Part 17

I chatted with the guys while Tom did his thing. There was Alan on the piano, Joe on drums, Alec on bass and Chico on guitar. When Tom brought us the discs I found out these guys were called the ‘Four Winds’ and the album we had just cut as play was called ‘Four Winds and a Gayle.’ So shoot me, I didn’t get to name it.

He had written the name on the disc and listed us down one side and we all took turns to sign six discs alongside our name as a ’keepsake’. It consisted of some nice songs and my favourite was ‘The Man I love’ which I had put plenty of soul into. It was strange how my voice was evolving. Prior to the shots I had been husky when I sang and a little higher pitched when I spoke; the reason that I was known as one of the silent types when I worked as Gavin. After the shots and now nearly a month on pills, I was getting a slightly less husky voice and more into one that sounded a bit like Eartha Kitt without the accent.

I told Tom that I would see him Tuesday with the band for our first session and left with my disc in my bag. So far I now had duets with an Indian singer on two albums, an album of just the duets, a jazz-blues album and a traditional Indian album to come and yet nothing had become of any of it, yet! I went to a teller machine and drew out enough money to open an account and went to another bank and, with my new passport as ID, opened a new account in the name of Gayle Joanne Fooks. I asked for a credit account and they said that they would send my cards out to my nominated address.

After I had signed with Janet, she had arranged an account with her bank that was used to dealing with artists operating under a stage name and I had an account with them as Geet Fooks which my pay and bonuses went into and my rent was paid out of. My next stop was my old branch where I showed my cancelled passport and my new one and emptied my old account with the balance split into two equal cheques. I then went to my Geet bank and deposited one cheque and then went back to my new bank and deposited the other.

Janet had sent her promised text and not long after I got another from Tavleen saying she would pop in after work. I went home and put my new CD into the player and started listening. When Tavleen knocked I opened the door and let her in. I poured her a glass of wine and we sat for a while as she listened to the CD. “That’s nice”, she said, “just your style. Who’s the singer?” I pulled the now silent CD out of the machine and showed her the writing on it and then had to tell her about my time in the studio today. She wrinkled her nose and then said “So you were Gavin, the other guys called you Gitaz which Guptar changed to Geet and now you are Gayle?” I showed her my two passports and explained that I had been ‘upgraded’ to ‘F Class’ in the new one.

I told her that today had been a bit of fun and that Tom had recorded everything we had sung to pick out the best takes, culminating in the keepsake that I now had. I was sure that we would all get an original copy of the one that we produce after our own sessions in the studio. I then told her of my operation date and asked if she and Balnoor could take me there on the day. I had thought that I would only tell the others that I needed some womb-work and was sure that everyone would jump to the same, wrong, conclusion.

We discussed the likely future events and downed a couple of bottles of cheap wine, ate the snack I prepared and went to bed. I found that I could not be a man for her any more so I took my time to please her, several times, before she called it a night and swayed out to the lift to go home to get her beauty sleep. I went back to bed to think about what had just happened. Actually, it was to think about what had not happened. I realised that I did not wake up with a woody any more but had not thought it strange. Perhaps I was destined to be non-sexual until after my operation; that would be hard to take but the win afterwards would, hopefully, make up for it.

Saturday we did the reception. Balnoor parked at the block, as usual, and Janet took us in the mini-bus. It was almost western in its own way and we relied heavily on the love songs and western songs we knew. Tavleen said nothing about last night and dragged Balnoor to the lift with a gleam in her eyes. I fully expected to see him washed out tomorrow and I was beginning to understand her need for cock but, as yet, was unable to experience it.

In the morning I got a text to expect the rest of the band in ten minutes so made sure I was decent and put the kettle on. When they were all seated Husnia took the lead and said “Geet, we all love you but we think it is time you came clean with us. Both I and Kajari have commented on how like that Gitaz you were in Balnoors’ old band and now, seeing how easily you and he interact, we have decided that you must be that Gitaz. Please tell us the truth, we will not think badly of you as we really do want to make the grade with you singing with us.”

I knew that it would be best to give them the full story and outlined the reasons I went busking that Saturday Guptar found me. Balnoor looked a bit sheepish at this but I told him that none of it was his fault. I told them that it was Guptar that had decided that I present as Geet when I played and that I had rolled with it since then. I laid it all on the line; the shots and loss of libido; the upcoming operation and my official new name. I said that I had not been happy keeping it from them but Tavleen had twigged earlier and, of course, Balnoor had recognised me.

I ended, saying “Guptar, his wife and his mother know about me, as does Grette, but Gaurav thinks that he is in love with Geet, a woman, and it is only tradition that stops him trying to ravish me before our wedding. I will try to make that after my operation so he will never know that I was never a woman, only that I cannot have children, something we can conveniently find out from a friendly doctor some time much further in the future unless he swallows the lie that my operation is a hysterectomy but still loves me enough to marry me.

They all thanked me for being open with them and the three new secret bearers gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Tavleen then looked me in the eyes and said “Tell them about your side-line career. Play them the CD.” I told them about Tom taking me to meet a jazz group in the studio and that we had put some tracks down with me singing the blues and that, so far, it was a pleasant bit of fun. I put the disc on and reheated the kettle while they sat and listened.

When it had finished Balnoor looked at me and just said “Wow!” Husnia said “Wow is right, that disc is awesome; we knew that you had a good voice but singing the blues with a jazz group has really brought it out. Do you think that Salman will get it released?” I told them that it was between the six of us and that Salman had nothing to do with it. I expected that it was the group that had paid for the studio time so the disc was their property. I expected that, as Tom had a big hand in it, he had organised the session on a discount for his friends.

I asked the three how they were getting on with their boyfriends after the seven days in the studio and Husnia said that hers had told her that it was either him or the band and – here she was. We all gave her a group hug. I could see that Balnoor was beginning to enjoy being with us when we had girlie hugs. Jenianna said that her electrical engineer boyfriend was getting very close to proposing but that it would be a non-traditional wedding as he was an Anglo and she really didn’t follow the ways other than playing the music. Kajari said that her own relationship was rocky, not as bad as Husnia but close. She said that if he couldn’t accept her as an independent woman she would drop him as she didn’t want to be a shadow behind him.

We then chatted about Anudeep and I told them that it looked good for an “Anudeep Dhawan and the Dhawanees” album in the New Year and that everything else would depend on that. I did say that the tracks we put down over the next few weeks would likely be the basis of a ‘Dhawanees’ album that would be released concurrently in India so we had better make them as good as we could.

Kajari said that the two evenings a week would put further strains on her relationship but to wait and see how it pans out. I pulled out the list of bookings that we had been sent and we looked at them. There was one that was out of town that was the one that had been won at the auction and we noticed that we were booked to play at a traditional sangeet beforehand, on the Thursday. The distance to the venue was not enough for an overnight stay but both events would be late nights getting home.

Tavleen was the one who saw the problem. She said “Guys, this is a traditional sangeet; there is no way we could have Balnoor in that room with us and it will not sound the same without the violin. I know that I have come to love our sound as a six-piece.”

I smiled and looked at him, noting his long violinist fingers and deep blue eyes. I said “Balnoor, it may be time to test your resolve. That show is some way from here and not likely to have any of our usual audience. How would you like to be a devout Muslim woman in a burqa for a couple of shows. I can tell you that a sangeet is an experience not to be missed.”

Marianne G 2021