A Book In A Month - Chapter 21

The three co-workers spend their lunch breaks in a huddle over books and maps, trying to decide exactly where in India they might go during their month. Where will they go and why? How long should they spend in each place and what will they do there? Where will they stay, and how will they travel? These were the questions they were trying to answer. There was nothing difficult about it,it was simply that they had a lot to do.

For Keith the journey will be a deeply personal one, he will try to s to know find out more about his mums life before she left India. This was a time that she never spoke of. Now that he had met members of his extended family he felt he might be able to ask them about his mothers' past. To do this he had to go to Dhaka and talk to as many family members as he could. He wanted to see the Taj Mahal.

Clara wanted to find out when Vida died, what from and where. She assumed that the answers would be found in Dheli. She to, wanted to get to Dakha to take a look, to assess whether Simon had owned the bird book, to visit the hotel that he used to stay in when there for work. Clara wondered if there might be an ageing member of staff who could remember Simon and tell her a little about him. It was worth a try. Like Keith she really wants to visit the Taj Mahal and also adds the Red Fort to her list.

Jane was not too concerned about the itinerary. She would be happy to be with Clara, no matter where that was on the planet. Jane wonders about Keith, will he be made to feel like a gooseberry, as he tags along with the two lovers.

Their exploration of their holiday possibilities continues apace as the week drizzles on.

*

Later that week, John and Clara decide to sort out the photos that might go on the Indian trip with Clara. She had decided to take copies of photos with her and flash them, like the private investigators she had seen on the cheesy American TV shows. For John, this was a rather silly idea, as the people who would have been around when Simon was alive would now all be dead. He could see little point in bothering to make up a small album. In fact he could see little point in Claras determination to find out about the details of her grand mothers death and also visit the family home in India. As for the hotel in Dakha, there was no possibility of finding anyone alive who had ever set eyes on Simon, let alone finding the hotel itself. “It will be a festering ruin by now,” John had said.

“Why not leave it and have a holiday, make a holiday of it. You'll bore your friends if you make them hang about while you rummage through a load of dusty old papers. I'm just saying, is all,” he finished.

Clara went over her feelings an the matter and those of her colleagues, Her father looked far from convinced.

“Poor Jane,” he said. All she'll do is hang about as you and Keith, drag all over India on a wild goose chase. Selfish, I call it.”

She could not under stand her fathers lack of enthusiasm for the trip. Not that he was ever that enthusiastic about their genealogy hobby. He had only taken any kind of interest in the matter after he had bought the box at an auction, and even then, he ran hot and cold on the project. It was a puzzle to her. Here was a man she had never felt close to, a man who always worked long hours and never cuddled cuddled her. He had been dutiful, as men of his age were. He had been a good provider, but he had never been loving and now that they had something in common, he kept pouring cold water on it. It was frustrating. If Jane could be here with her and John, in the flat, she would be able to interpret his behaviour, which might help Clara to hold her tongue. Right now, she thought, I could happily strangle him, the miserable old git.

John was oblivious of his effect on Clara, even though he could tell she was excited about her trip, he knew she was taking on too much and that would lead to disappointment. He offered a coffee and changed the subject onto Dylis. This week they had been out to lunch every day and he had started to learn all about databases. He could not believe how much Dylis knew about computers. All that knowledge, at her age, had made him feel inadequate. All he had managed to do in the recent past was move into a retirement flat and fill it with junk.

There was such a lot to do before Clara was due to fly out. Johns messy flat was top of the list, despite having worked on it every night that week, it was a disaster. The more they did, the more they found to do. She could not believe that her father had amassed so much stuff in such a short space of time. Clara knew that, here in the midst of the bitter cold, streaming wet, winter, she would have to make repeated trips to their local tip. The very thought made her shiver. She did not relish the idea of rushing about in the elements emptying a load of boxes into huge, labelled skips. Clara knew she would have to put in a few extra hours every night. If she did not, Johns flat would still be a cluttered and dirty as she left on her holiday. By the time she returned, John might have gone cold on the idea of having a lovely home. Claras extra duties at her fathers home, filling his freezer with pre-cooked meals and scrubbing out added to the pressure of the holiday preparations that her friends were undertaking. Clara was planning to make double everything and freeze half, she intended to do this right up to her departure date. On top of all this she found herself pondering her fathers new found love, wondering if her father was grooming Dylis into being his carer during Claras travels. It was a mean thing to think, but Clara was feeling very mean as she sipped her coffee and looked through the old family pictures.

*

The group were planning on heading out at the weekend to look into booking their flights and making their travel arrangements so that they get around India and visit all the places on their ever lengthening list. The holiday was looming large and they had not even looked at the nitty gritty. They would have to complete their visa applications and check up about vaccinations and malaria pills. After a Friday night out at the local pub and club, they would have to knuckle down. This was the make or break weekend. There was a lot to do and no time left to do it.