The Shades of Spring

The Greet and Talk

"Don't mind the spot on the shirt," he said, causing her to smile a little and dissipating the tension that was building up between her shoulders.
"I didn't notice it tell you mentioned that."

"Oh. Shouldn't have said that then."

"Mhmm..."

She wondered if she was appropriately shy for the event. But try as she may, she just couldn't act any different from how she did all the time. While her feelings for him were surely changing, she was still comfortable in his presence as in that of an old friend and comrade.
Nor did he seem especially bothered; because of course she had no inkling of the mini tsunamis churning in his chest with each second he sat with her getting to know her for marriage.

"Anyway, um....ice breakers?" Ayaan asked before he started. "So there's not much you don't know. You know my name, my college, my lawschool, my...um....city of birth and my family. So....let's just say I'm twenty four going twenty five. My birthday's on July first. I am six foot two inches tall. I like.....law. And I like books."

"Good." She smiled again when she realised she was supposed to go next. "I'm twenty two going twenty three. Five foot eight, though some say nine; I'm not really sure. And....of course I work in the library. I'm following an external course on Software and I hope to graduate by the end of this year In Sha Allah."

"Really? Where?"

And causally their conversation started and flowed into all the aspects they felt they needed to know. About their commitment to Deen, how much of the Qur'an they knew, what they expected in a partner Islamically and about kids in the future. Sidra was immensely enjoying this 'getting to know the groom' business because it helped her discover more about the man who sat in front of her. He was a handsome man but what interested her was the delight in his eyes when speaking of things he loved. Be it his favourite advise from the Qur'an or his hobby of needlework, be it studying law or the best bread his dad baked, Ayaan just made her look forward to enjoying the process with him.
As for Ayaan, he was falling more and more for her with every second that ticked by. She told him quite a lot than he knew before but he looked forward to learning what she didn't tell; to learning how to put a smile on that face, to learning how she felt about Leo Tolstoy; he just couldn't wait to learn her. And of course he was amazed by her choice of words. As a lawyer, he knew powerful words when he heard them. But what she spoke was both powerful and beautiful; she just wasn't limited to one area.
Like the wind.

Lunch was pleasant, as was the family conversation that followed. Jameel, Mas'ud, Amanah and Ayaan sat down in the living room with Hamza keeping them company as the one and only brother of the bride, while Sidra was up in her room on a conference call with Thahani and Sara. Zubair joined the adults downstairs in a call as soon as he got his lunch break.
The adults were just talking to each other and occasionally asking Ayaan a question or two here and there while Thahani and Sara got to know each other better.
Around teatime the real talk began- the couple having both expressed their consent for the marriage- about how soon they could have the Nikah. Sidra was also called down to join in the discussion, sitting by her mother and satisfied with the knowledge he was sitting in the same room as her, discussing their marriage. She was vocal enough to point out things they missed and some constructive criticism. She observed that Ayaan mostly agreed with her within reason and sometimes he'd gently refute her point making sure she understood why he was doing that. Perhaps it was a glimpse of what it may be like later on in her life.
As of present, the main concerns were his upcoming sem exams and her degree program, along with the fact that she was still job hunting. Ayaan agreed that she could continue looking for jobs till the Nikah and that he'd prefer she didn't work after the Waleema. With no objections Sidra agreed because as a Muslimah she knew her role in family life as well as his. Most modern Muslim women would have called Ayaan's statement shallow and typically indicative of male superiority complex. But she was above the feminist sham society was selling. She believed she could rest at home happily while Ayaan provided for her like the maintainer and protector he was instructed to be.

After a very fruitful discussion, the groom and his father left happily with more promises of communication. When Ayaan bid her farewell at the door, she detected an undertone of sweetness she hadn't heard before. But well, who was going to complain?

_____________

"Attack the groom!" somebody yelled from the other side of the fence just before a meaty hand tackled him to the ground. Ayaan wrestled it away and broke into a run towards the gate but Musa coming in from the other side caught up to him and threw a bucketful of water on him; successfully dousing him and freezing him.
"Dudeeeeeee!"

"Chaaaarge!" yelled Kevin and jumped on his back, flattened him and proceeded to smear mud all over his face. With Hafsa conveniently away in Sidra's house, the boys had the Bin Malik homestead for themselves and didn't think twice about ruining the garden. The attacking the groom game had started almost as soon as Ayaan got there. First they ambushed him at the gate and threw him in an inflated pool. Then screaming and laughing, Ayaan begged for permission to discard his shirt and borrow a pair of pants from Musa before returning willingly to the gladiator fight. The other two men also discarded their upper garments, rolled up the pant legs and continued to mercilessly chase the soon-to-be groom around the property. Several hours of mud, snow spray and paint mixed water later they stretched out under the sun with huge grins and heaving chests.

"The brotherhood has lost another one to marriage," Kevin folded two of his three fingers, "and Kevin becomes the last man standing."

"Not lost," Musa reminded him, "just evolved. Unlike you primate."

"Hahahahah. Is the laugh loud enough? Or should I try louder?"

"Scream," suggested Ayaan. "Scream for the rest of the primates to hear."

"So......how did this whole thing come about? I want all the information."
So Ayaan obliged with a grin that kept growing wider and wider, making his friends crack jokes at his expense. He didn't mind. When the sun got too hot, Musa opened the side door and let his friends take turns showering and then escorted them to fix a snack.

"That's what it's all about," Ayaan concluded.

"Mabrook, mabrook!" Kevin announced in his imaginary mic, "Congratulations overdue to this gentleman who has finally made our dear friend Sidra look twice at the same guy."

"Pass the salt. And also, yeah. I can't believe no one saw it coming. Ayaan and Sidra....what a nice ring to it!"

"Many thanks Bin Malik."

They kept talking about it so much Ayaan wondered if the girls were speaking as much. That put a smile on his face. The next big question was when Kevin was going to start training in the border camps and if the Nikah could be done before it. Kevin sincerely hoped it would be early enough for him to attend and leave, because he didn't want to miss it for the world. Sidra held a very special place in her heart and to share that special occasion with her wasn't an honour granted to many.