The Arranged Marriage : Chapter 5 page 7 Updated 14th June - Page 4

Geet just got married. Who is the groom? Have they met and talked to each other? Geet is so nervous.

chapter 1

Maan seems really nice. He is kind and concerned about her well being.

chapter 2

There are always so many expectations from the women. No matter which way you turn, you have to meet them.

Maan and his family are understanding, but not everyone else is.

Chapter 3: Culture

“Have you ever thought of children?” Maan inquired surprising me as we sat in a café eating ice cream together. Samia and Raihan bhai sat across the café enjoying their own time while they still chaperoned us.

“Not really” I answered honestly. “I know one day that I would want one or two”.

He smiled. “I want them to look like you”.

I chuckled shyly for a second, my eyes drifting away before I had calmed myself inwardly.

“Geet, come on. Don’t be shy, we’re going to marry soon” Maan coaxed gently.

“I know, I know” I pressed my hand to my hot cheeks and grinned. “Have you been thinking about children?”

“Yes” he answered proudly. “One or two works for me but I do want to wait for a bit. We’re both young and I have only just started gaining recognition in the company I work in. My role is developing, and I do want to aim to take over the whole business services department within the next 2 years”.

“That sounds great, Maan” I responded. “I would like to wait until we have settled ourselves and are comfortable. I definitely want us to be financially stable before we consider starting a family. It might be 2024, but with covid and the financial hits the countries have had, we’re all facing the cost of living crisis especially here” I explained my own thoughts revolving around children.

“I agree” Maan replied with a nod of his head.

“What is it with all these dawats?” I murmured as I followed Maan upstairs and disappeared into our bedroom closing the door behind us.

“I know, it’s been a long day” he agreed making his way to the bathroom. “And a long ride home” he called out.

I stretched my arms out yawning loudly and exhaled before I started on unpinning my hijab. It had already been more than a week since we’ve married, had our Walima (reception) and started on settling in my in laws house. Everyday, there was an invitation to someone’s house or guests popping in without any notice to see the new daughter in law. Maan and I tended to be exhausted, and we’d crawl into bed, talk for a bit before we both dozed off.

I grabbed my pyjama set and waited for Maan to come out before I could freshen up and change out of my dress. Once again, being a newly wed within our culture, it wasn’t so easy to just throw something on and be comfortable.

He walked out wiping his face on a towel and smiled at me. “You okay?”

I yawned and shook my head making him laugh.

“Good thing we’re going on our honeymoon in a couple of days” he said cradling my cheek and pressed a kiss to my forehead. I hummed in agreement and snuggled into his arms for a moment.

“I’m looking forward to that” I responded.

“Go and change, we’ll go to sleep then” he said releasing me from his arms.

I nodded and started walking towards our bathroom.

There was a knock on the door and Maan walked over to open it.

“Salaam bhai” Alina greeted and pushed her way in. “You guys are back! I missed you” she informed and looked at me. “You too, bhabhi. Ammi has been complaining non-stop. Someone else had come to see you and she’s wondering when they will give a break to us all” she said with a laugh.

“Preach” I agreed with a laugh. “I’m going to change and…”

“Geet beta” Mahira, my mother in law, appeared and smiled. “Rozana is coming for a little bit. Come down and make some tea and fry some samosas that is in the fridge”.

“Ammi I can make the tea and…” Alina piped in.

“Rozana is coming to see Geet, Alina” Mahira responded. “Beta come, keep your dress on and put a scarf on” she said with a smile before walking out.

I glanced at the clock. It was close to 10pm, I had been up since 8am helping my mother in law with cooking up breakfast for the family and serving chai to the unexpected guests before I had get ready to head to another dawat that Maan and I received. I was exhausted and I just wanted to sleep.

I looked at Maan and he looked apologetically at me. I felt a twinge of disappointment as I had hoped he would tell his mother that its late and we have just returned from somewhere. But he didn’t and instead looked apologetically at me.

“I’m just going to freshen up and I’ll come. Alina, please put the kettle on. I’m coming” I asked her politely and closed the bathroom door before anyone said anything else.

It wasn’t that Maan didn't understand how tired we were after the day we had. It was just that our culture demanded a certain level of respect and adherence to traditions, even if it meant sacrificing our own needs and desires. Maan was a product of this culture, and I knew he found it difficult to go against his mother's wishes.

I made my way down the stairs, the intricate fabric of my heavy dress rustling with each step. Rozana's cheerful voice greeted me as I entered the living room and I offered my salaam to her.

“Wa’alaikum Assalaam” she answered with a smile. “Masha’Allah, Mahira. She is very beautiful” she praised pleasing my mother-in-law.

“Ammi, I’m coming” I murmured and excused myself with a smile as I headed into the kitchen to prepare some tea and snacks.

“Bhabhi, let me just go get the fancy cup and plate from the cabinet” Alina said. “Ammi does not want Rozana aunty talking that we’re a wedding household and we gave her snacks and tea in our usual cups” she added and walked out.

As I started on making the tea, I couldn't help but replay the scene in my mind. Maan had not mentioned to his mother how exhausted we were, how we just wanted to retire for the night. It wasn’t his fault - I understood the dynamics at play here. But that didn't make the disappointment any less real. I just wanted him to speak to his mother and explain.

I turned hearing the door open and Rozana entered.

“Beta, it is very late. What are you doing now?”

“No, no it’s nothing aunty” I said politely. They always make it seem like they don’t want anything and don’t want to trouble you yet if we did not insist and feed them something, we were going to be gossiped about. I wouldn’t have minded being gossiped about, I would not have cared but the culture, the society we live in, we must walk among these and live by the societal norms.

“I am looking forward to the day I can taste your cooking” Rozana joked.

I smiled politely focusing on setting up the tea and snacks and masking my weariness that clung onto me. As I worked, I couldn't shake off the feeling of being caught between duty and desire, tradition and personal choice. I knew that this was just a small moment in the grand scheme of things, a fleeting instance of sacrifice in the name of tradition. But as I grabbed the tray of tea and snacks heading into the living room with Rozana yapping on as she followed me, I couldn't help but wonder how many more moments like these I would have to endure, how many more words left unsaid in the name of cultural norms.

It was almost midnight, when I was able to finally retire. I placed everything in the dishwasher and cleared away the counters before I switched off all the lights and headed upstairs to our bedroom. I opened the door and the heaviness that had settled in my heart melted when I entered. Maan had placed my clothes on the bed and a rose atop of it. He waited for me and smiled when I stepped forward closing the door behind me.

“If you are too tired to change, I will help you out of it and you just need to sleep” he explained.

I chuckled faintly and he gathered me in his arms. “Are you okay?” he asked.

I sighed closing my eyes. I was not really okay; I didn’t want to lie, I also worried the truth might hurt him, but I also didn’t want to hide it from it. I wanted to communicate and tell Maan how I felt.

“Honestly?” I asked.

“Of course” Maan said. He pulled back catching my arms in his grasp. “I always want you to be honest with me. Don’t hide anything from me. I am your husband and I will always tell you the truth”.

“I am… I am a little disappointed” I admitted. “I’m… I’m still new here, Maan and not comfortable enough to explain my point to Ammi. I… I need you to step in when I need it. We’ve been so busy all day and I… I was so exhausted. If I wasn’t spending most of my time standing and moving around, I would have gone to sleep in front of your Rozana aunty” I explained.

Maan's expression softened, his eyes reflecting a mix of understanding and regret. He took a deep breath before speaking, his words measured and sincere.

“I'm sorry, Geet. I should have spoken up and communicated our needs to ammi. It’s just... sometimes I find it hard to go against what is expected of us, even if it means sacrificing our own well-being.” His admission hung in the air, heavy with the weight of unspoken truths.

I nodded, feeling a sense of relief wash over me at his honesty. “I understand that, Maan. But I didn’t want to hide my feelings from you. I want us to be able to communicate openly with each other and… your parents, even when it's difficult.”

Maan's eyes met mine, a flicker of gratitude shining in their depths. “You're right” he agreed and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Next time, I'll pay more attention to these things in the future and make sure to communicate our needs more clearly be it to ammi or abba.”

As we held each other, the air heavy with unsaid words and the promise of understanding, I felt a sense of peace settle over me. Navigating the expectations of our culture would always be a challenge so I truly hoped that no matter what, Maan and I keep our lines of communication filled with openness and honesty.

Please do hit the like and comment

Nice party

All these traditions are tiresome for Geet which is quite understandable but yes Maan should have spoken up for Geet. He should have just politely conveyed their thoughts to his mother.

Beautiful part

Geet talking her heart out and Maan listening and understanding and accepting where things didn’t go right

We get caught in all this and held things which makes us caught in dilemma

Cont soon

Beautiful …. I understand what Geet went through but it’s only time where relatives pour into without any invitation to see the new daughter-in-law and we have to accept it …otherwise relationship might get spoil in the start and lot of misunderstandings will take place in new family … even though family understands but relatives should have sense of going to others house to disturb them at odd hours …

3

nice update

both geet n maan tired with daily invitation of party

maan n geet are expressing their views on everything in married life openly

geet express that maan should talk with his mother how this sudden unplan visit of relatives

Why are people coming over so late at night? There should be some boundaries there. But you can not turn away a guest so everyone is stuck there. Even Maan or his mother can have no escape there.

Chapter 3

Amazing and an Understanding Chapter

Great that Maan understand Geet and the fact that she truly was tired