Chapter 9
AREZOO
The house was bursting at the seams.
It had been designed for three immortals to share, but now it was home to a family of four, and today it was hosting a pre-wedding celebration, or rather a combination of a hair and makeup studio and a bachelorette party.
It was loud, chaotic, and Arezoo loved it.
What she didn't love was sitting for so long while Angelica applied her makeup.
The stylist was striving to create a masterpiece everyone would gush over, and Arezoo was not opposed to the idea in principle, but she hadn't expected it to take so long.
Her makeup for the cocktail party had been done in half the time.
Her mother was standing by the dining room window with her arms crossed, watching Arezoo's reflection in Angelica's portable mirror and not saying anything, which meant she was about to start crying, which was bad because Soraya's crying would set off a chain reaction, and Angelica would have a meltdown.
She had been very specific about no crying until after the wedding ceremony.
They all had to be beautiful and perfect at least until then, so she could showcase her craft.
Even after all the preparation, it still felt surreal that her wedding day was finally here, and as Arezoo imagined herself walking toward Ruvon across the village green, a wave of anxiety surged through her, not because she wasn't ready to become his wife, but because everyone would be looking at her.
Taking a deep breath, she shifted her focus to her beautiful wedding dress to calm her nerves.
The cut was A-line, with a fitted lace bodice whose patterns reminded her of frost spreading across glass.
Below the waist, the lace gave way to layers of light tulle that shimmered and floated with every step.
Sheer sleeves ran down to her wrists, and small pearl buttons traced a line down the back of the bodice.
It was a true masterpiece, so even if Angelica couldn't achieve a miracle with the makeup and turn Arezoo into a princess, the dress would.
"I need to check on the kids," Rana said. "I don't trust the boys to dress the younger children for the wedding. I'm afraid of what I'm going to find."
"Half-naked toddlers and ruined shoes," Jasmine supplied.
The boys were currently next door at Rana's house, where the rest of the cousins had been corralled. The older boys had been put in charge of dressing the younger ones, which had seemed like a reasonable plan at first, but upon further examination, not so much. Rana was right to be worried.
A few minutes after she'd left, the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it." Donya jumped to her feet.
Arezoo heard the door open. Heard a pause. Heard Donya gasp and then utter something that sounded like a squeal.
"Maman," Donya called. "Maman, you have to come here."
Soraya turned from the window. "What is it?"
"Just come."
Arezoo wanted to turn around and see what the commotion was about, but Angelica's hand on her chin was holding her face still. "Don't you dare move."
"Surprise." It was a voice that Arezoo hadn't heard in months.
Then the front door banged against the wall, and Arezoo heard her mother squeal even louder than Donya.
"I have to go," she pleaded with Angelica. "Five-minute break."
"Fine." Angelica let go of her chin, and she was on her feet before the stylist could change her mind.
Kyra disentangled herself from her sister's arms and smiled at Arezoo. "Look at you, such a beautiful bride."
"I can't believe you are here," Arezoo said. "When did you get back?"
"Just now. I came straight over here." She reached for Arezoo's hand and pulled her in for a gentle hug. "I don't want to ruin your makeup or your hair."
Soraya was crying now, the happy news kind of tears, which were very different from the bad news tears. The bad news crying was silent. The good news crying involved her shoulders shaking and her hands gripping whatever was nearest.
"Your face is ruined." Angelica walked in, gesticulating angrily with a makeup brush. "It's too late now, so keep crying, but this is the last time I’m fixing this. After that, I'm charging extra by the hour."
Soraya just cried harder, but not because of the additional charge Angelica had threatened. Not this time. Now she was crying because she was overwhelmed with emotion, and Angelica had given her the green light to sob to her heart's content.
Yasmin arrived to join in the reunion, crushing Kyra to her chest. "How long can you stay?"
"Through Sunday. We fly out Monday morning."
"Max came?"
"He took the luggage to our house and will then head to Ruvon's place to hang out with the guys."
Parisa walked in with a pin in her teeth. "I almost stabbed Jasmine in the leg." She took it out and pointed it at Kyra. "Shame on you for not telling us you were coming. You could have at least called from the plane."
"I told her to text," Jasmine said. "She wanted to surprise all of you."
Kyra turned back to Arezoo. "You look beautiful. And terrified."
"I'm not terrified. It's just how my face is."
Kyra turned to Angelica. "What did you do to her face?"
"I'm not finished," Angelica said. "Be done with your reunion, so I can get back to it."
"You've changed so much," Kyra said. "You are a different person than the girl I saw before heading out."
"I'm getting married," Arezoo said as if it explained everything, and in a way it did.
Ruvon was responsible for her transformation, he and Drova.
Kyra, on the other hand, hadn't changed at all. She still looked like she was in her mid-twenties despite being her eldest aunt, because she had been an immortal for over twenty years.
"Yes, you are." Kyra flashed her a bright smile.
"Back to the chair!" Angelica ordered Arezoo and then turned to Kyra. "If you want me to do your face, let me continue hers, or I'll never get to yours."
Kyra saluted her. "Yes, ma'am."
Arezoo went back to the dining room.
Kyra and Jasmine followed, and Soraya followed Kyra, and the greetings and hugs continued until everyone got their turn.
The room had reorganized around the new arrival, with Soraya standing closer to Kyra than to anyone else. Yasmin was leaning against the doorframe to the kitchen, and Parisa had abandoned the hemming and was sitting cross-legged on the dining room floor with Jasmine.
"Where is Rana?" Kyra asked.
"Next door at her house, supervising the dressing of the younger children," Soraya said. "The boys were in charge, but she wasn't sure she could trust them with such an important task."
Kyra chuckled. "She was right not to."
Arezoo watched her aunts in the mirror and felt the butterflies settle inside of her.
The wedding was real. The dress was in her room, hanging on her closet door.
The village green was decorated, and Ruvon was getting ready in his house, probably smoking a cigar with his friends, and in a few hours she was going to walk across the village green in front of their family and friends, stand next to him, and become his wife.
This was real, too. Her family was gathered around her to support her and encourage her on this most important day.
She looked at her sisters, who were arguing about a playlist. She looked at her aunts, who were crowding round a dining table, and at her mother, who was standing close to Kyra and holding her hand as if she feared that her sister would disappear once again if she let go of her.
They were all there for her.
"So, are you girls seeing anyone?"
For a moment, Arezoo thought that Kyra was asking Donya and Laleh, but she was looking at Parisa and Soraya.
Parisa rolled her eyes, Yasmin made a face, and Soraya turned and gave Kyra 'the look.'
"Don't start," Soraya said.
Kyra huffed. "If I don't push you, you will never turn immortal. You are not getting any younger."
"It is Arezoo's wedding day," Soraya said. "It's not about us."
"It's okay," Arezoo said. "I don't mind. You can talk about that."
Her mother and aunts had been avoiding this conversation whenever the subject came up, and she had been waiting for someone to corner them on it. Kyra was probably the only one who could.
"Traitor," Parisa muttered.
Kyra wasn't in the mood for a fight, though, and chose to change the subject by refocusing on Drova, who had been minding her own business and reading on her phone.
"Are those combat boots under the bridesmaid dress?" Kyra asked.
Drova lifted the hem of the red dress to reveal her black, shiny boots that were laced to the top of her calf. She'd gotten a new pair for the occasion and was quite proud of her fashion sense.
Arezoo hadn't argued. She considered Drova wearing a dress a victory. To ask for more than that would have backfired.
Yasmin snorted, and Parisa sat up to look.
"You can't be serious," Soraya said.
Drova arched a brow. "Of course I am. I'm always serious."
"It's a wedding."
"They are new. They are shiny. I bought them for this. That was my compromise."
Arezoo couldn't turn her head because Angelica was applying mascara to her lashes.
"She warned me weeks ago," she said.
Her mother huffed. "And you didn't insist she wear something more suitable?"
"I pick my battles."
Kyra laughed.
"I should have thought of that. I am wearing heels, and I can barely walk in them. I am going to be miserable dancing, and Drova is going to be the only woman in the room who can run if we are attacked."
"Why would we be attacked?" Yasmin asked. "We are in the most secure place on the face of the Earth."
That was an exaggeration, but the village was pretty secure, and no one was expecting an enemy attack.
The worst that could happen was that it would start to rain, and the boots would be an advantage then as well, but if that happened, footwear would be the least of Arezoo's problems. The wedding would need to be canceled because they didn't have a tent.
"You can still switch to boots," Drova offered.
"I would gladly do that, but my sister would kill me if I did."