Strangers Upon Meeting

“You look so lovely Maya!” Aunty Leena smiles in my face. She has lipstick on her teeth.

“Thank you Aunty! I’m wearing the suit you gave me on Eid! I absolutely loved it!” I smile equally wide and watch her wiggle her way to a few other guests.

I am a pretender. I don’t enjoy it, but it makes life easier at times because you don’t need to face up to things. For instance, if I were an honest person, I would tell Aunty Leena that I hated yellow and that I got this suit stitched only because my mother had literally begged me to. I would also tell her that she had lipstick on her teeth.

Fahad comes up to me later that night. I felt like saying, ‘Nice of you to remember me’. But no, I stay silent and smile ear-to ear, again.

“Having a good time?” He asks as he checks himself out in the reflective glass behind me.

“Oh lovely,” I say sipping on some guava juice type of thing.

“You are such a liar,” He snaps suddenly.

“What?” I ask taken aback. I was acting so well! I probably had charmed every aunty in his family by now!

“I’m kidding!” He laughs. “I’m so glad you got to meet the whole extended family today. Anyway, Atif has asked me to come over later for a little get together thing. Do you want to come?”

My mind went blank for a second and then I remembered Him. This would be a perfect opportunity.

“Actually, I’m going to go meet Ash. She hasn’t been too well.” I say with my most concerned look.

“Oh okay,” He nods, “You do that.”

Score!

Ama thinks I am with Fahad and Fahad thinks I am with Ash. Perfect. I park the car outside Meer’s house and opened the rusty gate. The main door was slightly ajar and I inwardly prayed that his mother wouldn’t be around.

My rotten luck.

She sat with a white chaadar on her head, staring intently at the T.V. screen. His brother is sitting next to her staring into space.

I say Salam and she replies first, then registers who I am.

“He’s in his room,” His brother offers as the mother glares at me.

I watch him, as he lies on his bed asleep. I trace over his features with my left hand and he opens one eye.

“What are you doing here?” He asks getting up.

“I came to see you,”

“If someone finds out Maya…” he starts like he always does.

“So let them. Maybe you can take responsibility for me then and marry me.”
He sighs, “I can’t marry you.”

We talk about this everyday. We never end up anywhere with the conversation though.

“Ma doesn’t like you coming over anymore,” He says as we drive along a dark street behind his house.

“You can come over instead then,” I say staring at him.

He fiddles with the radio and then hits his palm hard against the steering wheel.
“Why don’t you bloody move on Maya?” He asks me.

At times like these, I could slap him with all my might. What a retard he is to ask me this.
“Because I love you,” I coo instead.

“What good is that doing to you?” He asks.

He’s right. What good is that doing to me? I accepted Fahad’s proposal hoping this would jerk Meer and he would realize he could lose me one day if he didn’t take me seriously. But instead, Meer tells me to go for it and out of defiance, I get engaged to Fahad Sheikh. I wear a big solitaire now. I always wanted a plain white-gold band and Meer had said he’d buy that when he would propose to me.

What a liar.

“Will you ever marry me?” I whisper on the phone that night.

“Maybe one day if you don’t get married to Fahad,” He whispers back.

I feel like a teenager as I hide in the bathroom and whisper on my cell phone.

“I need to know for sure,” I bark as tears stream down my face.

“I can’t tell you for sure! I still eat with my father’s money Maya!” He yells.

“Liar. You have a job now!” I yell back.

“Do I earn enough to please your father? Or you for that matter? Marry that guy, he’ll treat you better than I ever could.”

“How can you let me go so easily?” I sob staring at my face in the mirror. Zigzag lines of washed out kajal run across my cheeks.

“I wouldn’t let you go if I didn’t know Fahad. He’s a great guy Maya. It is best for you. Trust me, I’m not going to get anywhere with my life. I don’t think I’d even want to anymore.”

I hang up on him. It always came down to money and what was best for me. How come I never got to chose that for myself?

I watch Meer get out of the car. I know I will never see him again. He thinks we’ll bump into each other often. I haven’t told him that Fahad got a promotion and we are moving to England a week after the marriage.

I don’t like England that much. I’ve been living here for three years now. It’s cold and gloomy but Fahad loves it. I’ve adapted for his sake. I learnt after the marriage that he was a nice person and loved me so very much. I had a job and a house and a husband. Hah! I’d never thought I’d say all this a few years ago. But well I do it say it now when someone asks. I love flashing Fahad around. Like my solitaire. But I care about him too. He gets me fish and chips every time he comes late from work, as if to make up. I don’t complain, I love fish and chips. Especially from that place around the corner. They always have some spicy taste in their batter. Sweet of Fahad to learn about my likes and dislikes. I never cared to learn his, but he was happy with me anyway.

“Maya, come down!” Fahad yelled on a Sunday morning.

I HATE getting out of bed until noon on Sundays and Fahad knows that.

I trudge down the stairs expecting him to ask me where the tool kit was or whether I washed the car keys along with his pants. Instead I find familiar brown eyes staring at me at the bottom of the stairs. I think along with missing a step, I miss a beat too.

“Maya, meet Meer, a colleague of mine. Just been transferred to my department!” Fahad says enthusiastically.

I didn’t even know what to think, let alone saying something.

Meer extends his hand and says, “Nice to meet you.”

I shake the hand I knew so well, and smile politely.

Meer throws a big chunk of bread at the ducks lazily floating around in the pond in front of us.

“Didn’t occur to you earlier, did it?”

He shook his head and kept staring at the round loaf of bread in his hand.

“Told you so.”

He nods.

“Are you happy?” He asks finally looking at me.

“Of course. He’s taking me to Switzerland next month. We’re buying a new house too.” I reply haughtily.
Meer laughs, “ There are worlds and worlds within you Maya, and I know all of you too well.”

I didn’t understand what he meant but it sounded so sincere.

“Thanks Meer. I have to get back home now. Fahad wanted daal cooked for dinner. Let me know if you need anything okay?”

Meer watched her walk away. A pigeon flew out of no where and grabbed the remaining chunk of bread from his hand and flew away again. Meer walked home empty handed. He once knew there were benefits to solitude. He couldn’t think of any now.