He & She

Chapter 7

Shock. That was the first feeling I felt as soon as I bumped right into Ali. Then I felt relief course through my veins at the realization that no real damage had occurred. Sure there were a few blobs of kheer on the floor and some pink stains on Ali's shirt, but no any real damage. Then anger bubbled through me, both at myself and Ali for being so clumsy and at the thought of the mess we would have created. But all that anger, seemed to fizzle away as soon as my eyes met his. I had to look away, this was not right. He seemed to be thinking the same thing, looking away quickly and said running his hand through his hair," I'm really sorry Hanna, I should have been looking where I was going."

"No don't worry, it's not your fault, I shouldn't have been walking that fast." I managed to say, my stomach now a tangle of knots and my mouth now completely dry. I just needed to get away from there. Away from him. I tried to walk away quickly, only to slip on a blob of kheer that I had forgotten I had spilt. I honestly should have learnt not to walk this fast. I held my breath, ready for the impact with the floor and the utter embarrassment that followed it.

When suddenly, just as I was about to face plant onto the floor, a blur of things happened. There was a sound of something spilling onto the floor, a cold wet sensation spread through my feet and I felt a hand reach out and steady me.

"Woah there! Are you okay clumsy?" Ali asked with a little chuckle. I was highly aware of the grip he still had on my forearm, which sent tingles down my spine. What does that even mean? Ugh what was wrong with me! No, what was wrong with him! It was obvious he was taking pleasure in my humiliation. I looked down at my feet to inspect the wet sensation I was feeling, and was horrified at what I discovered. The pink lemonade that Ali was holding was now seeping through my white very expensive shoes. Sure I know I sound ungrateful and that Ali was saving me and all, but in comparison to him ruining my shoes, I would take falling any day.

Seeing the horrified expression on my face, Ali said with a sheepish smile, "hey, at least they match your pink dress now, I think it looks quite nice." He looked up to gauge my reaction.

And the one thing that was running through my mind, was that this guy was
"Infuriating, absolutely infuriating." I said venting out to Sanaa, the events that transpired in the kitchen. She had snuck out from the living room, taking a break from all the smiling and scrutiny she had to endure. I was trying with hopeless hope to remove the pink stains with a wet towel, when she handed me a pair of black wedge heels. "Thanks." I said with a sigh as I gave up trying to rescue my shoes.

"I don't get it Hanna." She said looking at me with confusion.

"Don't get what?" I said strapping in my shoes.

"Why you are so irritated and angry at him." She said sitting down on the bed next to me. "I mean sure he ruined your shoes, but he did stop you from falling, and he hasn't done anything else really." She looked at me trying to reason the situation. "What are you not telling me?" She asked curiously.

"Sanaa, remember the time when we moved to this house and we were each getting our rooms painted?" I asked her.

"Yea, you kept on singing; turquoise blue with a hint of dew." She chuckled, remembering the room colour I wanted. "That didn't even make sense!" She said still smiling at that memory.

"Exactly! And do you remember that time when we were going to that one-time-only-Jacque Torres dessert place and we had to decide what we each wanted to order?" I asked again.

"Yeah, Ahmed and I spent almost half an hour trying to decide!" She answered.

"But remember what I wanted?" I prompted

"You knew what you wanted within two minutes Hanna!" She said with a smile.

"And also remember the time when we met that sweet old lady on the road?" I asked yet again.

"Hanna! What is this? A trip down memory lane?" She laughed. "but yes, you knew she was a con even before she stole our Tesco junk food shopping spree."

"Exactly! Sanaa, I've always known what I wanted and have always been atleast two steps ahead of every situation but..." I said getting up, walking around the room in frustration.

"But what?" Sanaa asked, stopping me and making me look at her dead in the eyes. I gulped. This was it! Whatever I would tell Sanaa, would just make it feel even more real.

"But when it comes to Ali, I'm blank Sanaa." I said in an almost whisper. "I don't like him, yet I do-a bit, but no I definitely don't! You see I don't know what I want when it comes to him! And that just makes me so mad which is why he makes me so mad! He confuses me and I guess that's why all my irritation I feel towards myself because of him, comes out at him!" I said with a defeated sigh.

"Okay I definitely did not understand all of that." Sanaa said laughing slightly, but them masking it into a fake cough once she saw the look I was giving her. "But it definitely sounds like you have some stuff to figure out. Stuff that I can't help you with because I can't tell you how to feel. What I can tell you is that firstly be careful Hanna. With Kumail, it was his dedication to Allah, his kindness, his generosity and the respect and gentleness he treats me with, that made me fall in love with him and was why I wanted to marry him. So I will tell you this, when you fall in love with someone, fall in love for the right reasons." She said, all traces of the previous joking banter we were having gone. I knew that what she was saying was some serious solid advice. And I knew that it took a lot for her to open up about all these details about herself.

Instinctively I wrapped my hands around her and allowed myself to forget all about Ali and just appreciate what an amazing sister I had. Whatever emotional fiasco was going on inside of me right now, had to wait, or so I hope. Right now I had to make sure that my sister has an amazing wedding.

Unwrapping my hands around Sanaa, and giving her one final smile, I was determined to put all thoughts of Ali outside of my head because the phrase, 'falling in love' was so out of my range for now. "okay sis, let's get back out there. Time to be a bride again!"