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lot
while she was in the kitchen, which was almost all of the day. She made
pickles, sweet treats and dahl. When she wasn’t in the kitchen she would be
washing clothes by hand or sweeping the floor and tending to every need of her husband and four children.

 
    Despite
his loneliness Kishore knew he didn’t want this in a wife. He wanted a partner
who was equal to him, a modern wife, a companion,
someone who did not want to spend her life in the kitchen. Kishore always
imagined his wife would be English and he also knew this would mean he would
choose his bride, not his family. He was determined not to go down the
traditional path of an arranged marriage.
    Something
had drawn him to New Zealand and it wasn’t just financial gain. He knew in his
heart someone waited for him, someone he would love forever.
    Kishore’s
parents knew their son’s bold uncharacteristic nature would make it impossible
for him to change his mind in regard to marriage. In fact, they knew their son
would choose his bride regardless of their intervention. In spite of that ache
in his heart for a companion, Kishore knew an Indian woman wasn’t meant for him
and in his heart he hoped the girl who day-by-day he was growing fonder and
fonder of, was.

 
    The
girl whose name was Julie.

 
 
    CHAPTER NINE

 
    The Hindi word for flower is phul.

 
    On
a day no different to any other, I entered McAllister and Company, Accountants.
    “Good
Morning,” I announced cheerily to Gillian.
    “Hiya
Julie,” was her bubbly reply as she handed over the stationery list she had
prepared for the company’ s office
requirements.
    Gillian
was, unequivocally, the ultimate ‘80’s Kiwi chick – a cross between Kylie
Minogue and Cindy Lauper - bright lipstick, teased hair with frosted
highlights, a big smile and even bigger shoulder pads.                                            
      Once a month Gillian and I met in the
boardroom and went over any changes in McAllister and Co.’s stationery
requirements and we discussed the new products that were displayed in O.S.W.’ s glossy catalogues. One or two
of the accountants often joined us to see what was new in the world of
stationery. To be honest, I had noticed the
Indian accountant , Kishore
attending the boardroom meetings more than any of the other staff. I assumed as
he was new to the country and the youngest member of the team,
he sat in with us to learn more about the products in the
range or to see how the system here works.
    Little
did I know Kishore was secretly waiting for the right moment to approach me to
let me know what was truly on his mind and
it certainly wasn’t paperclips.

 
    Today
was not one of those meeting days, I had called in only to collect the
stationery list. As I stood talking to Gillian, Linda came over to say hello.
She wore glasses, a professional grey women’s business suit and her hair was
cut short in a trendy easy to manage style. Despite her business-like
appearance, she was easy to approach.
    I
had chatted to her a few times but I didn’t know her
that well, so I was surprised when she said, “Julie would you like to join me
for a coffee?” I was ready for a drink and liked to network - you never know, I
thought, I might make a sale.
    I
remember very well the last time I had spoken to Linda, it was the day Gillian
had invited me to join the staff to celebrate Linda’s promotion. It was a
memorable day, because I had just found out that morning Andrew and Tanya were
expecting their first baby. I was going to be an Aunty, I was so happy! The
smile I wore from ear to ear never left my face that whole day. I only stayed
briefly at the celebration knowing I had a lot of clients to visit, after
congratulating Linda on her promotion I quickly left.
    Today,
as Linda and I entered the lunchroom it was empty. I immediately noticed a
bunch of pink carnations that were sitting in a vase on the table, I exclaimed,
“Oh