Page 134 of Dancing Fools and All That Jazz
Now my wedding is here. I am not even going to think about the second funeral next week.
I told Jay it was not funny, when he joked it could be a film,Two Funerals and a Wedding.
No, I am putting all my energies into making this a memorable weekend. I can hardly believe the date has arrived and tonight we do my dance.
The Bollywood spectacular will kick off the dancing mid evening. I am wearing the first of my wedding outfits, a Lehenga of tangerine and gold. I will stand out against the other dancers as they will be in the blue and green shaded saris we wore for the competition. Tomorrow I will wear the traditional red Lehenga, and I even have a sparkling white off-the-shoulder dress for the final day as a shout-out to my English upbringing.
Monica has designed the beautifully cut lace dress that hides my slight bump. I am the first customer of Wed-in-Style by Monica. No one else will have worn this design before me. My hair will be adorned with bright red roses to complete the look. Monica even said she wants to use one of my official photographs for her new promotional site. Imagine. I could be the face of her new company.
I study the henna patterns on my hands painted there earlier by my aunts. The henna stain is very dark. This isperfect, as they say, the darker the colour, the stronger the bond will be between Jay and me. All my friends giggled and laughed when I had Jay’s name and mine hennaed onto the top of my thigh. It is a good custom for the groom to have to find the names and I assured them this will not happen until we are completely by ourselves after the ceremony.
I have seen Jay’s Sherwani, and he looks magnificent in it. Everyone says what a handsome couple we will make.
I practise the dance steps inside my head and think through the rehearsal. It all went well. With no Fay, it will be Janine who will be dancing with us.
Janine seems like a new person since her mother’s death and her sister coming back to live with her. I am glad I opened the line of communication between the dance ladies and Janine. It was a good move on my part, and I can now pride myself that this no doubt made all the difference as to how events unfolded.
Janine now talks to me a lot, and I even persuaded her to come in and have her teeth whitened for free.
During her treatment, I was able to glean more information about what happened. I booked her in for double the normal time so I could pause the procedure for her to speak to me.
‘Thank you for doing this for me, Asha.’
‘It is no problem, Janine. You have nice teeth and I promise this will enhance your smile. I tell all my patients how it does wonders for the confidence. Now, before we do the lower jaw, you need a break. Tell me how it isgoing with your sister living back with you.’
‘It’s going well. Angela and I are both glad to have each other.’
I smiled and waited for her to say more.
‘I started back at my job last week too, at the theatre. Only part-time, but it’s good to get back to some normality.’
‘That is good news. And the police, are they going to pursue the charge of not reporting your mother’s death?’
‘No. They gave me a fine and a caution. I was so relieved. They know I wasn’t in a good place, mentally. My community nurse said I was in a state of denial when Mum passed away.’
I patted her arm and said nothing.
‘I mean, I know it sounds ridiculous now, but I convinced myself she was asleep. I couldn’t face dealing with it and then I had come to rely on her weekly payments to pay Ryan…’
‘Ryan?’
‘He’s a debt collector, although my nurse called him a loan shark. The payments went up every week and before I knew it, I was handing over both Mum’s disability benefit and my carer’s allowance. We had nothing, and he was threatening getting us kicked out of the house next.’
‘How terrible.’
‘That is why… why I took the Paris payments. I thought I could win it all back…’
I patted her arm again, and she went quiet for a long time. Eventually, she spoke again.
‘I was in a cycle of gambling, borrowing more, losing more, borrowing more… It was never-ending. When thepolice finally came, it was a relief. And they put me in touch with Step-Change, a debt charity. They’re helping me sort out all the issues.’
‘You will be able to pay off this Ryan person now we have the lottery win?’
‘They’ve drawn up an agreement for me to pay him at a set rate over the next two years and he has to stay away from my house. They also said it wouldn’t be a good idea if Ryan got wind of the winnings; it would make me a target. So, I’m keeping that quiet. It’s such a relief Clarissa’s group agreed not to have publicity.’
‘I think we have had enough press interest over the dance competition to last us a lifetime,’ I laughed.
‘I’m sorry I missed Paris. In particular the dancing. It was one of the few things that kept me going over the last few years. I’m so excited to be dancing at your wedding.’
