"Zubi beta neechay ao!" She heard Rehan bhai say. She was still sitting in her Abbi's terrace. She got up, picked up her dupatta and walked downstairs.
She smelt Armani as she stepped on the stairs "Why do I smell him? Dosron ka ilaaj karney sey pehlay mujhe apna ilaaj karna chahiye"She said as she kept walking.
Asfand:. Don't worry kuch ziada nahi hai. No need to thank me yeh sab Sana or uskey in-laws ke liye Mama ney bheja hai.
She heard the voice that captivated her days and kept her awake at night. She skipped a couple of steps and nearly ran to the living room. She paused at the doorway as she saw him; standing there in his crisp black shirt with a light gray trim on the collar and sleeves & gray dress pants. He was surrounded by her family and various boxes of sweets, fruits, dried fruits and gifts. She felt underdressed in her short kurta, tights and mismatched dupatta (always!). He paused whatever he was saying as he felt her presence. He turned to his side and stared at her; his face with the slightest hint of a smile.
Rehan: Ajao beta, dekho Asfand aye hain with all this stuff.
Sheema: Zubiya tum ney bataya bhi nahi yeh arahey hain. Hum kuch tayari hi kar letay ya airport chaley jatey. Sheema bhabi complained in her usual accusatory tone. Zubiya walked still holding his gaze and went and stood next to her brother.
Asfi: Isko nahi pata tha ke main araha hon. Kal hospital main tha phir aj meri subah Karachi main meeting thi with Agha Khan. Hum log ek naya program introduce karwa rahe hain Craniofacial anamolies ki repair key liye. Mera matlab hai woh bachey jinko birth defects hotey hain. He explained to no one in particular, he was still staring at his wife and talking to her family at the same time.
R: Acha to surprise hai, yeh to or bhi achi baat hai. Allah tumhein or kamyaabi dey. Rehan bhai laughed and said with pride in his voice.
R: Sheema sab larkiyon ko bolo Zubi ke room sey nikley main Asfand ka saman wahi rakhwata hon.
A: Nahi main to ek din ke liye aya hon kal chala jaonga please don't disturb everyone. Dad ka apartment hai we can stay there. Asfand raised an eye brow at her; his usual way of asking her a question without saying anything.
R: Mujhe pata hai tum log busy ho or uncle ke properties hai Karachi main bhi lekin mujhe acha lagega agar tum yahan ruko gey. Rehan said while looking at his wife and her mother, as if telling them to make note of Asfand's humbleness and nonchalant attitude about his family's wealth and influence.
Z: Bhai, hum Ammi or Abbi ke room main reh jayen? She said the first sentence in the last 10 minutes or so.
No one was allowed in that room. Rehan himself made sure it was cleaned and looked after regularly and Zubiya was the only one who stayed in there when she visited. The siblings were extremely protective of their parents and their belongings.
R: Zubi beta poochney ki kiya baat hai, lekin apney husband ki baat suno jahan woh kahey wahin ruko.
A: Oh don't worry, "Zooobee" ki jo marzi. I can stay wherever she wants. He said with a smile
Zubiya looked down and smiled. She knew he was teasing her because he never used her nickname.
R: Toh phir done, main saman rakhwata hon Sheema tum room ko fix karo make sure saaf hai.
Z: Main chai banati hon, Zubiya said quickly as she did not want to endure her husband's teasing in front of her whole family and decided it was best to take off...
A: Hi Dr. Zooobee! She heard him whisper in her ear from behind
Asfand had found her in the kitchen and was glad to see her alone.
Z: Hello Dr Asfanyar. Good to see you, Kaisay ana howa? She turned around and asked formally, the mischief in her eyes unmasked.
A: Ek bahut important meeting thi
Z: Must be very important for you to dress up in formals. She said as she reached out to finger the buttons on his shirt.
He grabbed her wrist and took another step closer. His breath fanned the tendrils that had escaped from her messy bun
A: Oh you have no idea
"Asfand tumein Rehan bula rahein hein kisi sey milwana hai" Sheema bhabi walked in to the kitchen. She saw them standing close to each other in the kitchen, her wrist in his hand. She noticed Zubiya tried to pull her hand but his grip was firm and he held on. He turned towards Sheema bhabi without flinching or getting embarrassed and said " Jee main ata hon"
"Pata nahi is larki main kya jadoo hai, jisko dekho is key peechay pagal. Hamara shohar to ammi ke ghar chaley jao to lenay nahi ata or ek yeh parha likha itna busy doctor dosrey shehar agaya ek din ke liye iss ke peechay" Sheema bhabi mumbled to herself as she walked out.
"Beta meray ghutney main dard kam nahi hota, doctor kehta hai operation karaon, tum check karlo" Zubiya heard Sheema bhabi's mother say as she walked back in to the living room with chai.
A: Rehan bhai ap in ki reports Zubiya ko de dijiye ga main inn ke liye kisi surgeon sey second opinion le lon ga.
Zubiya smiled watching him surrounded by her relatives and answering everyone patiently.
Sheema: Asfand yeh meri bhanji hai abhi matric kiya hai bahut intelligent hai iss ko bhi doctor banna hai. Tum kuch guide kardo.
A: Bhabi main to Karachi ka schooling system nahi janta sirf medical college gaya tha yahan. Zubiya sey baat karwa dein, woh yahin parhi hai or mere baad graduate howi hai. Iss ki knowledge ziada current hogi.
Sana (Z's cousin): Asfand bhai to Zubiya api key ilawa koi naam yaad hai apko. She teased him jokingly.
A: Nope! She's the answer to all my questions, he said with a smile.
He was the only one who noticed the slight blush on her cheeks as he said that. He knew she was aware of what he meant just by that one statement.
Z: Kal sey hospital main hain, ap soye bhi nahi or mujhe bataya bhi nahi ap arahey hain. Airport sey Agha Khan phir wahan sey yahan in Karachi's traffic. Why are you so reckless with your health Asfand? Apko pata hai main kitni pareshan thi.
Asfand was sitting on the couch in her parents' room watching her. She was walking around and talking, taking out his clothes from his carry on, putting his phone and laptop on charge. Cleaning uppretty much everything other than sitting down beside him and giving him the kind of attention he craved.
Z: Itni kiya emergency thi sab kuch ek din main karney ke liye. Phir subah ap ki flight hai. Main aa to rahi hon 2 din bad wapis.
She continued complaining. He reached out and pulled her to sit beside him.
A: This is what I was missing, you yelling at me! Main daant sunney itni dur sey aya hon actually. Ab khaa li ab soch raha hon sham ko chala jaon.
Z: HA HA! wow ap doctor kyon hain, I think Comedy is your calling.
A: Sweetheart! I came for you. I know tumhare yahan aj engagement hai, I realized it is important for me to attend with you. You do so much with me to help and support my family. The least I can do is party a little bit and watch you dress up as an added bonus. He said while running the back of his right hand on her left cheek.
Zubiya smiled as tears filled her eyes
A: Wow you yell at me and cry, is this my wildest fantasy coming true or what? He said with a mock laugh. She punched his left shoulder with her right hand as tears spilled over.
A: Zubiya, babe! I needed to make sure you were okay. I know your relationship with your family has been rocky and you know I can't stand ke tumhein koi kuch boley yah question karey. He leaned forward to envelope her in a hug, she rested her head on his chest.
A: What have you turned me into? I was quite successful juggling my two roles as doctor and hitler but jab sey tumhara husband bana hon kisi kaam ka nahi raha.
His phone rang; he fished it out of laughing as she raised her head and wiped her face.
A: Lo tumhare ek or fan. He put it on speaker before handing it to her; she looked at it and smiled at seeing Gaiti's name. She leaned back on the couch and said Hello. Asfand put his head in her lap and stretched out on the couch.
G: So, kaisa laga hamara surprise gift.
Z: Konsa gift?
G: Arey itna bara Asfi tumko dikhae nahi diya?
Z: Achaa wooohhh, haan bus theek he tha. She said as she looked down at his face and he raised an eye brow at her.
G: yeah right. Abhi kya kar raha hai? Actually don't answer that! Mujhe nahi pata karna woh tumhare pass akar kiya kar raha hai because the answer is pretty obvious. Gaiti said teasingly before laughing
Z: Pata nahi bhabi, woh to shayad busy hain. Zubiya pulled his nose and lied. He grabbed her hand and started taking off the few bangles she had on her hand while kissing her fingers. Zubiya held her breath and missed what Gaiti said.
G: Hello Zubiya? Haha okay never mind you guys go back to whatever you were doing, just don't be late for the engagement party tonight and send me pictures of you in that pink lehenga!
A: Good idea bhabi! Asfand said into the phone, pulled it out of Zubiya's hand and hit end.
A: You didn't tell me you were going to wear a pink lehenga? Asfand said as he came out of the washroom in his black shalwar kameez and stood behind Zubiya who was putting her earrings on. She was dressed in a pink lehenga with beautiful silver embroidery. Her hair was in a French braid.
Z: I don't tell you everything!
A: That's good, I like surprises. Especially when I get to unwrap them later. She smiled up at him in the mirror.
"Zubiya api, Sana apko bula rahi hai uska dupatta set nahi ho raha" someone said from outside the room
A: Ughh this is why I said humein apartment main rehna chahiye tha.
She turned around and let him run his eyes all over her, stepped on his feet, reached up and pecked his lips
Z: Main neechay ja rahi hon jaldi aye.
The engagement party went well. Asfand greeted the guests with Rehan bhai and helped him with the arrangements; not to impress anyone but just because he was used to helping and looking after everything since he did it for his own family all the time. He also did his usual "stick to Zubiya" thing that he did at social events. Took pictures of her for Mama and Gaiti, put his hand on her lower back if they were standing or walking together. Held her hand, whispered and made her smile. Only ate when she ate. She had explained to him the "norms" in her family regarding couples holding hands and public displays of intimacy when they had first gotten married, he had told her that he did not care for these rules and it showed!.
Zubiya walked into her parents' room to see Asfand sprawled on the bed sleeping. She had gotten busy with the clean-up downstairs. She tiptoed around the room, washed up, changed and prayed before softly getting into bed next to him. She traced his jawline with the index finger on her left hand while her head rested on the palm of her other hand. He opened his eyes and just watched her face for several seconds.
A: Itni dair lagadi tumney and you have changed, I wanted to undress you. He said pulling her to him as his hands fiddled with the back of her kameez to find the zipper.
Z: Ahh Asfand this is my parents' house and their room, no way! His hands stopped immediately. "If that is not the greatest turn off in the world, I don't know what is!" He said as he put his head on her chest and just held on to her. "Sorrryyy!!" She said as she started running her fingers through his hair.
A: Your parents, you miss them a lot don't you? "Some days" she said softly.
Z: I wonder what they would say if they saw me today.
A: They would be very proud of you.
Z: Ammi would be; she always wanted me to be a doctor. She loved helping other people and education was so important to her. Abbi would love you! He was always worried ke Allah nay unhein Ammi ke saath ziyadti ke liye maaf nahi kiya. Unko hamesha lagta tha ke jo bhi meray saath howa hai woh unki saza hai Ammi per zulm karney ki. Mujhe apke saath khush dekh kar unko lagta ke unki taubah qubool ho gayi. Mere relatives mujhe apki wajah se respect detay hain, sab ko ap achay lagtey hain. Apney sab ka perspective change kar diya and have made my life so much easier.
A: Zubiya! I have told you before, you don't need me to earn respect for you. I am not your saviour. You deserve all the happiness and respect that you have gained with your own hard work and capabilities. I respected you BEFORE I fell in love with you. Kuch logon ki opinion matter nahi karti, you are amazing and I am not some grand prize. You and I needed each other and HAD to come together no matter what. It is their misfortune and short-sightedness if your relatives can't see that.
Zubiya's eyes filled up with tears again. Asfand looked up and said "Wow! Is this a new record? I have managed to make you cry twice in less than 24 hours"
Z: You make me so happy Asfand! Ap mujhe Ammi ke sabr or Abbi ki dua'on sey miley hain. "Oh I can make you happier' but you are not cooperating with me right now" He said as he put his head back down to rest on her chest again. She giggled and went back to running her fingers through his hair.
Z: Apko pata hai mainey meetha nahi khaya sahi sey.
"Asfand" she looked down at him after receiving no response. She saw his closed eyes and slow rhythmic breathing. She smiled and closed her eyes, cradling his head in her arms.
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