Fibs and Fables

Chapter 6

Mariam watched in rapt fascination as Meerab led her out of the living room in search of a better spot for their wedding planning and discussions. She held her tablet tightly to her chest as her eyes roved over the centuries-old paintings, antique pieces, and majestic portraits. The whole of Malik Manor followed a dull, reddish tone in its décor. From the vibrant red brick walls in the courtyard to the crimson upholstery, fiery red set the tone for festivities.

From the looks of the décor, Mariam inferred that the Maliks were going with a more traditional color palette as opposed to the trending pastel scheme. It seemed that they were both on the same page. Meerab walked into a smaller, almost hidden courtyard with Mariam trailing behind her. She gasped in awe as she looked around the little haven of nature. The brick walls were covered in intricate vines of climbing jasmine, their intoxicating scent permeating the air.

Her eyes trailed over the thick vines, spotting the dainty jasmine buds. She longed to see how they would look at night, in full bloom under the streaming moonlight. Her gaze then shuffled over to the winding butterfly peas and another splash of purple, one she could not name.

She looked over to Meerab, who was dusting off the dried flowers and fallen leaves from the wicker chairs, and calling her over.

"This is beautiful, Bhabi.", Mariam was so lost in the scenery that she did not realize that it was the first time she had addressed Meerab as her sister-in-law directly. But the latter did not miss it, her cheeks coloring a rosy hue in gratitude and companionship.

She looked around with a hint of nostalgia in her voice.

"It is my mother's."

Mariam did not miss the intentional use of present tense.

"She seems to have had a green thumb."

"That she did." Meerab confirmed with a gentle smile.

Mariam sat down, opening her tablet, and headed towards the extensive list of items she had to check off her wedding planning gig. They had hired a team of planners, but the ones Mariam had to finalize were the more significant ones, like wedding joda, the ones that needed the bride's input and would work as a great bonding activity, given that they did not have much time to get to know each other before the big day.

So Mariam had taken it upon herself to curate an extensive list of wedding themes, styles, decor, and designers who were available for booking on the expected dates of the ceremonies. She also decided to make it easy for her brother by getting a general idea of what Meerab wanted her wedding dress to be.

Though nikah and other prewedding ceremonies were primarily the responsibility of the bride's family, given the hurried dates and the fact that Meerab had only landed this morning, they had come to the more practical solution of taking the major decisions, at least the ones regarding guest list and design, jointly. They had also decided to follow a general theme throughout, which meant that at least for the nikah and the walima, both families would have a common designer.

Mariam was both surprised and impressed by Meerab's calmness. Mariam was not one for too much extravaganza, but even she took more than three days to choose an outfit for a friend's wedding and to assemble the jewelry, make-up, and everything else. So when she heard that her brother was getting married in a span of a week, she surely lost her mind. But here, seated before her, was a bride who was getting married in less than four days. They had not decided on her wedding joda or the wedding aesthetic, and this was a situation that would surely lead to her having an aneurism, but Meerab Malik sat with a gentle smile and a gleam in her eyes.

Admittedly, the wedding was more of a political deal, and Mariam genuinely wondered if that meant that the bride did not have the same enthusiasm or expectations as in a normal wedding. Coming to think of it, even though her brother's workload had doubled in the last few days in light of the upcoming wedding and mergers, he had stayed out of the wedding preparations, not a single grumble or complaint.