Accidentally Engaged

by Farah Heron

  Her best friend was, of course, shocked and appalled that Reena would do such a thing as elope after only a few weeks of dating, and spoke louder and faster than normal voicing her objections. But once she got it off her chest, Amira informed Reena she wouldn’t allow her best friend to tie the knot without standing next to her. She assured them that she and Duncan would leave straight after work and arrive at the apartment, hopefully before the officiant.

  She called Saira next, who sounded surprised but happy. She said she was glad Reena was doing this, because if Mum disagreed with any of her own wedding plans, she could just threaten to elope like her big sister. Reena wanted to call Marley and Shayne next, but she knew they were both working late shifts at their retail jobs.

  And so, on Friday night, under the October stars on the tiny back deck of her father’s building still decorated with glowing white balls of light and rainbow-colored patio chairs, Reena Manji and Nadim Remtulla were married. The bride wore a turquoise and pink lehenga with her hair open on her shoulders, silver anklets on her feet, and to the groom’s delight, no shoes. The groom wore a gray kurta with turquoise Converse high-tops that he bought to match the bride’s lehenga. Standing beside them, the maid of honor wore a black pencil skirt with killer stiletto boots, the bridesmaid (who’d rushed straight from work) wore jeans and a Nourish health-food store T-shirt, and the best man wore jeans and a red plaid flannel shirt, his vibrant red beard reflecting the low light on the deck.

  It was the strangest wedding Reena had ever attended, and it was exactly the fairy-tale wedding she didn’t know she wanted. In a single word, it felt perfect.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  After the ceremony the entire wedding party started brainstorming plans for a reception. And Saturday morning they started making phone calls to plan the event. Not too early, though. It was, after all, the day after Reena’s wedding night. First, they called Steve at the Sparrow to secure the venue. Then, together, they called Anderson, explaining that Nadim needed to head back to Tanzania this week, so could they please bump up the video shoot for the contest finals. Anderson, thankfully, was easily convinced, once Reena hinted that Shayne would be there. Then they called their family and friends to invite them—and they fully expected a significant portion of those calls to go badly.

  Mum and Dad were not happy. In fact, it took Reena a while to get them to believe she was married at all. And once they did, Mum was so furious, she hung up on Reena.

  Well…at least it was better than yelling? Hopefully with time their anger would mellow a bit. Reena shrugged as she put her phone down, not really caring too much what her parents thought right now.

  “What’d your father say?” she asked Nadim as he walked out of his room. Reena did not see it as a good sign that he had been in there for less than fifteen minutes.

  He squeezed his lips together before smiling sadly. “He’s not impressed.”

  Reena didn’t know if he wasn’t pleased that Nadim eloped, or if it was his choice of bride. Either way, she could see how upset Nadim was about the damage to the relationship with his father. Reena crossed the room and put her arms around her husband. She wouldn’t press—if he didn’t want to tell her what his father said, it was fine. She wasn’t fooling herself—she knew they were building something, and they weren’t there yet. But they would be.

  They held each other tightly for several seconds. He inhaled deeply into her hair. “Love you,” he whispered.

  “Love you, too.”

  Shayne and Marley appeared soon after, squealing with joy over Reena’s texts about last night’s wedding. Amira and Duncan, who were still across the hall in Reena’s apartment, heard the squealing and came to join the party. And it really was a party, because she was still telling Shayne and Marley about their moonlit wedding when there was a loud banging on Nadim’s door.

  Reena took a deep breath before opening it. She knew who it would be.

  “Reena, is this some joke?” Mum said the moment the door was open. Her father was there, too. Both with tight faces and stiff postures. Saira stood behind them, a wide smile on her face. And Ashraf stood behind her, looking bewildered about this family he’d attached himself to. She didn’t blame him.

  “C’mon in. The more the merrier.” She motioned her family into Nadim’s apartment. It was a tight squeeze. Ten people in a small apartment covered with boxes and suitcases.

  Mum walked in, dropped her purse on the counter, and turned, glaring at Reena. “You really married him?”

  “Yes. We eloped last night. I’m very happy, Mum.”

  Mum somehow managed to make her frown bigger. “Without your family? And what is this…eloped! That is not a wedding! You need a Nikah in the Jamatkhana, and mehndi, and a big reception. Maybe at the Toronto Ismaili Centre, or—”

  “Wait—so you don’t have an issue with who I married, or that I did it so quickly, only that I didn’t have a big wedding?”

  Amira stepped forward. “It was a lovely ceremony. Outside, under the stars.”

  Mum glared at Amira for three seconds before turning back to Reena. “She was there, but not us? Not your sister?”

  “Actually, I was there,” Saira interjected. “I was sworn to secrecy, though. It was so romantic! Might think about eloping myself!”

  Mum glared at Saira this time. She was really getting good mileage out of her frown today. This must be how Mum made those Vegas high rollers quiver in their seats.

  “Um,” Marley said, inching awkwardly toward the door. “Hey, Duncan and Amira, why don’t we go upstairs to my place. Duncan said he wanted to see my…um…Gucci bag?”

  Reena snorted. She couldn’t blame her friends for seeking a swift escape from the family drama unfolding. She only wished she could go with them.

  The moment Marley, Shayne, Amira, and Duncan were out of the apartment, Dad sighed and sat heavily on that hideous green armchair. Reena looked from one parent to the other, wondering if she should offer them chai or vodka or anything that could cut through the thick tension in the room, but decided against it—Nadim’s coffee cups were packed. She motioned for Mum to sit on the couch and took the seat next to her. Ashraf and Saira took the barstools in the dining room, and Nadim sat on the other side of Reena, immediately putting his hand on her knee and squeezing shakily. She squeezed back, giving her husband the strength he was looking for.

  She smiled. Husband, husband, husband.

  She freaking loved that. Her hand covered his.

  Dad cleared his throat. “I wanted to come speak to you alone, but all of…them insisted on joining us.”

  “As they should,” Reena said. “This is a family, right?”

  Dad gestured to Nadim with his hand. “Your father called me ten minutes after Reena did. But you probably knew that.”

  “I assumed he would,” Nadim said.

  “He thinks I forced you to elope so I could get his money back. That’s not true, but I had no answer as to the reason why you have done this. He wants you to get the marriage annulled.”

  “We did this because we want to be married. This wasn’t about money,” Reena said, teeth clenching.

  Nadim squeezed her even tighter. “I married her because I love her, sir. More than I’ve ever loved anyone. And I will spend the rest of my life showing her that.”

  Damn. Why weren’t they alone? She wondered briefly if she could pull this man to his bedroom to kiss him senseless.

  Mum frowned sharply. “So, you’re going against your father’s wishes?”

  Nadim nodded. “He pulled his investment in the Diamond project, so it doesn’t matter what he says anymore. My life, and my job, are no longer tied to him. He wanted me to marry Reena, and I have. I don’t care that it’s not according to his terms, or that’s he’s suddenly decided she’s not good enough. He’s wrong—Reena is everything. More than I deserve.”

  Dad’s face softened just a hint. “This isn’t a game. This is my daughter’s life.”

  “Ye
s, Dad. It’s my life,” Reena clarified. “And you used us both. Used Nadim because you needed his father’s investment and me because his father wanted a good wife for him. So don’t pretend you’re suddenly concerned—”

  Dad put his hands up to prevent her from saying more. “I know, Reena. I wanted you to get to know each other, not run away and get married so fast. If this is some sort of rebellion against us…you cannot gamble your life, or your happiness, because of your family’s mistakes.”

  “Why can’t you believe it’s real? Why would you think either of us would marry someone as a rebellion?”

  “I don’t know what to think.” He looked at Nadim. “First engaged to marry Jasmine Shah, and now eloping with my daughter? So, tell me, how can I trust your loyalty to this family?”

  Jesus Christ, Dad needed to stop. “Oh, hell, no.” Reena stood up and pointed a finger at him. “Don’t you play that Godfather intimidation thing the day after I marry the man. Our family…you say…well, did you think about our family when you both lied to all of us? Mum’s off hustling cards with her badass seniors club while Saira smokes spliffs in the garage. And worst of all, you made a deal with a man you barely knew to bring his miscreant son here to marry one of your daughters because your company was swindled, and you won’t admit it! You had no idea of Nadim’s character or integrity, or his life before moving here, and yet you threw me at him like a prized goat! And now you want to talk about family loyalty?” She frowned and looked at Nadim, realizing this monologue wasn’t very generous to him. “Sorry, babe. Love you.”

  He chuckled. “Love you, too. Please, carry on.”

  She stared at her father.

  “It’s medicinal marijuana,” Saira clarified.

  “Hustling cards?” Ashraf asked.

  Reena sat back down and took a deep breath. “Nadim and I are married. This is the life we chose, and you have to accept it. He’s going to Tanzania on Monday, and I’m planning to sponsor his immigration so he can come back as soon as possible. If that doesn’t work, I’ll try to move to Tanzania. We know it’s going to be a tough couple of months, or longer. So, what I need from you, my family, right now, is to please give me space. Support me. I’m going to have enough pain and turmoil…” Her voice cracked. She squeezed her eyes shut a moment. “For the next two days I’m celebrating, because it’s going to be torture to live without my husband for the foreseeable future. I am not letting you guys and your barrel of secrets ruin these two days. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have a wedding reception to plan.”

  Everyone was silent for a while. Long enough to feel awkward. Reena wiped the tears in her eyes and leaned into Nadim, while he squeezed her hand tightly.

  Finally, Mum shifted and looked at Reena. “Reception? You getting biryani, or tandoori and naan?”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  Reena’s family stayed after her little outburst, and together they planned the menu for tomorrow’s party. Mum finally dragged the crew out after chai and cookies, insisting she needed to make the catering order at her favorite Indian restaurant in person, and also had to squeeze time in for a trip to Little India for some emergency sari shopping. Miraculously, no one mentioned anything about the secrets Reena had told when she lost it on them, not the poker, the weed, or even the swindling architect. And that suited her perfectly. She needed to get through these two days—her family was welcome to implode under the weight of all the truths after Nadim left the country.

  It was weird, though, interacting with her parents and Saira with no judgments, no forcing of their ideals on her, just healthy unconditional support—even if it was only short-term. If she’d known all she needed to do was elope to get some normal time with her family, she would have done it years ago.

  But, no. She didn’t know Nadim years ago. And there was no one else in the world she could imagine marrying.

  At eight o’clock Saturday night, long after her family had left, an unexpected mehndi artist showed up, telling Reena she’d been hired to do full bridal mehndi. The poor woman had probably never applied mehndi to a bride’s feet while the groom sat happily on the floor watching the process, but she did a beautiful job anyway.

  Finally, Sunday morning at the regular brunch time, Reena and Nadim met their friends and family in the private functions room at the back of the Sparrow to celebrate their marriage, and to film the final video for the cooking contest. The party was planned with her parents, with collaboration instead of compromise. A traditional Indian meal served in the back room of their favorite pub. Both bride and groom wore the traditional Indian clothing they’d been married in (Reena in strappy sandals instead of barefoot this time), and the guests wore a mixture of formal Indian and Western clothes.

  Shaila Aunty and Amin Uncle arrived together with several trays of jalebi, ganthiya, and platters of sweets. Her aunt hugged her tightly before presenting her with a silver wrapped box. Reena guessed it was filled with a bit of bridal gold. “This is wonderful! Look how sneaky you are, not giving us a hint of this when we met last week! And thank you so much for inviting us to celebrate with you.”

  “Thank you for coming, and for this!” Reena said, taking the box from her aunt.

  “Were we supposed to bring presents?” Shayne asked, walking in with Marley.

  “I didn’t,” Amira said. “But I’ve only been home for three minutes since Friday morning. It’s kind of short notice for presents.”

  “Not for me,” Saira added. “I got her the best present. I doubt anyone will top it.”

  Reena laughed. Saira stealing the thunder only felt hilarious today.

  Steve came into the room. “An enormously pregnant woman and a man with a lot of curly hair just wandered into the bar looking for you, Reena,” he said.

  Saira beamed. “That’s my present!”

  Happy tears and a huge grin erupted on Reena’s face as her big brother and his very pregnant wife came into the room. He laughed as he approached Reena and hugged her tightly.

  “Khizar, you’re here!”

  “We woke up at the crack of dawn to catch a flight to get here on time.” He hugged her again.

  “I didn’t think you’d come when we talked yesterday. I can’t even believe it! I’m so happy to see you!”

  He smiled and kissed her forehead. “My baby sister got married. Where else would I be?”

  “I thought I was the baby sister,” Saira said.

  “You’re both my baby sisters.” He opened his arms to get Saira into the group hug.

  Reena hugged Nafissa next, and rubbed the belly containing her two baby nieces before introducing her new husband to her brother and sister-in-law.

  Husband. She could not stop smiling to herself. How could she have possibly been so lucky?

  “We have a gift, too,” Dad said, “and we’d like to give it to you now, before the party starts,” Dad said.

  Reena looked around. Most of their guests had arrived, as well as the camera crew. Amira and Marley were helping people find seats. She smiled and looked at Mum and Dad, expecting them to pull out a box of wedding jewelry. Instead, Dad handed Nadim a slim envelope.

  With a confused expression, he opened it. Inside, on her father’s company letterhead, was an offer of employment.

  Reena blinked a few times. Was this real? Dad wanted to rehire Nadim? What about his father’s money?

  She looked at her husband, who also looked confused. Then she looked at her father, who was smiling.

  “Nadim, I hired you to work in my company because of your father’s investment. I didn’t expect you would end up being one of the best managers we have ever had. And when I wondered if you and Reena might be a good match, I could not have predicted just how right for each other you two are. Now that you are family, I hope you will let me help you the way I would help any of my children.” He paused, looking from Reena to Nadim. “I would be honored to have you continue to work for me. It is your decision, but should you choose, you can stay here, employed in the fam
ily business as general manager of the Diamond project, with the same ownership stake I agreed on with your father but without his investment. The work visa will continue, and we will all sponsor you to stay here with us. As family.”

  Nadim’s eyes were wide as saucers. “Really?”

  “Yes, really. This is a business decision. Half my construction team was in my office on Friday demanding I bring you back. I made some calls, and thanks to your outreach and professionalism, I have easily secured funding from other investors to keep the project going. And I, personally, would love to finally work with my family.”

  Nadim laughed as he reached out to shake Dad’s hand. “Of course. Yes. I want to be where Reena is. And it would be an honor to continue learning from you, sir.”

  Dad let go of Nadim’s hand and pulled him into a hug. “No more Sir. Dad. Welcome to the family.” He shook his head, smiling. “Heaven help you. You’ll need it.”

  Dad then took Reena’s hands and recited a series of prayers for their happiness, health, and prosperity before pulling her into a hug. “Congratulations, Reena. I really wish you all the best.”

  “Thank you, Dad. Seriously. Thank you so much for this.”

  “No, I feel like we should be thanking you,” Dad said as he stepped back to put a hand on Mum’s shoulder. “Your mother is going to teach me to play cards. She says poker will help me in my business.”

  Reena’s eyes widened. Her father? Poker?

  “It will bring us closer, too,” Mum explained. “We must let each other into our lives.” Reena clutched Nadim’s arm, resting her head on his shoulder. She would never stop letting him into all the parts of her life.