the line of his short sleeves ended. 'Come, my little beauty, let me grow some grass between your two beautiful dark hills,' he would say, burying his great ginger beard between Hester's big brown boobs. 'Together we'll snore the night into little pieces smaller than matchsticks.'
With a sigh Tandia replaced the cap on her Croxley fountain pen. Hester's arrival always demanded her full attention. It was the end of her school work for the moment. Hester's long pink fingernails appeared around the door. They were followed almost immediately by her head. Hester was a back-slidden Pentecostal and she would explain that the Lord didn't mind pink nails, pink nails were all right, almost natural; it was the long, shiny red ones like Sarah's that He was very against.
'Hey, Tandia, listen to this!' She walked over to where Tandia sat at the little table that served as desk. 'You going to get some new school uniforms, man. It's true! Only just now I heard Mama T calling on the telephone to Sonny Vindoo.'
'Sonny who?' Tandia was delighted at the prospect of the uniforms.
'Vindoo, he's the Indian tailor who makes us special things sometimes, when Mama T wants to put on a bit of a show for an important new client.' Hester brought the tips of the fingers of both hands to her lips and her eyes grew large. 'They pink!'
'What's pink?'
'The school uniforms, they going to be pink, God's honour!'
Tandia buried her face in her hands as Hester continued, 'You know how she's mad about pink? I'm telling you, jong, Mama T is having pink gym frocks made. I heard her tell Sonny Vindoo to find three pairs of pink stockings and a pink beret also.' Hester put her hand on Tandia's shoulder. 'I swear on my mother's grave, it's true!'
'She can't do that! They won't allow it. The colour is brown. The colour for Durban Indian Girls' High School is dark brown!'
'I dunno about that, jong. All I can say is I heard her clear as anything.' Hester put her fist up to her ear and brought her hand onto her ample dark bosom the way Mama Tequila did when she made a phone call; then she started to mimic Mama Tequila. 'Listen, Mr Dine-o-mite, I want you should go to John Orrs. Tell them Mama Tequila she want seven yards pink gaberdine. Okay, lover? Also four yards pink cotton poplin. Nice, you hear? Pretty rose pink.'
Sonny Vindoo liked to be paid in kind, so Mama Tequila maintained her customer persona when she talked to him. The little Indian tailor looked a little like Mahatma Gandhi and affected a dhoti and round steel-rimmed glasses to emphasise the likeness. The very first time he had done any work for Mama Tequila he'd handed her an invoice on which he had written in his neat, clerical hand:
For services rendered please render the services of:
1 only Blonde Bombshell.
Which is how Sonny Vindoo got his name, Mr Dine-o-Mite, and at the same time got Sarah chosen for him, the frizzy, ginger-headed Sarah being the closest the Bluey Jay establishment could get to a blonde at the time.
Hester could mimic Mama Tequila down pat and despite her concern, Tandia was forced to laugh. But then she looked worried again. 'Oh no! What am I going to do?'
Tandia, who had never spent a day of her life in bed, woke very late on the Saturday after she'd been rescued by Mama Tequila. She felt too weak too move; her whole body seemed to be burning and her mouth was dry. She ran her tongue over her lips which were cracked and swollen. Her eyes had difficulty adjusting to her surroundings; the room hummed and seemed to spin slowly above her head, and the air around her had a fractured luminosity, like used cellophane paper. Slowly the humming ceased and the room grew steady but the cellophane nature of the air persisted so she could not very clearly make out the tall, dark shape standing quietly beside her bed.
Juicey Fruit Mambo smiled his sharp, golden-toothed smile and Tandia, feverish and disorientated, screamed and then began to sob. It was the Master of Evil from the
With a sigh Tandia replaced the cap on her Croxley fountain pen. Hester's arrival always demanded her full attention. It was the end of her school work for the moment. Hester's long pink fingernails appeared around the door. They were followed almost immediately by her head. Hester was a back-slidden Pentecostal and she would explain that the Lord didn't mind pink nails, pink nails were all right, almost natural; it was the long, shiny red ones like Sarah's that He was very against.
'Hey, Tandia, listen to this!' She walked over to where Tandia sat at the little table that served as desk. 'You going to get some new school uniforms, man. It's true! Only just now I heard Mama T calling on the telephone to Sonny Vindoo.'
'Sonny who?' Tandia was delighted at the prospect of the uniforms.
'Vindoo, he's the Indian tailor who makes us special things sometimes, when Mama T wants to put on a bit of a show for an important new client.' Hester brought the tips of the fingers of both hands to her lips and her eyes grew large. 'They pink!'
'What's pink?'
'The school uniforms, they going to be pink, God's honour!'
Tandia buried her face in her hands as Hester continued, 'You know how she's mad about pink? I'm telling you, jong, Mama T is having pink gym frocks made. I heard her tell Sonny Vindoo to find three pairs of pink stockings and a pink beret also.' Hester put her hand on Tandia's shoulder. 'I swear on my mother's grave, it's true!'
'She can't do that! They won't allow it. The colour is brown. The colour for Durban Indian Girls' High School is dark brown!'
'I dunno about that, jong. All I can say is I heard her clear as anything.' Hester put her fist up to her ear and brought her hand onto her ample dark bosom the way Mama Tequila did when she made a phone call; then she started to mimic Mama Tequila. 'Listen, Mr Dine-o-mite, I want you should go to John Orrs. Tell them Mama Tequila she want seven yards pink gaberdine. Okay, lover? Also four yards pink cotton poplin. Nice, you hear? Pretty rose pink.'
Sonny Vindoo liked to be paid in kind, so Mama Tequila maintained her customer persona when she talked to him. The little Indian tailor looked a little like Mahatma Gandhi and affected a dhoti and round steel-rimmed glasses to emphasise the likeness. The very first time he had done any work for Mama Tequila he'd handed her an invoice on which he had written in his neat, clerical hand:
For services rendered please render the services of:
1 only Blonde Bombshell.
Which is how Sonny Vindoo got his name, Mr Dine-o-Mite, and at the same time got Sarah chosen for him, the frizzy, ginger-headed Sarah being the closest the Bluey Jay establishment could get to a blonde at the time.
Hester could mimic Mama Tequila down pat and despite her concern, Tandia was forced to laugh. But then she looked worried again. 'Oh no! What am I going to do?'
Tandia, who had never spent a day of her life in bed, woke very late on the Saturday after she'd been rescued by Mama Tequila. She felt too weak too move; her whole body seemed to be burning and her mouth was dry. She ran her tongue over her lips which were cracked and swollen. Her eyes had difficulty adjusting to her surroundings; the room hummed and seemed to spin slowly above her head, and the air around her had a fractured luminosity, like used cellophane paper. Slowly the humming ceased and the room grew steady but the cellophane nature of the air persisted so she could not very clearly make out the tall, dark shape standing quietly beside her bed.
Juicey Fruit Mambo smiled his sharp, golden-toothed smile and Tandia, feverish and disorientated, screamed and then began to sob. It was the Master of Evil from the
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