Chapter Six
“What?” Sameera said.
“We bought tickets for everyone,” Tahsin explained breezily, as if that were the problem. “Well, not Nadiya.” Again, her parents exchanged a loaded look, and Sameera wanted to scream.
“What is happening?” she said. How did her parents know Tom was traveling to Alaska? She had found out only last night.
“We simply wish to meet the man you are seeing,” Tahsin said.
“I told you, Tom and I are not together,” Sameera said.
“We want to be part of your life, beta. Even the parts you are ashamed of,” Naveed said. Perhaps because the words came from her calm, anxious father instead of her suspicious, prickly mother, Sameera stayed silent. “We can’t lose you again, Sameera. I don’t think we could stand that.”
“When we first found out you were seeing Hunter, it was a shock to learn you had a long-term boyfriend we knew nothing about. We allowed our shock and hurt feelings to ruin our relationship with you,” Tahsin said.
Sameera was stunned by her parents’ admission.
She had no idea they felt this way. So much had been left unsaid during their emotional reconciliation earlier this year.
Sameera could recall every moment—her sister’s coaxing and nagging over weeks; walking into the café where her parents waited, huddled over two lukewarm black teas; bursting into tears and falling into her mother’s arms while her father hovered, wiping his eyes, patting her back.
Their mutual apologies and professions of love followed, and it had all felt beautiful, touching, a balm to her soul.
It wasn’t until much later, when she was alone in her condo, that Sameera realized that while both she and her parents had resolved to do better, to be better, they hadn’t actually discussed what had led to their huge fight in the first place.
Hunter, her feelings, their sense of betrayal .
. . It was all swept under the rug in the name of family togetherness and solidarity—an unspoken agreement that she now realized had left gaping cracks in their relationship.
Clearly, her parents still didn’t trust her judgment—or lack thereof.
They still wanted to control her, to insert themselves into her decision-making, to demand that she live according to their expectations.
Their lack of trust felt like a slap to the face, sudden and stinging. And here they all were, again.
“When I saw the biryani cooking video, I knew you were hiding something from us,” Tahsin continued, the again clearly implied.
“I knew I had to do something about it this time. I looked up Tom online and discovered he was from Alaska. I checked his social media and sifted through his followers until I found his parents. Then I messaged them.”
Sameera stared open-mouthed at her mother. “You stalked my fake boyfriend and looked through his millions of followers?”
“I got in touch with my daughter’s new boyfriend’s family because I was concerned she was in over her head or being taken advantage of,” Tahsin corrected. “After all, it has happened before.”
Sameera’s stomach tightened in response to her mother’s allusion to Hunter. Sensing her immediate defensiveness, Tahsin added, “I would do anything for you, beta.”
Sameera closed her mouth with an audible snap. This was insane. She was in the middle of a bizarro nightmare and would soon wake up, surely.
“Tom’s stepmother, Barb, is a lovely woman,” Tahsin went on.
“When I introduced myself, she immediately recognized you from Tom’s video.
She agreed that you two seemed to be hiding your relationship, though we couldn’t figure out why.
We got to talking, and I suspect that your new boyfriend also does not visit his parents as often as they would like.
In fact, we seemed to have a lot in common. ”
“I’ll bet. What happened next?” Sameera asked. It was like watching a car crash, yet she couldn’t look away.
“I mentioned how much we wanted to visit the beautiful state of Alaska. Barb generously invited us to visit her and Tom’s father, Rob. They live in a charming little village called—what was the name, Naveed?” Tahsin said, turning to her husband.
“Bear Paw?” Naveed asked, wrinkling his forehead.
“Wolf Run,” Tahsin said, snapping her fingers. “Population: less than two thousand.”
Sameera stared at her parents. “You invited yourself over to Tom’s family’s home? For Christmas? In Alaska?” This last came out as a shriek, and her parents winced in unison.
“I would never invite myself where I’m not wanted. Barb extended the invitation, Sameera. Do keep up,” Tahsin said. “And you know your father has always wanted to take a cruise to Alaska to see the icebergs.”
“This will save me the trouble of planning a trip,” Naveed said, as if he could sense his daughter’s head was about to explode.
“No,” Sameera said flatly. “I’m not flying across the country because you refuse to believe me or trust me. No way.”
Naveed placed a gentle hand on his daughter’s arm, and the gesture was grounding. “Beta, we haven’t taken a family trip together in so long. When we told Esa, he was so excited to spend time with your boyfr—with Tom,” he amended. “And with you, of course.”
She sincerely doubted that, but she also recognized what her father was doing.
Frankly, she was amazed he was capable of such a low blow.
Naveed and Tahsin knew she was desperate to mend her relationship with Esa.
A flare of resentment ignited, and she put her head in her hands.
“I have so much work to do,” she moaned.
“Your work is unending, and you need a break,” Tahsin said in a soothing voice. “Besides, Alaska has the internet. You can work there. We’ve emailed you the flight information and will see you at the airport.”
“This is impossible. I can’t leave, not now. I’m in so much trouble at work. You have no idea . . .” Sameera trailed off as her parents stared at her, even more worry and questions clear on their faces. More confirmation that she was keeping secrets, she realized, and quickly changed the subject.
“Does Nadiya know you’re kidnapping me and taking me hostage in Alaska?” she asked, hoping to distract them. I’m in the worst timeline. Wake up, Sameera!
“It was Nadiya’s idea,” Tahsin said. “I called her last night. You know she keeps odd hours these days, all that studying for her dissertation. She was happy to take my call,” she added pointedly.
This made Sameera pause. What was her sister thinking?
“By the way, did Tom mention whether he was willing to convert to Islam? I don’t think his family is religious, anyway,” Tahsin said.
“Mom!” Sameera yelled, and her mother shrugged.
“I can ask him when we get to Alaska,” Tahsin said, standing up. Sameera was immediately consumed with panic. This trip couldn’t happen. Tom would think she was nuts, and her parents complete weirdos. Not to mention they weren’t together. How could she make Tahsin and Naveed understand?
“Please, it’s not too late. Don’t do this,” Sameera ground out.
Her father paused in tying a scarf around his neck. “Don’t shut us out again, Samu,” he said. It was the childhood nickname as much as the plea behind his words that silenced her.
That didn’t stop Sameera from immediately reaching for her phone the minute the door shut behind her parents.
She should call Tom, but he was mid-flight.
She dialed her sister instead. Like her mother noted, Nadiya would most likely be awake, even though it was early in the morning in the UK.
Surely Nadiya would have some answers for her, or at the very least some sympathy.
Except it turned out she had neither. “You lied to me,” Nadiya hissed. She was home this time, inside her tiny apartment near Oxford. On FaceTime, her curls streamed down her back while her eyes flashed with anger.
“No, wait, what are you—” Sameera started, but Nadiya cut her off.
“I asked if you and that Tom Cooke person were together. I specifically asked, Sameera. You lied to my face! I had to find out from Mom and Dad about your new boyfriend. After everything you put us through with Hunter, the minute your situation stabilizes, you’re back to hiding things from the family again. ”
“That’s not what happened!” Sameera cried. Nadiya was her rock. If she abandoned her now, Sameera wasn’t sure what she would do. She had to make her understand. “Tom needed a favor, and he offered to introduce me to—”
“I don’t want to hear it,” Nadiya said, and the expression on her face made Sameera cold. It went beyond disappointment and dove straight into despair. “I can’t do this again. You need to take responsibility for your actions. For once.”
“That’s not fair,” Sameera said.
“What’s ‘not fair’ is trying to console my hysterical mother from thousands of miles away, when she calls me sobbing that my little sister is keeping secrets again!”
Sameera inhaled sharply. This was a gross mischaracterization. Hadn’t she tried to mend the breach between her and her parents and Esa? Hadn’t she shown up, answered her mother’s many phone calls, brought macarons to the Eid party, even sat through Tahsin’s inept matchmaking attempts?
Or would they consider her the untrustworthy family screwup forever, no matter what she did? She felt like the girl who cried wolf. Or in her case, the stereotypical desi girl hiding things from her family forever.
“Fix your shit, Sameera,” Nadiya said, and then her phone screen went dark. She stared at it for a second, shocked. Her sister had hung up on her.
She texted Bee, knowing her friend typically stayed up late. I need you.
Her friend responded immediately. Leaving now.
Sameera dropped her phone to the carpet and let herself cry.
Bee came over an hour later, armed with cookie dough—which Sameera hated—and a bar of hazelnut chocolate, which she reached for immediately. By the time Sameera had finished sharing the story, Bee was a quarter of the way through her cookie dough, and there was a thoughtful expression on her face.