Chapter 10
Reshma
Unbidden, a shiver went through Reshma at Zafar’s words. Which was utter craziness. He was just having a Neanderthal moment and she’d do well to remember that.
It had all been bluster because his ego had taken a hit from a little boy who barely reached his knees.
A boy who had charmed Reshma from the moment she’d met him.
She’d seen it happen before, when a child took to an adult that wasn’t related to them for no explicable reason.
It was the first time it had happened to her and she’d found it endearing, sweet.
Little Haroon had been nothing but entertaining, giving her unconditional affection at a time when Reshma had desperately needed a distraction.
And she’d needed that distraction because of the man now standing in front of her, looking for all the world as though he had meant every single word he’d just said.
And the way he’d just referred to her as his wife – her heart had swooped behind her ribcage like a butterfly suddenly free of its cocoon, the stupid organ that it was.
As though the previous forty-eight hours, the past thirteen months, had been completely different and not how she remembered them.
It was all fanciful thinking on her part and just words on his and she’d do well to remember that fact too.
Thankfully, the rest of the evening passed enjoyably, with Reshma moving away from a cockily confident Zafar and spending her time with her cousins.
She also managed to get into bed before him, feigning sleep as he noisily pottered about in their room and tried calling out to her.
He probably knew she was pretending, but she didn’t care.
The following day, Reshma managed to take time out to focus on her work for a few hours.
The website she was working on was coming along nicely and she was on the cusp of securing a new client for a big website upgrade, which had her feeling excited.
A feeling she relished after the exhaustion of the last few days.
Work was a blessing right now, enabling her to lose herself and forget what was happening around her. She let her creativity take the lead.
Daadi was relaxing, watching TV in between making phone calls and Uncle Imtiaz had roped in Zafar, Shoaib and Khalil to help him with some wedding-related errands that required brawn. Uncle Jawad had gone with them too.
When Uncle Imtiaz had come to make his request, Zafar had flexed his biceps and waggled his eyebrows at her and she’d been momentarily stunned, before giving him a withering look and then turning the other way.
It was strange how the events of the last couple of days had them both acting completely differently. There was an ease about Zafar she’d not seen before, whereas she felt more highly strung than she’d ever been, especially among her own relatives.
Zafar was showing glimpses of being carefree and playful and Reshma wasn’t sure what to make of it.
Was it an act he was putting on for the benefit of their audience or was it genuinely how he was and she’d just not seen it before?
Whatever it was, she needed to remain on guard.
The last thing she needed was to be lulled by his charming ways and then be back where she had been a few days ago.
Living in a bubble, or worse, facing more pain and heartache.
She’d come to the conclusion that she hadn’t been so much in love with Zafar as she had been in love with the idea of him.
She’d allowed herself to blur the lines between the two, when there was a distinct difference.
Now that she’d identified that difference, she could put her feelings into a box at the back of her mind and focus her attention on other things with little to zero potential of causing her any more hurt than she’d already suffered.
Finishing her work for the day and with her renewed resolve, she made her way towards Auntie Bilqis’ villa to see what she and Haniya were up to.
Daadi decided to accompany her and the two of them headed over there, taking in the beautifully landscaped gardens around them.
When they got closer to the villa, it was to find that the guys were back and almost everyone was congregated near the main entrance.
‘What’s happening here?’ Daadi paused as she took the sight in, one hand holding her walking stick and her other arm linked with Reshma’s. Haniya spotted them and she got Zafar’s attention and the pair of them made their way towards her and Daadi.
‘What’s going on, Niya? I leave you for one morning and suddenly …’ Her sentence trailed off as she saw the solemn look on her cousin’s face. ‘What is it? Is everything OK?’
Haniya nodded as Zafar came and stood next to her, a somewhat serious expression on his face too.
It didn’t take long for Reshma’s confusion to clear.
Haniya spoke to her in hushed tones as Reshma watched Auntie Ruqayyah and Uncle Jawad talking to each other in the distance.
‘Uncle Ahsan has just arrived with his family.’ Reshma jerked her face from her aunt and uncle to her cousin, finding her looking back at her with a sympathetic expression on her face, while Reshma stared with her mouth hanging open until she snapped it shut.
Her father was here? ‘As far as I’m aware, no one knew he was coming until earlier today.
Apparently, it was supposed to be a surprise, until he got to the airport and called and asked to be picked up.
They’ve got so much stuff, they had to arrange two cars and Auntie Ruqayyah’s been busy trying to sort out a villa for them. Classic Uncle Ahsan, eh?’
Reshma swallowed the sudden dryness in her throat and felt a hollow pit open up behind her sternum.
It was always difficult coming face to face with her father.
There was a tremendous amount of unease all around and it left her feeling completely depleted of energy.
In addition to the usual awkwardness of the situation was the fact that this was the first time Reshma was going to see her father after her own wedding, at which she’d asked Uncle Jawad to walk her to the ceremony rather than her father, much to his shock.
‘Niya?’ Someone called for Haniya, and after promising that she’d be back in a moment, she moved away, leaving Reshma standing there feeling a tightness in her gut and instinctively taking a step back, only to feel a warm hand cup her elbow with firm support, steadying her.
She looked behind her to find Zafar looking down at her.
She’d never shared details of her childhood or her relationship – or lack thereof – with her father with Zafar.
She didn’t even know how much he knew or how much was common knowledge in their social circles.
She supposed she would find out, and if he didn’t know, he would shortly.
‘Are you all right?’ There was comfort imbued in his voice and a steadiness in his grasp around her elbow.
She jerked her head in a nod and then focused her eyes on the scene not too far away, where her father was greeting Auntie Ruqayyah.
Neither Zafar nor Daadi moved forward to greet the newcomers and with her feet stuck to the ground, she couldn’t – didn’t – move either.
Her father moved back from meeting his sister and brother-in-law so his wife could do the same. He called his two sons and daughter forward and introduced them to the people immediately surrounding them. One by one, everyone hugged or shook hands with the new arrivals.
Moments later, her father came upon them.
‘Auntie Mumtaz. It’s lovely to see you.’
‘How are you, Ahsan?’ While Daadi didn’t sound her usual warm and cheery self, she wasn’t outright cold.
‘Good, good. This is my wife, Huriya, my two sons, Anwar and Habib, and my baby girl, Sakina.’
Said baby girl – who was around fifteen years old, Reshma knew – didn’t look too pleased with her father’s description of her.
Daadi looked over everyone, bestowing a smile on her father’s family after she greeted them individually. ‘It’s nice to meet you all.’
Reshma wanted to move further back and not have to do this, especially with everyone watching, but she knew she didn’t have a choice. It had only ever been a matter of time before she would come face to face with her father and his family. They did share an extended family after all.
She’d met his wife before – who had made it clear that she’d rather she wasn’t referred to as the stepmother – and seen his sons and daughter too.
But this was the first time they were meeting each other in such close quarters and after a considerable period of time.
When Uncle Jawad had invited them all to Reshma’s wedding, only her father had turned up, saying that the others were away visiting his wife’s family and so they couldn’t come, something Reshma had been somewhat relieved by.
She swallowed to ease the dryness in her throat as her father stepped forward.
She felt Zafar’s hand move away from her elbow and her traitorous body instantly mourned the loss of contact.
Even if it was Zafar, and with all the problems they had between them, at least she hadn’t felt completely alone in the moment.
She curled her fingers in on themselves, but in the next moment she felt them being prised apart as Zafar intertwined his fingers with hers, linking their hands together.
She chanced a quick glance his way and he gave her a reassuring smile, a corner of his mouth lifting as his eyes softened, their focus solely on her. He squeezed her hand at the same time and Reshma felt a warmth imbue her as she turned to face her father once more.
‘Reshma, my dear, how are you?’ Her father had one hand in his pocket as he rocked on his heels.
She caught sight of Uncle Jawad and Auntie Bilqis over her father’s shoulder and her aunt smiled at her reassuringly while her uncle winked at her.
The unease in her gut settled some more and she looked at the man standing in front of her again.
He looked the same as he always did, smartly dressed with not a hair out of place.
His closely trimmed beard had a bit more grey in it, but aside from that, she couldn’t see any major difference from the last time she’d seen him.
He held an arm out and Reshma stepped forward for a side hug, her father patting her shoulder twice before easing back. ‘Hello, Daddy.’
With a nod and nothing more to stay to her, he moved along and his children filed past her with short nods of acknowledgement and then his wife was standing in front of her.
The same woman who had said that she couldn’t raise a twelve-year-old while trying to settle in with her new husband.
She had needed time and then, of course, she couldn’t help a teenager adjust to a new family with a newborn baby to take care of, and so on and so forth until Reshma had realised that there would never really be any place for her in Huriya’s family.
Her father had never fought to have her with him either, using the excuse that she was too old to be displaced from her uncle’s care by then.
‘Hello, Reshma. You look well.’
‘Thank you.’ Reshma wasn’t sure what more she could, or was supposed to, say to a comment like that, so she didn’t say anything. One never knew if it was a genuine comment or a sarcastic one. Well, at least when it came to Huriya, Reshma could never be sure.
‘And here’s my favourite son-in-law.’ Her father’s laugh had a nervous edge to it as he hugged Zafar and thumped him on the back. Zafar eased back, a bland smile on his face. ‘You’ve not met my family, have you?’ He introduced Zafar to his wife and children.
‘Ahsan often tells me about times he’s spent with your father in their youth,’ Huriya said, holding onto Zafar’s hand after shaking it.
Reshma heard Daadi scoff beside her before she covered it up with an elegant cough. She leaned close to Reshma and whispered, ‘Rich, don’t you think? They talk about that, but not about what’s really important.’
Huriya looked towards them sharply, but didn’t say anything before moving away, her daughter’s hand firmly in hers. Daadi’s voice had been too soft for her to have heard anything, but she might have heard her scoff.
Reshma let out her breath in a soft whoosh, refraining from falling to the floor in a heap as her father and his family moved away. She felt her right hand being squeezed and realised that Zafar still held it in his. ‘Shall we head back to the villa?’
She nodded.
Daadi slid her arm through Reshma’s left arm once more and leaned across her slightly, talking to both her and Zafar. ‘I think that’s a fantastic idea. I could do with a sit-down and a cup of tea. In that order.’