21. Bittersweet

The Khans received the invitation to Aisha Ahmad's Aqeeqa a week prior. It was followed by a phone call from Neela Bashir, who left them with very little room for choice.

So on the day of the event, the ladies of the Khan household dressed in their finest clothes and headed for the venue. Katrina was in all white, as it per the dress code of the party. Her scarf surrounded her oval face in a single layer, and she had light makeup on. Her grandmother Zahira Khan lamented the entire ride over her unmarried granddaughters adorning in that 'inauspicious' color.

The party was being held at the fancy part of the city. Upon entering the convention hall, the group were ambushed by the color pink, flabbergasted by the fact that Neela Bashir had promised them this was a low-key event. Katrina's eyes grazed over some of the best-dressed women she had ever witnessed.

They were greeted by the hosts, Neela was accompanied by one of the prettiest girls Katrina had ever seen, and she had no doubt this was Salman's sister. With her was another man, exceptionally tall and broad shouldered, and in his arms was tucked a tiny baby in a little pink frock. Salman's eyes were gleaming in excitement since their arrival.

Malika and Tamara bonded quickly. Katrina was introduced to so many ladies she began blurring names and faces.

One of the Ahmad sisters was FaceTiming Dahlia.

"Can't believe I'm missing out on this!" The girl cried.

"We miss you too, Boo," Malika responded.

"How're the in-laws?" The third Ahmad sister, Lily asked.

Besides her appeared her husband, who Katrina immediately recognized as Salman's infamous best friend, Kaveh.

They were a lively brunch; albeit tight-knit. Katrina received at least a handful of gazes and reserved smiles.

Malika didn't pay much heed to Katrina's hesitancies, or any of her friends. She held her by the arm at some point, and kept her close to her side almost all evening, enthusiastically involving Katrina in different things. This was a Bashir trait, especially of the women, she had come to notice - to not really care what other people thought.

"Oh my God, I see the nerds. Bunch of nerds. I'd rather die than spend the afternoon with them," this is how Salman Bashir reacted when he saw Ibrahim's high school friends. Regardless, he could he seen having the time of his life with them moments after.

The hours were spent reminiscing old times. The way they were laughing, the boys could be in a classroom somewhere, goofing around behind the teacher's back.

"Apparently some of the teenagers opened an account in Tinder to bust the profiles of guys from our community," Ibrahim said. "Salman, you need some time off to deactivate your account?" He finished with a grin.

"I don't need a dating app to meet girls," Salman scoffed. "Girls find me."

"Hm, how long have you been single, again?"

Aryan Malik strutted towards his friends, the ever so notorious smile plastered to his face, the one that had led Ibrahim to label him as the 'punk'.

"Just spoke to the fraud you were telling me about. I get your concern now. Completely cuckoo if you ask me," Aryan said, making circles with his pointer finger on the side of his temple.

Surprise appeared on Ibrahim's face. "You spoke to Baba Rafique?"

"Ye-, wait," a frown appeared between his brows. "Baba, as in a man? Who are we talking about now?"

"What do you mean? He was a man, last I checked. That's Baba Rafique, the genie I was telling you about."

Ibrahim pointed towards the man sitting in a corner of the room, with his bejeweled turban and accessories. He turned to his friend again, the confusion apparent in his eyes. "Who are you talking about?"

Aryan pointed his thumb over his shoulder, in the direction of Zahira Khan, Katrina and Tamara's grandmother. "Complete psycho," he repeated.

Ibrahim's face fell flat. "That's an innocent old lady, you idiot!"

"Really?" Aryan asked, shooting the woman a brief glimpse filled with apprehension.

"Yes, really!"

"Well, you forgot to mention the crucial information that he's a man, didn't you!" He shrugged, passing Ibrahim to walk towards Baba Rafique's direction this time. "Let's see what that one has to say."

"Whoever gave Aryan Malik that degree in Psychology really needs to reassess their own credibility," Zakariya added, rolling his eyes. Ibrahim let out a chuckle.

Some of the tyrant youngsters of the family had Shahriar Kabir surrounded.

"Found your profile on Tinder, bhaia," one of the girls said, shooting him an evil grin. "We have it screenshot-ed."

"Yes, what're you doing there?" Another one added.

"If you don't want us to show your profile to the aunties, how about you feed us ice-cream and we conveniently forget it we ever saw it?"

Shahriar took a moment to scrutinize the kids, then the look on his eyes turned to approval. "Or how about you just swipe right? You, you right there look old enough." He pointed to a random girl.

The teenagers started squealing in horror.

"For God's sake, Shorty!" Zakariya exclaimed. "Stop being disgusting."

"What?" he raised his shoulders and dropped them. "They're the ones who started it!"

"And that, kids, is why you should stay away from dating apps," Ibrahim announced to the bunch. "Clearly, all you can find there are creepy, old, perverted men."

Time trickled by, Katrina glanced around the room, there were so many people, engrossed in numerous different activities. Salman barely left the side of her grandmother and mother. The special guest of the hour, baby Aisha, had long been laid into her crib, snoring away peacefully. The parents, Ibrahim and Malika, took this opportunity to inhale all the cupcakes being served. Katrina found a quiet corner to let out a breath.

She was sitting by herself when Ibrahim Ahmad walked close to her. Seeing her, he paused and smiled.

"You're Katrina, right?" he asked. "I don't think we've been introduced."

She smiled back timidly. "I know who you are," she replied. "Malika's husband."

"You work with Salman, if I'm not wrong." A playful glint appeared in his eyes at the mention of his brother-in-law.

"Both my cousin and I."

"In that case, you must have only heard the worst of me."

A chuckle left Katrina's lips. "He actually speaks highly of you."

"He does?" Surprise colored Ibrahim face.

She nodded in reply. "He tries to mask it with sarcastic jabs, but I think it's apparent he secretly admires you."

Ibrahim rolled his eyes, but a fond descended on his face, and he shoved his hands inside his pants pockets. "Don't let Salman hear you say that, if he learns people think he likes me, he'll throw himself off the building."

Tamara spotted them from across the room, and made her way towards them. The earlier excitement had worn off, and as the party was nearing its end, the day's length was starting to appear on her face. Soon enough, Lily Ahmad followed her.

"What's going on here?" Salman asked, joining the crowd as well, raising his eyebrows.

"Just inviting them all to my new Salman Bashir hate club," Lily jested.

Salman shook his head hopelessly. "With Ibrahim and Lily together, why am I not surprised? But corrupting my Tamarind in the process?" He clicked his tongue in disapproval.

"Don't you worry, Salman Bhai, I'll retaliate against it by starting a fan club."

Laughter ensued. Katrina found herself smiling too. Chatter hummed around them.

Katrina had always been content with her small circle. She knew they had family in other cities, but her parents never attempted to maintain close ties. But witnessing the cousin bonds, she was beginning to wonder if she had missed out.

She felt eyes on her. Katrina broke out of her chain of thoughts to find a pair of twinkling eyes on her.

"Hi." Salman flashed her his playful grin.

She smiled back. "Hello."

There was momentary silence between them.

"I processed Arafat's resignation yesterday."

Arafat had received an offer from one of the top IT companies in the country, and in a position where he would be leading his own team; which led to the inevitable, him leaving his post at Chattarjee Foods Limited. She lifted her eyes to look at Salman again, even though it was a happy occasion, she knew they were close.

Salman let out a deep sigh. "I heard," he said. "This sucks big time, I'll miss the guy."

"I'm sorry."

He looked at her again, the infamous grin reappearing on his face. "On a better note, the robot deserves it, and so much more. He's finally at a place where they'll utilize his talents to the maximum. I have no doubt that in a couple of years, he and his robot children will be ruling us all with their evil robot servants."

Seeing the fondness in his eyes, even though at the mention of the robot boy, a warmth engulfed Katrina's heart. A beat passed between them. She let out an exhale. "I'm leaving too."

"You are?"

She nodded, watching his expression closely. "I got a better offer as well."

Katrina didn't know what she was expecting, but her stomach squirmed when she saw Salman's face fell.

"When?" he asked.

"Next month."

"This sucks too." That's all he said.

For days after, it nagged Katrina's mind. From his reaction, to his choice of words, to the way he looked at her.

She had been cautious from a young age about who she let in her heart get attached to, but in this case, Salman left her no choice, he forced his way in and made a place in her heart and life.

She wondered if she should have said something, if there was still time to do something about it, and if she would actually regret it in the future if she didn't. Before she could reach a conclusion with her confusing thoughts, Salman made the first move.

...

Only three more chapters and the Epilogue left.