The Marriage Demands (#Wattys2017)

Chapter 19

ZAKRIYA ISLAM

I was still feeling drowsy when my alarm in my cell phone set off beneath my pillow. I turned it off so as to not disturb Amber. She's usually sleep at this time and even though I had offered her many times to wake with me for fajr, I just don't get why she shows disdain towards it. Slowly, I got up from bed and prepared for fajr. After I was done, I got back to bed. Amber was sleeping in my direction.

I slowly and carefully crept under the covers, my eyes trailing on her features. She always looked so peaceful in her sleep: so free and careless and not to mention defenseless. Without realizing, my the back of my index finger ran over her cheek. She stirred a bit so I quickly withdrew. I straightened on my back and placed my hand under my head as I stared at the ceiling.

It's a Saturday today and I have no idea how I should spend my day. I know that Amber goes to practice so that'll leave me with myself.

The next time I woke up was to the intensity of the sunlight falling onto my closed eyes and the sound of the curtain being withdrown.

"Good morning," I heard the cheery voice of Amber. I opened my eyes and rubbed my face. Sitting up, I felt a presence besides me.

"Good morning," I replied in a thick voice laced with sleep and looked at her only to be taken aback.

She was looking so nice: her usually tied up hair was cascading down to her waist. She was dressed in a floral shalwar kameez and wore the necklace that I had given her. Her eyes were rimmed with a dark liner and her lips were glossy pink.

"Is it Eid or something?" I said and rubbed my eyes again. "Because I would've known if it was if it was." I speculated, remembering whether what occasion it could possibly be but couldn't recall.

"No, of course not." She replied, her tone gentle and encouraging. Again I was taken aback and gawked at her. This isn't like her.

Okay first of all, she's usually dressed up for work at this time. Speaking of time, I glanced at the clock and came to know that it was past 10 am. Shouldn't she be gone to work by now.

"What's the occassion?" I inquired. She shrugged. "Nothing, I just figured that I should dress up a little. Why do you ask? Do I look over dressed or something?" She inquired, her composed features contorting into concern.

My lips quirked up and I shook my head. "You look very nice." I commented. A slowly blush crept at her face. "But what made you decide such a change?"

She shrugged. "We're newlyweds aren't we? It's tradition for newlywed women to dress up nicely for their husbands." She informed. I liked that idea. It would be so cool if she did that everyday, but I mustn't get my hopes up.

"What about work?"

"I called in for a leave. Now get freshen up, I have breakfast ready." She said and left the room. I rubbed my chin in contemplation. What's she upto? Something seems off and I can't quite put my finger on it. Normally, I would've thought that this behavior coming from a woman is natural but this was Bree that I was talking about: there must be a motive behind her doing this.

When I got to the kitchen, I smelled something delicious. As I sat on the table, Amber brought in a big pot and then proceeded to put three bowls on the table. That's weird. My usual breakfast of pancakes and eggs was missing.

"You've been living in Pakistan so a little while now and I didn't had ebough time to let you experience the customs and food of my country. So from now on, I'll cook Pakistani food." She declared and sat beside me. Her usual seat was always placed at a distance but this morning, she wa sitting very close to me.