Chapter Six
‘So? Have you read any more of the notebook?’ Lucy asked the second I got into the office on Monday, before I had the chance to take off my jacket or put my bag down.
‘No, but I’ve started doing the stuff on the list,’ I replied, settling into my seat and turning my computer on.
‘Already? That was quick!’
‘Only the first one. His first point is to do a physiotherapy course, which is obviously irrelevant to my life, but it got me thinking about what I could do to further my own career – or my knowledge at least.’
‘Interesting,’ Lucy mused. ‘I like where this is going. So what did you decide?’
As I scrolled through my emails and made a note of all the things Sheila wanted me to get on with that day, I told Lucy about the scholarship and master’s degree I wanted to do. Arjun rolled in at some point and – unlike Lucy, who was completely supportive of my plan – he thought I had lost the plot.
‘You want to go back to uni? Now? At this age? All for some guy you don’t know?’
‘It’s not for a guy, it’s for me. I’ve been inspired by him, that’s all,’ I corrected him, a tad sharply.
‘Hmm, if you say so,’ he said, sounding dubious. ‘Anyone want a microwaved masala chai?’
When I got home that evening, the first thing I did was read over my scholarship and university applications. I had emailed them to Dina the night before for her thoughts, but she hadn’t responded and the more I delayed it, the greater the chance of me changing my mind. I knew I could carry on editing a word here or there forever, but I needed to take ownership of what I’d done and then go for it and let fate, aka God, decide what would come of it. If the tingly sensation in my gut was anything to go by, then I had made the right choice. With a ‘Bismillah’ I hit send and then went downstairs to see if Ma needed any help.
‘I sent my application,’ I told her as she took the dish of steaming hot macaroni out from the oven, the cheese beautiful and golden with the sauce still bubbling underneath.
‘That was fast,’ she replied, setting the food down onto a heatproof mat at the table. ‘You really want to do this?’
‘Yup. I do.’
‘OK, well, Insha’allah khair. Whatever is in Allah’s plan will happen. Can you call your brother and dad to come down and eat?’
‘Sure. BABA! MALIK! COME DOWN AND EAT!’ I yelled.
Rolling her eyes, she muttered, ‘I could have done that my flippin’ self.’
My dad and brother came thundering down the stairs and soon we were all tucking into another one of Ma’s delicious dinners, as Baba filled us in on his day at work. I’ve been listening to stories about his colleagues since I was little and was totally invested in Gifty’s paranoia, Sandra’s marital dramas and Bernadette’s OCD tendencies.
‘I spoke to Mitu this morning,’ Baba suddenly told Ma, referring to his younger brother who lived in east London. ‘He’s already got someone he thinks would be a good match for Maya.’
I froze, my Buffalo chicken wing halfway towards my mouth, which became locked in a gaping position. I looked over at Malik, who was grinning like he had heard the funniest joke in the world. Ma shot me a nervous look and quickly rearranged her expression to look reassuring.
‘Oh?’ she said. ‘Do we have a biodata for him?’
‘Not yet,’ Baba replied, ploughing through his dinner like he wasn’t talking about something as life-changing as marrying me off to some dude I didn’t know. ‘Insha’allah he’ll send it through tonight.’
‘We’d better make one for Maya,’ Ma mused, talking about me as if I wasn’t sitting right there. ‘Let’s do that after dinner.’
‘Make what?’ I demanded when I finally got use of my mouth back. I knew I had agreed for them to start looking but still, this all seemed a bit quick for my liking. I had only just submitted my course application!
‘Your biodata,’ Ma said calmly.
Malik began to chuckle. ‘Better start prepping for an interview, sis.’
‘I don’t know why you’re laughing,’ Ma frowned at him. ‘While we’re at it, we might as well make one for you.’
‘What?’ he spluttered. ‘I’m not getting married!’
‘Ever?’ Ma and Baba both turned to glare at him and I breathed a sigh of relief that the spotlight was off me for now.
‘Not right now! I’m only twenty-five.’
‘So? You have a good job, plenty of money,’ Ma reasoned. ‘Unless your heart is elsewhere, of course. Is there something I need to know about?’
‘Yes, Malik,’ I narrowed my eyes at my brother who was beginning to look as though he wished he hadn’t opened his big mouth. ‘Has the viscount got his beady eyes on an unsuitable viscountess? There are rumours milling around in the ton, according to Lady Whistledown.’
‘What the hell are you on about?’ he asked, confused, as Ma and I began to laugh.
‘Nothing,’ I giggled, finally picking my fork up again. Maybe all this marriage malarkey wouldn’t be entirely awful if my brother was forced into participating as well.
After dinner, instead of joining my parents in watching the latest cooking competition show they were addicted to, I headed back up to my room. Now that I had checked off task one on the list – applying for a course – I was ready to tackle what was next.
Sitting down at my little desk – the same one I had during my undergrad, where I spent hours and hours poring over massive Law textbooks and past papers – I carefully took out the leatherbound book from my tote and opened it. I had started to carry the book around with me – in case I ever saw Noah again and had to return it, of course. Not because I had started to form an unhealthy attachment to it or anything. I turned to the second page:
2. READ ULYSSES
Challenging but epic read – glad I got there in the end.
His handwriting wasn’t the neatest, but I noticed there was an artistic flair to the way he crossed his Ts and curled his Ys. I wondered if that meant that he was creative and my heart lifted at the thought. I was neither sporty nor arty, but I liked that there seemed to be so many layers to him.
Reading a classic would be a doddle, I decided as I closed the notebook. Noah had already done it and he was the active, Marvel-watching type. I had done English Lit for A-levels, so it would be easier for me. The fact that he had persevered demonstrated that he was a hard worker and didn’t give up easily, making him all the more attractive in my eyes.
It had been a while since I had finished a book, I was ashamed to admit. As a teenager, I would devour them and throughout university I always made sure to have a bestseller in my bag. These days I ended up listening to podcasts on my way into the office. Sometimes. Mostly it was music.
The next day, instead of going to Pret, grabbing a sandwich and coming back to the office to eat it during my lunch hour, I found the nearest bookshop to our office in Hammersmith so I could buy Ulysses for myself. I couldn’t remember the last time I went to a bookshop, or the library and the familiar scent of books took me straight back to my childhood, when Baba would take me to our local library in Wood Green and spend the afternoon reading newspapers while I browsed the books. When and why did I let life become so dull? Why had I stopped enjoying simple pleasures like reading a good book? Was it laziness or an inability to see beyond my Groundhog Day routine?
Well, whatever it was, that streak was over . My life was now unpredictable and I had no idea where the next task would take me.
Browsing through the latest paperback releases, I picked up a romcom that looked like fun and last year’s Booker Prize winner before I ambled over to the classics and found Ulysses . It was MASSIVE. I knew it was big but I hadn’t expected it to be quite so huge. Did I have to read the whole thing?