Love That Fly Away

The invitation

"Good morning, Mom," I greeted her.

"Good morning, Rania. Did you sleep well last night?" she asked, her usual concerned tone kicking in.

"Yes, Mom," I replied, slightly irritated.

"Hey..." Ahana chimed in.

"Hi, Ahana," I replied.

"Good morning, Dad," I said with a grin.

"Good morning, baby," Dad replied, absorbed in his soccer headlines.

"What’s this?" I asked, noticing something on the dining table.

"It’s a wedding invitation, can’t you see?" Mom responded.

"Yeah, I can see that, Mom. It’s a wedding invitation for Sana and Rehan... oh, Sana is getting married?" I asked, surprised by what I had just seen.

"Yep, she is. Everyone’s getting married, baby—except you," Mom teased.

"Oh, Mom, not again," I said, closing my eyes in exasperation.

"So, are we going?" Ahana asked, her excitement obvious.

"Of course we are. They invited us all, and they’re good people. I can’t miss Sana’s wedding. And who knows? Maybe we’ll find a good-looking guy for my Rania..." Mom grinned, full of mischief.

"What? No!" I almost spat my juice out in shock.

"Behave," Dad scolded me.

"Sorry, Dad... Mom, I actually wanted to talk to you about this. I’m ready for marriage," I said, cautiously.

"What? Wow, baby! I’m so glad! Oh my God, you have no idea how happy I am. Don’t worry, sweetheart. We’ll find the world’s best guy for you..." Mom was off in her wonderland, but I had to cut her off.

"Mom, Mom, let me finish first. Yes, I’m ready to get married, but there are some terms and conditions," I said, looking at her seriously.

"What?" Mom asked, her face blank with confusion.

"Yes, I mean, I’m going to be very straightforward. I want a good-looking guy, and he has to be okay with me working. I’m not going to marry him until I finish my master’s degree. Oh, and I don’t want a big age gap between us, so he should be close to my age... that’s it, I think," I explained.

"Okay," Mom said casually, as if I’d just asked her for a chocolate.

Her simple "okay" left me stunned.

Ahana and Dad were still staring at Mom, waiting for her to say something more, but she didn’t. This was not like my mom. Something was definitely going on in her head, and I hoped it wasn’t something bad.

So, we’re going to the wedding. My sister is way too excited, Dad is busy booking tickets, and Mom is sorting out gifts and all the other stuff. And me? I’m thinking about him—yes, him. My ex. I wish we had stayed together...