The Wake - Table of contents

The Wake - episode 60

Mellifluously a voice told the story of the music. Nilakantha the Brahmin priest goes from his home to attend a gathering of the faithful and leaves behind his daughter Lakme and her slave girl Millika. The two maidens go off hand in hand towards a river in search of blue lotus flowers. As they approach the water they disrobe and Lakme removes her jewellery and leaves it on a bench.

The Flower Duet came again, sinful, sinuous, insinuating, sin through every orifice. She stood in front of me in diamond drop earrings, Jesus, diamond drop earrings and hot pants, nothing else, turquoise blue. The bed wasn’t the best and I was nervous. Understandable of course. I didn’t mind Maud lying one flight down in the corner of the kitchen up to her eyes in mass cards because she could hear nothing, her three hours were up and her soul gone west. An empty shell. No, it was the living I was thinking of, the reverent mother there in the next room whispering away at her novenas, ear cocked, every sound in her sights.

I knew I should be careful but time was short: the song only lasted five minutes, six minutes max depending on who was performing. So caution to the winds I went for it, squeezing it all into the four and a half minutes or whatever it was, me and the bolster as if there was no tomorrow. Or rather, knowing there was tomorrow and tomorrow was the start of the dry season. Because the minute we’d parked Maud over at the head of the women’s aisle for the night and got through the prayers for the happy repose etcetera I’d be heading for wee Father Finucane behind the curtain and clearing out the clutter with him God help me as my go-between. Between me and my Maker. For I am resolved with the help of Thy holy grace never more to offend Thee but to amend my life Amen. Oh yeah? Yeah, this time it’s for real. One last heave and that’s it. She wasn’t whispering the novenas anymore. No, when she got to Saint Jude patron of hopeless cases she was nearly shouting them.