Reo and Me

Twenty Five

Aisha's POV

I was still thinking about what mom said long after she went to her room. If I thought about it practically, she was right. I had never actually thought about his family and whether I would be accepted or not.

All I had thought of was a paradise where we would live- but that's practically impossible. We couldn't cut off relations with our loved ones. We had to convince them. It was 12:36 AM right now. That means it was around 8:30 AM in Tokyo. Reo would be up and getting ready for whatever he did.

Now that I thought about it, I realised he hadn't divulged a lot about himself. Apart from that little bit I knew about his personal life, nothing more. I decided to ring him.

Ring ring. Ring ring.

The call was picked up on the fifth ring. "Hey Aisha. How are you?" Reo asked, breathless.

"Why are you breathless?" I asked worried.

"I was just working out in the other room when I heard the phone ring." He said.

"Well if you're busy then-"

"No no tell me. It must be something important for you to be calling in the morning. Everything okay?" It was his turn to be worried.

"Oh yes everything is fine. My mom flew in today." I said casually.

"That's great! How long is she staying?"

"Some days. This is something serious, actually." I asked, my heart beating nervously.

"Are you breaking up with me?" Reo asked and I swear he would cry if I said yes.

"No! Absolutely not. I just want to know about you." I said, making it sound light.

"That's a relief. About me?" He asked confused.

"Yes. Tell me all about you." I persisted.

"There's nothing to tell Aisha." Reo said and I could hear his tired voice.

"You've just told me about your mom and uncle. Something more about your family or the job you do maybe?" I gave him prompts.

"What is this about suddenly?" He asked seriously.

"Why are you being so secretive?" I was getting annoyed. I hope he didn't sense it in my voice.

"I'm not being secretive. I'll tell you soon." He said, not speaking further.

"Reo, I'm your girlfriend. I have a right to know." I pushed.

"I don't like to tell others about myself!" He suddenly snapped. I remained silent.

"You didn't have to snap." I said slowly.

"I'm sorry Aisha I-"

"It's okay Reo. I understand. I just wanted to tell you that I had convinced my mom to talk to you because she's forcing me to meet Sameer. But I guess I will." I said coldly. It was a low move but I really felt hurt in that moment.

"I can't believe you're doing this Aisha." Reo replied, his voice devoid of emotion.

"She's forcing me to Reo. Continue working out. Goodbye." I said and hung up without waiting for his response. Tears brimmed my eyes. We just had our first fight as a couple. I really wish I could take back that thing about meeting Sameer but it was said and done.

In my defence, he didn't have to be so snappy. I just asked about what he did. What's there to keep secret in a job?

I blinked but the tears wouldn't go away. I put my phone down and curled up into a fetal position, letting tears fall.

———

My mom was up early because of jet lag. Even though she had gone to sleep late she woke up early. I went into the kitchen and saw mom flipping paranthas on the stove, her back to me.

I sat down quietly behind her, but she turned back.

"You're up." She commented, pulling a plate out of the Crockery cabinet. I nodded. I was still unsure of her mood after last night. I sat at the table in my neon yellow pajamas, face like a child.

"You're thinking about yesterday, aren't you?" Mom asked but it sounded more like a statement. "Yeah." I replied. We fought yesterday. He didn't send me a text nor a call after we fought. It had been around 7 hours since we last talked and it was already getting tough.

We didn't break up, did we?

"Aisha. I thought about all this dating stuff and I decided I was being insensitive. So if you want I'll talk to him-" Mom started out.

"It's okay mom, I understand your concern. I did some thinking too and I realised you were coming from a correct place. I don't think we should talk to Reo for the time being. But can we not bring Sameer into this right now?" I said.

Mom came towards me and put a comforting arm around me. "You fought with him. Was it because of me?" Mom asked apologetically.

"No! I decided I had to know more about him if we had to move ahead as a couple. It wasn't fair that he knew everything about me and I didn't."

"Did you break up with him?"

"I didn't say the words and nor did he. But I told him about me meeting Sameer as an arranged match and I guess that's where things went downhill." I finished.

"Well, whatever you decide now, I'll support it. I just told you my opinion about Reo because I thought you had to know him well and understand his family's side. Maybe they would be okay with you but will you be able to adjust? You have to consider all this Aisha." I wanted to interrupt but mom continued.

"I know you're not thinking about marriage right now but it's better to keep this sorted out otherwise you'll have a bigger heartbreak than you did right now. Make a wise decision." Mom kissed the top of my head and placed a plate of paranthas in front of me.

"Eat now, you look like a stick."