Mohabbatein - A Farmeed Fanfic

Chapter 17

"Aa jaayein, Aghu Jaan," Umeed offered her hand to Aghu Jaan, helping her out of the passenger seat. "Gurhiya, tumhari gaarhi uss Kamaal Pasha ki puraani gaarhi si kitni behtar hai. Ab se main isi mei jaaungi," Umeed looked around instinctively for her dad, making sure he wasn't there to hear what Aghu Jaan had just said. She heaved a sigh of relief watching her father's car just enter the complex. "Aghu Jaan, ye Pasha Sahab ke saamne mat keh dijiyega," she pleaded, eliciting a giggle from Haya.

Umeed had brought the car she had rented when she had come to Karachi over to Pasha House today since she had planned to take her family to visit the cafe.

She wasn't entirely interested in reaching the cafe settled on someone's lap and having her employees see her in that state if they all just came in Pasha Sahab's car. Her dad still insisted on driving himself and her chachu in his own car. Everyone else had decided to come with Umeed, excited about sitting in a vehicle where the air conditioning actually worked.

She wiped her palms on her light blue kurta, nervous about showing the cafe to her family. Time had gone by so fast, it had been three weeks since she had last seen Farjaad, he was still blocked, she hadn't bumped into him, he hadn't made an effort to see her, she avoided his house and the road that led to his office like the plague.

She had immersed herself in her work and time had flown by. There were only four days left for the opening and she wanted to make sure she had time to let her family enjoy the cafe without a crowd first.

In a way, Umeed was glad at this strangely fortunate "second chance." She wanted to do things the right way this time around, she had missed her family so much when she had opened her Lahore location, she was trying to fix things for that Umeed, rewrite the way things had been done before. If she couldn't take back all of it, she could at least try redoing it, she thought.

Umeed led her family inside the cafe, all of them trailing in behind her, looking around in wonder at the completed finishings, the tall ceilings, the brightly lit fixtures. She had added on a couple of Sameer's paintings to the walls, Pasha Sahab felt his heart swell in his chest finally seeing the labour of love his daughter had given so much of herself to.

"Baithein," she pulled out chairs for them, they were spread across two tables. She had called in two of the employees she had been training for the opening to give them a trial run and give her family the complete experience. The waiter greeted them all, Umeed nodding at the young boy, encouraging him. "Here are your menus, aap log thorha time le lein, main waapis aakar order leta hoon," he smiled.

"Mujhe toh yaqeen hi nahi aaraha hai, ye sab hamari Umeed ki mehnat hai. Kya baat hai beta," Hilal Pasha patted his niece's back, Umeed couldn't help but smile. Everyone looked so excited as they flipped through the turquoise leather-bound menus.

Sameer and Haya argued over which latte they wanted, Haya pushing for the caramel latte, Umeed insisting that her cafe's chai was the best but they refused to listen. The elders agreed with her, ordering tea and Umeed pushed them to order all sorts of light bites and snacks. "Umeed, ye sab hum kaise khaayenge?" Zeenat shook her head lovingly, excited at all the interesting food listed on the menu, and a little surprised at the prices.

"Bass khaana parhega," Umeed beamed.

While everyone was midway through their snacks and drinks, Pasha Sahab couldn't stop admiring how far his daughter had come, regretting how little he believed in her when she had left, how little faith he had had in her. Over time, he would occasionally overhear Haya and Sameer discussing what Umeed was up to, that she had set up her cafe, that she was doing well, and he realized his fears had blinded him in the past from the possibility that Umeed was capable enough to realize her dreams.