Father of the Bride

Chapter 19: Ayaaz's Mission

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in updates. Work...life always gets in the way :/

Enjoy....

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A thick and heavy garlic onion smell coated the air inside the house. Shabunm eagerly led 17 year old Sonya into the lounge and shut the door. Two young boys dressed in matching navy blue Addidas tracksuits with shaved potato shaped heads giggled at the guest. Sonya sat at the edge of the settee with her hands in her jacket pocket.

"What would you likes? Drinks? Teas?" Shabum waited on her attempting to strike up a conversation in her broken English by pluralising most words.
Sonya rocked back and forward and shook her head.
"You must have somethings. It is the first times you here."
"Please auntie, call auntie Mahnoor. I need to see them."

Shabnum bypassed the request and sat in front of Sonya on a poof. 

"So, how is yours mum?" Shabnum began the interrogation like a detective.
"Good." Sonya replied with confusion.
"She married agains didn't shes? Your dad lives himself?"
At this point it registered with Sonya that this woman was those interfering busy body aunties that loved to extract gossip from naive little girls in exchange for compliments sweet dishes. But Sonya was in no mood to play Shabnum's games.
"Yes, mum has two boys." Sonya admitted.
"Masha' Allah very nice. And whats do you do?"
"I'm at college, doing my A levels."
"I haven't seen Amirah arounds. Is she wells?"
"Yes." Sonya replied curtly.
"Wedding shoppings? Things to buys?"
"Yes. Always. Very busy."
"So she still having weddings?" Shabum tested the waters and rounded her eyes.
"Why wouldn't it? Have you heard something?"
The boys giggled at the word wedding.
"No, no....I saw your dad comes and he seemed quite upsets over somethings." She recalled the day when Khizar walked out on a distressed Mahnoor. 
Bitch! She knows! "It was probably the colour of his kurtha. You see dad is a fashion diva, a bit trendy. So maybe his kurtha clashed with Ayaaz's. You see he loves to outshine the groom." Sonya explained with sarcasm hoping Shabum would taste the bitterness in her tone. But it was lost on Shabnum.
"How much did it costs?"
"Dad pays silly money for his clothes. Like 2 thousand for a kurtha."
"Two thousand pounds or rupees?"
"Pounds! Of course. Dad's a secret millionaire auntie, didn't you know that? Ayaaz and Amirah will live like a royalty. A bit like Kate and William." Sonya exaggerated gauging the boy's interest. Shabnum didn't like the sound of that.
"Oh, how is Amirah, I haven't seen her comes and goes."
"You mean come and go? Does she come to your house?"
"Oh no-" Shabum mumbled nervously.
"Then where?" Sonya leaned forward.
"To..um.. see Mahnoor or Ayaaz."
"And how do you know she doesn't come and go? Do you have CCTV (cameras)?"
Together the boys stifled their laughter at their mother.
"No..." She stuttered unable to explain how she knew about the going on. "....j...just when I'm outside tidying up I looked at Amirah." Shabum stood up and began to brush invisible dirt off the sofa.
"You must have a filthy garden."
The boys burst out laughing.
"Keh? (what?)" She snapped wondering why the boys were laughing.
"If you're always outside cleaning your house, it must be filthy."
"Chup! (shut up)" Shabum's sharp eyes glared at her sons, but her anger was meant for Sonya.  "It's leaves and that." Shabum was uncomfortable with the turn the conversation.
"It's spring nearly summer. What leaves?" Sonya wasn't going to let it go that easily.
"Do you want some juices?" Shabnum abruptly changed the subject.
"No. I have to go." Sonya stood up. "Thank you for ringing auntie, it was kind of you." She smiled with sarcasm and left Shanum seething in anger. The young girl looked sweet and easy to pick apart but was sharp as a knife.

When Sonya made her way out of the interrogation booth, she spotted a green Sabaru parked outside Ayyaz's door. As she approached the car, the sound of hip hop tunes vibrated the entire car. Inside the driving seat was a man sporting a black baseball cap beating the steering wheel like it was drums. The car reeked of smoke. Sonya kneeled peering into the car and spotted Ayaaz sitting in the passenger seat and knocked the window.
"Excuse me?" Amir rolled the window and looked up at Sonya.
"Oh no. She's my sister in law." Ayaaz explained to his friend.
"He should be so lucky." Sonya pressed her hand on her hips and her head strutted left and right. "The rate he's carrying on, you won't be marrying my sister." Sonya pointed with her long index finger. Swiftly Ayaaz stepped out of the car and waved Sonya over.
"What are you doing here?" He looked over the road where his auntie Shabum watched the pair.
"Come inside." He beckoned her, keen to get her away from his auntie's beady eyes.