You're Invited(65)

DSMS: Yes.

EP: But you weren’t invited to the wedding?

DSMS: No, but like I said, this is Colombo. Everyone is friends with everybody.

EP: Would you mind answering why you met with Mr. Spencer last night?

DSMS: [Pause]

EP: Mr. Senadheera, would you—

DSMS: Look, the fellow was a little nervous, okay? Who wouldn’t be nervous, marrying someone as high-strung as Kaavindi Fonseka. One of the boys called me. He wanted a little something to help him relax. I thought I’d help the guy out.

EP: I see. And was this your first time supplying him with . . . these relaxants? You didn’t have your driver make a delivery to the Fonseka’s cocktail party on the night of the twenty-first?

DSMS: This was my first time providing it to Matthew Spencer, yes. Though I doubt this was his first time calling out for some. Now if we are to proceed with this line of questioning about where I send my driver, I must warn you that I won’t answer without the presence of my lawyer. I know how you security fellows work, ah. One slip of my tongue and I end up in Welikada.

EP: Understood. Then tell me about your relationship to Miss Amaya Bloom?

DSMS: Amaya? No. I mean, she’s family. Her mother, Sarita, and my mother were second cousins. My mother was the only one who kept in touch with her after she eloped and married Amaya’s father—what was his name now? I can’t even remember. He wasn’t around for too long. Never officially got divorced but supported them financially. He even bought that massive house for them, you know, the one in Cinnamon Gardens? Turns out he had another family in England all along, so maybe they didn’t even need to get divorced. I’m not too sure of the logistics anyway; all I know is that Aunty Sarita’s family disowned her and we are the only ones who kept in touch. My mother cried for weeks when Aunty Sarita died. So yes, I’ve always known Amaya, though we barely kept in touch after she moved to the US. It was almost a surprise to me when she emailed and said she was coming—but then, she and Kaavindi were best friends, so I suppose it isn’t such a big deal.

EP: Were you aware of the strained relationship between Miss Amaya and Miss Fonseka?

DSMS: I had heard through the grapevine that they had some issues—you know how these buggers in Colombo are, no? Love to talk. But I didn’t think too much of it. They’re women, after all. No offense. You know how their moods can be. One moment they love each other, the next they want to kill each other, until they love each other again. I figured it was the same thing with Amaya and Kaavindi.

EP: Did Miss Bloom reach out to you when she visited Sri Lanka five years ago?

DSMS: Five years ago? That was, when, 2013? 2014? We weren’t really in touch at that time. I didn’t even know she was here until much later.

EP: And when she visited this time?

DSMS: She emailed out of the blue to say she was coming for this wedding, and that she would love to meet up. I did what my mother would have wanted me to do and insisted I pick her up from the airport. She’s family, after all. We’ve spoken a few times since then, of course, but she’s been quite busy with wedding activities, from what I gather.

EP: And did she make any requests of you at this time?

DSMS: What do you mean by requests, ah? The hotel manager just told me this was a friendly chat. Trust you buggers to make this into a whole scene.

EP: Mr. Senadheera, we found a notebook with Miss Amaya’s personal belongings. Would you like to see what she has written?

DSMS: [Pause]

EP: Plan C. Buy gun. Speak to M. Worst case only. Kill.

Would you happen to know who M is, Mahesh?

DSMS: No. I have no idea at all, and you’ll be in big trouble if you continue haranguing me like this.

[Stands up and moves toward the door]

If you have any further questions, you can contact my lawyer. This is a hell of a fucking how do you do, no? First you bring up some bullshit that happened at a wedding months ago, and now this? You bastards better get your facts straight before you come pestering me again. Do you know who I am? I can create a fair bit of trouble for you lot if you push my buttons, you know?

Piyadasa, yamu. Let’s go.





15


AMAYA


Day of the Poruwa Ceremony


I WAS SO upset I couldn’t sleep. I paced around my room, trying to take deep breaths, but that hardly worked.

Sacrifice is important, Dr. Dunn had said. Sacrifice is one of the greatest things we could do to show someone that we love them. There is no purer gift.

I liked to remind myself of this. Of my sacrifice. How I had given up my best friend, how I had given up my only chance of love and family. How I gave up a literal part of myself. And for what? For Kaavi to marry the man who shattered my world? For it to all be in vain?

How was I supposed to calm down? How was I supposed to relax when everything that was important to me was about to be ruined forever.

I couldn’t make Kaavi understand.

So I had to do something else.

Seetha knocked on my door.

“Baba, shall I bring you a tea?”

“No, thank you, Seetha. Why are you up so late?”

Her eyes took in the mess in my room, my tearstained face and smudged makeup.

“Baba, it’s morning. Haven’t you gone to sleep yet?”

“I’m fine, Seetha. Don’t worry.”

“Baba, the van will be leaving to the hotel soon. Is it still okay for me to go?”