CHAPTER TWO
The Hindi word for secret is rahasya.
Six months later, the hot and lazy summer days of wearing tee-shirts, shorts, and jandals, was definitely over. We were well into a cold New Zealand winter and wrapped up in knitted jerseys, long trousers and thick woolen socks. The four of us living together was actually working out quite well, and unlike the freezing cold winter, Dad's icy exterior towards Kishore was slowly thawing.
We were happily married in every way and I was delighted to be once more immersed in my work at the veterinary clinic. I was well on my way to becoming a fully qualified vet nurse.
From the good old traditions of my parents, ever since I started earning I had put a little money aside each week as savings. This tradition had been instilled in me at school, thanks to the Auckland Savings Bank (ASB) and a savings scheme they started using Kashin the elephant as a mascot. Children were encouraged to bring as little as ten cents - or as much as they wished – to school to give to their teacher. The coins were then taken by a school staff member to the bank to be placed into each child’s account.
Kishore was also saving; we knew our money would have to be spent wisely. Our first priority was our English wedding and our next goal was a deposit for our own home. Thankfully, we had not used our savings in India.
We were excited about having a wedding here in New Zealand, it was just about all Mum and I talked about. We had eagerly begun the preparations, deciding our English wedding would be in October as Mum had advised that spring was the perfect season for a bride. Every spare moment we had was spent flipping through bridal magazines and discussing guest lists.
Dad, of course, was going to give me away, and Louise and my sister Sarah were to be my bridesmaids. My brother's young son, Christopher, was to be pageboy and ring bearer. Linda would be the guest of honour, as there was no doubt in our minds that without her intervention, Kishore and I would not be the couple we are today.
Admittedly, it wasn't going to be a big event. Mum and I began thinking about a venue, perhaps a local garden for the ceremony, and a hall with a hired caterer for the reception. We gushed over lists of food options, bridesmaid dresses, suits, rings, flowers, and we didn’t want to forget the traditional English wedding custom of 'something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.'
Without a doubt I wanted a white wedding.
Long before meeting Kishore, I had planned in minute detail the type of dress I wanted to wear, down to the very last dainty pearl sewn into the very last stitch.
I only agreed to marry Kishore in India by myself, with none of my family present, on the proviso that I would get my white wedding upon returning to New Zealand. I even let Mum convince me to invite my great, elderly Aunty Gladys to this wedding, even though she was extremely conservative in her ideas of an inter-racial marriage. Kishore's Aunt Bahimini and Uncle Harilal and their family were also amongst the guests on our ever-growing list.
Of course, like most brides-to-be, it was unequivocally my wedding dress that Mum and I spent most of our time discussing. Would we hire or buy, and where from?
The dress of my dreams would be a white lace gown with pearl beading, have a heart shaped neckline, and gather at the waist. In my hair would be a diamond tiara (mmm… I think they would have to be cubic zirconium diamonds) and of course my face would be partially hidden behind a veil.
* * * *
I had been home from work about twenty minutes. Mum was busy peeling potatoes for dinner and I was helping… if standing next to her chatting is a way of helping. Mum had asked me to put the lamb chops in the oven but I was too busy talking to take in what she asked. The latest big news in the family was Sarah having recently declared she was pregnant with her first baby; we were all over the moon. The second grandchild of the family! The big question, as always, was would it be a boy or a girl? But I had something else on my mind.
"Mum…?"
"Yes Julie," she said while glancing at the still unopened packet of chops sitting on the bench.
"Mum, you know those pearl earrings you wore on your wedding day? Well, I was wondering as my 'something borrowed' if I could wear them for my wedding?"
Mum put down the potato and the peeler she was holding and turned to look at me, her face was one of pride,
"Oh Julie, what a wonderful idea, of course you can."
With a cheerful smile, she turned back to peeling the potatoes and I finally opened the packet of chops. I was searching in the cupboard for an oven dish to put them in when I heard Kishore's car pulling up in the driveway. A few minutes later, his head popped around the corner of the kitchen.
"Hello Mrs Harrison," he said, then "Julie, would it be okay if I talk to you in our room."
I looked at Mum and raised my eyebrows while shrugging my shoulders.
"You’d better go," she said, "It sounds serious."
I hadn’t found the dish, so I left the chops opened on the bench and followed Kishore into our room. This was really the only place where we could discuss things in private. I shut the door behind me and joined Kishore sitting on the bed.
"What's up?"
"You won’t believe it, Julie jewel." This was his love name for me. I would also be happy to answer to – Julie, my precious jewel, or maybe Julie, my Julie jewel – he had used all of these names in the past.
"What, Kishore, what won’t I believe?"
"Mr McAllister called me into his office his morning."
"Yes, and…?"
He was interrupted by a scratching and a certain, unmistakable meow coming from the other side of our bedroom door. Our family cat Penny had taken a definite liking to Kishore and always came to see him when she heard his car arriving home. As Kishore stood and opened the bedroom door a fraction to let Penny in, I wondered just what Kishore was going to tell me that was so important.
With her tail pointing straight up in the air, Penny sauntered proudly into the room. Kishore shut the door and sat back down on the bed. Penny meowed once, jumped up on his lap, rubbed her body against him, and began to purr loudly.
Absentmindedly, he patted his 'other wife’,the name I had now affectionately given Penny, they were so devoted to each other. Their relationship was a far cry from when they had first met as Kishore had not spent a lot of time around cats while growing up.
"Julie, the thing is, Mr McAllister wants me to go on a business trip."
"Okay, that's good Kishore, where?”
"Well…he wants me to go to India."
"India! Why Kishore?"
He took a big breath. "He has an old friend, Mr Cromwell, who lives in Delhi. They met in the army but Mr Cromwell stayed on in India after the Second World War. Both men are still great friends and he wants me to go and see him. Mr McAllister usually goes himself every few years to do some accounting work for him and they catch up and talk about old times."
He paused to catch his breath then continued. "This year he was scheduled to go but Mr McAllister's wife is not well, so he doesn't want to leave her and she can’t go with him. He has some important documents that he wants personally hand delivered and signed by Mr Cromwell, so he has asked me to take them to him."
I blinked then stared blankly at Kishore. It was as if he had just told me that he was going to actually marry Penny so they could live happily ever after as husband and wife.
Finally, I gathered my thoughts enough to ask "When does he want you to go?'
"Well," he replied a little sheepishly "That's the other thing Julie, he is wanting me to go in October."
I jumped up scaring Penny and Kishore exclaiming, "October! Kishore we are planning to get married in October!"
To calm me, Kishore quickly replied "Yes I know, Julie, but sit down and listen. I have a plan."
* * * *
Kishore had had the whole day to think about his plan. The first time he told me I thought he was crazy, but the more we talked it through it started to make sense.
Later, Mum called us for dinner, she had given up on me and cooked it by herself. We began eating and noticed Mum and Dad looking at us quizzically, they knew something was up. Even Jasper who liked to sit under the table to catch any 'accidental' bits of dropped food seemed to have a confused look on his face.
Kishore and I exchanged knowing glances, I didn't like hiding things from my parents but we didn't want to tell them until we were one hundred percent sure ourselves of our plans. Besides, we were still trying to digest the situation in our own minds.
While the lamb chops, creamy mashed potatoes, carrots, peas, and beans (lovingly grown and picked from Dad's vegetable garden) slowly disappeared from our plates, I pondered life and how, just when you thought everything was starting to get on track, a curve ball is thrown to set you off course. Maybe whatever we plan for our lives is not really up to us. Sure, we can put steps in place and make arrangements, but whatever is supposed to come our way will come regardless - whether we like it or not.
As I stabbed the last carrot on my plate and placed it in my mouth, I supposed as long as mine and Kishore’s love and dedication for each other was strong we would pull through. Hey! We had survived everything that had been thrown at us so far!
That night while lying in bed with the lights out, we held hands under the covers and secretly whispered our plans into the darkness that surrounded us. Could it work? We had so much to organise! We decided to mull over the whole plan the next day and if by tomorrow night we were both still sure, we would tell my parents.
* * * *
Nothing changed the next day, except we had more determination than ever to go ahead with our decision. That evening after dinner, Kishore and I washed and dried the dishes. When the last knife had been cleaned, dried, and placed in the drawer, I looked at my husband, we both knew it was time, it was now or never.
"You ready?"
"Yes, Julie, are you?"
"I am," I said, then, “Okay, let’s do it now before I lose my courage."
We joined Mum and Dad in the lounge room as they watched TV. Mum was in an armchair, while Dad sat in his, a comfy, deluxe la-z-boy, a gift from Mum a year ago on his fifty-fifth birthday. We wanted to talk to them before their favourite programme, Coronation Street, started because they didn't like to be disturbed once it began. From the looks on their faces we knew they were waiting to hear just what was on our minds, in fact I don't think they could bear the anticipation much longer.
"Mum, Dad, Kishore and I have something we want to discuss with you."
"Yes Julie," said Dad, pushing mute on the TV remote, "We thought something was up."
I looked at Kishore, he had a hesitant smile on his face. I took a big breath.
"Well…," I said as Kishore and I took a seat on the couch facing my parents.
"Kishore's boss, Mr McAllister, served in India in the Second World War and he has an old friend who still lives in New Delhi."
"Okay, go on," this was Dad.
I looked at Kishore, I could tell he was nervous, my Dad could still be a bit overbearing but Kishore was slowly learning how to deal with him.
I repeated what Kishore had told me the night before, that Mr McAllister's wife was sick and he wanted Kishore to go to India to hand deliver some documents as well as discuss some accounting matters.
Mum knew there was more to it; she shifted her eyes from mine to Kishore's, then back to me.
"Mmmm," she said, "So, when will this be?"
The easy part was over. I knew my parents were not going to like the next part of the plan.
I blurted it out, "That's just the thing Mum, he wants him to go in October."
"October! Julie, you are planning on getting married in October!"
"Yes, that is exactly what I said, but Kishore and I have discussed it and we have an idea we thought… well… "
Knowing it was going to be a shock, I looked at Kishore for encouragement, he smiled reassuringly.
"Kishore and I thought that we could buy an extra ticket for me and I could go with him."
I hurried on before I lost my courage, "We could get married in a registry office, then use the money we were saving for the wedding so I can fly with him to India. We could spend a few days traveling, you know, have a little honeymoon and finish up in Delhi so Kishore could complete his business with Mr McAllister’s friend, Mr Cromwell and we could visit Kishore's family."
Mum's jaw hit the floor. Dad's mouth opened and shut a few times like a stranded fish. From the look on his face I was afraid he might jump up and try a ‘Daniel-son’ Karate Kid kick on Kishore!
Mum finally spluttered “A registry office! But… Julie… what about your plans? Your white wedding, you have always wanted a white wedding. Isn’t that the whole reason you agreed to the marriage in India? Oh Julie! I just don’t know.”
Dad had obviously recovered and gathered his thoughts enough to say, “What about your work Julie? Surely you can’t take time off, they have just taken you back there again.”
I explained that it could be difficult to get time off work. I could ask Dr Abbott if I could use my sick days or take my annual leave in advance, and besides it would only be ten days at the most.
Thank goodness we hadn't sent out any invitations.