Izzat An-Nisa (Pakistani Short Stories)

Rehbar Part 4 🌺

Namal was finally through with her day. Interning at a local law firm was incredibly demanding, and being a woman of color meant she had to pick up the scraps of work no one wanted to do. The day was spent filing away all the cases in order of priority. Afterwards, she did coffee runs.

She had quit her job at the Baklava House, but occasionally picked up a shift to help the owner who she had grown close with. Ayse had bought the place when she had divorced from her husband and built it up to the homely little shop it was today. Now, at 55, she was a second mother to her employees, including Namal.

Today was no different. She was done with her day at the firm and headed to the Baklava House, a smile etched onto her face. The past few weeks had been good. Grueling of course, but her mother had laid off of finding her a rishta and she couldn't be more grateful. In the past 5 months she had sat in front of countless families, some who she rejected and others who rejected her.

While she certainly didn't care much for any proposal, she felt like her marriage was hanging over her head like a knife. At this point, she just wanted to say yes to someone and get it over with.

She stepped in, enjoying the gust of cool air that greeted her, a stark contrast to the hot day that left her swearing in her airy shirt and linen pants. She had tied up her mass of long brown waves with a silk scrunchie and immediately got to work scrubbing the tables, earning a grateful smile from Sherry, another employee.

It was only when the rush hour had subsided did she catch the eyes of a man seated in one of the booths at the opposite side of cafe, hidden from sight.

Riyaz.

Her lips parted on their own accord, eyes softening as she took in his pristine dress shirt and the nearly folded lab coat tucked next to him. His hair was carefully styled as he typed vigorously on the laptop. When he looked up, brown eyes clashed.

She rolled her eyes internally, expecting a smirk or for his gaze to check her out. But he only smiled politely and turned to his laptop.

Shock would be an understatement. She was flabbergasted. For the next hour, she avoided going over to that side and he made no move to talk or ogle at her, neatly working away and taking sips of the iced coffee he had ordered. Right before she could make up her mind and confront him, he stood, packing away his belongings and left and quietly.

Namal put away the coffee beans. What was going on with this man?

///

Riyaz shifted nervously, straightening his tie. The living room he sat in was impeccably decorated and homely. His mother was gushing with glee while his father was conversing with the man in front of him. He was tall, with greying hair and deep assessing eyes. They reminded him of hers.

"So what are you planning on specializing in?" Arham Ghufran asked, a tentative look on his face. His wife smiled at him reassuringly as he cleared his throat.

"I'm applying to radiology fellowships. In the meantime I'm working on an academic journal." He replied earnestly. He saw the look of annoyance on his father's face. Khalil Alam would never accept that his smartest son had forsaken his company.

Arham smiled at Riyaz for the first time. "That's amazing, mashAllah. If you don't mind me asking, beta, do you believe you could handle marriage as a responsibility?"

Armineh looked at her husband in shock at the blatant question whereas Riyaz's father smiled to himself at the straightforwardness. At this point, Riyaz's mother was silent, swirling the spoon in her tea cup.

He thought about it and then saw the way Namal's grandmother winked at him. "Yes. I won't lie to you. I've spent a majority of my life relying on my older brother to cover me so I could do what I wanted to do. I didn't care about responsibilities or my future. But the past few years have taught me that I need stability. That way of life is hard simply due to how unrewarding it is. I want to settle down. I'm fully prepared to give my wife a comfortable life. I'm prepared for that responsibility and sincere about my future."