The Lost Souls Dating Agency (15 page)

‘Ready?' I asked as he walked up to me.

‘Ready as I'll ever be. I've never been so nervous before a date,' he said.

‘Well maybe that's because it's not really a date.' More like an inquisition.

We walked up to the house to the waiting Mr Singh. I remembered just in time about leading Finn through the third roller on the left. I scrambled over to Finn's right and manoeuvred him to it. He ducked to walk under, and Mr Singh beamed.

‘Good to meet you, Finn,' he said with an outstretched hand.

‘Nice to meet you too, sir.' Finn smiled apprehensively and shook his hand.

Mr Singh led the way inside.

‘You have a beautiful home,' Finn said politely.

‘Oh my wife and Jaya are responsible for it. I'm told I have no eye for such things.' Mr Singh chuckled.

We reached the living room and seated ourselves on the comfortable sofas. Finn perched on the edge of the large sofa seat.

‘So, Finn, Shalini did not tell me much about you.' Mr Singh looked at me reproachfully. ‘Who is your family?'

‘Oh I'm originally from a small town near Orange in New South Wales, it's called Carcoar.'

‘I haven't heard of it.'

‘I'm not surprised, it is a very small town, with an even smaller were-community. My parents moved to Sydney when I was about four to be closer to the Berowra Waters pack.'

‘Oh good, so your family is wolf?'

‘Predominantly yes,' he hesitated, but before he could continue, Mrs Singh came into the room. She had changed into a lovely light grey cotton dress and looked much less stressed than she had in the kitchen.

‘Hello, Finn,' she said pleasantly.

‘Oh hello, Mrs Singh.' Finn stood up and smiled.

She sat down on the sofa next to her husband. ‘Please do sit down. Call me Anamika.'

Finn looked a little abashed as he sat. ‘Ah, I was just telling Mr Singh that you have a beautiful home.'

‘Thank you. But it's mostly Jaya's work. She has the magic decorating touch.' Her eyes twinkled.

‘Great,' Finn said.

‘So my boy,' Mr Singh said affably, ‘you were telling me about your family.'

I knew there was little congeniality behind this question. For him this was crucial. Finn answered in a good natured way. He deftly skirted around the issue of his own “transformation”. Why was he so touchy about it? There was so little I understood about all this.

The three of us chatted for a while. I began to wonder where Jaya was. I hoped she hadn't changed her mind and made a run for it!

The conversation in the living room was progressing nicely. Finn was well mannered and jovial and Mr Singh warmed to him. Even Mrs Singh looked like she silently approved. Just as I wondered again about Jaya's whereabouts, she walked into the room, very demurely, with a tray full of teacups. Finn watched her intently, with a bemused expression.

Jaya placed her teacups around the table. She served Finn last and I saw a slight smile as she gently positioned the cup in front of him. She placed a sugar bowl in the middle, then sat gracefully on the sofa opposite Finn. He smiled shyly at her. Jaya's parents watched them both. I inwardly cringed at the whole uncomfortable situation.

‘Hi, Finn, nice to meet you,' Jaya said with a confident smile. She seemed blissfully unaware of how attractive she looked in her turquoise linen top, her lustrous black hair framing her delicate features. When she moved her head, long green and gold earrings danced around her ears. I was sure Finn would be dazzled.

‘Hi,' Finn managed to say. I watched him closely. He was certainly displaying signs of bedazzlement.

‘This is what we call ah, the Indian tea ceremony,' Jaya said pointing to the teacups and bowl of sugar.

Finn listened to her seriously.

‘Don't be ridiculous, Jaya, there is no such thing!' Mr Singh said sweeping up his cup. ‘Don't let her fool you, my daughter is quite the prankster.' He looked at Finn.

Finn laughed and relaxed. After that, conversation flowed freely. Jaya looked like she was enjoying Finn's company. That was a good sign. Jaya handled herself elegantly. Finn seemed a little jittery.

We were chattering away, happily talking over each other loudly, but stopped abruptly when Finn coughed and spluttered loudly into his teacup.

‘What's wrong with you, m'boy?' Mr Singh looked concerned.

‘I'm fine.' Finn's face turned red. ‘Excuse me, I'm just not used to this kind of tea. It's delicious. I'll just let it cool down a little.' He placed the cup back on the table.

I saw the corners of Jaya's mouth curl upwards.

‘Ah yes, Indian chai is world famous,' Mr Singh said with a smile at Finn. ‘I like it with a teaspoon of honey now and again, even though it's best with three spoons of sugar.'

‘Not at your age,' Anamika Singh said sternly.

Mr Singh looked wistfully at the little container of white sugar crystals.

Finn took another sip of his tea and his lips pursed tightly. I noticed and tentatively sipped my own tea. It was delicious, sweet and full of the subtle tones of cardamom. So why did Finn look like he was in pain when he sipped his?

He put his cup down and I noticed Jaya watch him carefully. Was that a mischievous twinkle in her eye or was I just seeing things?

I turned my attention to Finn's conversation with Mr Singh. There was an awkward pause when Mr Singh mentioned Jaya's were-form.

‘You turn into a kangaroo?' Finn's eyes bulged at Jaya. She nodded defiantly at him.

‘Wow! That's almost as impressive as me turning into a shark, but not quite,' Finn chortled.

Jaya's eyes widened. ‘Your form is shark?' For the first time today, I saw her look at him with interest.

Finn grinned at her. Mr Singh frowned. ‘You didn't tell me your form was shark.' He looked accusingly at Finn.

Jaya ignored him and asked Finn, ‘What's it like being underwater?'

‘It's like scuba diving without the wetsuit and tank weighing you down.'

‘I've never met a were-shark before!' she exclaimed.

‘Well that's because there aren't too many of us around.' Finn positively beamed.

‘This is most disturbing,' Mr Singh muttered. I felt him glare at me. I studied the pattern on the rug carefully avoiding his glare.

Jaya and Finn talked about his were-shark experiences. He regaled her with stories of hapless divers, scared half to death by an oncoming shark in darkened recesses of underwater caverns. My mind wandered to Will and his shipwreck project in Byron Bay. Had he been one of these divers?

‘The divers are in no danger, I wouldn't harm them, but you should see their faces! Petrified,' Finn explained jovially.

Jaya laughed. Mrs Singh walked out of the room and began silently to lay the table in the adjoining dining room. Glass doors connected the two rooms. Appetising aromas wafted through. All the while, I saw Mr Singh look sulkily at Finn and Jaya and occasionally glare at me. He interjected in the middle of Jaya and Finn's conversation, and declared grouchily, ‘Finn, would you like some more tea? My wife has prepared some food, please help yourself.'

‘Oh I would love another cup of tea,' he said in exaggerated tones, ‘made just the way it was. Bloody fantastic!' I saw him give Jaya an imperceptible wink.

What
was
going on with the tea?

I had my chance to ask Finn as we were leaving and stood with Jaya on the veranda. Mr and Mrs Singh remained indoors, though I had a sneaky suspicion we were being watched from a concealed vantage point somewhere.

‘Okay, you guys, come clean, what was going on with the tea?' I asked. I was bursting with curiosity.

Jaya looked mortified. She said to Finn, ‘I'm really sorry I did that. I don't know what came over me.'

‘That's okay. I had a really nice time, despite the fact that I almost exploded from drinking your special tea.' Finn laughed amicably.

Jaya turned to me. ‘I put chilli powder in his tea!'

‘You did whaaat?' I asked half laughing and half wondering.

‘I feel awful.' Jaya looked genuinely ashamed. ‘I was just so mad at this whole situation…'

So she decided chilli tea would help? Psycho!

But then, I tried to look at it from her perspective and gave her the benefit of the doubt. I knew Finn had.

Jaya looked at Finn. ‘Thanks for not telling on me. My parents would have been furious.'

‘Oh I think your dad might have appreciated it. I don't think he was too impressed by my were-form.' Finn said this light-heartedly, but I sensed the seriousness underneath. So did Jaya.

‘My father doesn't appreciate many things. But he is a good man, who can come around to understanding different points of view,' Jaya paused, ‘very slowly,' she ended with a brittle laugh.

They both smiled at each other.

We were entering that magical twilight moment when the sky is tinged with a purple pink hue. I decided now was a good time to take my leave.

I left them on the veranda. As I drove away, I wondered how this “case” would end.

The next week, uni started again. We were all getting to the business end of our degrees and I hardly saw Megan and Neha. They were busy with classes and I spent most of my time shuttling between home, study and the warehouse. Will had finished all his Arts electives and I missed seeing him more than I dared admit.

About three weeks after the meeting in the Singh household, I received a cheque in the mail. It came attached with a note, which read, “with thanks from the Singh family”. The amount was substantially larger than what Mr Singh had agreed to. This was the second time! Why did my clients feel compelled to over-pay? Not that I was complaining.

Unlike Victor, I knew Mr Singh had been less than happy with my services. Maybe he had a change of heart. Unlikely! I examined the cheque closely. The signature did not look like his. I squinted at it.

Well, well, well.

A wide grin slowly crept across my face, as I skipped from my chair and sashayed around the office doing a happy dance, in celebration of all the mothers of the world. The cheque was signed Anamika Singh.

***

Later that day Will rang and confirmed what I suspected when I received the payment.

‘I've lost my friend,' he groaned. ‘I haven't seen him in weeks.'

‘That was an unintentional side effect.' I smirked.

‘He mopes about terribly when he isn't with Jaya. I haven't seen him this far gone before.'

‘Well I'm happy to hear it.'

‘You're good, Shalini,' he said smoothly, ‘very good when it comes to…what shall I call it…matters of ze heart?' he said with a fake French accent.

I giggled and felt myself blush. I was glad he was on the other end of a phone line.

‘So when do I get to see you in action?' he asked out of the blue.

‘What do you mean?' I didn't understand him.

‘Can I visit you at the warehouse?' he asked hesitantly.

‘Of course you can!'

‘Great. We can meet for lunch beforehand and then go over?' he asked quickly.

I immediately said yes. I wondered why I hadn't thought to do this before.

***

The next afternoon I met Will for lunch at my usual haunt, Verb cafe. Cathy, its owner was used to seeing Roxanne and I come and go frequently. She winked at me as I walked in with Will. They weren't too busy and usually Cathy would come by my table for a chat, but she discreetly left us alone. We ordered lunch and I told Will about my second change in fortune.

‘Wow you'll be a millionaire before we leave uni!' He looked impressed.

‘Unlikely.' I smiled. ‘I think all my assets are currently invested in shoes.'

We talked about Lost Souls and Jaya and Finn. I could see he was happy for his friend.

‘He's always had trouble with girls understanding his nature. With Jaya, he can finally let go and be who he really is,' Will said thoughtfully.

I nodded. We talked for a little longer, before heading out to walk back to the warehouse.

We hadn't gotten far when I heard the shuffle of feet behind us. I looked at Will who had also noticed and we both turned at the same time. A short, blonde haired woman walking very close almost ran into us.

‘Excuse me,' I said loudly, annoyed.

‘Sorry, Shalini,' the woman replied politely.

She looked vaguely familiar. ‘Do I know you?' I surveyed the smartly dressed woman in white three quarter pants and a short green linen jacket. She looked mid-fortyish.

‘No, but I know you. You run a matchmaking agency.' The woman had a quick, deep voice. Her head bobbed continuously.

I was stumped. W
here
had I seen this woman before? Will was quiet and I gave him a sidelong glance.

‘I can go back to the agency with you, so we can talk more privately?' the woman said bossily.

‘We can talk right here.' I stood my ground. Will moved closer to stand next to me. He guessed that something was wrong.

‘Well it's quite simple you see. I want you to help me find a suitable mate.' She lowered her tone. ‘I'm a powerful Wiccan and I'm hoping you can find someone who can deal with that.'

I found it hard to believe this tiny woman was a powerful anything. ‘Well, come by the agency tomorrow morning and we can discuss it.'

‘Why can't we go now?' the woman persisted.

I looked at Will. He rescued me. ‘We're actually about to head off to the movies,' he said lightly.

‘Okay,' the woman said reluctantly and looked at me. ‘Give me your card and I'll come tomorrow.'

‘My contact details are in The Weekly,' I said casually, deliberately omitting the Mythical part.

‘The Weekly Times?' the woman asked blankly.