Another Forever

3 0 | f a m i l y

• n o o r •

Sunday was finally here. Mom and Dad were coming back from Pakistan and Faaris and I were going to pick them up at 12. I was the one who woke up first, Faaris was still sleeping like a log. Well, to be honest, he did work till late night so he deserved some extra sleep.

I took a shower, changed into a black churidar pyjama and a black chiffon Anarkali frock, pairing it with a red color net dopatta. I then wore the decent gold pendant and earrings that Mom had given me on the wedding. Once my hair was done, I looked like a perfect Pakistani daughter in law.

By the time I was done dressing up, I noticed eyes on me. I watched through the mirror and found Faaris' eyes plastered on my back. He was half propped on the bed and his mouth was slightly parted.

"Everything alright?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said and fell back on the bed. "Peachy." His groggy voice came.

With his bed hair, he looked really handsome, dare I say. He was sleeping with just a vest, his bulky arms out on the display. Something about sleeping with a half naked Faaris always causes a havoc inside my stomach. There is always this strange feeling that I can't get rid of, which could be attributed to the fact that he looks really masculine this way.

My chain of thoughts broke when Faaris cleared his throat. I realized that I had been staring at him for too long. With warmed up cheeks, I turned around once again to face the mirror.

Two hours later, we were standing outside the airport, waiting for Mom and Dad to arrive.

"See, I told you we won't be late." Faaris grumbled beside me.

"What if there was traffic? Do you want them to stand outside the airport and wait for us?" I snapped back.

"Typical Pakistani's obsession with reaching airport many hours in advance." He said under his breath.

"Don't talk like you aren't a Pakistani." I replied.

"I am American. You can check my ID." He said, adjusting his sunglasses.

"I am American. You can check my ID." I mimicked him, sticking my tongue out.

We were busy glaring at each other when someone cleared their throats in our left. We looked towards the source of the voice and there stood Aunty Afshan and Uncle Humayun--- I mean, Mom and Dad.

"Ya Allah!" I screeched and rushed towards them. I jumped at Mom, enveloping her in a tight hug almost instantly. Seeing a familiar face in Seattle for the first time in weeks was emotionally overwhelming and it felt like I was seeing my own mother.

"What happened, beta? Is Faaris being hard on you?" She asked as she heard me crying in her embrace.

"No." I said and pulled away, wiping my face with the back of my hands. "I just missed both of you. Seattle is lonely."

Dad then patted my head and said, "We are here now, Noor. You won't be alone anymore."

"Yeah, take her with you. It's not like you have your own son as well." Faaris grumbled under his breath and all three of us chuckled at his whining. He then came forward to hug his parents and I stepped aside.

••••••••••

From there, we went straight to my in-laws' house and it is safe to say, I immediately fell in love with it. It was a pretty spacious two-storey house, the interior decorated in different shades of brown and a fairly big lawn separating the house from the main gate. It made me angry at Faaris, who made us live in a sleek apartment instead of this homey place.