CHAPTER NINE
The Hindi word for flower is phul.
On a day no different to any other, I entered McAllister and Company, Accountants.
“Good Morning,” I announced cheerily to Gillian.
“Hiya Julie,” was her bubbly reply as she handed over the stationery list she had prepared for the company’s office requirements.
Gillian was, unequivocally, the ultimate ‘80’s Kiwi chick – a cross between Kylie Minogue and Cindy Lauper - bright lipstick, teased hair with frosted highlights, a big smile and even bigger shoulder pads.
Once a month Gillian and I met in the boardroom and went over any changes in McAllister and Co.’s stationery requirements and we discussed the new products that were displayed in O.S.W.’s glossy catalogues. One or two of the accountants often joined us to see what was new in the world of stationery. To be honest, I had noticed the Indian accountant, Kishore attending the boardroom meetings more than any of the other staff. I assumed as he was new to the country and the youngest member of the team, he sat in with us to learn more about the products in the range or to see how the system here works.
Little did I know Kishore was secretly waiting for the right moment to approach me to let me know what was truly on his mind and it certainly wasn’t paperclips.
Today was not one of those meeting days, I had called in only to collect the stationery list. As I stood talking to Gillian, Linda came over to say hello. She wore glasses, a professional grey women’s business suit and her hair was cut short in a trendy easy to manage style. Despite her business-like appearance, she was easy to approach.
I had chatted to her a few times but I didn’t know her that well, so I was surprised when she said, “Julie would you like to join me for a coffee?” I was ready for a drink and liked to network - you never know, I thought, I might make a sale.
I remember very well the last time I had spoken to Linda, it was the day Gillian had invited me to join the staff to celebrate Linda’s promotion. It was a memorable day, because I had just found out that morning Andrew and Tanya were expecting their first baby. I was going to be an Aunty, I was so happy! The smile I wore from ear to ear never left my face that whole day. I only stayed briefly at the celebration knowing I had a lot of clients to visit, after congratulating Linda on her promotion I quickly left.
Today, as Linda and I entered the lunchroom it was empty. I immediately noticed a bunch of pink carnations that were sitting in a vase on the table, I exclaimed, “Oh aren’t they sweet!” Linda agreed and we got ourselves a drink, sat at the table, sipped our coffees and talked about her role at McAllister and Co. now that she had settled into her promotion.
Before too long she had to go back to work but I decided to stay a few more minutes to fill out my order forms. My head was bent over my papers when Kishore entered the room. Raising my head, I smiled politely, of course I recognised him, I knew his name but didn’t know him well enough to talk to - we had only exchanged a few courteous hellos or spoken briefly about work matters.
I continued working. Though eventually, I felt his eyes upon me. Looking up, I saw Kishore standing over me - suddenly he thrust a flower towards me. Feeling my face blush from my neck to my forehead I took it from him, I was stunned, “What’s this?” I asked in surprise. He was unable to answer because just at that moment Linda returned as she had apparently forgotten something.
She tried to digest just what was going on as Kishore brushed past her making a quick exit, I was glad she decided not to say anything to me…I was incapable of answering. Although she did sum up the situation pretty quickly, she was an accountant after all, she glanced towards the door Kishore had just gone through, then back at me and back towards Kishore.
‘Kishore and Julie, who would have thought?’ she wondered. Looking at me again, sitting like a possum caught in a cars headlights she made her decision. While muttering to herself, “Well, Linda my dear, it seems it is up to you,” she spun around and ran after him.
Catching up with Kishore at his office door, Linda asked, “Why did you give Julie a flower?”
He didn’t answer but she didn’t give up and her next question happened to be the right one, “Do you like Julie?”
His eyes were firmly locked on a thread on the carpet but she heard a quiet but definite, “Yes.”
“Do you want me to ask Julie for her phone number?”
Again Kishore mumbled a quiet but clear, “Yes.”
After accomplishing the first part of her mission Linda decided to take charge and do the right thing.
“Okay, Kishore I’ll be the matchmaker if you like,” she chuckled, “Don’t worry, I’ll talk to Julie.”
Linda returned to the lunchroom, where I was still sitting like a dazed possum, staring at the flower. She pulled out a chair opposite me and sat down.
“So?”
“So what?” I replied.
“So, what do you think?”
“What do I think about what?”
“Juuuuuulie!” Linda knew full well I was deliberately stalling. “Kishore, Julie, what do you think of Kishore? Do you like him, would you go out with him?”
Linda was right, I was trying to gain some time to analyse the situation. My first thought, in the few minutes since Linda had left was ‘Who on earth does this guy think he is? Giving me a flower, me!’ Then, ‘Well, it was kind of a nice gesture, no guy has ever given me a flower before.’ I twirled the pink carnation between my fingers and glanced at the flowers in the vase on the lunch table. A light bulb came on in my head, did this guy just make a romantic gesture by giving a girl a flower straight from a cafeteria lunch table? It was so cheeky that I could not help but smile.
I put the flower to my nose and breathed in its fragrance as I thought to myself - an Indian, this guy is Indian! If the giving of this flower leads to a date, would I actually consider going out with an Indian man?
What would my parents think? It just wasn’t done, was it? It was practically unheard of, a person of one race having a relationship with a person from another race, was I bold enough to be that person? Could I be capable of going against what was deemed right and proper? But then who were they to deem what was right and proper? As I sat there in confusion, these thoughts jumbled and tumbled around in my head like a washing machine set on ‘spin.'
I knew without a doubt from an inkling growing inside me, while looking at that flower, that my answer to Linda would not be ‘no.’ As Linda stared at me waiting for a reply, I knew I could do it, it felt, well, right. I was going to take the plunge. I turned to her and with my heart racing, tried to speak but all that came out of my mouth was, “Ummm.”
“Go on,” she said. “Really Julie, what have you got to lose?”
True, what did I have to lose? Knowing I was taking a big step, I tore a piece of paper from my notepad and wrote down my home phone number and gave it to Linda. With a huge smile of achievement on her face Linda trotted back to Kishore’s office and handed him the piece of paper.