The Wedding

Chapter 19

Wednesday

10 days to the wedding

She had to say it now, no more stalling.

After the dawn prayers Laila laid awake thinking of what to do to save the situation. There was simply no one she could go and talk to without betraying another person's secret. If she went to her mother to ask Ya Zainab to stall Jafar; her mother would come to know who Maryam's grandfather is; who Jafar's father is. And that no doubt would blow up in Ya Zainab's face.

She couldn't go to her father either; because the hatred he has for the Senator would make him unable to consider his daughter's feelings. Her safety is all that will matter to him and the farther away from Jafar Ya Zainab is; the safer her father thinks she is.

She had no choice but to go to the safest option; Ya Zainab. She had been thinking of how to ask her who was clearly in love with Jafar to ask him not to ask for her hand in marriage yet. Laila wondered what explanation she had to give because she had promised her father not to tell her siblings about their divorce. And she had no idea how to reveal that part without addressing the most critical issue of all. She had to come up with something else

It was all one large mess.

Jafar had crossed her mind a couple times. She remembered the dark, kind, charismatic man she had met. How he had been with Maryam and how Ya Zainab spoke so highly of him. Laila found herself afraid to consider a huge possibility. What if Jafar was in on his father's threats against Ya Zainab? He had met her when he came into the office to get some legal documents for his father. What if he was just duping her sister?

Ya Halima walked pass Laila who was standing by the door of the room her two sisters shared, from where she stood Laila could hear Maryam's giggles from the living room and she was being tossed in the air by Laila's father confirming that Ya Zainab was indeed alone. Laila cautiously stepped into the room, as though there was glass all over the floor she was afraid to match. Well... she feared if 'the talk' didn't go well they'd be glass there soon enough.

"Ya?" Laila called making Ya Zainab drop the eye liner she was holding up. Laila's eyes bulged, "You're wearing make up?" she asked in disbelief. Ya Zainab wasn't the make-up type. Laila was the 'every second of the day covered in make-up' type. Ya Halima is the 'only on occasions' type while Ya Zainab was the 'never to be seen in make-up' type.

Ya Zainab smiled shyly. "Well I thought to try something new today"

Laila knew why exactly Ya Zainab was trying it; for Jafar. This made what she wanted to say all harder.

"Ya I need to talk to you"

"Sure" Ya Zainab sat down on one bed and Laila on the other. "What's up?"

"You should call Jafar and ask him not to go meet Baba today"

The look Ya Zainab gave her wasn't the one she expected. She had expected anger but she got confusion. "Why?" she asked relatively collected

"Because I don't think Baba will permit him"

"Why won't he?" she probed

"The timing..." Laila lied "it's not right. With this wedding going on... and Uncle Hassan" she continued to lie. Uncle Hassan was perfect "Baba will feel the timing is wrong. Maybe you should wait a couple more days. After all this is over"

"That doesn't sound like an excuse for him to say no. Laila we're not asking for blessings to get married"

"I know but-"