A Book In A Month - Chapter 29

“It's as if we keep going over the same ground for the sake of it,” Jane mutters as she writes out the dates of Simons stays in the hotel. The other two have a hotel register each, and they turn the big pages looking for those names for the third time. “I wish we'd noted them down last time.”

Clara glanced up, leaving her finger resting at the point on the page she would restart from, “We didn't need to, we were looking for a co-relation between that bird book and my grand dad and there was one, it was slim, but it was there. We weren't looking for anything else. This Mary Simpson was no more than a lover. It may have been a surprise to find there was life in the old dog, but now, now she may be someone related to Keith. We'll need to have these dates written down when we go back to your Aunts, so we can refer t them. We didn't need them before.”

“Pretty boring all the same.” Jane added as she called over a waiter. “Three beers please.” She demanded and pressed on with their task.

A few beers later and they were finished, in more ways than one. Keith decided to call his aunt to arrange another visit. He explained, carefully, that they wanted to check over a few more dates as they had not made accurate notes. He was relieved that she was still happy to go over the family tree with them again. He had assumed that she would be bored with it by now, but no, she stall had the boards up in her huge living room and had added a few more dates since they were last there. Sadly there were no more images as these were from four and five generations back. Keith was excited at the news and arranged for them all to visit the next morning. His aunt offered to lay on a breakfast feast. It would be another family party, which was something she excelled in.

The little group headed out to find food in a local restaurant. There are so many in the town they thought it would be possible to stay for a year or two and not eat in the same place twice. They took a note book with them with the intention of listing the details they wanted to check in the morning. It became quite a long list. They sat on the bench seat at a plastic topped table, talking above the hubbub and clatter of the starkly lit restaurant as they waited for a waiter to come along with the menus.

“We don't need to let my aunt know what we're looking at here.” Keith paused and looked at the girls who were on either side of him, “ I think we should play it cool.”

“What would they think if they got wind of all this?” Clara asked.

“I don't know, your guess is as good as mine.” Keith said, “But we do know they all think my granny was a slapper. I'm not sure how they'd feel about a gay addition to the family.”

“There's no real chance we're related,” said Clara, “No matter how hard you look, you wont find a link, but if it makes you two happy, I'll go along with it.

The waiter wandered over to give out the menus and to take their drinks order. He was straight back with tall glasses of icy beers that dripped with condensation.

“God, they look good,” Jane said as she raised hers to her lips and took a long draught. “Now then,” She licked the wet beer from her top lip, “Let's work out what we want to know about your family, Keith, before we're too full of food and tipsy to apply ourselves.” She rummaged in her super sized handbag and took out her note book and pen.

*

Bright and early the next morning the three friends got into the taxi driven by their personal driver. He chatted away about how wealthy everyone from Britain was and how lucky Keith was to have such an important relative as his aunt. The girls were fascinated as Keith had avoided discussing his aunts source of wealth, and this was their chance to learn a little more. The driver did not need much encouragement to tell all that he knew. Keith squirmed as the man crowed about this 'fine lady'.

Keiths aunt owned a large textile factory. It produced beautiful sari fabrics, the best. He could never afford them for his daughters dowries, or wedding. They were very grand, with embroidery in fine metal wire, gold and silver and bejewelled with semi precious stones. Sometimes they had rubies, sapphires and diamonds embroidered all over them. There were many girls working for her in a huge factory. Often Keiths aunty was seen on the TV talking about business matters, and raising Bangladesh’s' profile in the world as a top producer of luxury goods. There was talk about her running for parliament, but it could never happen, according to the driver, because she was a Christian, which defined her as a person apart.

By the time they had covered the relatively short distance to the imposing block of flats, the girls knew as much as Keith about the source of his aunts wealth. She was a clever woman who might work things out about the two families if given enough information. They all knew they should be discreet about Claras known history, in case there was a skeleton hiding in a cupboard.

The aunt was very thrilled to have them come along to see her again. She thought that they would call in before they left for their site seeing tour. This extra visit meant, to her, that they had a depth of interest in her family, which was wonderful to her. She ushered them out onto the terrace, which overlooked the city. It was exotically planted with large banana trees and bamboos. Overhead a pergola covered in a climbing plant that his aunt said was very poisonous and called Derris, offered shade over the table.

“Let's eat,” His aunt called out as she clapped her hands twice to call her servant. He looked out at the gathering and promptly disappeared. When he returned, moments later, it was with a team of immaculately presented girls who carried trays of food and plates. As fast as they had appeared, they were gone. “I'm sure we can look after ourselves over a breakfast?” The aunt said as she gestured to the group to tuck in.

Keith apologised for taking up more of his aunts time, “It's very kind of you to see us again and to entertain us. I can't help feeling we are being rather a nuisance.”

“Not at all. My dear, I've so enjoyed your company. It's been both a refreshing change and a revelation.” His aunt smiled at him, took his hand and said, “You know, your grand mother would be very proud t know you. She was not a good woman, but here you are a joy to meet.”

“I'm not sure what to say to that,” Keith laughed.

His aunt took him by the hand, “Come along, every one, let's retire to the living room, and take another look at our family.”

They trooped into the vast space making a beeline for the display boards. Once again, Jane dug deep into her handbag and extricated her pen and note book. Carefully, she peeled back each page, licking her sweating thumb as she did so. “Ah, yes, here we are,” she said as she handed the book to Keith who looked down the page.

“The are a few things I think I missed out last time I was here. It's not much, but I know I'll regret going home without filling in these gaps. My sisters will be hoping for a full picture of our family history too. I can't thank you enough for your generosity aunty.” He said as he turned his attention to the boards.

Jane joined him as Clara chatted with Keiths aunt about life in the UK. Most of the missing dates were gathered in. “Now, aunty, there are a few bits and pieces you could help me with.” Keith paused to acknowledge his aunts acquiescence and then pressed on, “Firstly, can you remember when grand mother Mary was away in Dehli?”

Keiths aunt frowned, not in irritation at hearing Mary's name, but in thought. “Oh, now let me see. I can remember that it was around about the time of the Second World War. She went for quite a number of years and came back with your mother just before partition. Natasha would have been about six or maybe seven years old then and was such a pretty little thing. In fact she was so pretty I often think her grandfather would have forgiven her, though I'm not sure he would have ever forgiven Mary.” She paused and Jane scribbled down notes veraciously, not wanting to miss a single detail.

“Can you remember when, exactly Mary left?” Jane asked as she wrote.

“I can remember the argument. It was awful. I thought our father was going to kill her. He had found out about her boyfriend. It turned out that someone at the lodge knew her boyfriend and our father and introduced them to each other. He introduced the topic of taking a lover, in the way men do so that they can look like rascals to their friends. Her boyfriend walked right into the trap and told our father all about his wonderful 'Dhaka Darling'. It was all good, until Mary's name was mentioned. Only her first name, but our father was no fool. He knew what was going on, his friend was warning him about Marys behaviour in a way that he would believe.” Keiths aunt stopped for a moment and looked at Clara, shook her head, “Ah, you look so much like her, it makes my heart break to think what she must have gone through. She left that night with a small suitcase. Mary packed as our father was yelling in the lounge. She was so scared. I kept asking her what was happening, I was not much more than a toddler, but I can remember it as if it was yesterday. It's my earliest memory and one of my worst. She climbed out of our bedroom window and was gone. I didn't see her for over ten years. By then I was old enough to understand what had happened and I had Natasha to play with. We were like sisters. Similar ages.”

“ Aunty, can you remember the name of Marys' boyfriend, Natashas father?” Keith asked. He shot a glance at Clara.

“Of course I can. Although I never met the man, I can tell you he stood by Mary and Natasha, as best he could, for a married man. He was able to get money to them, even after partition. They were not poor. I think that's why mother had Mary back. In those days, with partition, we were outsiders, as Christians, that is. Money helped buy friends in high places. Sometimes I think that's all that kept us infidels from being killed.”

Keith looked at his aunt gently and Jane, holding her pen poised, cut in gently, “Marys' boyfriend?

You were going to tell us his name?” She tapped the pen quietly on the pad to emphasise her need to write down this nugget of information.

“Of course, how silly of me, I wandered off the subject somewhat. Old age is a terrible thing.” Paused, in thought, Keiths aunt looked at them all with a rye smile, “Clara, I want you to sit her, in front of me.” Clara did as the aunt asked. The aunt took both of Claras hands in her own and looked deeply into her eyes. “Do you really want to know this name Clara.”

Claras lip trembled and the dam of tears overflowed as she silently nodded. Keiths aunt reached out and pulled a tissue from an expensive handbag on the floor near her seat. She shook the folds from it and pressed it into Claras free hand. Reaching out, the aunt touched Claras face and whispered, “It's as if you have come back to me after all these years. I knew who you were the moment I first saw you. Can I ask, how long you have known?”

Keith stepped in quickly saying, “She didn't know, still doesn't. None of us know. It wasn't until we got here, to Dhaka, that we began to wonder at the coincidences. There were so many of them. Of course, like you, when I first met Clara I thought she looked like my mum. My sisters thought so too, but then Clara isn't Asian at all, are you?”

Clara shrugged her shoulders and shook her head at the same time.

“Well aunty, what was his name. It could be that all these coincidences are just that, coincidences. But we need to know.”

Keiths aunt sighed, “Simon. His name was Simon. And his last name was Simpson. It is just as you suspected. You are half siblings, I guess.”

*

John used Dylis' help to Email Clara to say they were intending to come out to India and meet them there. If that was all right with them. They had tickets for the next week and needed to know where to go to link up and what hotel to stay in.

Clara Emailed back to saying that it would be good to see her father and Dylis, but that there would be a lot to discuss. Did he know a woman called Natasha by any chance? Was there something big he needed to get off his chest?

Dylis was surprised at Claras response, as she tutored John in the dark art of opening his emails, “What is she getting at John? I don't want to walk into a family row on my holiday.”

“It could be a bit tricky, but I'm sure it'll be all right,” He told Dylis and together they composed a reply that said that he would discuss it all when he got to India.

Dylis asked John, “What did Clara mean by her message?

He said simply, “I think she's found out that she's adopted.”