Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows: A hilarious and heartwarming novel. Balli Jaswal Kaur

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       Chapter Five

      Around the corner from the car park, Nikki had discovered a spot where she could hide and have a cigarette before class. Here the temple was completely cut off from her view. She shook a cigarette from its pack and lit it. Her shift at O’Reilly’s last night had felt longer than usual and she found herself looking forward to tonight’s lesson.

      Nikki finished her cigarette and entered the community centre building, running straight into Kulwinder Kaur on the stairwell.

      ‘Oh hello,’ she said.

      Kulwinder’s nose crinkled. ‘You’ve been smoking. I can smell it on you.’

      ‘I was standing near some smokers, and …’

      ‘Maybe these excuses work on your mother, but I know better.’

      ‘I don’t think my smoking should be your concern,’ Nikki said, straightening her shoulders.

      There was heat in Kulwinder’s stare. ‘The behaviour of an instructor is my concern. The women look to you for guidance. I don’t know how they’re supposed to respect any instructions that come from the mouth of a smoker.’

      ‘I’m doing everything that’s expected of me in the classroom,’ Nikki said. She made a mental note to cut short the storytelling session in favour of a grammar lesson in case Kulwinder did a spot check.

      ‘Let’s hope so,’ Kulwinder said. Nikki wedged past her uncomfortably on the stairs and found that all the women had arrived promptly. Tarampal had chosen a seat a noticeable distance from the others. ‘Nikki!’ Sheena called. ‘I’ve written a story. It’s a combined effort from all of us.’

      ‘Wonderful,’ Nikki said.

      ‘Can you read it aloud to the class?’ Preetam asked.

      ‘I think Nikki should read it,’ Sheena said.

      ‘In a minute,’ Nikki said. ‘I’ll just set some work for Bibi Tarampal here.’

      ‘Don’t bother with me,’ Tarampal sniffed. ‘I’ll just be working on my A-B-C book.’

      ‘For what?’ Arvinder asked. ‘Don’t be such a spoilsport.’

      ‘I’ll learn to write soon and you’ll still be illiterate,’ Tarampal shot back.

      Nikki pulled up a chair next to Tarampal and searched for the page on linking vowels and consonants. There were pictures representing each simple three-letter word. CAT. DOG. POT. ‘I don’t know all of these letters,’ Tarampal complained. ‘You haven’t taught them all to me.’

      ‘Do the ones you know,’ Nikki said gently. ‘We’ll work on the others together.’

      Nikki was aware that the women were watching her very closely as she began to read their story. Her Punjabi was rustier than she expected and Sheena’s rushed handwriting was unlike the careful print in the books she had learned from. ‘I’m not sure if I can read this, Sheena,’ Nikki said, squinting at the page.

      Sheena shot up from her seat. ‘I’ll do it then.’ She took the papers from Nikki. The other women sat up in their seats, their faces wide with anticipation. Watching them, Nikki had the dreadful sense that somebody was out to play a joke on her.

      Sheena began to read. ‘This is the story about a man and a woman taking a drive in a car. The man was tall and handsome and the woman was his wife. They didn’t have any children and had lots of free time.’ Sheena paused for effect and glanced at Nikki before continuing.

      ‘One day they were driving along a lonely road and they were running out of petrol. It was dark outside and they were scared. It was also cold, so the man stopped the car and hugged the woman so she would stop shivering. She was actually pretending to СКАЧАТЬ