Chapter 30
MUKESH
‘HELLO, MUKESH!’ IT WAS the library assistant, Lucy. They had only spoken a few times when Aleisha wasn’t around, but Mukesh liked her nonetheless. She had a lovely smile. ‘I’m just heading out, but nice to see you! You’re becoming a proper regular. What’s that you’ve got there?’
Mukesh held Little Women out to her.
‘Little Women! That’s my daughter’s favourite book, even now, and she’s twenty-eight.’
‘It is really lovely. It reminds me of all my daughters. Their differences and similarities! My girls had squabbles and fights growing up, but they had always been the best of friends.’ Mukesh said all this in one torrent – his speech was almost rehearsed now after telling Nilakshi almost exactly the same thing the evening before. ‘I sometimes wish Naina had written a book of their lives, about the children, growing up.’
‘What do you mean?’ Lucy asked, her bag on her shoulder, ready to go.
‘Well, my late wife, Naina, she was around for most of the time with the girls, when we lived in Kenya, watching them grow up day to day. Sometimes, when I got home from work, everyone was already tucked up in bed and sleeping like babies.’
‘Did you feel you’d missed out?’ Lucy’s face was kind; she didn’t make any effort to leave.
Mukesh realized he’d never really thought about it this way before. ‘Sometimes – but my Naina, she always told me we were a team. Every evening she would be waiting up for me, she’d tell me what had happened during the day. That was my favourite moment. I never felt like I’d missed it.’
‘That’s so lovely, Mukesh!’ Lucy said, she tapped him gently on the shoulder. ‘Thank you for telling me. Feels to me like you’ve got a book in you somewhere.’
‘Oh no! Maybe a Zee TV one-off series or something, but not a whole book.’
Lucy chuckled at that.
‘Where is Miss Aleisha?’ He wanted to tell Aleisha how much of his wife he’d seen in the four little women in the book, and particularly in Marmee. And he wondered if Priya might grow up to be bold and brave and intelligent, just like Jo, the feisty sister. Jo loved books, and writing – she became a writer. Was that in Priya’s future too?
‘I’m afraid I’m not sure. I think Kyle might be on duty today, he’s in the back, just ring the bell. Lovely to see you, Mr Patel!’
Waving with one hand, he rang the bell with the other, and the young man Kyle turned up, carrying an armload of chunky books.
‘Mr Patel, isn’t it?’ he said, sweating slightly with his load.
‘Yes, it is. Where is Miss Aleisha today?’
‘She’s not here I’m afraid, I’m covering for her. How can I help?’
‘Is she okay? Unwell?’
‘I think she had a family emergency,’ Kyle said casually.
Alarm bells start ringing in Mukesh’s head. ‘Her mother?’
‘I’m afraid I don’t know, sir.’
Mukesh began to panic. ‘I want to make sure she is okay. I would like to visit her. Can you tell me where she is? Is she at home? With her mother? And her brother?’
‘I can’t give you that information, sir.’
‘But I am a friend. I am only being friendly. I am only worried about her. Can I help?’
‘No, sir, unless she gave you her information herself, I cannot give you any details. It is against GDPR.’
‘Ah …’ Mukesh tried a different tack. ‘She will have given them to me. She visited me just two days ago, you know? I will just have forgotten. You know, my memory … not as sharp as it once was. Definitely no need to worry about GD-whatsit.’ He tried to make himself look as frail, old and helpless as possible. Sometimes it worked in his favour. He thought of what Marmee or Naina might do. ‘I just want to take her some food, something.’
‘I can’t help, sir.’ Kyle started typing something on the computer. ‘I see you have a book here, reserved.’
‘I didn’t put a reservation on.’
‘In which case, I imagine Aleisha did it for you. It is Beloved, by Toni Morrison.’
Without a word, Mukesh handed Little Women over and let the boy do his job. As he passed the book over, he felt as if he was giving something up, saying goodbye. To whom? The March sisters? Naina?
As he watched Kyle take the book, his heart returned to Beth, the sister who became unwell, and her big sister Jo who loved her so much. He thought of the chapter where they went to the seaside, in the hope that the sea air would fix everything for Beth. Immediately, in his mind, the seaside Beth and Jo walked along was the same seaside he took his girls to in Kenya, when they were growing up. He remembered hot, sweaty days when he would come home early and take the girls to the lighthouse where they would get barbecued corn on the cob and sit by the sea. The girls would be so joyful, and Naina would be silent, just looking at the view, as Mukesh did everything he could just to entertain them and keep the smiles on all their faces. He wondered if his girls remembered those days.