COVER STORY
“Congratulations.” Sameer’s voice sounded very cheerful on the phone call. “I should have congratulated you earlier, but better late than never.”
“Thank you,” Hina said, holding the phone closer to her ear.
“Thank you,” Ray spoke up from the background. He usually chaperoned the phone calls silently, but chose to respond to Sameer’s congratulation of his wedding.
“We should talk sometime,” Sameer said with a lot of interest. “Catch up on everything I’ve missed with you while I’ve been talking to Hina.”
“You are talking to me here,” Hina said firmly, and Sameer laughed.
“Yes, I remember,” he said.
“I don’t think we’ll meet at the wedding,” Hina said.
“No,” Sameer said. “I don’t think so, either.”
“I’m really excited about it, though,” Hina said. Ray raised his eyebrows at her. Hina responded by kicking him in the legs. “It’s going to be fun.”
“I bet it will be,” Sameer said. “Have you decided your clothes and things?” Then, through Hina’s laughter, “That’s what girls care about, right?”
“Yes,” Hina said, suppressing her laughter. “I just didn’t expect you to ask about it.”
“You must be busy talking about all that with those friends of yours, huh?” Sameer asked.
Hina paused. Ray poked her in the side, sharply. Hina tried poking him back, failed, and said to Sameer, “Yes, of course. All the time.” Ray landed another poke. This time Hina didn’t try poking him back.
When the call ended, Hina sat there for a while, lost in thought. Then Ray spoke up. “You’re pretending you’re happy to Sameer, just so he doesn’t ask why you can’t congratulate your own brother on his wedding?”
“I can congratulate you,” Hina said, straightening up. “I congratulate you. Congratulations on your wedding!” She ended her exclamation with a loud thump on the bed.
“That is the most forceful congratulations I have ever received,” Ray said, “but I’ll take it.” He grinned.
“You’re really happy all of a sudden,” Hina said.
“Of course I am,” Ray said. “You just congratulated me!”
“I can do it again,” Hina said, grabbing the nearest pillow. “Congratulations!” she landed the pillow straight on Ray’s head.
Ray pushed the pillow off his head. “Like I said, the most forceful congratulations,” he said. “Though you do seem to be listening to Sameer.”
Hina stopped in the middle of going after the pillow. “What do you mean, I’m listening to Sameer?”
“Sameer seems to have a good effect on you,” Ray said. “He congratulated you about my wedding, which led to you finally congratulating me about my wedding. I think what he said about your friends will pay off too.”
“What did he say about my friends?” Hina asked.
“He said you’re discussing wedding preparations with them,” Ray said. “He doesn’t know that you’ve been sticking to Ammi duty and ignoring your friends wherever possible.”
“I haven’t been ignoring them,” Hina said. “Well, not that much, anyway. I go meet them when I really have to. Nothing Sameer says is going to change that.”
“That’s what you think,” Ray said.
“We’ll see,” Hina said.
Her phone rang. Hina picked it up. It was a group call from Amani and Gohar.
“See?” Ray said. Hina ignored him and took the phone call out of the room.
**************
“We need to talk.” For once, Gohar’s room was not full of shopping. It looked like it usually did when the three girls met to gossip. Amani looked up from her phone curiously. Hina raised her eyebrows.
“What do you want to talk about?” Hina asked dully.
“I want to talk about us,” Gohar said.
“What about us?” Hina asked.
Gohar hesitated. “Lately, you’ve been very reserved with me,” she said. “I think you’re holding something back that you need to say to me.”
“Nonsense,” Hina said. “What could I possibly have to say to you about anything?”
“See? That’s what I’m talking about,” Gohar said. “You’re avoiding something important.”
“What does it matter?” Hina said. “You don’t want to hear it.”
“On the contrary, I do want to hear it,” Gohar said. “I’m asking for it.”
“You’re asking for a lot of things,” Hina said. “First of all, you’re asking for my tolerance. I can’t tolerate you not being my friend anymore. You just had to go and decide to marry my brother.”
Gohar stared at Hina. “When did I stop being your friend?”
“When you chose Ray over me,” Hina said. “You went and decided this behind my back because you knew I’d have something to say about it.”
Gohar was silent for a while. “Your family might not have kept you up to date with everything, but I just didn’t talk to you before the process was done because my mother told me not to. As soon as it was official, I got back to talking to you straightaway.”
“It’s not about the talking,” Hina said. “It’s about the deciding.”
“You wanted me to ask you first?” Gohar asked.
Hina nodded.
“I...I don’t know why I didn’t do that,” Gohar said, shrugging.
“You don’t know? How couldn’t you know?” Hina asked in disbelief.
“I just got carried away with it all,” Gohar said. “I thought you would be OK with it regardless. I’m sorry. I should have talked to you about it. You’re my friend before I ever even thought of getting married to someone.”
Hina perked up. “I’m your friend first, right?” she asked.
Gohar nodded. “You’re my friend first.”
“Aww, time to hug and make up,” Amani said from the background.
“Shh, Amani,” Hina and Gohar said together.
“There’s nothing to make up about in the first place,” Hina said, smiling. “She’s my friend first.”
**************
Hina walked into the living room in formal wear, twirling her skirts. “My dress just came in from the tailor’s,” she said. “I’m all set for my best friend’s wedding.”
Ray looked up. “Aww, I’m your best friend now?” he said.
“No, Gohar is,” Hina replied.
“What about me?” Ray asked.
“You’re coincidental,” Hina said.
“You sure look happy about it,” Ray said.
“I could be stressed out about it or I could be happy,” Hina said. She gave her skirts another twirl. “I chose to be happy.”
“You finally got there in the end,” Ray said.
“Be careful, you sound like Amani,” Hina said.
“There isn’t that much time left until the wedding,” Ray said. “Happy Hina was desperately needed.”
“I’m never early or late, I’m precisely on time,” Hina said.
To be continued...