Page 58 of First Comes Marriage
‘Yes.’ He opened the door and let her precede him and soon they were on their way.
The restaurant wasn’t far from the villas, in the opposite direction of the beach. They were led to a table by the windows with a small flower arrangement in the middle of it and a low-hanging ceiling lamp that cast a golden glow over the table. It was both cosy and romantic and filled Reshma with hope that it was the perfect place for her to say what she had to.
They settled down and ordered their starters, and as soon as the waitress left them, Zafar took her hands in his, holding them tightly. ‘This is perfect. Thank you.’ He smiled fully at her, showcasing his dimples in all their glory, and Reshma was sure that if she hadn’t been sitting down, she would have felt her knees weaken.
‘I wanted today to be special.’
‘Cheesy lines incoming.’ His smile turned into a playful grin as he winked at her. ‘This whole trip has been special, Reshma. I know it didn’t have the greatest start for us but—’
‘But we’ve moved on from that. I’m happy with where we are, Zafar. I hope you are too.’
‘I am. Without a shadow of a doubt. You’re … you’re something else, Reshma. And what you did with Safiya?’ He shook his head as though lost for words, but Reshma understood his sentiments.
‘You stood by me when I had to face my dad and his family. In fact, you stood up to him for me. I did what I could with Safiya. I knew how much it would mean to her, Daadi and especially you and I wanted to make that happen. It’s what partners do, isn’t it?’
He shook his head. ‘Not all partners. Only the special ones.’
‘And those who love their partners.’
He hadn’t been moving before she’d said those words, but the only way Reshma could describe his reaction was to say that he stilled. He looked at her intently and with some disbelief, so she said it directly.
‘I love you, Zafar. I thought I did before and, to be fair, in a way I did, but it was more with the idea of you. But being here with you and being a part of …us, I’m absolutely certain that I’minlove with you.’
His smile was slow in coming, but when it did, it filled his face with a luminous joy she hadn’t seen before. He moved his hands so his fingers were interlinked with hers and then he closed his fingers over her knuckles. ‘Reshma, I—’
His words were cut off as his phone rang, the ringtone jerking them both out of the bubble they’d been in. He shook his head and unclasped his hand from hers, turninghis phone over on the table. From where she was sitting, it looked like it was Ibrahim calling.
‘I need to …’
‘Yeah, go ahead.’
‘Ibs, what’s up?’
The waitress came to their table with their starters and Reshma moved back as she placed the plates in front of her and Zafar, smiling as she moved away. Reshma looked towards Zafar, whose expression had morphed from relaxed to tense. Tension then escalated to shock on his face before he exhaled deeply, muttering a string of expletives.
‘Why the fuck didn’t you say anything before?’ The anger in his voice was something she’d never heard before and it had worry unfurling within her. What on earth had happened? ‘That wasn’t for him to decide.’ More expletives followed and after a few minutes he ended the call with, ‘Fine. And, Ibrahim? Stay in touch.’ His tone brooked no argument.
He put his phone down and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose, the colour high on his cheeks.
Reshma reached across the table, mindful of the plates between them, and put her hand over his clenched fist. ‘Zafar? What’s happened? Is everyone all right at home?’
He looked up, his jaw firm and his mind clearly in overdrive. As she watched him, his eyes slowly focused on her, and he nodded. ‘Yeah, um … everyone’s fine. It’s just work.’
‘Oh.’
‘There’ve been some hiccups in the last few days with something I was dealing with before I had to come out here, but they didn’t tell me.’
Reshma felt a pinch at his choice of words.Had to come out here. They weren’t a lie, but given that he’d told herthat he felt differently about coming out here, she found the words jarring.
‘Things are looking dicier now, so Ibrahim decided to loop me in, but he’s done it behind my dad’s back because my dad didn’t want him to tell me until I was back home. But it might be too bloody late by then.Shit.’
Reshma wasn’t quite sure what to say. He looked incredibly frustrated and seemed to be half talking to her and half to himself, the food between them completely forgotten. The waitress must have noticed that because she came up to their table a moment later.
‘Is everything all right? To your liking?’ She had a kind smile on her face, but there was a note of worry in it.
‘Yes, everything is fine. Thank you,’ Reshma answered her, and after giving her a short nod, she left them alone again.
Reshma took a calamari ring and, dipping it into the small dish of sauce that had come with it, she offered it to Zafar.
