Another Forever

4 | c h e e r f u l

• f a a r i s •

Halfway through the online meeting, I saw the notification of an incoming video call. I stared at the clock and it showed 7, which means we were way past the official office hours but I didn't realize that earlier. "So gentlemen, we will discuss the rest tomorrow." I said and closed the meeting.

Leaning back against the bed, I undid the top buttons of my shirt to relax myself. As soon as I answered the video call, Hayat's face appeared on the screen.

"Hey handsome," she said mischievously.

"What is it?" I asked, putting my hands behind my head.

She was standing inside the kitchen of her apartment, her brown hair tied on top of her head in a messy knot and her big brown eyes focused towards the screen.

"How is Pakistan?" She asked, straining the boiled pasta.

"Loud." I said. "There is a wedding in the neighborhood and they keep playing music the whole night." It was true; I couldn't find a moment of silence since I reached there. I seemed to have a permanent headache these days.

"Stop whining and try to enjoy your stay, Faaris Humayun Shah." She said and mixed the pasta in the Alfredo sauce. I could smell the aroma of her food all the way here and it made my stomach grumble.

"Why? Don't you want me back, Hayat Abdullah?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Not really. Seattle feels fine without you. I'd say, find a desi woman there and get settled. No need to come back." She said and a smile appeared on my lips.

"Careful what you wish for." I said and she chuckled at that.

"Okay, how is Noor?" She asked as she took the laptop to her bed and placed the steaming bowl of Alfredo pasta in front of her.

"She is," I paused, contemplating what would be the right word to describe her. "Enthusiastic."

Hayat grinned at this. "You mean cheerful?" She raised her eyebrows.

I shrugged, not bothering to clarify.

"Is that why you had a crush on her?" She asked and my eyes widened.

"That was years ago. Oh my God Hayat, should I not tell you anything from now onwards?" I glared at her.

"Acha, sorry." She said, raising her hands in surrender.

That was true; I had a tiny crush on her almost a decade ago but at that age, a boy has crush on every girl he meets. It didn't mean anything more than that and I forgot about the stupid crush when we moved away. Yes, seeing her brought back some memories of our childhood, particularly memories of her ignoring me to play with Usama, but that's it.

"How was office today?" I asked, changing the topic.

"Is that all you can talk about? Learn something from Usama and how lovingly he talks to Noor, ignoring there are other people sitting around." She giggled.

"You should know I am not a very romantic person, Hayat." I rolled my eyes.

"Don't you think I know that?" She said.

Hayat and I knew each other from our university days .She was in software engineering department while I was majoring in business. Although we were in different departments, we immediately hit it off the first time we met in the library. Since then, we had developed a mutual sense of understanding.

No promises were ever made, no romantic remarks were exchanged but we both knew we were going to spend the rest of our lives with each other. Not because we were madly in love with each other but because it made sense; two Pakistani settled in Seattle with similar views on 3 P's; Patriarchy, Politics and Pakistan.