Amidst The Wedding Chaos

Six

Maimoona Appi was crying. Like, literally bawled her eyes out as Ammi and Baba hugged her from both sides, calming and consoling her. The sight made me want to cry, too.

I knew she was getting pre-wedding anxiety before she went to the salon in a few minutes. I don't think it helped her that she was going alone. There were too many females in the house, so we decided that only her— because she was the bride— would go to the parlor to get ready while the rest of us managed at home. I was pretty good with hair and makeup, as I'd like to think.

"I don't think I ever want to get married now." Kanwal whispered to me as we both stood there with wet eyes, discreetly watching Maimoona Appi.

Even though I nudged her in the ribs to shut her up, I totally agreed with her. I didn't want to get married at all now either.

Gah.

Being around crying people made me cry too.

"I have things to do." I muttered and turned around, heading to wear the iron stand was. I needed to iron the royal blue lehenga I was wearing today. The top and the lehenga both were of the same color with golden floral vines pattern all over it, and a mesh dupatta to complete the look.

But in the pile of my clothes, I found a... kurta? And trousers, and a matching waistcoat.

I held the kurta up with two fingers. "Yeh kiska kurta hai?" I asked Wajiha who passed by, holding her own pink clothes on a hanger.

*"Whose kurta is this?"

"Aayan ka."

*"Aayan's."

I dropped it like hot coal. Literally dropped it on the floor, but picked it up when Wajiha passed me a glare.

Why, oh why, was everyone on his side? Was the only one who saw him as the devil incarnate?

"Why is he wearing blue too?"

Wajiha rolled her eyes. "There will be at least fifteen other people wearing blue, Aliya."

Well, I suppose she was right but I was wearing blue. Aayan couldn't wear blue!

And I figured his clothes needed ironing too if they were sitting on the iron stand, so I grumpily pressed them as well, contemplating whether to purposely burn it or not but decided to be nice, but only after I'd done my own and hung them up. I was petty like that. Instead of giving Aayan his clothes because there was no way in hell that was happening, I set them straight on the stand and left them for him to collect because, obviously, we didn't have a kurta chor in the house that would steal his clothes.

Like every other day, Kanwal and I got ready together, her wearing her lilac sharara with silver needlework and me in my royal blue lehenga. It's sleeves stopped at the wrists so I didn't get to wear bangles but I did wear one thick gold bangle in each hand along with rings that matched the gold earrings in my ear and the mang tikka I'd pinned in my hair after pulling them into a tight bun at the back.

Again, Ammi showered us with compliments once Kanwal and I came out of the room.

"We're going now, okay? We should be at the hall before the guests, and all the other elders are going with us. Don't forget to lock the doors and windows, and don't forget to bring everything else, especially the things for the doodh pilai rasm, okay? We'll pick Maimoona on the way."