Page 42 of First Comes Marriage
He felt Reshma immediately tense where she sat, her back going straight. His throat went dry and he swallowed hard as he saw Shoaib give Haniya a high five and congratulate her on her choice of question.
‘Um …’ He thought back to when he’d been introduced to Reshma. Both Haniya and Shoaib had been there, but aside from the facts, they wouldn’t know whathis thoughts had been and that’s probably what Haniya was trying to get at. And then, like an animated light bulb switching on in a character’s head, his mind went to another memory.
‘When Uncle Jawad and Zafar’s dad introduced us. Remember? You were there, right next to me,’ Reshma cut in.
Haniya merely smiled back at her sweetly, not the least bit intimidated by the scowl on Reshma’s face.
‘Actually, it was just before that.’
Reshma turned her face to look at him and he watched her frown slowly morph into a look of confusion.
‘We were at the same event, I can’t remember what it was, maybe a birthday party or something. Anyway, I was in the foyer of this venue, pacing a small section of it while I was on the phone and there was a group of children playing on the other side of it. I didn’t realise that while I was walking one way, a toddler had come up behind me and as I turned, he fell back on his bottom. Of course, it was protected by his nappy, but that didn’t stop him from sticking his lower lip out and looking up at me in accusation before letting out an outraged wail.’
Much like everyone else, Reshma’s eyes were glued to him and he saw the moment the penny dropped with her. Her eyes didn’t widen so much as they brightened with the memory and he saw a smile tease the corners of her lips. Her hand, which was still in his, gave a little squeeze and he felt it all the way to his bones.
He had pushed the memory to the recesses of his mind, not so much deliberately, but more as a moment he’d experienced but not thought anything much of until now. Until Haniya had asked him what his first memory of Reshma was. Reshma seemed to have thought it waswhen they’d been formally introduced to one another which meant that until now, she had perhaps forgotten about it too.
‘Oh my gosh, yes, I remember. He was so annoyed with you.’ She giggled and shook her head as she joined in with remembering that moment.
‘You can say that again. I knew he wasn’t hurt, but he bawled as though the whole venue had come crashing down around him.’ He turned to face his rapt audience. ‘Reshma had come through the main doors and saw what had happened. She crouched down in front of the little boy and asked him if he was all right.’
Reshma laughed. ‘It was Auntie Bilqis’ great-nephew. I asked him what had happened as I helped him up and he pointed at Zafar with a ferocious frown on his face and called him a bad man.’
‘Reshma grabbed his hand and blew a raspberry on it when he showed her where he thought he’d been “hurt” and in no time the pint-sized fraudster was laughing with glee as she carried on blowing raspberries up his arm and then moving on to the other arm. She swung him up in her arms and spun him in a circle and that’s when I saw her properly for the first time.’
He’d felt a buzz of something at the time but had dismissed it as a random reaction. He’d attributed it to the moment he’d shared with her and ruthlessly pushed it to the back of his mind, never to be visited again. Until today.
This time when Reshma looked at him, he felt the same sense of awareness, but rather than push it away, he allowed it entry, seeing where it went and how it made him feel. Maybe it was because of where they were, her close proximity, the past few days they’d had or numerousother reasons. He didn’t know why and, frankly, didn’t think thewhywas important. All he knew was that he was happy to stay where he was and let the feeling have free rein.
‘Then what happened?’ Shoaib’s voice broke through the moment he was having.
Reshma looked away, her beautiful face tinged pink as she looked ahead. Zafar faced the other two.
‘She pointed the toddler’s finger at me as she held his hand and pretended to tell me off, asking me to say sorry for bumping into him. The little boy pointed at himself in case I was in any doubt as to who the apology was for as he told me to say sorry too. I shook the little man’s hand and apologised and that was it. He gave me a toothy smile, wriggled out of Reshma’s arms and darted off.’
Zafar remembered standing beside her, watching the little boy run away, then she’d turned to him, a broad smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes, telling him that he owed her one. He’d thanked her for rescuing him and she’d thrown her head back and laughed, her nose stud sparkling in the light. He’d found her charming, he remembered that clearly now.
He even remembered that she’d said that it wasn’t every day she had the pleasure of rescuing six-foot-somethings from someone who wasn’t even three feet tall yet. She’d smiled and then walked into the main hall, leaving him standing there watching after her before his silent phone had sprung back to life and pulled him out of that moment.
‘Oh my God, I had no idea that you two had met before. I thought your first time was that awkward moment in front of the whole family and I thought it’d be funny to hear you recount that. That’s actually a really sweet story. One to tell the grandkids,’ Haniya said, her chin restingon her clasped hands.
The tip of Reshma’s ear which he could glimpse through the loose strands of her hair went bright red and he felt his cheeks heat at Haniya’s words, which was absurd really. They were married, for God’s sake, remarks like that were normal, nothing to blush about.
‘Right, folks. As wonderful as this interlude has been, we definitely need to head back now. Time to pack up.’ Shoaib looked at his watch and then slapped his thighs.
With the late-afternoon sun shining down on the beach, they packed everything up and made their way back to the villas, everyone sporting a smile.
Zafar felt pretty relaxed and he didn’t need to question much as to why that was. Being with Reshma without any other obligations, responsibilities or strings attached was giving him a chance to allow their relationship the space to naturally develop, one day at a time. Sure, they weren’t in a perfect place with each other and he still didn’t have a clear sign from Reshma that she had forgiven him for what had happened, but they weren’t in a terrible place either and he’d take that because it gave him hope. Hope that they could definitely have something more than they’d had up until now.
They went to their respective villas to clean up before everyone was due to meet at the garden entrance where the henna ceremony was to take place. Zafar opened the door to the villa and stepped back to allow Reshma to go in first. She placed her bag on the island and turned to face him.
‘I had forgotten about that day. Neither of us brought it up after that.’ Reshma smiled at him, a happy, open smile, and he felt a sense of satisfaction settle over him to have that honest smile directed his way. One he’d earned andwasn’t for show or an audience.
‘To be honest, I only remembered it when Niya asked me that question. But it’s a good memory.’ He moved closer towards her. ‘I enjoyed today, even though your cousins like getting up to mischief. Although, it’s nothing less than my brothers would do, but I had fun.’
Reshma scoffed. ‘Calling it mischief is putting it mildly. But I agree, the past couple of days have been … they’ve been good. And while we’re on the subject’ – she walked around the island and pulled two glasses out of the cupboard and went to the fridge – ‘I wanted to thank you, for making the effort with everyone and being a good sport, even when my cousins are beingmischievous.’
She came back towards him and held out a glass of juice. He nodded in acknowledgement as he took it, guzzling it down in almost one go.
