SAVE THE DATE

Chapter 10

"Aren't you going to sit?" I asked.

He shook his head as he paced the lush green grass. "I need to walk my agitation off."

Warily, I watched his body in fascination. The stiffness in his shoulders, the long, powerful strides of his muscular legs, the constant flexing of his fingers. "He doesn't deserve the right to occupy so much of your mental space, Fawaaz."

He stopped his pacing and stared at me. "I'm not angry, Buttercup. I'm furious that he had the audacity to talk to you in that manner." Fawaaz let out a long sigh and pulled out his lighter. He twirled it in his hands, round and round. "It wouldn't bother me on an average day, but he was in a social setting, in a formal social environment with his son and wife and he disrespected you. What kind of example does he intend to be for his son?"

I sighed and picked at my outfit. "I don't know, Fawaaz. We can't control other people's actions, only our reactions. This guy probably had a bad day, or a bad start to his day and he happened to take it out on us. We were having fun, maybe he is allergic to fun." I shrugged as I looked into his mesmerising eyes. "Don't give him so much power over you that he spoils your day."

He grinned cheekily at me as he decided to sit on the far end of the bench. "Oh, my Buttercup, this fool can't spoil my day. I am only here for you. You, and only you. Him being rude to you just annoyed me."

The bold admission had me shocked speechless.

Fawaaz laughed. "Yeah, nothing to say? That's how I feel around you, like my brain is lost and my mouth is on autopilot. Half of the time I am surprised by what comes out, but this is something I am saying in full consciousness: I know you are the person I want to spend my life with. So, I am asking you for a picture that you think is suitable of yourself. I want to show my parents what their daughter-in-law looks like."

"Dude, do you ever think about the words that fly out of your mouth?" Zareef asked, his jaw hanging.

I turned to find our friend groups walking towards us.

Fawaaz let out a deep, tired sigh. "Well, there goes our peace."

I giggled.

"But seriously, do you ever hear yourself?" Zareef questioned. "That sounds very creepy."

"You haven't even taken her on a date. Have you met out of this wedding? No, so you need to step shit up," Muaaz added unhelpfully.

Fawaaz stood up and gave his seat to my friends. "Okay, guys, I am feeling very attacked right now."

"Respectfully," Saarah began. "It seems that you are all targeting Fawaaz, not unreasonably, though." She turned to face Fawaaz. "I'm sure that you see great worth in my best friend, which you aren't wrong. She's super, she's amazing and you hardly have scratched the surface of what a wonderful person she is. And while we are happy that you are serious about marrying her, she deserves more than just a few meetings at a wedding to want to marry her."

Fawaaz and his friends had made themselves comfortable on the grass before us. We had offered to go to someplace else where we could all sit comfortably but it was declined as Fawaaz responded to Saarah.

He nodded. "I know, and if I weren't constantly interrupted by everyone, I would have loved to convey that to her. I would love to talk to her and spend time with her – with her chaperones, of course, - and actually get to know her. But I want to clarify to her that I see myself married to her. I see us spending the rest of our lives together, if that is something that she wants." He inclined his head towards me and nodded. "Because I know that if it's not her, it's not going to be anyone else. I know she's the one for me, the way I know that the sun will rise tomorrow."