I had to stop letting Khaleel touch me so freely, it was starting to give me unsettling thoughts. Sumaya wasn't helping the situation either. After he left us to continue our conversation, she kept insisting that something was going to start up between us. I assured her there wouldn't be anything. I was in no position to date anybody, especially not Jackheights' number one delinquent.
The rest of the wedding went off without a hitch. It looked like everyone had a really great time and I managed to avoid all the scary aunties who were staring me down through the night. Sumaya could hear them talking about me in Urdu but she said it wasn't anything I should stress over. I think the best part about the wedding was watching the newlyweds drive off in their limo. Khaleel told me it was supposed to be a sad moment but everyone seemed pretty happy for the bride. Farha said the bride wasn't crying because she had been married before. I didn't question her logic. She clearly had concerns about a divorced woman taking on another husband.
Kumar offered to drive me home around midnight. Khaleel wanted to come along but his father said he needed him to see the guests off. I didn't hold it against him. Even if we didn't get to spend a lot of time together, I was happy for the experience.
The next morning, Khaleel messaged me to say the Walima would be starting around eight-thirty in the evening. This left my entire morning open for a run. I circled my neighborhood a few times before returning home and jumping into the shower. Mom and I enjoyed lunch together and played a quick game of battleship. She won. It was infuriating but I had no time to be salty about it. By six o'clock, the woman was ready to help me get dressed for Yusuf Abdul's reception. It was rare to see her at home this much but I wasn't going to complain.
I curled my hair yesterday, so I wanted to let it be straight tonight. I wanted less makeup and more pretty bangles. Thankfully, none of them had chipped during the wedding.
"Is this going to be another late night?" my mother asked, lending me another one of her day-clutches. I twirled in front of the full mirror and gave her a little shrug. I was so excited to wear the floral shalwar kameez. It was a lot more comfortable than the lehenga. I especially loved the fit of the trousers. The fabric was light and freeing too.
"I could sleep in these," I told my mom.
The woman shook her head at me. "You will do no such thing."
"Killjoy," I pouted.
Khaleel and Kumar picked me up exactly at eight. I admired the black kurta my date was sporting, it was criminal how well it fit his figure. The three of us shared laughs about the mean aunties I learned to avoid at the wedding and the photos of Khaleel dressed up as Rafael from TMNT. Sumaya didn't waste any time sending them to me today. The ride over was definitely a lot less stressful than yesterday.
When we arrived to the same venue, I was expecting Khaleel to be escorted away again but he remained by my side. It was a pleasant surprise. We entered the hall together and I even got to hold onto his arm, like a real plus one. It was a pretty big deal, considering that men and women were segregated for the Shaddi. Not this time. No, sir! The Walima was a lot more fun.
The bride and groom played traditional games with family and friends. I told Khaleel he should participate but he insisted on staying next to me. Sumaya and Farha joined us halfway through the night and we all ate some amazing food together. Sumaya's other friends, whose names I hadn't learned yet were excited to share a space with Khaleel. I didn't like to admit it
but he attracted a lot of attention to himself. Then I noticed that the aunties weren't the only ones giving us looks, a trio of boys were glaring too.
I nudged my date. "Who are they?" I asked.
"Stay away from them," Khaleel said, casually. "If they try and talk to you, just walk away, or call me. Do not engage. Got it?"
"Why not?"
"Just trust me."
I raised my brow. "I trust you but tell me why."
Khaleel sighed. "Because those are the cousins who beat the crap out of me back in Pakistan. They're also the cousins I went full ape shit on. They're out for blood, and a lot of it, so just stay away from them."
Sumaya picked up on our intense conversation. "What's wrong?" she asked.
I was doing a really bad job of keeping a straight face. "N-Nothing!" I forced a smile, before turning to stare at my plate of curry, rice, and salad.
My stomach churned and that was never a good sign. I didn't know much about the cousins who beat Khaleel up in Pakistan—because he didn't like talking about it—but from what I gathered, they were the reason he became so aggressive. They were also the reason he had severe pain in his abdomen. My eyes flashed up to lock with the three boys again. Ignoring them was going to be hard if they didn't stop staring.
I grabbed my fork and ate what my belly could handle, which wasn't much at that point.