Farmeed / One-shot Series

~ starry night~

Umeed had been looking forward to Friday night ever since Farjaad told her they would be going for dinner and 'something special'. She had no idea what the something special was, and despite her countless attempts at getting Farjaad to talk, she had failed to get even the smallest hint.

Umeed loved her husband and everything about him. She loved the way he talked and the way he dealt with issues ranging from the office to anything that sprung up at home. As big of a fan as she was of his calm, calculated manner of handling everything, sometimes the same calculation made very annoyed. Farjaad had translated the accounting and track-keeping at the business into his words too - speaking just enough and not letting more out than he wanted to. And Umeed loved it, she really did. His limited words meant that every time they would have an argument, he would rarely drag them with unnecessary statements. However, for the past few days, the same control over words was what had been making her angry.

She had tried all possible ways to get it out of him. Like the one day she got his favourite food made for him so he would blurt it out in excitement. Or the day she threatened him that she wouldn't go with him anywhere if he didn't tell her what the surprise was. Farjaad was not amused. In fact, he turned on his side and went to sleep saying, "acha theek hai, na jao".

On Wednesday night, she was convinced she would be able to get it out of him when she replaced the laptop on his lap with herself and began playing around with his curls and his stubble to get him weak. She was succeeding till she asked him where they were going, Farjaad's answer was silently picking her up and dropping her on the bed. A smirk on his face as he whispered,

"Filhaal to yahan ja rahay hein"

She had given up on her individual efforts and sought for Mimi's help as the two sat down in her room, with Haya on call and tried figuring out what the surprise was. The three girls were unable to solve the puzzle.

It wasn't Umeed's birthday. Or Farjaad's. It had only been two months since their wedding, so it couldn't be their anniversary either. The girls had spent the entire Thursday pulling out calendars and checking if it was the date for anything - the first time they met, the first date, the first confession. It was nothing. Dejectedly, Umeed accepted that she would have to wait till Friday night to see what the special something was.

Friday was chaotic. After sending Farjaad off to the office, Umeed made the decision to sleep 'just a little longer'. It was a terrible decision. She slept in late and woke up well past 2 pm. Picking out the right dress was a hassle in itself and she eventually decided on a black solid suit. She knew how much Farjaad loved black - especially on her. She had taken her sweet time to pick out her jewellery, take a shower, apply her makeup and change the lipstick some four times.

She was in the middle of applying her final coat of nail polish when she heard the all familiar sound of Farjaad's car in the garage, making her panic. She still hadn't done her hair!

She looked in the mirror at the curls framing her face and she silently cringed. She had always had naturally wavy hair, but she grew to envy Haya's dead straight ones. Everywhere around her, she would see women with straight hair with no tangles, and she grew up to associate that with beautiful hair. Haya had told her many times that it didn't matter, and how her curls suited her, but she never believed it. She always found them to be messy and unruly. The idea was only strengthened when she saw Mimi and then Rina. Especially Rina.

So one of the first things she did after getting her gameshow money was to buy a straightener, and she never looked back. From the first time she straightened her hair and went to university, she received more compliments than she had ever received. But the rest of the compliments mattered little compared to the way Farjaad looked at her that day.