Kamran
'Waiting outside. Hurry up. What's taking you so long?'
Safdar's message showed up on my phone as I stood in the immigration line at Seattle's International Airport.
'I am a brown immigrant man trying to enter the US. Take a guess!"
I shook my head and replied to him as the line inched forward and nervous glances were thrown around by those blessed with abundant melanocytes. I checked my paperwork again. Passport, visa, evidence of me being a student, home address...everything was as it was supposed to be.
Not everything, a small voice inside me sent an unneeded reminder.
Not that anything could be done about my situation. I had gone to Pakistan hoping to send a proposal for Farah, instead I ended up getting my sister caught up in a web of societal hypocrisy and bigotry. I was there when the two rishtas Abu had referred to, showed up in her living room.
One of the mothers' looked at Komal's pictures from her trip to Europe that were hanging in our foyer, and questioned how a single girl could stay shareef (pious) if she was allowed to travel around the world by herself. Ahad and I showed them the door before the chai was even served, or our parents' could object.
The second man supposedly had a garment business, but on further digging by Akbar Bhai and his lawyer friends we found out that he was embroiled in an ongoing court case where he was accused of money laundering.
I don't know how many times I must have prayed for her in the last month. The stress my parents' were putting on her and the guilt that she felt of being a hindrance between me and Farah was eating her up even as she tried to put on a brave face.
"Nexxxttt...", the immigration officer yelled at me from behind the glass wall he was encased in.
Several questions later I thanked the officer, and made my way out of the airport to a very bored looking Safdar.
"Finally", he saw me and threw his hands up in the air, "The bachelor returns"
"Oh look who is talking. At least I have a girl. Who do you have?", I shot back at my roommate-turned-best friend.
He laughed, "My hopes and dreams"
We grabbed some stale airport coffee and I caught up on all the things happening among our friends till we got into his car and he asked me the question I was dreading.
"So, what exactly happened in Pakistan? I was seriously hoping I would have an excuse to travel to Pakistan for your Nikah"
Safdar had been born and brought up in the US, and most of his family resided in North America. So he almost never travelled to Pakistan unless there was a special occasion.
Ordinarily, I would not have spilled my family drama in front of someone who wasn't a family member. But Safdar was almost like a brother to me, and the only one among our friends that I felt comfortable sharing the truth with.
"Well Abu insists I need a job before he would even think about talking to Farah's parents about us. And get this, he wants Komal to get married before me"
Safdar suddenly started coughing as if he was choking on his coffee. Thankfully we still hadn't gotten on to the main highway yet so he was able to pull over to the side.
"Are you ok?"
He nodded, still coughing slightly. Still with a distressed look on his face.
"What happened? Are you allergic to the coffee? Should I call the ambulance?", I asked him.
He gave me a small smile and wiped his face, "You sound like your sister"
For a second I wondered if he had some brain damage due to his choking episode, because his comment confused me, "I sound like a woman?"
"No", he laughed, "Komal does this thing where she fires off questions back to back without taking a breath in between"
He paused, his gaze wandering into the distance, and his voice lowered, "It makes you wonder which question you're supposed to answer first"
"I suppose she does", I admitted, but also wondered how I had never picked up on that but my roommate had, especially since they'd spoken to each other only a handful times.
I drove the car after that in an awkward silence which I also couldn't understand because usually Safdar wouldn't shut up. I figured his throat was hurting so I didn't question him. But it was only after we would reach our apartment that I began to realize that it wasn't really his throat that was bothering him.
"So, have you...uh...found someone for your sister?", he asked me as he stood in front of the open fridge, his back towards me.
"Yaar I don't what's wrong with the men in Pakistan these days. Seriously, all the good ones are hiding under a rock or something. Bechari has to deal with one namoona after another", I laughed remembering the faces she made in the kitchen when Ami would ask her to take the chai and snacks to the living room where potential suitors sat.
He whispered something that sounded like 'maybe they're still studying', but I couldn't be sure.
"What did you just say?", I asked for clarification.
"Nothing", he mumbled again and walked past me into his room.
What has gotten into him?
A minute later he was out again, more irate that I had ever seen him before, "You know what. I can't believe you're pressuring her into getting married, for your own sake"
Confused, I asked, "Who are we talking about?"
"Komal, your sister. Who you should be taking better care of, instead of leaving her to men who couldn't care less about her. She deserves so much more"
It took me a minute of staring at my friend but the light bulb finally went off.
His flustered state at the mention of Komal getting married, his constant hovering around me when she and I video chatted and the sudden interest in vlogging during her trip to Swat, was all starting to make sense to me now. That, and the several times he had asked me why Komal never came to the US.
God, how stupid could I be?
"Do you have someone in mind who would care about her the way she deserves?", I walked closer to him.
He stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall, but didn't make eye contact with me when he slowly shook his head, "No"
"Really? Let me be more direct then. Do you have a thing for my sister?", I inquired again, this time more sternly.
He continued to stare at his feet, whispering, "No"
If there was anyone else in front of me right then I would surely have told him to keep his filthy mind off my sister. But this was Safdar. The guy who I could trust with everything under the sun, and that included respecting my sister.
But it was also a lot of fun to see him squirm, so I kept aggressively questioning him.
"Then you would be ok with her getting married to someone else?"
His eyes shot up at me, his lips pursed, and the look on his face hardened.
"No", he said firmly.
We stared at each other for a moment, when he got that look of dismay on his face again, "Look man...I've never had ill intentions towards your sister, I just..."
"Want to marry her?", I finished his sentence with a grin.
The cocky, self-assured roommate of mine, who I knew better than my own brothers, suddenly turned into a pink puddle of nervousness and forgot how to speak.
"Yes, I mean...no. I can't, till I have a job right? I mean...if that's what uncle wants...my PhD finishes soon, I am applying for jobs", he started pacing around our small living room, "But only if she is ok with it...she's so cool, she may not want anything to do with me at all"
"Yeah, you do need to get a job if you want to convince my dad", I told him truthfully based on the condition my father had put on me and Farah being together, but then something else occured to me.
"You haven't even met her, how did you end up wanting to marry her?"
He finally stopped pacing, "You know, sometimes a weekend in someone's presence is all it takes. and at other times it's four years of hearing about someone through their brother"
A timid smile spread across his face.
"I have never met someone who is so proud of his sister the way you are", he shrugged, "I don't know...I just feel like she must be one heck of a woman"
"She is one heck of a woman, and you are like a brother to me", I admitted, slapping him on his shoulder, "But hurt her and see how I break your bones"
I meant it as a joke then while bear hugging Safdar, but I was dead serious too. I had my sister's back, just like she had mine, and no brotherly best-friend would ever change that.
Great! Now to convince Komal and figure out a way to speed up my wedding's timeline too
I didn't know this at the time, but at that very moment on the other side of the world, Ahad had successfully convinced mine and his brown eyed mystery woman, Maham's, parents to let the two get married and a wedding date was being set, two months from now, in Karachi.
I was obviously going to go to that wedding, and Farah's family was to be invited, which meant I was finally going to meet her after all these years. In the days to come I would be a nervous wreck in anticipation of that meeting, but luckily I got some unexpected help from my oldest brother.
Akbar
A couple of weeks later
"So you know this guy, Safdar?", I asked my youngest brother on the phone.
"I've lived with him for 4 years. Yes, I know him very well. He's the same age as me, is completing his PhD in biomedical engineering soon, is down-to-earth, says his namaz, fasts during Ramazan, and over all is just a nice guy. Plus he actually likes Komal"
"How? He's never met her", I asked him, surprised. Though that reminded me of my marriage too.
As the oldest child of a father as rigid as ours was, I had learnt a long time ago that there was no point in trying to oppose him. So when he said go abroad and become a lawyer, I went to the UK and became a lawyer. When he said marry my friend's daughter, I married his friend's daughter without even meeting her. Lucky for me though, by the end of the first week of my marriage, I had gained a friend I never knew I needed, and a beautiful lover I didn't think I could ever get.
But our sister hadn't been that lucky and now that I was older and living away from my father, let's just say 'I had grown a pair'. And I was determined to not let her meet the fate of some of the women I represented in family court.
"He likes her for who she is, apparently based on what I might have mentioned every now and then in front of him. I am telling you Akbar bhai, Safdar is as genuine a guy as they come these days"
"Ok, I'll talk to Abu, but you handle Komal"
"Deal"
I was about to hang up when I remembered the other issue I wish I had been present for when Abu was throwing his usual tantrums.
"What about you and Farah? What's happening with you two?"
I heard the kid sigh on the phone, "Nothing...nothing at all"
This is ridiculous
"Ok, you know what, let me handle this. It's high time I make a trip to Islamabad"
*******
"Assalama Alaikum Abu", I sat down to lunch with my father as my mother hovered over me, putting food on my plate and fussing around me like I was 5 years old. I could see my wife's eyes rolling all the way in Lahore, but there were some perks of being the oldest that I wasn't quite ready to let go of...just yet.
"Walaikum Asalaam. So what brings you to Islamabad? Do you have a court case over here?", Abu looked at me over his glasses.
Kind of, and you're the judge of that court!
"Nahi Abu, just wanted to come and meet you and Ami", I smiled at my parents as they both gave me a suspicious look, "Aap ko Ahad ki baat paki honay per phir se mubarak ho" (Congratulations again on Ahad's marriage getting finalized)
"Khair mubarak", Abu's face finally relaxed, "Shukr hai tum dono ki tou achi jagaa aur time per shaadi ho gayi hai. Ab wo do nikammay reh gaiye hain" (Congrats to you too. Thank God you two have gotten married on time in good families. Now those two useless are left)
Here we go again, I resisted the urge to slap my forehead.
"How are they nikammay Abu?" (How are they useless?)
"Aik ko shaadi kai kabil koi larka nahi milta, aur doosra khud shaadi kai kabil nahi hai", he smirked at Ami and I. (One can't find someone worthy of getting married to, the other is not worthy of marriage himself)
Well, I have news for you
"Then you'll be happy to know that Kamran's roommate is interested in getting married to Komal"
"Kamran's roommate?", my father scoffed, "Woh bhi uss hi ki tarha nikla tou phir?" (What if he turns out like him too?)
Are you for real?
"Phir kya hogaya Abu? Kamran is a well-liked, morally sound man, who is achieving what you wanted him to achieve academically. He is successful in every way, even if he used a route different than what you wanted him to. Then why would someone like him not be worthy of your daughter? Or for Asad Uncle and Mariam Aunty's daughter, for that matter?" (So what Abu?)
"He has disappointed me enough times...", Abu started to say, but to my surprise Ami who had been quiet this whole time interrupted him.
"Tanvir aap ziyadati kar rahein hain Kamran ke saath" (You are being unfair to Kamran)
"Begum, it is my duty to protect this family from failures..."
Kamran had failed a few times in school, and for some reason our father just could not let that go. But I had had enough.
"And Abu whose duty is it to protect this family from failure in the hereafter?"
"Iss ka kya matlab hai?" (What does that mean?)
"For four years Kamran and Farah have liked each other. They have respected their boundaries so far, but they are going to meet at Ahad's wedding soon. What do you think will happen when they do?", I pointed out.
I trusted my brother to not cross any boundaries but my words seemed to have made my father pause and that was enough for me to make my next point.
"Jab larka aur larki raazi hon tou Allah ka bhi hukum hai ke Nikah mein deir nahi karni chahiye hai. Kya aap Allah ke hukum mein rukawat banna chahtei hain?" (When a girl and boy are ready, Allah decrees that there shouldn't be a delay in their Nikah. Do you want to stand in the way of Allah's decree?)
"Of course not, but Komal's wedding..."
"Jab uss ki kismet mein ho ga, uss ki shaadi bhi ho jaye gi InshaAllah", my mother replied to her husband, before I could even open my mouth, "Waisay bhi aap hi sab ko kehte hain ke Akbar bohat samjhdaar hai. Ab aap khud kyun uss ki baat nahi maan rahe?"
(When she is meant to get married she will get married. And by the way, you are always telling everyone how smart Akbar is. Why are you not listening to him yourself now?)
And with that I fulfilled by duty as the older brother.
But I didn't leave my seat till I was sure that Ami and Abu would send a proposal for Farah on behalf of Kamran. If he was still studying, so was Farah. And they promised they would stop pressurizing Komal to get married before her twin. Safdar sounded like a amazing guy, but with Ahad's wedding and Kamran's rishta talks, there was no need to rush Komal's rishta as well.
Abu insisted that rishta talks needed to be between the eldest of the families. And since Farah's grandmother was the eldest in their family, and also happened to be the one because of whom our families were distant relatives, it was decided that Abu and Ami would call Farah's Nano.
Now, I hadn't met Farah's Nano in a long time. From what I remembered though, she was a vibrant, progressive woman. And so when I headed back to Lahore I was sure that the rishta talk would go smoothly. In fact, I even woke Kamran up in the middle of his night and congratulated him.
I just hadn't anticipated the communication breakdown that would happen because of spotty cell phone service and Nano's deteriorating hearing with old age.
Mariam
"Ami aap chai piyain gi?", I asked my mother as we sat down at the dining table that evening. (Do you want tea)
"Nahi, Farah abhi nahi aayee hai college sai", Ami replied without looking up from the sweater she was knitting. (No, Farah isn't back yet from college)
"Ami I am not asking about Farah, I am saying do you want to have chai?", I shook my head and spoke louder and more slowly.
"Tou phir Farah, Farah kyun kar rahi ho?", Ami shot me an irritated look, "Of course, I will drink chai. Yeh koi pooch ne waali baat hai?" (Then why do you keep saying Farah, Farah) (Is this something to even ask?)
Oh Ami, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at her.
For months now Farah and I had been trying to convince Ami to have her ears checked out and get a hearing aid if needed. But she had refused to even consider going to a doctor, calling them quacks, blood-suckers and money-minting machines, as soon as we tried to bring it up. Completely ignoring the fact that her own granddaughter, who she was extremely proud of, was also becoming a doctor.
"Ji Ami", I dutifully nodded, knowing full well that my mother would never own up to her hearing problems, because that would only signify that she was getting older and more reliant on us. And that was not acceptable to her overly independent self.
Her cell phone rang and I reached to pick it up, but she gave me a deathly stare so I accepted the call from an unknown number and handed it to her.
It's probably a promotion of some useless product anyway, I told myself.
And that's what it seemed like initially when she nodded and hummed while I got busy with reading the news on my phone. Two minutes later she hung up.
"Kon tha Ami?" (Who was it?)
"Tanvir aur uss ki begum" (Tanvir and his wife)
"Oh, what did they want?", I sat up in my chair in anticipation.
"Aglay mahinay Karachi mein un ke Ameriki betay ka Nikah ho raha hai, kissy Maham se. Farah aur hum ko woh invite kar rahai thai", she answered confidently and immediately went back to her knitting. (Next month in Karachi their American son is having a Nikah done to some Maham. They wanted to invite Farah and the rest of us)
How is that possible?
They only had one son who had gone to the US, Kamran, who wouldn't stop chatting with Farah on our trip to Naran. And a couple of years ago she had let it slip to Ami that there was someone she was interested in who was not a doctor. That had convinced me that we would be hearing from the Tanvir family about a rishta for our Farah.
"Ami are you sure, she was talking about Kamran?", I probed my mother again, much to her annoyance.
"Haan, haan. Kitni dafaa eik hi baat kahoun gi? Kamran hi hai na jo Ameriki hai?" (Yes, yes. How many times am I going to say the same thing? Kamran is the one who is American, right?)
"Umm...ji", I replied to her reluctantly, still trying to make sense of what might have happened between the Naran trip and now that my daughter's hopes had to be dashed.
"Phir Kamran ka Nikah Maham se ho raha hai. Ab mujhe kaam karne do", she reiterated leaving me part stunned and part worried about my daughter. (Then Kamran is having a Nikah done with Maham. Now let me work)
"Ami, could you please not tell Farah about this", I raised my voice, so I was sure she heard me, "She is on a really tough rotation next month and I don't want her to get distracted"
I wasn't worried about Farah not finding someone else, but I had liked Kamran and his family. They seemed like the kind of people who would take good care of my only daughter.
Poor Farah, her meeting with Kamran will be so awkward now
Maybe I should just tell her before hand, or not take her to the wedding at all
-----------------------
Aah...so Safdar likes Komal. And we all know how Komal feels!
Akbar Bhai for the win! Siblings helping siblings is becoming a running theme in this book.
And lastly, what do you think was said on the phone to Nano, vs what she actually heard? Here's a hint from the the last chapter and this: Maham is born and raised in America for the most part, so she is the one who is actually an American, not Kamran.
Anyway, not planning to drag this story on, so don't despair. The KamRah moments you've been waiting for are coming soon!
Thanks for the votes and comments!
For my regular readers, really appreciate you guys. Keep reading, and I'll have a special reveal for you at the end ❤❤