The Reading List(49)

‘Yes! I’ve been reading – for Priya, and for me. There’s a librarian there. She helps me, picks out books for me.’

‘That’s wonderful, Mukeshbhai! What you are reading? What is it like?’

‘I’m reading a lovely book called The Kite Runner. It’s about Amir and Hassan,’ he began, and told her everything that had happened so far. Amir was now living in America, his best friend all but forgotten – now just a moment of severe guilt and regret in Amir’s mind.

‘That sounds so terribly sad,’ Nilakshi said. They were sitting in the living room now, and he noticed how she was leaning back, her hands by her sides. She was taking up more room. She was settling in.

‘It is. The lady at the library who recommended it for me, I saw she was so sad at the end when she finished it. Hassan, he is such a lovely boy and he is treated so horribly.’

‘Ha,’ Nilakshi nodded, knowingly. ‘It’s so often the way, isn’t it? My son,’ Mukesh saw Nilakshi’s head bow slightly. He hadn’t heard her talk about Aakash. ‘When he was younger, he was so gentle, so calm, always with his head in books, always loyal to his friends, and they would pick on him. Bully him. When he came home to me, I would ask him about his day. I just wanted to make him feel better.’

Mukesh’s brow furrowed. Nilakshi’s eyes glistened. He didn’t know what to say – his mind ran through all the books. Was there anything he could take from them? Any wisdom from Atticus to help in this moment? But then he realized, someone to talk to, to listen to her, was probably all she needed. Mukesh could offer her that.

‘I just wanted to make him happy,’ Nilakshi’s voice caught in her throat. ‘But there’s only so much a mother can do. That’s what I realized.’

‘He had a wonderful family,’ Mukesh said quietly. ‘Children can be so mean sometimes, but your son, he was mature, he was bright – he would have known it was never about him. It wasn’t a reflection on him.’

Nilakshi cleared her throat and dabbed her eye with the back of her hand. She smiled. ‘He loved brinjal bhaji too. He loved Naina’s brinjal bhaji most of all.’

When Mukesh’s house was bathed in silence once again, the smell of brinjal and oil and mustard seeds filling the air, he relaxed into his armchair, his belly full, his mind content. He hadn’t had company, real company, just for him, in months, maybe even years. But as he allowed himself to settle, another niggling part of him forced him to look up at the portrait of Naina, and in a flash, he was in Manderley, with Rebecca following him everywhere he went.





PART V


LIFE OF PI


by Yann Martel





Chapter 17


ALEISHA


SHE WAITED FOUR MINUTES for a bus, and a bus never came, so she legged it down the road, stopping at every bus stop on the way to check the waiting time. Still, too long. She kept running. Aidan had called to say he urgently needed to head to work, and it had taken Aleisha so long to pack all her things up at the library and get Kyle to come and cover the rest of her shift, she was going to be an hour late if she didn’t move quickly.

Her shins were tight. Her chest was hurting; she hadn’t done this kind of cardio for years. Every pore was stinging, as sweat tried to seep out from behind her makeup.

As she rounded the corner onto her street, her heart began to buzz with apprehension. The closed windows of home; they were as ominous to her as the gates of Manderley. She spotted Aidan leaning on his convertible BMW, music still blaring, talking to someone whom she recognized immediately. Mia: it was the undercut again. Aleisha stopped, wished she hadn’t run all the way home, now looking like a mess. She pictured mascara trailing down her face.

Aidan waved frantically, his teeth gritted together, but his eyes were pretending to be carefree. ‘Leish,’ he shouted, a smile plastered on his face. Aleisha’s heart started beating double time as she soaked up Aidan’s nervous energy – he kept tapping his feet constantly as though he was trying to hold his energy at bay. ‘It’s Mia! She asked if you want to hang out.’

‘Yeah, nice idea, would love to,’ she gabbled, trying to catch her breath. ‘Although I’ve got to help Mum with some stuff.’

She shot a look at Aidan. His eyes were red-rimmed, as if he hadn’t slept in weeks. They were darting everywhere – at his watch; at his steering wheel; at his sister, her friend; and back up at the house too.

‘Okay, cool, yeah, cool,’ Mia said casually, completely oblivious to the fact that both Aidan and Aleisha had other places to be. She was tilting her hips slightly, probably for Aidan’s benefit. ‘Just I haven’t heard from you since the library day a couple weeks ago and wondered if you wanted to catch up, Leish. You didn’t message again in the group.’

That WhatsApp group.

‘Yeah, I’m so sorry.’ She wasn’t. ‘Really sorry, Mia. I can’t right now but thanks so much for coming by.’

Mia turned on her heel, heading off.

‘We’re doing a barbecue tomorrow in the park. Seven. Come along. Rahul will be there too,’ Mia called back to her.

‘Thanks!’ Aleisha waved at her retreating friend, before turning her eyes on her brother.

‘You’ve been avoiding her,’ Aidan said, when Mia was almost out of sight, jumping back into the car.