Chapter 3
Zafar
With a will of iron, Zafar stopped himself from squirming in his seat. The look of patent curiosity paired with an earnestness he found disarming was directed towards him and there was nowhere to hide and nothing to distract Reshma from this line of questioning.
He had known to expect it. He knew that at some point she would ask him what he was doing in Mombasa and he’d have to give her some answer. And, to be fair, it was a perfectly valid question because when she’d asked him to come with her, he’d refused.
With work being the primary focus of his life for the past four years, putting it aside was something he found almost impossible.
Because if he wasn’t being consumed by his work, then guilt would rear its ugly head and take its place.
He’d allowed work to become his all in the past four years, giving it everything of himself because it helped keep his demons at bay.
He’d not even allowed Reshma to distract him.
Coming out here without any link to his work – thanks to his father practically confiscating his work gear as though he were a recalcitrant teenager – meant his time was his own and he had no idea what he was going to do to fill it, aside from joining in with the various wedding celebrations.
He knew he ought to tell Reshma the truth, but now wasn’t the time for that.
He didn’t want any potential upsets between them to cause any disruption to her cousin’s wedding, even a small one.
He didn’t know how Reshma would react. She might take it all in her stride, or she might be unhappy.
It made sense, therefore, to have this dinner and then he could tell Reshma how he had ended up being there at his father’s say-so at a more appropriate time.
He could still feel the heat of the disappointed look his father had cast his way when he’d found out that Zafar hadn’t accompanied Reshma.
His grandmother had gone straight for the jugular and used the D word.
I have to say, Zafar sweetheart, I’m disappointed.
He’d not felt that uncomfortable in a long time.
They weren’t exactly wrong, especially when his grandmother had pointed out the lengths Reshma went to for his family.
From day one, she had made an effort with everyone and – aside from his mother’s slight antagonism towards his wife, simply for the reason that she thought Reshma wasn’t good enough for him and she had wanted Zafar to marry her best friend’s daughter – she got along pretty well with them.
Reshma always went above and beyond for his family, especially his grandmother, who doted on Reshma.
She’d never made him feel like doing anything for him or his family was a big deal, but that was exactly what he had done to her and he didn’t feel all that great about it.
What made it worse was the fact that he still hadn’t come here of his own accord, he’d been made to by his father and grandmother.
That thought settled in his gut like a lead balloon as he looked at Reshma, whose confused expression had been replaced with a tentative smile.
‘Thank you. Both for coming and for surprising me. It’s actually really sweet.’
Oh, boy.
He swallowed the guilt that was now lodged in his throat and smiled back at her as best as he could. ‘Don’t thank me. I should have come when you first asked me to.’ Which – while being true – was easier said than done.
‘I do appreciate how hard you work, Zafar. I know it couldn’t have been easy for you to leave everything to be here.’ She covered his hand with hers and gave it a soft squeeze and Zafar felt his chest squeeze in response.
He hadn’t appreciated until now how hard it was going to be to come clean with her about how he came to be in Mombasa.
She looked so happy. The last thing he wanted was to hurt or upset her.
He knew he wasn’t a contender for a ‘Husband of the Year Award’, but he cared for her.
He wanted a relationship of mutual respect and maybe even some level of affection between them and he hoped that when he told her the truth, it wouldn’t widen the chasm that had been between them since they’d got married.
‘How’s your time here been so far? Been enjoying yourself?’ he asked in an attempt to move away from the difficult conversation and feelings it was engendering.
‘I have.’ A broad smile broke out on her face and her eyes sparkled.
‘It’s been really good. The last ten days have flown by.
I’ve been working, but I’ve also helped with some last-minute wedding stuff.
I’ve had the chance to spend some quality time with my aunt and cousins after ages.
And now everyone else is here too, so I’m really happy. ’
The driver pulled the car into a bay, bringing their conversation to a natural close.
Everyone gathered on the pavement before Reshma’s uncle led them into the restaurant.
The top floor had been reserved for their party, with two long rectangular tables set up in the middle of the room.
A group of people were standing off to one side and as they saw the bridal party approach, they came to the doors to greet them.
Reshma’s aunt made all the introductions for those who weren’t familiar with her daughter’s fiancé and his family.
Zafar saw his grandmother with another one of Reshma’s aunts.
She was in her element as the people gathered around her hung on her every word.
She was familiar with most of Reshma’s family before they had got married through the long association the two families had.
Despite that though, he had only met Reshma when his father had made the introduction with a view to arranging their match.
Reshma’s cousin – Khalil? – called them over and all the cousins and siblings sat at one table with the bride- and groom-to-be.
Their parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents sat on the second table.
Zafar knew some of her relatives, but in that moment, he felt like the new kid in the class who watched all the action around him, not sure where he fitted in. He felt a bit out of place.
He had a fleeting thought that this was probably how Reshma had felt when she’d joined his family, but he couldn’t dwell on it for long because one of her cousins called out to him.
‘You have to tell us, Zafar, because your wife won’t spill any beans, how miserable life with her really is. And don’t hold back. We’ve known her since childhood and are well aware of what a nightmare she’s capable of being.’
Zafar looked between Reshma and her cousins, unable to hold back his surprise at the exchange between them and let out an unexpected laugh when Reshma stuck her tongue out at one of them.
She faced him abruptly and he saw a rosy flush fill her cheeks, though she didn’t say anything, just grinned sheepishly.
He’d never seen Reshma like this and he found himself fascinated.
The meal was exquisite, with brilliant company.
Reshma’s cousins didn’t spare a single chance to have a dig at each other and he was surprised to see Reshma join in with them just as ruthlessly.
It reminded him of how he bantered with his brothers.
In the short time he’d been there, he’d seen a different side to Reshma he hadn’t even known had existed and he was intrigued by it.
There was more he didn’t know about the woman next to him than he did and he thought that, if nothing else, he’d get the opportunity to find out more about her while they were here.
By the time the evening came to a close, he felt quite relaxed, though physically tired after the day of travelling he’d had.
On the way back, Reshma gave him an explanation of her family tree when he asked her how they were all related.
‘Uncle Jawad is the eldest, followed by Auntie Ruqayyah and then my … my father.’ She went quiet for a moment but Zafar didn’t say anything.
He knew Reshma didn’t have a good relationship with her dad, but he didn’t know what had caused the rift or why it was still ongoing.
He knew she’d been raised by her uncle Jawad and his wife Bilqis after the death of her mother when she was a child and that was it.
They’d never had a conversation about it and he’d never thought to ask.
‘You already know Shoaib and Haniya – Uncle Jawad’s kids.
Khalil and Saleema are Auntie Ruqayyah’s children and Uncle Imtiaz is her husband.
That’s the immediate family. The others who’ll be joining us over the coming days are distant relatives and family friends.
I’ll introduce you as and when we meet them.
But the ones I’ve told you about are the important ones. ’
When they got back to the villas, Reshma’s aunt met them outside with Daadi and led them to a villa a few metres from hers.
‘We thought this was the best option of being together but also being able to have our own space and make the most of this glorious location,’ Auntie Ruqayyah explained.
‘You have access to the private beach, an on-site gym and a pool behind your villa. It’s all serviced by a small team who take care of all the villas, so if you need anything, just alert a staff member. Reshma knows.’
They were left to settle in and all Zafar wanted to do was to drop face down on a bed and sleep.
‘Why don’t you go upstairs? I’ll help get Daadi settled in the bedroom downstairs. Auntie Ruqayyah said all our luggage has already been moved for us,’ Reshma suggested as they walked through an open-plan living area.
Zafar didn’t need to be told twice, and after bidding his grandmother a good night, he made his way towards the stairs.
The staircase led to an internal balcony which overlooked the living area downstairs and there was just one door along the whole wall, which led to the bedroom.
Zafar went into the exceptionally large bedroom which took up the entire width of the villa and found a huge bed dominated the space on one side of the room and a small seating area was set up in front of one of the walls that was made entirely of glass.
Beyond the glass, he could see furniture on a balcony.
There was a bathroom and an adjoining dressing room on the other side of the room and in there he saw his and Reshma’s luggage.
He grabbed a pair of sleep shorts and made his way into the bathroom.
By the time he had finished his shower, there back was still no sign of Reshma, so he went to the bed and decided to wait for her there.
He wanted to talk to her sooner rather than later because the longer he left it, the worse he was feeling about her misunderstanding his sudden appearance. He lay back, checking his watch to find that it was just gone midnight.
Zafar turned over, slowly opening one eye and seeing shafts of sunlight hit the wooden floor.
He closed his eye and turned the other way, only to jerk his eyes open and look around the room.
Daylight streamed in through the gauzy excuse of a curtain covering the glass wall as he slowly blinked the remnants of sleep out of his eyes.
He glanced to his side and saw that while the space was empty, it had been slept in.
He heaved a tired sigh. He’d fallen asleep. Without talking to her.
Reshma had probably come up and seen him sprawled on the bed like a beached whale, out for the bloody count, and when she’d woken up, he’d probably been in the same position. Travelling never had agreed with him.
Argh, shit.
He scrubbed his face as he sat up and looked at the time. Ten-thirty.
‘Oh. You’re up.’ He looked at the doorway and saw Reshma framed in it, dressed in a bright orange dress and looking like she’d been up for a good few hours. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘I think I was knocked out.’ His voice was croaky.
She laughed softly. ‘Yes, you were. You didn’t hear me come up last night or get up this morning.’
‘I wanted to talk to you last night.’
‘Mmhmm.’ She came into the room and sat on the corner of the bed. Her face was open and smiley and Zafar felt the words he needed to say lodge in his throat. He rubbed a hand along the back of his neck.
‘Dad was back from Canada when I left.’
‘Yeah, Daadi told me last night. Did they have a good trip?’
‘Umm, yeah. Yeah, I think they did. Mum was still there, although I think she’s due today.’
She nodded.
Why was this so hard? It was a simple enough thing to do. All he had to do was say that his dad had thought it would be better if he joined Reshma and that’s why he was there.
‘Daadi was up early this morning, and after breakfast, Auntie Ruqayyah came and took her to her villa. She said she wanted to show her some of the clothes and jewellery she’s got.
I think they’re just going to spend the morning having a bit of a catch-up with Auntie Bilqis.
I’m sure copious amounts of tea will be involved. ’
‘How was she this morning? Not too tired?’
‘No, she did better than you. She was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Ready for the day,’ she said cheekily, her nose stud sparkling in the morning light as she smiled at him.
It was like he was seeing a different version of her, more relaxed and cheerier than he’d seen before.
It made him more certain that when he told her the truth, her happy bubble would burst.