Chapter 23 #2
There was so much unspoken between them. So much hurt, sadness, guilt. But Zafar was determined not to waste this chance.
They spoke long into the night. Safiya’s husband, Ejaz, had left her for the night, as was his way, according to her, and his mother was more than happy to cover up her son’s faults, no matter what their impact was on someone else.
‘I can stay out and no one will care. So long as I’m there to keep up appearances when the spotlight is on them, they’re not bothered.’ There was resignation in her voice.
‘Where the hell would he have gone?’ Zafar was shocked to hear the truth of Safiya’s marriage – the one their grandfather had forced and Zafar hadn’t been able to prevent.
‘To any number of dives in the area. I’m past caring. He stays out of my way and I stay out of his.’
‘So, why the hell are you still there, Saf? Why haven’t you packed your bags and come home?’
‘What was I supposed to come home to, Zaf? It’s been six years.
I couldn’t even bring myself to say hello to you or Daadi today and you think I should have packed my bags and come home ?
’ She scoffed, but Zafar heard the helplessness in her voice crystal clear.
She didn’t think she had a home to come back to.
Their grandfather had made that quite clear to her when she’d got married.
Her place, as far as he was concerned, was with her husband and that was it.
Well, it was time to tell Safiya that things had changed since then. Significantly.
‘That has been, and will always be, your home, Saf. You come whenever you want. And if you need me for anything – and I mean anything – you just say the word. It’s time the wrongs of the past were righted as best as we can. There’s a long way to go, I realise that, but it’s not impossible.’
She nodded and smiled but didn’t say anything in response to him. He knew it would take her time to process seeing them. It would also take her time to process the stuff they’d spoken about.
He filled her in about Ashar, Ibrahim, Rayyan and Haroon and then asked her about Qais. ‘I’ve not heard from him or seen him since the day he walked out of the front door. It’s like he’s just disappeared. Is he in touch with you? How is he?’
‘I’ve not spoken to him in a while myself. I spoke to him after he left home. He had no concrete plans, but I know he wasn’t in a great place. Over time, I’d hear from him occasionally until he just stopped getting in touch. I think … it might have been around two or so years ago.’
Around the time their grandfather had passed away.
Zafar knew that now that he’d spoken to Safiya, he needed to reach out to Qais. He wanted his family whole again.
When Safiya yawned a few times, they decided to call it a night.
He walked Safiya back to her villa and when he returned, Zafar felt too wired to sleep and he didn’t want to disturb Reshma, knowing she’d had a long day.
He decided to use the pool, hoping that the repetitive rhythm of his strokes would help him relax.
There was so much for Safiya to process, but he had a lot to think about too.
He’d told Safiya that she was free to come home for a visit, or more, whenever she wanted and they’d determined to get hold of Qais too.
Maybe his uncle and aunt would have some idea of their son’s whereabouts, though they too kept everyone at an arm’s length.
Inevitably, Zafar’s thoughts went to his grandfather.
How could one man, who he’d thought of as one of the best, have got something so wrong?
And the worst part was that his grandfather had had plenty of opportunities to stop matters from escalating, but he hadn’t.
He’d set a course and stayed true to it at a cost they, as a family, were still paying for.
But then that was the same man who had taught Zafar so much about his work and education, that had helped him reach heights he didn’t think he would have without that guidance and certainly not at the young age he had.
His grandfather’s direction and leadership had held Zafar in good stead and that was something he couldn’t ignore.
And he’d loved and respected him wholeheartedly. He had done everything in the first twenty-five years of his life to please his grandfather and make him proud. He couldn’t just forget all of that.
The hotel project in London was Zafar’s way of giving a tribute to that aspect of his relationship with his grandfather.
It was about celebrating the best parts of him and acknowledging that he had loved and respected him.
If his grandfather hadn’t done some of what he had, like pursuing his dreams for the family business as ruthlessly as he had, the family wouldn’t be enjoying the fruits of his labour to this day.
He’d handed that responsibility to Zafar, wanting him to preserve and continue that legacy.
And that’s what the hotel project would be.
Zafar was also keen to ensure that the family got a new start and could move away from the shadows of the mistakes and flaws of his grandfather and the past, moving forward together.