Page 92 of Pillow Talk
‘Listen, I’m the youngest here,’ said Kaavi, ‘but I’m also tired. Sen, I love you but I didn’t expect today to be this exhausting.’ She stretched her arms in a full-on yawn.
‘I’m sorry guys. We shouldn’t have scheduled the store’s opening on Sen’s birthday,’ Shona said.
‘It was my idea! People were always peeking in and asking when it was going to open. Today was the best day for it. You didn’t ruin my birthday, you made it memorable,’ Sen beamed.
‘Sen’s right. Today was perfect and we loved being a part of it,’ Sam backed up his friend.
‘All those excited customers and that ringing cash till made itworth it, girl,’ Anni added.
The First Look Bridal Shop was real. Even now, several hours after it had opened, Shona still couldn’t believe it. It had taken lots of hard work – three months of hard work. During that time, she’d hired two seamstresses and worked until all the rails displayed Shona Shah wedding dresses. The veils were still a big hit and she’d had to hire another seamstress just to keep up.
Her parents were there that morning when she turned the key and opened the door to the shop she’d always dreamed she would own. Her mother was a natural sales assistant, but Shona immediately turned her down when she suggested going in a few times a week to help, insisting that her only job now was to enjoy all the things she and Shona’s dad had planned but never got round to doing. They’d already been on a holiday with Uncle Pat and Aunt Jaya and were talking about going on a cruise. Aruna and Zayn, who now lived in Durban, were also there for the opening. Aruna wasn’t ready to open her own dance studio, but her website was still profitable and feeding her passion. The Aiyers had popped by too. MrsAiyer had brought lunch and allowed her husband to eat whatever he wanted ‘just this once’. Shona didn’t expect Sen’s grandfather to be so emotional but he was. He repeatedly told her how proud he was of her. Sam, Anni, Felicity and Kaavi were there until closing time and Sen never left her side. When she imagined her shop when she was a kid, she never thought she would be surrounded by so much love and support.
Someone behind their group cleared his throat.
‘Are you guys going to leave or spend the whole night talking? We want to use that table,’ a gruff man with scruffy hair and a missing tooth asked.
Anni quickly moved aside.
‘We’re leaving… and Sam we need a discussion on your life choices,’ she said, scrambling for the door.
The others followed her without looking back.
‘We’ll drop Kaavi off because your grandfather’s is closer to our place,’ Sam said once they were outside.
Sen hugged his best friend, Anni and Kaavi, and waved them goodbye. As soon as their car was out of sight, he reached for Shona’s hand and interlinked their fingers.
‘Let’s walk home.’
‘We didn’t bring the car so that’s the plan,’ she said.
They walked slowly, taking in the Main Street. After the whirlwind of the day, time itself seemed to have slowed down. When they walked past the dress boutique, Shona saw eight-year-old Anni peeping in through the gap in the open door at the blue and white polka-dot dress she longed for.
A few steps further, she spotted the bait and tackle shop. She remembered nine-year-old Sen buying them stinky bait to catch fish in the lake. There were no fish, but that summer they spent almost every day at the lake with their rods.
The ice cream parlour where Anni always ordered a banana split and she and Sen shared a triple chocolate mousse sundae came into view. Next to it, a new sign had been put up: Shahs. Just Shahs. The storefront had also been updated, its fresh paint and slick glass a sharp contrast to what Shona remembered. She no longer felt her chest tighten when she saw the shop. Instead, she felt proud that she’d helped change its legacy. On days when horrid memories crept in she replaced them with happier ones.
And then they found themselves at what was probably the world’s ugliest statue. It’s where Sen was supposed to meet her and Anni when they planned to take the bus into Durban all those years ago. They never showed up. Yet he still found them…saved them.
Shona gazed up at Sen.
‘Are you okay?’
She nodded. ‘I love you, Senthil,’ she whispered.
‘I love you too,’ he said lifting her chin to brush her lips with his…but then he stopped.
‘Sho, I can’t kiss you here with that creepy statue staring at us.’
Shona laughed and he chuckled as they continued their journey home.
Epilogue
It had been a busy morning at The First Look Bridal Shop: Shona hired another seamstress and two more sales consultants, then had an appointment with Felicity and a bride who wanted a showstopper dress. Discussing the details and coming up with a concept that delighted the bride had taken longer than Shona expected and, once they left, she was relieved to have a moment to catch her breath.
She went to her design studio at the back of the shop and sat down, rubbing her temples.
‘It can’t be that bad,’ Sen said, approaching her.
