Chapter 5 #2
‘For crying out loud, Zaf. Spending time with your wife doesn’t mean you’ll fail in all other aspects of your life. You need to get that kind of thinking out of your head. I know your grandfather advocated such thoughts, but you can’t seriously believe—’
‘Let’s not go there, Murad.’ He didn’t want to have that academic discussion just then when there were other things that needed his attention, like the situation with Reshma.
He heard his friend sigh on the other end of the phone and took a deep breath of his own.
‘Give Reshma and your relationship a chance, Zaf. Give it time and attention. All the things you haven’t in the past year. And see if you can surprise yourself and us by actually having some fun while you’re there.’
‘I know how to have fun.’
‘Yeah, OK, grandad. Anyway, as much as I love playing agony aunt, I actually called you for a completely different reason. Two reasons, actually. Firstly, your dad cracks me up. I’m waiting for Ibrahim to snap and tell him that his meetings can easily be emails. Secondly, this hotel deal …’
They spent the next ten minutes talking business, even though his father had forbidden him to do so while he was away.
Murad knew that there were certain things his father wasn’t in the know about and it was more a matter of expediency than control, given that Zafar knew the details of this hotel deal inside out.
‘Oh, and, Zafar?’
‘What?’
‘Don’t forget the simple gestures. They speak volumes.’ And with that, Murad ended the call.
Zafar decided that the best thing to do would be to try to talk to Reshma when she got back. Hopefully they’d be able to come to a better understanding and move on. It wasn’t like her to get annoyed and not even listen. It must have just been the shock of finding everything out the way she had.
With that plan of action in mind, Zafar decided that with nothing else to do until she got back, he’d use the pool.
Zafar had just got out of the shower for a second time in the space of three hours when his phone rang again.
Reshma.
He swiped the screen. ‘Reshma, I’m—’
‘Uh, uh, uh, before you say anything more that’s meant only for your wife’s ears, I’d like to tell you that it’s me.’
‘Daadi?’
‘Yes. I left my phone to charge in my room, so Reshma let me borrow hers. I thought I’d let you know that we’re all at Ruqayyah’s villa, so you can join us. We’ll be having a late lunch shortly.’
‘Yeah, I’m coming.’
‘See? He said he’s coming.’ She was obviously talking to someone else. ‘Reshma was sure you wouldn’t come.’
Well, all the more reason to go, then. He had some making up to do, so it was best to get started sooner rather than later.
He ended the call and after closing the villa up, he made his way to the main one.
It was almost double the size of theirs, with probably four or five bedrooms. The front door was already open when Zafar got there so he headed inside, the cacophony of noise hitting his ears after the last couple of hours of near silence he’d had.
This villa had a separate kitchen in which he could see staff members working away, Reshma’s aunts, Ruqayyah and Bilqis, overseeing all the action.
On his left was a large room dominated by a TV, with kids sprawled on the sofa and the floor.
He went down two steps into a large open-plan area which overlooked a pool and the beach.
The patio was open and he could see Uncle Jawad sitting outside, along with a few other familiar faces.
He spotted Daadi sitting with another elderly lady on the sofa in the lounge area and when he made his way towards them, Daadi introduced her as Reshma’s Uncle Imtiaz’s mother.
They’d only just met, but by the look of them, it seemed as though they were already the best of friends.
But then that was his grandmother in a nutshell – easily befriending anyone and everyone.
Zafar greeted them both and Daadi urged him to go outside and have fun.
Outside, Uncle Jawad bellowed his name across the pool, making everyone turn and look at him. ‘Come here, son. We’ve been waiting for you to arrive.’
Zafar waved at him, looking around the space to see if he could spot Reshma.
Bingo.
She was sitting on a swinging bench with her two cousins, a few others sitting around them. One of them spoke and the rest of them all laughed, though Reshma only smiled. She caught him watching and her smile faltered.
He decided to take Murad’s advice and make more of an effort with her.
Zafar walked to where she was sitting, and as soon as he got there, Haniya stood up and told him to take her place next to Reshma, who barely looked his way.
‘I’m not here to break up the party. I thought I’d pop over and say hello.’
Saleema introduced her friends to him. ‘And this is Reshma’s husband, Zafar Saeed, and you guys have to hear about how he came here to surprise her. O-h m-y G-o-d. ’ She elongated the last three words.
Zafar caught Reshma’s expression and saw the same hurt reflected in her eyes as he had that morning.
God, it felt like ages ago, but it had only been a few hours.
There was no softness on her face, something he’d never seen before.
Reshma was always ready with a smile or an open, approachable expression.
This closed-off vibe was completely new and he was the cause of it and it made him feel dreadful.
‘How was your morning, ladies?’ he asked in an attempt to be engaging.
‘Sooo good. Look.’ Haniya splayed her hands for him to see an array of colours on her nails, each fingernail sporting a different colour.
‘Nice.’
Saleema showed off her pink nails.
He looked at Reshma, who stood up. ‘I’m just going to go and see if they need a hand in the kitchen.’ She moved to walk past him and he blocked her path.
‘Did you have a good time this morning?’
She looked up at him, her eyes glowing with annoyance. She glanced over her shoulder, but her cousins were busy talking a mile a minute with their friends and weren’t paying them any attention, so she looked back up at him.
‘I did, thanks. Despite hearing what I did.’