Chapter 5 #3
They started talking about PR for Marcus.
Kalpana listened for a few minutes and gave up.
She didn’t really want to sit here and listen to the two of them planning.
She just wanted to go up to the room and have a nap.
Maybe WhatsApp her friend. She trusted Marcus, so there was no reason to get jealous.
Nirmala had known him before he was famous, so meeting him again now that he was well known must be weird for her.
That would explain the air of keenness about her.
Marcus didn’t seem to have even noticed anything out of the ordinary.
Kalpana stifled a yawn. Fans often tried to flirt with Marcus, she was used to it. She was on holiday right now. She didn’t need this. Another yawn caught her.
‘I think I’m going to have to head off to bed,’ she said. ‘It was nice to meet you, Nirmala. I’ll see you in a bit, babe.’ She kissed Marcus on the mouth and wandered off.
***
Sampath found Lal, and the van, in the car park. Lal had settled back in the passenger seat, with his feet on the dashboard, and was reading a book.
‘Hey, could you give me a lift back to my B&B? Kalpana Miss said it was okay.’
‘Sure.’ He took his feet off the dashboard and shuffled across to the driving seat.
Sampath got in. Lal had left his book on the seat. It was a faded copy of one of Kalpana’s older books. ‘Oh, I like this one,’ Sampath said.
‘Yeah. I thought I’d better read the client’s book. You know, so I can talk about it, if it comes up. I tried his book which was good, but not exactly a wild ride. This one’s much better.’
Sampath had read Marcus’s book too. It was beautifully written, but he preferred reading for plot.
‘Have you read his book?’ Lal said, as he started out of the car park. ‘Reflections.’
Sampath merely said, ‘Hmm.’
‘Boring, no?’
‘Well …’
‘Don’t worry, I won’t say anything.’
‘Yeah. I don’t think I’m the right audience for it.
It’s probably too clever for me,’ Sampath said.
He did his best not to judge his clients.
There was always one partner who seemed more invested in a wedding than the other.
In this case, it was Marcus. He wanted a lot from this wedding.
Big. Showy. Leaning into the culture. He wanted this wedding to be different and photogenic.
Sampath pulled out his tablet and started to look through his notes. It was ninety per cent Marcus. He still had no idea what Kalpana wanted.
‘I don’t get it,’ Lal said.
‘Pardon?’
‘I don’t get what she sees in him. She’s a really nice lady and very pretty. He’s a bit pompous. And the way he spoke to her about the camphor boys … like she was a child or something.’ Lal sniffed. ‘She can do so much better.’
‘She seems happy with him,’ he said, but even he could hear the tone of doubt in his voice.
Lal was not wrong. Marcus had been high-handed.
He often was when he talked to Kalpana. She didn’t seem to care, though, so it wasn’t any of his business.
No one knew what made a relationship work other than the two people involved.
His job wasn’t to judge. It was to organise a wedding.
‘You must see loads of types of couples in your line of work,’ Lal said.
‘I do. Although, I haven’t been a wedding planner for very long. Only about a year.’ He was good at it, he had discovered. He believed in love and happily ever after, which his clients seemed to pick up on. You could be cynical and do this job, but it didn’t seem fair on the brides and grooms.
‘What did you do before?’ Lal leaned on the horn to beep someone out of the way. He muttered a curse. ‘Oh, no you don’t.’
Sampath clutched the grab handle above his seat as Lal swung the van through an impossible gap between two buses.
‘Urgh. Oh my god.’ He put his hand over his racing heart as Lal turned gently into a side street and drove sedately as though he hadn’t just done something mad.
Lal looked over at him and laughed. ‘Sorry. I forgot that you’re not local for a minute.’
‘So, you drive like that all the time when you haven’t got tourists on board?’ His heart was in his throat.
The other man shrugged. ‘It’s quicker.’
‘Also deadlier.’
‘No, men, it’s fine.’ Lal grinned. ‘So anyway, you were saying what you did before being a wedding planner.’
‘I … er … I was in corporate events management.’ Which wasn’t untrue.
‘That’s a bit of a swing, no?’ Lal side-eyed him. ‘Did you get sick of dealing with difficult people in suits?’
No. He’d left corporate events for different reasons entirely.
Before he could say anything, Lal said, ‘I suppose you’re still dealing with difficult people in suits … and wedding dresses.’
The comparison made Sampath laugh. ‘You’re very observant.’
‘I’m interested in people,’ said Lal. ‘I’m going to university next year to study psychology.’
‘Why on earth are you driving people around, then?’
Another shrug. ‘My dad owns the company. He says it’s good experience.
’ Lal grinned. ‘I’m enjoying it, actually.
I get to meet a lot of interesting people.
When they find out I’m going to university and I’m not going to be a driver for ever, they suddenly become way more friendly, and they tip better too.
It’s definitely a good experience, if you know what I mean. ’
Sampath was impressed. That explained Lal’s excellent English. It just went to show that you couldn’t judge a book by its cover. So to speak.