Page 133 of Dancing Fools and All That Jazz
‘Yes. Thank you, Ingrida. There is one hanging up on the key rack by the door.’
‘I have unpacked your case for you,ja?And put it under the bed.’
‘Ingrida, I cannot thank you enough.’
‘I will make for you a cup of tea before I go. The taxi said it would wait.’
I take out my purse and hand Ingrida a few notes. ‘For the taxi fare. Please, you must take it. What would I have done without you?’
‘Thank you, Fay. You are very kind. I think tomorrow, you must make appointment with fracture clinic so they can check your leg. I may be able to take you.’
‘Most kind. And I hope you do not mind me saying so, but Ingrida, you seem very much happier today.’
‘Ja. I have very good news and I hope I can share thiswith you tomorrow, but I must wait for now.’
‘Well, that sounds intriguing.’
‘How is leg feel?’
‘Throbbing and hot but I suspect once I have rested it overnight, it will be vastly improved. You get on now. And again, many thanks.’
Ingrida waves as she takes the key and heads off.
I feel utterly spent, but no wonder after the long journey home from France. It was exhausting.
As I sip my tea, I smile thinking of our weekend in Paris and I glance at the photograph of Edith and Bethan with a renewed hope in my heart.
I take more painkillers and close my eyes, not caring if I sleep all night in my chair.
35
Asha
It is finally the first day of my wedding celebration. The sun is due to shine all weekend and I am eternally grateful I have stopped being sick. I have no idea how Ma guessed I was pregnant. I am sure Rashmi said something even though I had told her to keep it secret. Typical. Anyway, Ma is delighted. We will not tell Baba until after Jay and I are back from our mini moon. Not because he will be shocked. No, because Ma said he would be so happy he would be sure to blurt it out to everyone at the wedding. I certainly do not want my old-fashioned relatives talking about my condition at the ceremony.
Jay has been wonderful. He has done all the cooking while I lie on the sofa after work. He also frequently goes out to the late shop to get me ice cream or chocolate or sparkling water and crisps. He is going to be a very attentive father, I am sure.
I cannot decide if I want to know the sex of the baby. Jay says he does not care but I think I am favouring a little girl. She can dance with me when she is older, like Monica’s daughter, Joanne, who is going to join Clarissa’s class.
At least the first scan showed I was not having twins! I do not know how Monica managed having two babies atthe same time. I said as much last night when we had the final rehearsal of my Bollywood number.
I think everyone at dance is looking forward to the celebration of my wedding, especially after the recent funeral. It was a very miserable affair. Barely twenty-minutes at the sparse chapel of the local crematorium. There were no prayers, no singing, and it was all painfully flat. I only counted a dozen people and most of those were the dance ladies, as we had all agreed to give a show of support.
This is the first English funeral I had been to, and it is nothing like an Indian funeral. There was not even a small gathering afterwards. Twenty minutes for a life. It seems woefully pitiful for any human being. And so little said about the deceased. At the end of the service, I was certainly none the wiser as to who Sharon Young had been.
‘It was the least we could do,’ Bonnie had said as we walked to the car park afterwards. ‘After all, Janine could so easily have claimed the winning lottery ticket was her own and run off with all our money.’
‘She would never have done that,’ Cath exclaimed.
‘Well, there have been enough television dramas on the subject.’
‘To be sure, but Janine has been through a rough time. I am glad we’ve supported the wee girl. It’s a terrible thing to lose your mother at such a young age.’
‘Ja, I agree.’ Ingrida had given Janine a large bunch of flowers outside the chapel.
‘Do you have big Indian funerals as well as bigweddings, Asha?’ Bonnie asks.
‘We most certainly do. Any major events, births, marriages, deaths, are celebrated by the full family. We are very closely bonded together.’ I did not add that I could not imagine a tiny funeral like this for any of my extended family.
