Page 89 of Pillow Talk
‘Sen, you’re my best friend. And asyourbest friend, I’m telling you to get real. Shona has always been the one. Do something. You can’t sit back waiting for the miserable feeling after a breakup to go away, because buddy, in this case it’ll never go away,’ Sam said seriously.
It was Drake’s first day as the manager of Shahs. Yes, Shahs.Shona’s dad was in the process of renaming the store. Finally, he’d declared that he haddaughters– daughters whom he loved and respected, which meant there was no need for ‘sons’ on his signboard.
Shona’s parents had driven in to Durban that morning for lunch and a tour of the landmarks. Her dad had joked that they would pass her shop as it was the most important landmark of all.
Shona’s family life had improved immeasurably. She was no longer shackled to the shop and her business was booming. But she still felt empty.
She missed Sen. She didn’t realise just how much she wanted to be with him until he was gone. He said they would hurt each other if he stayed. But they’d already hurt each other. And Shona didn’t know how to pull herself out of it.
At around midday, she shut the door to her workroom and decided to call it a day. She just couldn’t focus on the task at hand. She was about to start making lunch when her doorbell rang. She wasn’t expecting any visitors and she wasn’t up for company, but she put on a smile to answer the door.
‘Sen!’
‘Put on your shoes,’ he said.
She raised an eyebrow.
‘Please put on your shoes. I want to show you something,’ he added.
‘Okay,’ was all that she could say.
She put on her shoes, grabbed her handbag and shut her door. She followed him to his car and when he opened her door, their eyes met. Sen had a five o’clock shadow and he looked as if he hadn’t slept in days. He nodded and she got in.
They didn’t speak in the car. She didn’t ask where they were going.
The route began to look familiar – she’d walked it a hundredtimes with Sen. The lake. He parked the car in the small, makeshift parking lot, and held out his hand for her when they got out of the car.
She looked at it for a moment and then took it. They walked without saying a word until they were under the shade of a tall tree with vibrant green leaves.
Shona let go of his hand and looked around. She knew exactly where they were. The scrawny tree that they’d wished on every summer was now this majestic beauty.
A memory popped up: she was 15 and standing next to the once-scrawny tree.
‘This is lame. We’re old enough to know that The Wishing Tree isn’t real,’ she’d whined.
But Anni had pulled her closer, insisting, ‘When has it ever let us down? You want Sen, right? Make your wish.’
Shona had shaken her head.
‘Seize the day, Shona. I read that in a diary MrsWilton gave me last year. Do it. Seize the day. Come on, Shona. You can’t be shy. All I ever hear you talk about is Sen. Just tell the tree what you tell me,’ Anni had urged.
‘Fine. Just give me a moment.’
Shona had taken a deep breath and wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans.
‘Wishing Tree, I wish for Senthil Aiyer to love me as much as I love him.’
When she’d looked around, Anni was jumping up and down, clapping and cheering Shona.
‘Do you remember the fortune cookies?’ Sen interrupted Shona’s thoughts, bringing her sharply back to the present.
She turned to look at him and merely nodded, still reeling from the memory and how it had inserted itself into the reality of standing beside him now, so many years later, at the foot of the very same tree.
‘Mine said “do it scared”. I didn’t know what it meant at the time but now I do. Because I stand here terrified. I’m scared, Shona. But I have to do this…I want to do this,’ he said with more certainty.
‘I don’t understand,’ she said quietly.
He took a step closer and turned to look up at the tree.
