Page 12 of The Matchmaker

“You’re going to come with me to this one too?”

“Well, duh.”

“What a thoughtful gift, Azar,” says Khala. “I was just telling Nura she needs to take some time off and travel. Do something fun.”

Azar could have plucked me a bouquet of dandelions from the lawn, and Khala would have declared it the perfect gift. Still—I look at the gift card—thiswasthoughtful, and I could definitely use a vacation. And uninterrupted one-on-one time with Azar—what’s not to love about that?

My mouth is full of cake when Nina asks Azar, “Are you still her decoy?”

“Azar is her plus-one,” Khala corrects her.

“There’s steak next weekend,” he says. “Oyster bar too.”

“You should let Nura get started on matching you, Azar,” Khala tells him. “Isn’t it about time you found the one?”

My heart does an involuntary flip, but I go along with it. “Say the word. I’ll even give you a hefty discount.”

Azar laughs. Color rises up his cheeks. It’s not as though I really would have. He knows we don’t match the people we’re close to, and he would never have actually taken me up on the offer, anyway. Serial dater Azar is too much of a ladies’ man to settle down.

“Not everyone wants their lives engineered for them, Nura,” says Nina.

I exhale. Nina can’t let a visit go by without getting a dig in, can she? Before I can say anything, a hand glides over mine under the table. Azar’s not looking at me, but he squeezes gently.Let it go,he’s saying.It’s not worth it.

I squeeze back. He’s right. I’m here because of Khala. Because traditions matter to her, and so they matter to me. There’s no point in getting into a slugfest with Nina.

“Can I work at the agency too, Auntie Nura?” Lilah asks.

Nostalgia tugs at my heartstrings. I’d asked my khala about joining the agency when I was still in grade school. I was mesmerized by her. Her perfectly polished nails. Her hair done just so. In the early days, as I navigated my grief, she let me follow her everywhere—her shadow, she’d teasingly call me. She didn’t usher me out of the room when I eavesdropped on her conversations in the home office. The kids at school would talk about Disney movies, but what interest could they hold for me when I was living with a real-life fairy godmother? Time and again I’d see clients go from downtrodden and desolate to exchanging vows with their perfect partner a year later. When I’d asked to help, she’d gently tried to steer me away. She knew my mother hadn’t approved and she was firm on honoring her wishes for me.Go to college,she’d told me.Find your passion.Except thiswasmy passion. Eventually I wore her down. She saw that I wasn’t only good at the work, I was born for it. Slowly she let me answer calls and transcribe notes. Over time, Ihelped her expand the business. We went from an exclusively desi clientele to serving a diverse and inclusive group of people. I still honored my mother’s wishes and went to college. I gave it my all. Ran cross-country for Emory. Double-majored in psychology and business, and graduated with honors. Then I joined the agency and never looked back.

Before I can reply to Lilah, Nina sets her drink roughly on the table. “Not a chance, kiddo. You are going to have a balanced life, and you will definitelynotbe carrying on old-fashioned traditions that should have died out long ago.”

Khala’s expression falls.

“What is with you?” My voice rises, and even Azar’s hand pressed against mine can’t quell my frustration. “We’ve evolved with the times just like everyone else. You wouldn’t know that, though, because you don’t know anything about what we do.”

She cocks her head and looks at her mother.

“Nura’s right. I have no clue how any of this works, do I? Maybe you could enlighten me sometime about the godsend that is Piyar, the place where true love is guaranteed?” she says mockingly.

Khala fixes her gaze on her half-eaten cake slice. Her lower lip trembles. Anger rumbles through my core. Ninaisjealous, isn’t she? I lean forward to give her a piece of my mind. To let her know that if she looked down so deeply on us, she could pack up and be gone and leave us be. Just because her life hasn’t worked out like she imagined doesn’t mean she can take potshots at the one her mother and I have worked so hard to build. But from the corner of my eye, I spot Lilah. Her shoulders are hunched up to her ears. Her eyes water. My anger evaporates like steam.

“Sweetie,” I begin.

“You won’t believe what happened today,” Azar interrupts.He looks directly at Lilah. “Did I tell you about the patient who came in this morning because he swallowed twenty-five pennies?”

Lilah sniffles. “Not for real?”

“Completely for real.”

He mimes the steps he took to help the improbably hapless patient. A metal detector. A fishing rod. Magnets. His antics do the trick. Soon, Lilah is howling with laughter.

I lift my fork. Only then do I realize my hand is trembling. But it wasn’t because of our argument. And while upsetting Lilah disturbs me greatly, that wasn’t it either.

It’s the look.

The one Nina gave to my aunt. The wordless exchange that passed between them. The quiver of Khala’s lower lip. The expression that crossed her face for the briefest of moments: fear.

Four

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