Amani regarded Hina over the tips of her fingernails as she inspected her nail colour....
COVER STORY
“What is it about your engagement that you can’t tell us?” Gohar leaned forward, looking at Hina with concern. “Come on, spit it out,” said Amani, snapping her fingers irritably. “Quickly, or our ice cream is going to turn to soup.”
Hina sighed. She twisted her fingers in her lap. Closing her eyes, she thought about the immediate loss of status she was going to suffer at the hands of her friends by confiding what she was about to share. She opened her eyes, thinking that she would rather lose status with her friends today in order to gain better chances of figuring out what to do next.
“What I haven’t told you about my engagement is ...” Hina took a deep breath. “I’m not supposed to know about it.” She looked at her friends’ faces closely. Amani and Gohar stared back at her. Finally, Amani leaned back and said, “What is it you are not supposed to know?”
“Well ...” Hina didn’t know where to look. Gohar’s hand landed on hers across the table, making Hina look up.
“Are they not involving you in the arrangements?” Gohar asked. “You’re not supposed to know the details?”
“It’s not like that. It’s just — my parents didn’t tell me about my engagement. Ray told me about their decision in secret, but my parents don’t know that I know.”
“But ...” Gohar brought her other hand to grip Hina’s. “Have you met his family? Have you seen him before at other social events?”
“No,” Hina said. “Never heard about him before in my life.”
“I see how this is,” Amani said, tapping the table with her finger. “Your parents want to get you engaged without giving the guy’s side the opportunity to back out.”
“What?” Hina sat up straight and glared at Amani.
“Amani!” Gohar clapped her hands to her chest in alarm.
“Would you like us to bring your bill?” asked a waiter who had shown up out of the blue.
“Go away!” All three girls said at once. The waiter backed off. “We’ll tell you when we’re ready,” Gohar said, adding with an uncharacteristic sharpness, “New hires. No recognition of regular faces.”
“What do you mean by that, Amani?” Hina asked, crossing her arms. “Explain yourself. What is it about me that makes you say that?”
Amani regarded Hina over the tips of her fingernails as she inspected her nail colour. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? If potential matches had time to see you up close and get to know you, it wouldn’t be so easy to marry you off. Like this, however...”
“Amani, you’re not making any sense,” Gohar said. “Of course, they must have some idea about Hina beforehand. That’s why they thought it wasn’t necessary to meet her in person and just go straight for the engagement.”
Hina pounded a fist onto the table. “Will you stop thinking my life has to work just like your lives work, for just one minute? Gohar, you’re engaged to your cousin. That explains why you think someone knowing about you beforehand is good enough. As for you, Amani...”
“Yes?” Amani smiled and leaned forward on her elbows across the table.
“You can’t see past hanging out with a family friend for half your life before getting engaged to him,” Hina said.
“That is exactly my point.” Amani’s smile widened. “Moeed has had more than enough time to reject me for any reason. He hasn’t. That’s just his confidence in his decision of choosing me.”
The waiter wordlessly left the bill at the edge of the table and slipped away. Hina grabbed it and waved it in Amani’s face.
“If you’re such an expert at this stuff, how about telling me what to do instead of judging me?” she said, her voice shaking. Gohar made to grab the bill from Hina’s hands, but Hina snatched it back. Running her finger down the bill, she said, “If you know so much about how to do it right, then tell me what to do.”
There was a pause. “What do you want to do, Hina?” Gohar finally asked.
“I want to know,” Hina said. “How did you get to know your fiancé?”
“Ah, well.” Amani tilted her head at an angle. “It’s a funny story. I never really thought about him that way until-”
“That’s not what she’s asking about,” Gohar interrupted. “I’ll tell you when I found out I was getting engaged.” She blushed. “It’s like this-”
“Sorry to interrupt you,” Hina said, “but that’s not what I meant. I’m asking, how did you know all about the person you were getting engaged to? I want to know how to find out more about him.”
“Now you’re talking.” Amani grinned. “You’re going to have to make some space on your phone.”
“Why?” Hina asked.
“To download every social media app. You want to find him and look at everything you can on every app. You should also try searching for him on dating apps.”
“What?” Hina looked confused.
“Just to see whether he has an account there. Maybe he isn’t taking it seriously and is still using the app even though he’s getting engaged soon,” Amani said.
Hina frowned.
Amani added, “A lot of girls find out behind the scenes information that way!”
“Yes, but...” Hina pursed her lips. “I don’t want to get into all that stuff.”
“At least search on the social apps you already use,” Amani said. “You’ll be surprised how much you can find.”
“I don’t know...” Hina stared off into the distance. “His social media presence could be really different from how he actually is.”
“Let me tell you how to do it,” Gohar said. “The old-fashioned way.”
“You would know all about that,” Amani said.
Gohar ignored her. “You know how there’s always a chatterbox in the family?”
“A what?” Hina asked.
“Some auntie who knows everything about everyone and can tell you all there is to know,” Gohar said. “Just a regular conversation with someone like that can bring up a lot of useful information.”
“Look at Gohar, navigating the social circle, making us proud,” Amani said, pulling out her wallet.
Hina handed Amani the bill along with her share of money.
Amani slapped a few notes on top of it. Gohar added hers quietly.
“What I really want to know is how I can find out about him without other people finding out,” Hina said.
Gohar placed the bill at the edge of the table and the waiter swooped in to collect it. She looked thoughtful. “You know, Hina,” she said. “You have one great resource.”
“What is it?” Hina asked.
“Your brother,” Gohar said.
Hina sighed. “I thought you were going to say something useful.”
“Just try it,” Gohar said.
***
“Gohar told me to try something,” Hina said to Ray that evening.
“What, brush your hair every day?” asked Ray. He paused typing at his laptop to shoot her a look. “Doesn’t look like you made much progress.”
Hina rolled her eyes. “No, something else.”
“A new skincare routine?” Ray ran his finger across the touchpad to keep the screen from turning off. “That seems like something you should start thinking about.”
“That’s not it either,” said Hina. “Will you get off my case about beauty tips already?”
“What else could you possibly want to try?” Ray asked.
Hina fixed Ray with a piercing look. “I want to try getting to know my fiancé.”
To be continued...
