‘And not talking about it afterwards. I always wanted to know – was it good for him? Could he try to last longer next time?’ Manjeet said.
‘Or possibly add a few more tricks to his repertoire,’ Arvinder added. ‘There was so much of this.’ She reached out and squeezed two imaginary breasts, then pantomimed a man rocking rapidly back and forth. ‘Then it was over.’ The women screeched with laughter and applauded the reenactment.
‘You’ll be caught for talking about these things,’ Tarampal said. ‘And then what?’
The women fell silent and exchanged looks. ‘We’ll deal with it if it happens,’ Sheena said finally. ‘Like Arvinder said, nobody listens to us.’
‘Come on, Tarampal,’ Manjeet said with a nervous smile. ‘It’s just a bit of fun.’
‘You’re taking a big risk,’ Tarampal said. She began gathering her things. ‘If you’re found out, it’s not my problem.’
The look of dismay on Manjeet’s face was clear. Arvinder reached out and squeezed her arm comfortingly. ‘The only way we’ll be discovered is if somebody tells,’ Arvinder said. ‘Are you planning on reporting us? Because if you dare do it, Tarampal, then we’re all witnesses to the fact that you were in this class as well.’
‘So what?’ Tarampal asked.
Preetam stood up and walked slowly to Tarampal. Suddenly she had the gait of a fierce matriarch from one of her dramas – tall and powerful, with her chin tipped upwards at an angle so she could stare down Tarampal.
‘We’ll say that you started all of it and then became resentful when we didn’t like one of your stories. That’s the word of four women against one. And Nikki, who can convince people because she has a law di-gi-ree,’ Preetam said.
‘Um, I don’t have a law degree, and also, surely there’s a better way …’ Nikki started.
‘You’re shameless, all of you,’ Tarampal spat. She stormed out of the classroom.
‘Wait, Tarampal, please,’ Nikki called, following her. In the hallway, Tarampal paused, clutching her bag to her chest. Her knuckles had gone white. ‘Tarampal, before you rush to tell Kulwinder about our classes, just please—’
‘I don’t plan on going to Kulwinder again. I tried. She didn’t want to hear it,’ Tarampal said.
‘Oh,’ Nikki said. She didn’t know whether to be angry at Tarampal or pleased with Kulwinder. ‘Then who are you so afraid of?’
Tarampal didn’t answer Nikki’s question. She glanced at the small window in the classroom door. ‘Did you see how the women ganged up on me in there?’ she asked. ‘I’ve known them for years and they’ve just turned their backs on me. What makes you think you can trust them?’
‘They were just trying to protect themselves,’ Nikki said.
‘You’re sure about that?’ Tarampal asked.
‘Yes,’ Nikki said. But when she peered at the widows, an uneasy feeling came over her. They were chatting amongst themselves, their voices tinny and barely audible in the hallway. She knew nothing of their world.
‘Why don’t you come back inside, Tarampal? We can work something out.’
Tarampal shook her head. ‘I’m not going to risk being associated with these classes. Those women have no integrity. They don’t care about their late husbands’ reputations. I have Kemal Singh’s good name to uphold. Do me a favour and throw out my registration sheet. I want nothing to do with these stories.’ She stalked off.
‘We should ask her to come back,’ Manjeet was saying when Nikki returned to the classroom. ‘You know what she’s capable of.’
‘Listen, Manjeet. Didn’t we stand by you when Tarampal found out about your husband leaving you? She left you alone once she knew she was outnumbered,’ said Preetam.
‘What do you mean?’ Nikki asked. ‘What was Tarampal going to do?’
‘Nothing now,’ Arvinder declared. It didn’t answer Nikki’s question. Arvinder’s chest was puffed out with pride. ‘Don’t worry, Manjeet.’
‘Hai, but her bus just left. She’s going to have to wait twenty minutes now for the next one,’ Manjeet said.
Nikki watched the temple’s car park from the window. Tarampal emerged from the building and walked briskly towards the street. A silver BMW slowed down next to her and a window rolled down. Tarampal stooped to chat with the driver and then got inside.
‘She just got into someone’s car,’ Nikki said. ‘Is that safe?’
The women looked at each other and shrugged. ‘What would a dangerous man want with old ladies like us?’ Arvinder asked.
‘Tarampal’s only a few years older than me,’ Sheena said defensively. ‘She’s in her forties.’
This shouldn’t have been surprising to Nikki. The smoothness of Tarampal’s face bore such contrast to the dreary widow’s clothing she draped herself in. That stooping walk, that sigh as she sat at her desk, were just affectations to play the withered and weary character expected of widows. ‘It’s okay to just hop into someone’s car and be driven home here?’ Nikki asked.
‘It’s probably not a complete stranger. People offer me lifts home from the market all the time. They usually identify whose son or daughter they are first,’ Arvinder said.
‘Was it a silver BMW?’ Sheena asked. Nikki nodded. ‘It was probably Sandeep then, Resham Kaur’s grandson.’
Preetam let out a humpf at the sound of Sandeep’s name. ‘That boy who thinks he’s too good for any girl in this community. He even rejected Puran Kaur’s great-niece from America. Remember her? She visited for a wedding. Skin like milk and her eyes were green.’
‘Resham told me they were contact lenses,’ Manjeet said.
‘Hai, Manjeet, you believe everything you hear. Of course Resham would go around spreading rumours about the girl and claiming she wasn’t good enough for her precious boy,’ Sheena said. ‘She’s one of those old-fashioned Indian mothers, completely infatuated with her sons. When her eldest got married, she slept in the bed between him and his wife for a month to prevent them from having relations.’
‘It took him a month to ask his mother to leave his bed? What a wimp,’ Preetam declared. ‘If that were me, I would have pretended to cry loudly in my sleep every night like a terrified new bride until she got sick of it and left us alone. I would say, “Make a choice! Your mother or me?” And he’d choose me.’
‘My mother-in-law did the same thing,’ Arvinder said. ‘Not on the wedding night, she left us alone that night. But many nights I’d fall asleep and wake up to see her snoring peacefully between us. I asked my husband, “Doesn’t that noise bother you?” He said, “Noise? What noise? She’s my mother.”’
Nikki’s mind was still on Tarampal. ‘Why does Tarampal have to maintain her husband’s reputation if he’s dead?’
The women exchanged looks. ‘Kemal Singh was a religious pundit,’ Manjeet said, ‘good at telling fortunes and doing special prayers for people. Some people still pay respects to him. She’s being a devoted wife by making sure that his reputation stays clean.’
Arvinder snorted. ‘Devoted wife? She’s got better things to do with her time.’