it from the road. It was dilapidated and not something I would associate sweet Anni with but I knew where it was and I had to get there. When I did, I opened the gate and went into the yard.’
Sen stopped and shook his head before he started speaking again.
‘I didn’t know what I was going to say or do, but my feet propelled me to the front door. I heard screams for help and pushed the door open. Anni and Shona were tied up with some kind of frayed cord and her mother was passed out, drunk, on the floor. My body moved like a robot as I untied them. All Shona could say over and over was “he didn’t touch us” …’
Sen paused as he remembered that moment. Shona’s hair had been uncontrolled curls back then. Her mother had forbidden her to cut it. Her face had appeared so small when she looked up at him as he untied them.
‘Sen …’ Sam’s voice urged him back to the present and he shookoff the memory.
‘Anyway, Anni’s mother had told her boyfriend about the birthday cash and you can figure out the rest. They made me promise not to tell any adults because Anni would be sent to a foster home here in Durban. We never went on that bus trip and we never spoke about it again. My point is our backgrounds are different. It may not be an obstacle but it will pop up from time to time. Think about it, Sam. We would never have been in that position, but Anni had been in more than one situation like that,’ Sen said.
