The Wedding Drums

by Marilyn Rodwell

  ‘Well, if you’re sure . . . ’ Roopchand said worriedly. ‘Go ahead then,’ he prompted Pundit Lall.

  ‘Just give me five more minutes,’ Sumati requested.

  ‘Take your time,’ the pundit said.

  Sumati bowed her head, wondering if it was really Farouk she had seen. But she dared not ask, nor speak his name. Amina stooped close to her, and put her arms round her. The groom, Baljit, said nothing. He looked stunned, staring silently at Sumati, then at Amina. Amina herself was keeping an eye on Rajnath. She could barely see him from where she was sitting, but he and Farouk still looked tense.

  ‘It can’t be my child,’ Farouk was saying, looking at Rajnath. ‘I just came to see her – to find out if it was true that she was getting married. If not, I was just going to see how she was.’

  ‘Oh, just a little hello? Distant friends? Running away must be what you are good at.’

  ‘Rajnath!’ Farouk raised his voice for the first time. ‘I care about her, but did you hear anything I said? Why did you send me and Sumati up there?’

  ‘You know, I ask myself that nearly every day,’ Rajnath replied exasperatedly. ‘You caused more trouble than I expect to see in a lifetime. You told me you were in love with the girl, and you wanted to marry her. What will happen to her when that man finds out she’s carrying a child that’s not his?’

  ‘He wouldn’t know. She just looks a little bit fat.’

  ‘He’s not stupid. He already had a wife and children. He’ll throw her out.’

  ‘What can I do?’

  ‘It’s never too late to do the right thing, Farouk.’

  ‘What – you want me to just tell the groom to move over?’

  ‘Why not? They’re not officially married yet. There’s still a long way to go. They’re not married until they’ve tied the knot and walked around the fire seven times. And the rest.’

  ‘I cannot take on a child.’

  ‘Take responsibility!’

  ‘Do you know what they’re doing? Your Uncle and Dillip are doing bad business. I knew you wouldn’t believe me.’

  ‘Stop talking about Dillip!’

  ‘That is why I never told you. How do you think I am living where I am?’

  ‘You mean that big house in Bonasse?’ Rajnath asked.

  ‘If you know about the house, you must know about the business.’ Farouk lowered his voice. ‘Contraband things. Illegal. Between Venezuela and Icacos. Slooping it up to Port of Spain.’

  ‘Why would I know that? You’re helping them? Shame on you, Farouk! What is it? Cigarettes? Mountain dew?’

  ‘That too. Rum and emeralds, from what I have heard. What did you expect me to do? I had nowhere to go. I couldn’t go back home. Dillip threatened to kill me. Don’t let this get out, otherwise you are in trouble. Dillip has some really rich, really bad friends up in Port of Spain. If you so much as look at them they’ll chop off your hand. I have seen it happen.’

  Rajnath stepped back and scratched his head. ‘I don’t know what to say. You’re serious?’

  ‘I kept it to myself all this time. Before Kalouti left, she had a big row with them. I heard Dillip telling Kalouti that if she didn’t like the new business, she could leave. He was really rude to her, and Amrit never said a word. She got really upset. She packed her bags and left straight away. I never thought your uncle would let Dillip talk to your Tantie in such a disrespectful way. But then again, Dillip is not like us. He is a law unto himself.’

  ‘That is what you get when you pay a lot of money to educate your child in the white man’s world. My cousin had to fit in somehow.’

  ‘He’s a crook,’ Farouk said tersely. ‘Keep away from him.’

  ‘I still think you should have protected Sumati. Just because my cousin can talk like an Englishman it doesn’t mean that he’s smart. You should have come back and told me. You know how much support you would have got from everybody here?’

  ‘Support? What world do you live in? Sumati’s father would have given me a good beating. You know the temper on that man?’

  ‘So you saved your own skin! That makes you a selfish coward. Sumati deserved better.’

  ‘You’re changing your tune.’

  ‘Tune? If I was singing, you wouldn’t even know the damn song. You said you loved the girl. Why do you think I helped you?’

  ‘As it happened, Raj, you didn’t really help me.’

  ‘It’s best that you leave here and never come back,’ Rajnath told him. ‘Nobody here will talk to you, not now. You were the one who killed Sumati’s mother.’

  ‘I am sorry.’ Farouk dropped his head. ‘You’re right – I don’t belong here. Will you explain to Sumati that I am sorry, and that I wish her a good life? Please?’

  Rajnath was no longer angry but saddened. Farouk looked devastated. He looked like he’d lost everything.

  ‘That’s the price you pay,’ Rajnath said. ‘I’m sorry how things turned out but you have to find a life somewhere else. Maybe we can be friends again, but I don’t know when. Right now, I have to think what to do. And believe me, I will do something. I just don’t know what yet.’

  ‘Whatever you do, do not tell Dillip what I told you. Otherwise we are both dead.’

  Rajnath felt like a clay pot that had been smashed into a thousand pieces with no way of mending it. He knew Farouk would be feeling the same. He watched Farouk straining his eyes to see through the strings of flowers around the bridal tent, casting a last wistful look of regret. Then Rajnath turned and walked away.

  As he strode along the road, he couldn’t answer the question that was bothering him. How could one act of kindness turn out so wrong? His uncle and cousin were apparently engaged in some illegal trade? He was torn between his friend and his own flesh and blood. How could he give up on either of them? In the end, he felt as much to blame as Farouk.

  THIRTY-SEVEN

  By the time Rajnath got home, he had made a decision.

  ‘Annan, tell Ma I’m going up to San Fernando.’

  ‘If you say so,’ his younger brother replied. ‘I’m guessing you will be back in two hours, seeing that there is no boat today. That will give you just enough time to walk down to Bonasse, turn round, and come back home.’

  ‘That’s why I borrowed a bicycle.’

  ‘Well, we will see you in two weeks then – if you survive all the snakes and Diablesse on the way. By the time you get up there it will be dark. So watch some soucouyant doesn’t find you first, or some gang doesn’t beat you up.’ He clapped his big brother on the back. ‘Anyway, don’t worry. I will tell Ma when they come home. She might be having puja tonight.’

  ‘Puja tonight? She didn’t tell me.’

  ‘That’s because she didn’t know. She didn’t know you were sick in the head.’

  ‘You think you’re funny, Annan? You should put your mind to better use.’

  ‘You wouldn’t notice if I did. Look, I don’t know what you’re up to, but take care.’

  ‘I’m going to see Uncle Amrit.’

  ‘Like I said, I don’t know what you’re up to.’

  ‘You can be so annoying. Just tell her, please.’

  Annan raised his hands. ‘I give up. Don’t say I didn’t try to stop you.’

  Rajnath took a few pieces of food and wrapped them in a piece of brown paper and put it in his pocket. Then he left.

  Rajnath was on the road half an hour before the sun began to lower behind the trees, and for the first time he took stock of what he was doing. He had never travelled to San Fernando by bicycle before. The temperature was falling, his back was getting cold, and his thoughts were being invaded by scary folk tales. He pedalled faster and faster while he cursed Annan for deliberately putting those things in his head. The bicycle lamp was flashing on and off, but he dared not stop to check it. The night grew colder, owls hooted and cicadas screeched. Fireflies led the way, but took him into bushes where he hit a rock and fell off the bike head first, and mosquitoes began to feast
on his face and arms.

  After hours of pedalling, the lights of San Fernando appeared in the distance, and his heart leapt. Two cars passed by and town noises started filtering through the air. He struggled on and when he reached the house three hours later, he was so tired, he could barely speak.

  A young woman entered the room, bringing with her a waft of sweet orange blossom and fresh coffee. The sun streamed through as she unbolted the window and pushed it open. Rajnath saw the room plainly now. Newly painted white wooden walls, white gauze curtains draped across the window. Branches of a tree laden with green and yellow guavas touched the open window, and cockerels crowed and dogs barked at each other. The sounds were familiar but the smells were different.

  ‘Mr Amrit sent me to see if you want something to eat,’ she said. ‘It is nearly eight o’clock.’

  ‘Really? It’s morning?’ Rajnath replied.

  ‘You didn’t eat your food last night.’ She stared down at the tray. ‘You look better though.’ She half-smiled.

  Rajnath lifted his head and stared at the girl. Her skin was smooth, the colour of milky cocoa. She spoke softly as she touched her neat cane-rowed hair around her oval face, and he couldn’t help but notice the slim, muscular arms as she smoothened her skirt around her slight hips. She walked across the room and picked up the blanket from the floor, and he could see she was grown, but not fully.

  ‘Who are you?’ he asked. ‘I mean, are you from round here?’

  ‘I live here most of the time. I go home sometimes.’

  ‘How often?’

  ‘Every three months,’ she said. ‘But it gets busy here this time of year.’

  ‘How’s that?’

  ‘I don’t know. It’s what Mr Amrit says. But we are always busy.’

  ‘How old are you? And what kind of work are you doing here?’ Rajnath asked.

  Just then, Amrit entered the open door.

  ‘There you are!’ his uncle said in a loud, cheerful voice. ‘Did you sleep well?’

  ‘Yes, thank you,’ Rajnath replied.

  ‘So, what brings you here at that hour of the night? Has something happened at home? Have you fallen out with your father? Is your mother well? You didn’t make much sense last night. You collapsed and we had to carry you upstairs. I couldn’t smell any rum on your breath though.’

  ‘I wasn’t drinking, Uncle Amrit.’

  ‘The first thing I want to know is if everybody is all right at home.’

  ‘Yes, yes. Everybody’s all right,’ Rajnath reassured him.

  ‘Well, go and take a bath and we’ll have breakfast under the almond tree. You can tell me then what’s going on.’

  The girl returned with a bundle of clothes.

  ‘Mr Amrit say to bring these for you,’ she said. ‘Looked like you fell somewhere in the mud last night.’ Her eyes were bright and clear, her cheeks dimpling as she spoke, her teeth glinting as if someone had brushed white paint over them.

  ‘How old are you?’ Rajnath asked.

  ‘Thirteen next month.’

  ‘What work do you do here?’

  ‘Whatever they want me to do.’

  ‘And where are you from? Your parents?’

  ‘I am from Comuto village.’

  ‘You are a long way from home.’

  ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ she said.

  ‘Nothing,’ he said. ‘I just wanted to know.’ But she was already removing her skirt. Rajnath sat up in shock.

  ‘Where do you want me?’ she was asking.

  ‘What? Please – put your clothes back on.’

  ‘I thought you were interested.’ She looked crestfallen. ‘Can I do anything for you?’

  ‘Who taught you to do that? Is that what you do here?’

  ‘I told you – I just do what people want me to do. Mr Dillip doesn’t like the girls who disobey. He will beat them till they do it.’

  ‘Has Dillip beaten you?’

  ‘He never had cause to beat me,’ she said proudly. ‘There was a girl who ran away after he beat her a few times. But she used to give him lip every morning when she got sober. She was a good-looking Indian girl from down south.’

  ‘What is your name girl?’

  ‘Matilda.’

  ‘And what was her name?’

  ‘Sumati.’

  Rajnath felt his hackles rise, but he tried not to show it. He needed more information.

  ‘This Sumati, was she on her own, or with somebody else?’

  ‘She was on her own. But when I came here, she was already here.’

  ‘Oh. So why did you come here, Matilda?’

  ‘Mr Dillip brought me and promised to teach me to read and write.’

  ‘You didn’t go to school?’

  ‘There’s no school in Comuto.’

  ‘Very well, you may go now. I want to get dressed,’ he said. ‘And don’t tell anybody what I asked you. And hey, Matilda. You look like a nice girl. Make sure you learn to read and write. That is your ticket to a better life.’

  It took all Rajnath’s efforts to suppress his fury as he bathed and dressed in the crisp white cotton shirt and baggy khaki trousers from the folded pile of clothes. He then went downstairs where he found Amrit shooing the birds from around the table.

  ‘Come, come, son,’ the man said, looking at Rajnath. ‘Sit down.’

  The smell of cooking reminded the young man he hadn’t eaten a proper meal since breakfast the previous day. The food arrived from the kitchen nearby, and Rajnath ate hungrily, but thinking all the time of what might be the best way to broach the subject of Farouk and Sumati.

  ‘They have taken your clothes away to wash them,’ Amrit said. ‘They will carry them to the Chinese laundry down the road. It won’t take that long. The girl said you had a piece of roti in your pocket.’

  ‘You mean Matilda?’

  ‘She told you her name?’

  ‘She told me that Sumati was here and was beaten up by my cousin, uncle. Is that true?’

  ‘I don’t know too much about that, boy.’

  ‘So what do you know about? This is your place, right? What do you sell in the shop? It looking very big from here. I want to see it.’

  ‘Listen, you were asking me about Farouk the last time. I gave him work but he was lazy. He was quiet too. Didn’t say much, didn’t do much.’

  ‘Is that why you sent him away?’

  ‘It’s what he wanted to do. Your friend didn’t want to work – and he didn’t want to stay here. It seemed as if he couldn’t wait to get away.’

  ‘I know what my friend is like and how he behaves, and you are not talking about him at all, uncle. Tell me the truth, please, because I am having some trouble with my patience right now.’

  ‘Are you threatening my father?’ It was Dillip, who had suddenly appeared. ‘Tell him, Pa. What kind of man brings a girl under somebody else’s roof, spoils her, and doesn’t want to take the consequences?’

  ‘What are you talking about, boy?’ Amrit looked at his son with surprise. ‘What consequences?’

  ‘Come on, Pa, don’t pretend. You yourself said that it didn’t look good, bringing her here under our roof. And I agreed with you. But it was me who was man enough to do something about it.’

  ‘Dillip,’ Amrit commanded him. ‘Stop talking. Only rubbish will come out of your mouth.’

  ‘Which one of you is lying?’ Rajnath asked. ‘You didn’t have enough time to get your story straight?’

  ‘Raj, we just separated them,’ Amrit said. ‘We put the girl with the women.’

  ‘The women? How many women do you have here? And why? Are they selling sand?’

  ‘Ha!’ Dillip jeered.

  ‘Just Tonia and the others,’ Amrit mumbled.

  ‘Pa, Tonia is your whore. Where is she every night? I live here, remember.’ He turned to Rajnath. ‘Pa chased my mother away from this house, by bringing in that woman.’

  ‘Dillip?’ Amrit said. ‘You are not right in the head. Wh
y are you lying, boy? So many lies in one fast five minutes?’

  ‘Tell him the truth,’ Dillip sneered.

  ‘I will,’ Amrit said. ‘Kalouti left because of what he was doing. He was calling it business. I begged him to stop it, but I didn’t want to fall out with him. He’s my son. You could say I let him get away with it, but not Kalouti. She couldn’t. She was a good person.’ He looked at Rajnath before saying, ‘Dillip brought Tonia here because he wanted somebody to run a whorehouse for him. I’m ashamed to tell you this, Raj, but your cousin here – yes, my son! – was the one who made that little girl into a whore.’

  Rajnath jumped. ‘Who – Matilda?’

  Dillip laughed. ‘No. Your little friend, Sumati. Face it, Raj, she was no good anyway. She was already whoring with Farouk, and he was willing to do a deal. I mean, business is business.’

  ‘A fast dollar at an innocent girl’s expense?’ Rajnath spat.

  ‘What’s your problem? Everybody was happy.’ Dillip laughed.

  ‘Only you were happy, Dillip,’ Amrit rebuked his son. ‘I was never happy with you for what you were doing, and are still doing. Kalouti left me because of you. She thought it was my fault, because I sent you to that college. And all you managed to learn was how to take advantage of people. And you brought all these white people you met in those white clubs in Port of Spain.’

  ‘You mean those paying customers?’ Dillip sneered. ‘Hotel customers?’

  ‘I was ashamed of you then, and I’m disgusted with you now. To think what was going on in my premises.’

  ‘But you allowed it, uncle,’ Rajnath challenged him. ‘I am ashamed of and disgusted with both of you.’

  ‘I didn’t even know at first,’ Amrit defended himself. ‘I thought he was doing good business.’

  ‘It was good business. It’s where the money to build came from.’

  Amrit held his chest and sat down heavily. He put his hand on Rajnath. ‘What can I say?’ he said. ‘My son let me down. And I let you down.’

  ‘Between the two of you,’ Rajnath said, ‘you let yourselves down. And me.’

  ‘And what are you doing for a living, cousin?’ Dillip questioned, in his haughty Port of Spain half-English, half-Indian voice.