Part 4

Monday morning I was up and dressed for the office, my hair in a pony-tail and my takings from Saturday in my back pack. As I left my room Balnoor was walking towards me. “Did you see that girl who was here yesterday” he asked “she looked lost but I looked back as I walked away and she was getting into a flash car.”

I said that I had not seen her and we both walked to the underground station to go to work. He was still complaining about the new dholak player as being too full of himself. I stayed quiet and mused on the effect of consequences. The office was just the office, somewhere to spend some time before one could escape again until another day. I went out at lunch and put my takings in the bank and then went to a food court and bought something nice. I felt good about my life for the first time in years but I didn’t know why.

That afternoon I was called down to HR where they gave me the details of my termination. They said that I would be able to leave at lunch time on Friday after I had returned all company items, cleaned out my desk and signed all of the non-disclosure paperwork. Non-disclosure!!! I had been here seven years and had not learned anything I would discuss with my hairdresser if I had one. One thing that was a surprise was that they would be giving me a termination payment and I considered the figure quoted as more than adequate if one had another job to go to. My boss acted like he was sure that I would be out on the streets before the end of the year and I think he was secretly glad of that.

That evening I rang Guptar and told him that I would be available from about three on Friday afternoon and asked him to tell Birgitta. He asked me to hang on for a moment and, when he came back, he said that she would pick me up at half past and that she thanked me for saving her the overtime bill. He also told me to be in my salwar kameez and chunni when she arrived. Over the next few days I read the book before taking it back upstairs and giving it back. I had found a bookstore on one of my lunch breaks and bought my own copy which could annotate in pencil. Evenings I practised on my bongos which I knew would be going with me.

Thursday evening I put everything I was taking into my back pack. My book, my personal papers and my never-used passport went in. I would add my toothbrush and toothpaste tomorrow. All in all, I looked at it and realised that I had not put much of a mark on the earth to remember me by. If I dropped dead tonight there would be a couple of bags for the salvos and that would be it.

Friday came along as expected. I did not have anything official to do and went in in jeans and a loose top with my hair in the usual pony-tail. Instead of the city shoes I had a pair of moccasins and I smiled at the look on the bosses face. I did the usual thing by going round and saying goodbye to those who had been friendly and just waved at those who hadn’t. I jumped though the hoops that HR insisted on and, at twelve thirty, I was standing outside the building, never to re-enter and a cheque burning a hole in my pocket. I took it to the bank and the girl in there commented that it was a nice payday and I replied that it wasn’t if it may be the last one I ever got. That shut her up!

I went to the food court and bought myself a good lunch before taking the train home. I finalised the things in my back pack and put it next to the door with my bongos. I then tidied up the room as if I was never coming back, making sure all the foodstuff was in a rubbish bag which I took out to the bin. After I had dressed in the salwar kameez I packed all of my Gavin clothes into a suitcase and left it on the bed for quick pick-up if needed and went out to wait for Birgitta on the steps with my pack and my bongos beside me.

While I was waiting I mused on where I would be this time next week when it would be the eve of my first public gig with the new band. I thought about just how good those girls were and how lucky I was to be joining them, despite the things I may have to put up with. The week after that would be the sangeet and a few days after that the reception. Beyond that I had absolutely no idea of my future and it did not seem as scary as I would have thought.

When Birgitta arrived she popped the boot for me and I put my gear in before closing it and getting into the passenger seat. “You look happy” she commented and I said that I had to admit that I was. I said “Look, I don’t know what today has in store for me but I trust you enough to know that if I end up looking like a clown you would be kind enough to bring me home. I hope it doesn’t as it would be hard on Tavleen and the girls as well as hard on me because I realised that I did really enjoy playing with them and it brought out a bit of showman in me that I had never seen before.”

“We could see that as you played” she said “Grette was captivated by the music in a way that we had tried to encourage her before but never had quite nailed. You all showed us just how good our heritage could be when done right. If you play half as good during the wedding it will give all of the guests something to think about for weeks after.” I said that I had learned another song last night and sang it to her quietly as we went along. When we got to her salon she leaned over to my side of the car and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “You are too precious” she whispered “Guptar thought he was bringing home the answer to his dilemma; he didn’t realise he was bringing us the next big thing.”

She locked the car and we went into the salon where I was taken through to a private area and told to fully strip and lay on the bed, face down. What followed next was tantamount to torture but I was stoic and didn’t scream, well not until they were pulling out my pubes. After the waxing I had my head clamped while another girl went over my face with a laser hair removal gun. I had to close my eyes as she worked along my eyebrows. While I was still clamped they pierced my ears in four places a side and put in some small studs. “They will be able to be replaced next week before the show,” said Birgitta. “Now we have done the rough stuff, we can get on to the beautifying part of the session.”

I was given a gown to wear and felt better when I had covered myself. Then it was hair washing and styling, followed by a manicure, pedicure and extra nails. Then I was taken out the back again where I was put into a sort of pair of pants that needed to have parts of me manipulated before I was declared to be correct. Then it was back on the bed and I had things attached to my chest with glue that needed me to put on my very first bra when I sat up. Finally I was given a pair of womens trousers with embroidery on them as well as a matching long top in a bright blue to make a classic dress salwar kameez; and a pair of jutti slippers.

I then spent a considerable amount of time being the subject of a make-up artist who had said that it wouldn’t take long to give me the right look. Birgitta told me that I was getting a semi-permanent treatment which I would not have to bother with and that it would all wear off later, after the wedding. What she didn’t say was how long after the wedding it was. The final indignity was having some injections along my lips which made them feel puffy.

Birgitta then placed some jewellery on me, gold bracelets, a gold necklace and a ring for each of the three fingers on each hand. When I stood up and was shown a mirror I first thought that it was a life-size photo of an elegant Indian girl and wondered who she was until I moved and the girl mirrored my movements. “Oh lord” I breathed “what have they done?”

All the girls who had worked on me said that I was the best thing they had ever seen and Birgitta said “Geet, why don’t you sing them that song you sang in the car so they can see just what they have created.” I tapped out the rhythm on the back of the hairdressing chair and sang them the song and they all clustered around me to give me a hug and a kiss on the cheek afterwards. As we went out to the car I found myself moving differently, trying to do everything with extra grace and style. I don’t know why but I was sure that how I looked right now demanded that I try. When we got to the house she popped the boot for the maid to carry my things to my new room and we went in to greet Aganee who had to sit down when she saw me.

“I thought you looked good before” she gasped “but now you look truly like an elegant lady. We are going to have to keep Gaurav in check when he sees you at dinner. He is going to consider you another of his conquests.” I looked at Birgitta and she told me that he was the eldest son and a worry to his parents as he was a womaniser when alone and, she suspected; a rapist in waiting when he was out with his friends. “I think that if he was in the old country he would be in jail or six feet under by now” Aganee said.

They had not told me how drop dead handsome he was when I met him that evening over dinner.

Marianne G 2021