Scarred For Life

Chapter 41

*
Nafisa's scream echoed through the house.

"I knew it!" she squealed. "I just knew you were madly in love with her. I knew it!"

"I said I want to marry her," Adnan pointed out. "When did I ever mention anything about being madly in love with her?"

"Just look at the way you're grinning right now," she laughed. "Of course you're in love with her."

"That's enough, Nafisa," their mother said, rising from her prayer mat. She walked slowly towards her bed, sinking into the mattress with a decided groan.

"I'm happy for you, Adnan," she said, watching him as he walked towards the window. The sight outside was enough to instantly spoil his mood as he saw Zainab sitting beside their father out by the pool, smiling at something he said.

"Adnan?" she called, her tone indicating that he had failed to answer a question.

"Hm?"

"Don't you think it's a bit too soon to be talking about marriage?" she asked.

"I've known Afrah for nearly a year now," he said. "I think I'm fairly certain that I want to marry her."

"Nafisa," their mother said, her eyes still on him. "Would you please excuse us?"

"But I want to hear it all," she pursed her lips. "I want to hear how Afrah managed to charm the pants off my dear brother."

"I assure you, my pants are still on at the moment," he laughed. With a silent roll of her eyes, Nafisa huddled out of the room.

"Adnan," his mother said the moment they were alone, "I don't think this is a good idea."

Her words stung, no more so than he had imagined they would. Of course she would refuse. He had anticipated it even.

"Why do you think so, mother?" he asked, sitting on the chair beside her.

"Adnan, you have a big heart," she said. "It's a good thing you do, and I'm glad my son is kind enough and compassionate enough to be able to do so much good in a world filled with nothing but misery and bleakness. But sometimes, more often than not, you tend to think with your heart and not your head."

"Mother," he said, "I have thought about this extensively for the last few months."

"And you're absolutely certain that there is no part of her that you aren't willing to live with? No part you're not willing to tolerate?"

"What do you mean?"

"She hates this family, Adnan. For some strange reason -and I have thought about this for the last few years-, she holds a grudge against us. I haven't the faintest clue why she does, or what anyone did to upset her. But ever since that visit, she has grown apart from us all."

Adnan slid off the chair silently, returning to the window once again, even though he knew the sight downstairs would do nothing to help his mood.

"Do you really want to marry a woman who hates your family?" she asked.

"Afrah doesn't hate you," he said quietly, willing himself to believe it was true. "She's just not a very social person."

"The woman fainted only from a conversation with your sister," she explained calmly, in a tone one might have used when explaining to a toddler that one and one equals two.

"It was just a panic attack," he said. "She has those sometimes."

"But why Nafisa specifically?" she pressed on. "They used to be inseparable; two peas in a pod. And one day, Afrah just upped and decided to end that friendship. Nafisa swore to me that she did nothing to upset her. And I had to watch her breaking down right before my eyes as she lost her best friend so suddenly."