Chapter 12
Reshma
Two days after the arrival of Ahsan Mir and his family, the brother of the bride hosted a games night in honour of his sister and future brother-in-law.
The central garden, which was surrounded on three sides by hedges and was rectangular in shape, had been set up with various games and groupings of chairs for those who wished to spectate.
Through an archway on one of the sides was another smaller paved terrace, on which buffet tables had been set up with a steady supply of food and drinks for the evening.
Reshma walked through the entrance of the garden with Haniya, watching the finishing touches being added to the space. There were fairy lights and colourful lanterns lighting up the garden, with two fire pits in opposite corners.
Energetic music was already pumping through the speakers, adding to the party atmosphere, and with people spilling into the garden one after the other, it didn’t take long for the party to get started.
Young children rushed for the giant snakes and ladders and connect four and Reshma saw Uncle Imtiaz make a beeline for the chess table.
‘What are we playing first?’ Haniya asked as she looked around with wide eyes.
Reshma spotted a mat to her left and grabbed Haniya’s arm, pulling her in its direction. ‘Here. Let’s play noughts and crosses.’
In no time, the pair of them were in hysterics, falling over each other and pushing each other out of the way, flagrantly ignoring any rules of the game.
Shoaib and Khalil came and decided to join in with a doubles game, pitting themselves against her and Haniya and they started mucking about even more.
Reshma felt a lightness that seemed to have eluded her since her meltdown in front of Zafar and then more so after her father’s arrival.
She hadn’t spoken to her father since then, though she’d seen him around obviously, because every evening the entire wedding party gathered to have dinner together at Auntie Ruqayyah’s villa.
She was also in a strange place with Zafar where she wasn’t saying anything to him as such, short of what she had to say or if they had an audience, but he was being as attentive with her as she’d always seen him be with others. More than he’d ever been with her before.
When he’d followed her to the beach, after her father’s shock arrival, she’d been somewhat surprised, but that was nothing compared to the surprise she’d felt when he’d held her hand and then held her after she’d given in to the torrent of emotions that had reached breaking point inside her.
It wasn’t just a case of using him because he’d been the only one available.
She’d seen compassion in his eyes, a connection, and at that moment she’d felt a deep need to be held by him and she’d given in to it, something that had later confounded her.
Why she had sought consolation in the arms of the man who had no interest in her, she couldn’t fathom, but it was as if a greater being had pushed their differences to one side and allowed her to seek comfort from him and he’d offered it to her unconditionally.
And then she’d gone on and unburdened herself to him while they’d both sat there watching the waves slowly make their way towards the shoreline.
She’d felt a strange sense of peace after that, but she’d also felt a bit rattled. How was that for a confusion of feelings?
‘Right, what next?’ Shoaib asked of no one in particular, looking around him to see what was available. He spotted the twister mat and made his way towards it.
They followed after him and Reshma saw Saleema, her fiancé, Nomaan, and Zafar make their way towards them.
Saleema immediately put her hands on her hips. ‘I’m not playing this. I can’t afford to fall flat on my face and end up with a black eye.’
Saleema decided to play referee as the rest of them got stuck in, Shoaib and Khalil being their annoying selves and sticking their foot in Haniya’s or Reshma’s face every chance they got.
Haniya flopped out thanks to Shoaib pushing her out of the way and at the next round, as Reshma placed her hand on the red dot at the same time as Zafar, their foreheads touched and, in her panic, she lost her balance and fell.
He smiled playfully while her cousins laughed raucously. Khalil – being a cheat of the highest order – won the game, while Zafar complained about needing to see a physio for his knees, making everyone laugh.
They moved around other games, each of them emerging a victor in one or another before they all decided that they needed a break to refuel.
They sat at a table together, and had finished eating when Khalil said he had an idea.
‘Let’s see how well Saleema and Nomaan know each other.
We’ll ask you questions about your other half and see if you can guess the correct answer.
’ He rubbed his hands gleefully as the rest of them shouted their agreement.
It was so cute to see them sneak glances at each other as they spoke about favourite colours, foods and various other questions everyone asked them off the cuff. Unsurprisingly, they both knew each other pretty well and only fluffed up a few questions.
‘It’s Reshma and Zafar’s turn now,’ Saleema said enthusiastically and Reshma felt her stomach hollow out.
‘Uh, no. It’s not our wedding, it’s yours. You two get to do all the couple stuff.’
‘Reshma’s right. This is your time to shine and soak up the limelight,’ Zafar agreed with her, and the others probably couldn’t tell, but she could see from the set of his jaw that he didn’t want to be put on the spot.
Unfortunately, her cousins decided to band together against them and she and Zafar found themselves sitting opposite each other at the table after a reshuffle and her cousins started shouting out questions for them.
‘Me first.’ Saleema started things off. ‘I’ll begin with an easy question. Reshma, when is Zaf’s birthday?’
‘Third of December.’
Zafar nodded, and before Saleema could ask him the same question, he spoke.
‘Reshma’s is the fifteenth of May.’
‘What’s Reshma’s favourite drink?’ Nomaan asked Zafar.
‘A hot chocolate with all the extras.’
Reshma nodded. ‘Zafar likes coffee best.’
‘These are easy questions. I’ve got one.’ Haniya leaned forward and Reshma held her breath, unsure about what her cousin might ask. ‘What’s Zaf’s pet peeve?’
She exhaled her held breath. The question wasn’t as difficult as she’d thought it might be. ‘When someone calls his name but doesn’t follow it up with anything, or they call after him once he’s left the room. Daadi and Harry do it deliberately for giggles.’
Zafar looked her way and he gave her a small smile as he nodded.
All eyes were then on him. He shifted his weight left and right before resting his arms on the table between them.
‘Umm, Reshma’s pet peeve …’ His eyebrows knit together as he considered the question.
‘I don’t think she has one. I’ve never seen her get annoyed by something. ’
‘Uh-uh.’ Haniya made a buzzer noise to tell Zafar his answer was incorrect. ‘Wrong-o. Reshma?’
‘When some sniffles excessively but won’t blow their nose.’
‘It drives her nuts.’ Haniya laughed as Zafar looked at her pensively.
‘My turn. Zaf, what’s Reshma’s favourite type of cuisine?’ Shoaib asked.
Reshma watched Zafar as he swallowed, his cheeks tinged with colour as he looked at her. ‘Turkish?’ She wondered if he was saying that because it was the closest restaurant to where they lived and they often grabbed a last-minute takeaway from there.
‘Uh, that’s not what I remember, unless her preference has changed after marriage. Reshma?’
‘My favourite food is Italian. Pizza is king.’ She smiled but Zafar didn’t.
His jaw was firm and there was a tension in him that hadn’t been there till now.
This game wasn’t helping, it was making things worse, highlighting the fact that there were simple things about her that he didn’t know.
And while she might not be the happiest with him, she didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable like this, especially just for her cousins’ entertainment.
‘Reshma, what’s Zaf’s favourite?’ She knew he liked Mexican food best and he knew that she knew that. If she gave the wrong answer, he’d guess that she’d done it deliberately.
She was saved from saying anything though, because suddenly, the music switched off and with a short sharp buzz, the lights went out too.
‘Oh.’ There was a collective groan from the gathering and in the next few seconds, phone lights came on, lighting up people’s faces as they held them aloft.
‘I had better go and see what’s happened,’ Khalil said as he stood up and Shoaib followed him.
‘I’m going to go and check on Daadi.’ Zafar moved away too, and in the faint light, Reshma watched him go, the confidence in his stride in complete contrast to how he’d been moments ago when answering questions about her.
She knew it had made him uncomfortable because he hadn’t known all the correct answers. It proved her point that he had no interest in her and he hardly knew her. So why was she feeling bad for seeing him feeling so uncomfortable and dejected?
Once again, Reshma felt conflicted when it came to him. Why she couldn’t emotionally detach from him, she couldn’t understand and it had her feeling on edge.
The lights came on after a short while and there was an audible sigh of relief.
Reshma left Haniya chatting with Saleema and Nomaan and made her way back into the garden where the games had been set up.
She saw Daadi sitting with Auntie Bilqis and Auntie Ruqayyah in a grouping of chairs.
After checking in with them, she looked around but saw no sign of Zafar.
‘Daadi, have you seen Zafar?’
Daadi looked around just as she had. ‘He was here a moment ago, checking if all my fingers and toes are where he left them, what with the power cut. I can’t imagine he’s gone too far.’