‘You will do no such thing!’ Deena shrieked. ‘Raj will make the alterations while we have lunch, Rose, darling. He’s a wizard. We’ll have something lovely to eat and come back and it’ll be as if the
lehenga
was tailor-made for you.’
‘Really?’
‘Really.’
Raj nodded. ‘Exactly as Deena says. And, just a little advice from me, when you wear this at the wedding, you just need to adjust the dupatta slightly to suit yourself. You see, you can either wear it like this …’ He threw the long panel of floaty turquoise and lilac silk lightly round Rose’s neck and dangled the ends rakishly over her shoulders. ‘Or like this …’ He draped it round her like a stole. ‘Or again like this …’ He deftly folded it and hung it loosely over one shoulder. ‘So many ways to look so beautiful.’
And she did, Erin thought, sniffing back a happy tear. Totally transformed. The horrid peach suit and the dreadful ostrich feather hat could be donated to the charity shop and Rose would be as beautiful as – no, Erin corrected herself – even more beautiful than Deena at the wedding.
Hah!
‘Right, now if Rose just pops back into her own clothes, we’ll leave Raj to make the necessary alterations,’ Deena said briskly. ‘And we’ll hurry along the Broadway and take care of Rose’s footwear, and the jewellery of course, and find something to eat. And be back in what? A couple of hours?’
As Rose shimmied back into the fitting
room, Raj nodded, looking up from scribbling down measurements on a pad. ‘Perfect. Now I’ll just need a deposit.’
‘Oh, that’s fine.’ Erin stepped forwards and lifted the price tag. ‘I’m paying for all of it. Mum doesn’t know so let’s get it all done before she comes out of the changing room. This is going to be my treat – eeeek!’
‘Quality and individuality doesn’t ever come cheap,’ Deena said smugly. ‘Is it a problem?’
‘No,’ Erin lied.
Deena raised her eyebrows. ‘Of course, you could always haggle.’
Erin shook her head. She couldn’t. She knew Jay always haggled, so did Deena and Tavish. And she’d admired them for the skill. But she’d never been able to do it. She found it Britishly embarrassing.
Raj watched the exchange silently, clearly willing her to dare to
try
.
‘No,’ Erin gulped bravely, sliding her card into the machine. ‘The price is fine, thank you. But –’ she looked at Raj ‘– please get rid of this price tag before my mum sees it. She’s never paid more than twenty pounds for anything to wear for as long as I can remember. She’d have a fit. Literarily. And refuse to have it. And if she asks,
do not tell her the price
, OK?’
‘Of course.’ Raj smiled, handing Erin the receipt. ‘It’s our secret. And I’ve already added the cost of the alterations on to the bill so there’s nothing left to pay.’
Thank the Lord for that, Erin thought faintly, tucking the telltale slip deep into her bag.
She took a deep breath. ‘Deena, thank
you and I apologise. I was wrong on this one. Mum looks gorgeous. Obviously, a
lehenga
wasn’t what either of us had planned on her wearing, but it’s worked wonderfully well. It was very kind of you to bring us here and suggest this.’
There. She’d said it. Racking up the Brownie points today.
Deena beamed. ‘Thank you, too, darling. But there’s absolutely no need to apologise. I appreciate that you’re a strong, independent woman with your own views. Jaimal wouldn’t be marrying you otherwise. And as someone who has always fought her own corner I couldn’t ask for more in my future daughter-in-law.’
Raj, who’d been listening avidly, beamed even more broadly. ‘How lovely. Now you beautiful ladies go and enjoy the rest of your retail therapy and I’ll see you shortly. Ah, and here’s Rose back again – so, off you all go, then.’
And off they went.
Outside, it was even hotter, even nosier and far more crowded.
‘Oh –’ Rose linked her arm through Erin’s ‘– I’m so happy. Deena, thank you so much. I never thought I would look like that in anything – ever. I simply can’t imagine what Pete will say when he sees me.’
Neither can I, Erin thought with amusement. Her dad was as traditional as it was possible to get.
‘You’re very welcome.’ Deena preened. ‘And when my girls have done their stuff on the wedding day, you’ll be absolutely stunning.’
‘Your girls?’
‘A couple of Deena’s employees are coming down to do all our hair and make-up,’ Erin explained. ‘None of us feel we can do our own, and it’s part of Deena’s wedding present to me, and one that I’m truly grateful for.’
Unlike the bloody
mandap
.
‘Oooh,’ Rose practically
danced. ‘How fabulous. I’ve never had a professional makeover. This just gets better and better. And I never thought I’d wear an Indian outfit to your wedding, sweetheart. Never in a million years. But it’s the most glorious thing I’ve ever seen.’
Erin and Deena smiled at each other.
‘And you look wonderful in it,’ Erin said truthfully. ‘And Dad will love it too.’
‘I don’t think he’ll like the price, though,’ Rose giggled. ‘Do you know, I didn’t even look at the price of it. I never usually do that. Oh, I do hope I can afford it. I reckon it might cost fifty pounds … think of it! Fifty pounds on a one-off outfit! How reckless would that be?’
If only, Erin thought. Fifty pounds would possibly have bought the dupatta. Maybe.
‘It’s all paid for, Mum. It’s mine and Jay’s present to you.’
‘Nooo!’ Rose squealed. ‘You can’t do that. It’s far too much money!’
‘It’s all done.’ Erin smiled. ‘And if you lived here instead of an entire world away I’d have been able to treat you to loads of things all the time, so just think of it as an accumulation of all the little presents I couldn’t give you.’
‘Thank you so much, but I can’t let you do it –’ Rose shook her head ‘– it’s still fifty pounds, sweetheart
. Fifty pounds
.’
Erin and Deena exchanged amused glances over Rose’s head.
‘And you’re worth a million times that.’ Erin hugged her mum. ‘Now, I don’t want to hear any more about it. So, are we going to do shoes and jewellery first – or food?’
‘Shoes and jewels first,’ Deena
said, as they barged their way through the even more crowded pavements. ‘Then we can relax and enjoy our lunch.’
‘And I’m paying for everything else,’ Rose said firmly. ‘Erin, love, you simply can’t afford it. I know you can’t earn much working with Doug, and it’s so close to your wedding day and your dad and I haven’t paid a penny towards it and –’
‘Neither have Tavish and I,’ Deena put in quickly. ‘They wouldn’t let us, either. So don’t worry yourself about it, Rose. The children are having their wedding exactly the way they wanted it, and are paying for all of it, so us old fogies don’t have a say. Tavish and I have given in gracefully and are just going to enjoy the day.’
‘And Jay and I have been saving for ages,’ Erin said, for once grateful to Deena. ‘And we just want you all to come along and celebrate with us and have the best day of your lives. Now, about these shoes …’
An hour later, with Rose the proud owner of a pair of very pretty lilac and silver sparkly sandals, a pair of turquoise dangly earrings, a dozen purple and blue bangles and an amazing tiny clutch bag in all shades of blue and mauve and studded with diamanté, they headed back along the Broadway.
‘I could eat an entire Indian banquet,’ Erin muttered, greedily inhaling the hot air as they once more trekked through the ever-growing crowds. ‘All these spices are driving me mad. I wanted a curry hours ago – now I’ll just demolish anything that’s put in front of me.’
‘I’ll just be glad of a sit down,’ Rose admitted. ‘My head’s all of a whirl.’
Deena, still looking immaculate, smiled indulgently. ‘Well, I do know a particularly nice little restaurant just round the corner. I’m sure we could have a bite there while Raj finishes his alterations. They do a lovely self-service buffet and –’
‘Whoo.’ Erin suddenly stopped
outside a shop with crowds spilling out on to the pavement and stared at the men deftly cooking over griddles in the open air. ‘What on earth is this place?’
The heat shimmered in an optical illusion over the burners and hot, sweet, mouth-watering aromas wafted along the jam-packed street, adding to the scorching, exotic atmosphere.
Erin jigged up and down. ‘Oooh, Deena, look at that! They’re making jalebis! This is amazing.’
‘Ah, yes. This is Jalebi Junction.’ Deena nodded. ‘It’s very famous.’
‘Of course it is. Jay’s mentioned it. Oh, and I love jalebis,’ Erin groaned. ‘Mum, you’ve never tasted anything like them. Jay and I have bought them before, but never from here, obviously. And I’ve never seen them being made. Look, they fry spirals of dough, and then dunk them in syrup and then when they’re all golden and gorgeous and like little gooey cartwheels, they put them on the cooling racks to harden and …’
‘They do look and smell scrummy.’ Rose peered over Erin’s shoulder, watching the hot, sticky sweets being snapped up as quickly as they could be shovelled into brown paper bags.
‘Oh, they are,’ Erin said excitedly. ‘And look – it says they do
gulab jamuns
inside, too. I’ll have to buy some of both to take home for Jay. They’re his favourite things of all time. Hang on a second, Deena, while I pop in and buy something.’
‘Wouldn’t it be better to wait?’ Deena frowned. ‘We’ll have lunch first, collect Rose’s outfit, and then buy the little treats on the way home. Otherwise you’ll spoil your appetites and –’
But Erin, followed by Rose, wasn’t
listening and had already elbowed her way into the Jalebi Junction crowd.
‘Oh, really!’ Deena shook her head as Rose and Erin eventually emerged from the hordes again sometime later. ‘You’ve been ages – oh, and I see you’ve bought lots of things to eat.’
‘Some are for Jay, of course, and I got some for Dad and Tavish as well,’ Erin nodded, tucking the packages into her bag. ‘And these –’ she held a large bag of hot and sticky jalebis aloft ‘– are for us to share and eat now.’
‘Us?’ Deena squinted against the sun, looking horrified. ‘Erin, darling, you surely don’t expect me to eat in the street?’
‘Of course. You have to eat them while they’re hot. Jay taught me that.’
‘I’m sorry –’ Deena shook her head ‘– but if that’s so, then Jay must have ignored all he’s ever been told. I’ll save mine for later, thank you. I’ve never eaten anything in the street in my life. Least of all jalebis.’
‘Then you simply don’t know what you’re missing.’ Erin lifted a wodge of steaming, gooey jalebi from the bag and managed to get most of it into her mouth. ‘Whumphgrooomp-arrrmm.’
‘Oooh.’ Rose took a smaller bite from hers. Golden spirals dripped onto her T-shirt. She fanned her mouth. ‘Goodness, they’re delicious, but very, very hot.’
Deena looked at them both in dismay. ‘And now you’ve got syrup on your chins and all over your hands and your clothes. And you probably won’t be able to eat any lunch.’
Rose chuckled stickily. ‘I know, Deena.
Sorry. But isn’t this all the most amazing fun?’
Deena smoothed the unruffled body-con dress, inspected her own squeakily clean hands, looked at Erin and Rose, and then smiled.
‘Yes, Rose, darling, actually, it is.’
‘I do hope,’ Gina said on the Saturday
lunchtime a week before the wedding, ‘that Erin and Jay will be OK about tonight.’
The Merry Cobbler was packed as usual. Gina, working with Sam and Part-time Pearl, was serving two people at once.
‘Ah,’ Sam said, juggling three pint glasses, ‘they’ll be fine. Shift yerself away from the IPA pump, there’s a good gel. Ta. I’m looking forward to it.’
‘So am I.’ Gina poured shandies. ‘But hen and stag nights can often go horribly wrong.’
‘You worry too much about other people, duck. It’ll all be grand, you’ll see,’
‘And we’re closing the pub for the first time in living memory.’
‘Ah, and that’ll be all right, an’ all,’ Sam assured her. ‘You’ve worked like a Trojan ever since you got here. We all deserves a nice night orf. Pub won’t go broke for one night.’
‘And next week for the wedding …’
‘Two nights then. Don’t you worry yourself
about it, duck. Let yer hair down and have some fun.’
Gina, taking money for the shandies, grinned to herself.
She was actually having the best fun she’d ever had in her life. And the best sex.
She laughed aloud.
‘Can I do anything to help?’ Nalisha, in a very pretty frock, appeared on the other side of the bar.
‘No, love, I’m fine.’ Gina chewed her lips together. She was sure everyone
knew
. ‘What have you got planned for today?’
‘Nothing much. I was going to have a little chat to Doug, though. He’s asked me out for lunch.’
‘Lovely.’ Gina poured long, tall vodka and tonics. ‘Anywhere nice?’
‘Probably. All the villages round here are so beautiful and Doug seems to know some fabulous restaurants.’
He did, Gina thought, he’d even taken her to some of them.
‘Oh well, have a wonderful time. But don’t forget to be back early enough to get glammed up for tonight.’
Nalisha laughed. ‘I won’t.’
‘I just hope Jay and Erin will enjoy themselves.’
Nalisha stopped smiling for a moment. ‘They will. I know they will. They’re so lucky. Loving one another the way they do. Anyway, I’ll be back in plenty of time. In fact, I think I’ll probably be back sooner rather than later.’
‘Oh yes?’ Gina raised her eyebrows.
‘Mmm.’ Nalisha nodded. ‘I think Doug may have got the wrong idea about our … friendship. I need to put him straight.’
Gina gave a little mental whoop. About time someone did.
‘Oh dear.’ Gina hoped she looked sympathetic. ‘Poor Doug.’
‘I’m leaving the village as soon as Jay and Erin’s wedding is over and taking up my post in London,’ Nalisha said. ‘I always was. Doug seems to think that I’ll stay if he asks me to.’
Gina chuckled. ‘Sounds like Doug. Try to let him
down gently then.’
Or not.
‘I will.’ Nalisha smiled. ‘He’s a really nice man and he’s been very kind to me, but honestly, he’s old enough to be my father!’