𝟐𝟎. 𝐆𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐚𝐛𝐢 𝐀𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐧

Low murmur greeted Muaaz and I as we stepped into foyer past the front door of Barkat Villa, coming home from work. Taking my shoes off, I stroll into the living room, peeking my head in first.

"Oh, it's Humna aunty, Dani's mom." I tell Muaaz over my shoulder before going forward to greet everybody present.

"Assalamalaikum!" A collective Walaikumsalam boomed in the area. Aunty's head turned in my direction, her face lighting up with a smile.

"Walaikumsalam, bete. It's been so long since I've seen you." She says, taking me in an embrace. The motherly warmth emanating from her body taking me back to college days.

"I'm sorry. Office keeps me very busy."

"I know." She flashes me a knowing smile as we pull away. "I'm aware of the project you're working at."

Her eyes move from me to looking at someone over my shoulder. Following her gaze I notice Muaaz standing a couple steps away from us. With the way her eyes are glinting, I wonder what khayali pulao Daniya has fed her.

"Umm," I shoot her an uncertain glance but she flashed an invisible smirk in return.

Muaaz steps closer, greeting her with one of his best smiles.

"Walaikumsalam, khush raho." She says placing a hand at his head, before bringing it down to his cheek. "Mashallah, bohot pyaara bacha hai."

Mumma cuts in. "Mera nephew hai, Muaaz."

"Did you know he was to be working in the same company as Muskaan's?"

"I had no idea." He answered. But the way mumma and Machi cleared their throats and avoided looking in my direction, I picked up something was wrong.

That's when it clicks.

"You knew?!" I ask them, utterly horrified they'd hide something so big like this from me.

"Muaaz did mention he was working for your company at breakfast table the next morning." Machi said.

"We didn't want to overwhelm him in any way." Mumma reasoned. "And knowing the situation we were all in back then, I didn't want to jeopardize him."

The phrase 'situation back then' had me snort. My gaze lands on him at the same time his did and we share a small smile. Guess we did come a long a way.

"I shall go, freshen up." Muaaz says and spins on his heel in the direction of his room.

"I'll go make tea." Machi announced but I wave a hand at her, saying I'll do the honors and leave for the kitchen.

"Muskaan ko dekhe rishta phir?" Humna aunty asks. I slow down on purpose so I could hear Mumma's response.

"Main kabse peeche hoon Fahad ke ye topic ko le kar, abhi tak koi response nahi aaya unke paas se. Abhi bhi Muskaan baby hai humari."

Facts.

"Bachiyon ko unke ghar ka kardiyea, apan marne se pehle unka ghar basadiyea to ek sukoon hojata."

"True. And you had it so easy!" Mumma exclaimed. "Getting Daniya married to your nephew."

"I have only one daughter. Didn't want her marrying outside family and sending her away."

I contemplate if I should stick around for a little longer and continue to eavesdrop but decide against it, stepping into the kitchen and out of their earshot.

Getting all the things ready, I turn on the stove and fill the pot with a glass of water and do the drill, watching the water simmer as the tea leaves began to lose its color to the boiling water.

"Hey,"

I jump in my place, placing a hand over my ramming heart that skipped a beat out of pure terror.

"Tum!" I exclaim, before swatting Muaaz's arm. "Dara diyea mujhe!"

But this man laughed to himself as I take a moment to catch my breath.

"You were so lost in those bubbles, didn't hear me approaching you."

"Good excuse." I mutter, grabbing the vessel containing boiled milk and pour some into the chai pot.

"Tea!" Muaaz exclaims. "Can I have a cuppa, please?"

I looked at the amount of tea leaves floating in the concoction of milk and water, only enough for one person. "Do you want it right now? I'll make some for you and I after dinner, if it's ok."

"Not a problem." He shrugs, sipping water from his bottle. I expected him to leave but instead he stood a hand away from me, his hip leaning on the counter. I notice he'd changed into his usual t shirt and sweatpants, impressed at the speed at which he does things.

"How long have you known Daniya?" He asks in an attempt to strike a conversation.

"We went to the same school, same college or university whatever you call it. Spent the 4 years of our degree together and got accepted in the same company."

"Like Majid and I. Cute."

"Your best friend?"

He smiles ruefully. "Bestfriend, bully, whatever you call it."

"Why bully?" I scrunch my nose.

"Cuz he does bully me all the time for consuming Bollywood so much."

"Are you that big of a movie bluff?"

"Not a movie bluff exactly. I watch desi movies, old ones mostly any chance I get. And by old ones I mean from the time of Raj Kapoor, dilip Kumar and all of those."

Ammah! Dadi ke zamane ke movies dekhta ine.

"May I ask why?"

"Why what?"

"Why would you watch movies so old over and over again and not aaj kal ke."

"No reason." He shrugs. "Guess they had good taste back then. But hey, I do watch the latest ones as well. Just that I like the cinema from 80 and 90. Makes sense?"

"I guess."

"You don't watch that often?" He asks softly, tilting his head to the side.

"I am more into reading than watching. Books over movies any time any day."

"Not even Pakistani dramas? My women back home are massive drama watchers. Every second of the day I have some episode running on TV." I give a hearty laugh at his words.

"I do watch those. But I'm keen on the cast."

"Mmmm. Do you have any favorites?"

"Not really. It can be Bilal, Hamza, Shery, Wahaj, Sagal, ayeza, yumna, any one. Good plot matters too."

"Fair enough."

"What about you? Don't you have any favorites?"

"Not when you're forced to sit through every episode of every drama from every channel."

"Poor thing." Turning off the stove, I reach for the cup and strain the hot beverage into it.

"You hungry?" He asks.

"Nahh."

"Me neither." He makes a face with his nose scrunched and hand rubbing over his stomach.

"That's never heard of." I tease.

"Heyyyy!"

Muaaz passes me the plastic tray, and together we leave the kitchen.

"See you around," he says, before spinning and almost colliding into Abbu. "S-sorry, sir." He stutters, steping back immediately and putting a couple cms distance between the two.

I jam my lips together and pretend I didn't see the interaction, his surprise mixed with fear after realizing he had stumbled into Abbu and abbu's stern gaze in return.

Guess somethings never change.

⚜️

"Good thing Daniya's getting married." Dada jaan says.

"Atleast someone's getting married."

I shoot a glare at Fatty, who thought it was acceptable to paas toxic aunty remarks at me.

It was time for the all of Barkat Villa's residents to come together for dinner. And today's topic was Daniya's shaadi.

"What?" Fatty feingns innocence. "Did I say something wrong?" He looks around the table but no one met his eye like I assumed. I flash him a smug grin in return.

"Jiski jab hona hai hojati." Abbu says, as a matter of factly.

"Why are you so excited for my wedding?" I ask. "Bohot utawle hore nawabzaade. Do you have someone in mind for yourself?"

He gave me a look that translated into 'you caught me' with his tongue poking the inside if his cheek. Fatty was about to open his mouth but decided to shoot a look in the direction of his father. Who was already looking at him, almost daring him to say whatever he was going to say. That look shut Fatty up pretty nice, who focused on his plate filled with food.

"Shaadi se yaad aaya, Muaaz probably has nothing shaadi appropriate packed in his duffel." Mumma said.

I gasp, getting excited already. "Does that mean we go shopping?" I grin at her, earning chuckles from my family.

"Not for you. Its for Muaaz only."

"Yeah, but I take him shopping, no?"

"Umm, excuse me, I?" Farha questions.

"You can join if you want. I'm sure we have enough room in the car."

"It's not can, I am coming for sure." She affirmed. "But, we need someone else. Someone older to keep the shopaholic in check." She said reffering to me

I look at Farha with mock offense. "Excuse me, shopaholic? I'm just well-prepared."

Mumma nods in agreement with Farha, though, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. "Farha has a point. We can't let you loose in the mall without supervision."

Before I can protest, Machi chimes in, her tone firm but playful. "I think it would be wise to have an elder accompany you."

I roll my eyes dramatically. "Fine, who's coming then?"

Fatty perks up, his eyes gleaming with mischief. "I nominate Dada jaan. He's the perfect chaperone. No one can outdo his wisdom."

Dada jaan chuckles, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "Mere me kahan hai utni jaan baaki to roam on the streets from one shop to the other."

"Nahi, daddy. Jaana muskaan to Rizwan ki dukaan rehta. She won't take you around much."

"Aye hayeee! As much as I'd love to, I know for certain he doesn't have anything for guys. Unfortunately, we are shopping for this guy right here." I say, pointing at Muaaz who was yet to utter a word tonight.

"Then, I think,Fahad should go. He knows the shops for men better than me."

All eyes turned to Abbu who in turn was looking at Muaaz who sat frozen in his place.

"I wouldn't mind." Abbu said, locking his gaze on Muaaz across the table.

Ummm...

Muaaz didn't meet our eyes, and sat staring at his plate.

"Fahad, you're busy this Sunday." Mumma cuts in. "Bhool gaye, kiya? You had your once in every 6 months meeting with the Board of directors."

Bachgaye!

I notice Muaaz's shoulders relax in his seat as I gave a sigh of relief.

"Koi baat nahi. We'll take Fatty with us."

"Urm, excuse me, aaplog meko gaadi ke baher bhi nikadiyea the? I was going with you, but we needed an elder."

"Ranchu?" I ask, looking in his direction.

"Main kiya karun bete? You guys go ahead."

"Daada jaan, guess it's back to you."

"Alright, I'll come along. But remember, no unnecessary spending."

I grin widely, feeling a surge of excitement. "Deal! This will be fun. Right, Muaaz?"

Muaaz looks up from his plate, startled. "Wait, why am I being dragged into this?"

"Because it's your wardrobe that needs an upgrade," I remind him with a wink. "Besides, we need your expert opinion."

He groans playfully, running a hand through his hair. "Fine, but only if we stick to what we actually need."

"Agreed!" I say, reaching across the table to high-five him in the spur of the moment. The contact makes a satisfying smack, and I can't help but freeze in shock.

*crickets*

What on earth did I just do? Wo bhi puri dunya ke saamne?

I scan the faces of my family around me, letting out a nervous chuckle when no one in particular seemed to notice.

Dada jaan claps his hands together, bringing me back, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "Alright then, it's settled. Tomorrow, we embark on a shopping adventure."

Fatty smirks, his gaze shifting to Muaaz before fixing on me. "Make sure to bring back some snacks. Shopping can be exhausting. Especially if you're going with Baj."

Everyone laughs, and the conversation shifts to planning the details of our trip.

As we discuss our plans, I catch a knowing glance between Mumma and Abbu. There's something more they're not telling us, but I decide to let it slide for now. Tomorrow's adventure is already shaping up to be an interesting one.

The dinner continues with light-hearted banter, and the anticipation for tomorrow's outing adds a lively spark to the evening.

Right then my phone pings with an incoming text.

Can we talk?

It read. Swiftly grabbing it, I swipe it open and type in my reply.

Having dinner.

Send a pic. The person requested.

Sucking in a deep breath, I angle my phone so I could capture most of the family in the frame and capture the moment and hit send.

⚜️

"Chai!"

"Thanks Kishore," I say, taking my cup and sliding the other to Noor across the desk. From the corner of my eyes, I see her reach for the paper cup. Without feeling the need to take my eyes off the paperwork, I ask her to stop. "Wait up, Noor, too hot."

The hand that was so close to picking the paper cup, pauses and returns back to the keyboard. I reach for my cup, blow a little and sips gingerly, testing the temperature.

"It's good."

Noor blows a breath and relaxes in her chair, minimizing the all open tabs on the screen and shuts her eyes briefly. When she opens them, her gaze lands on Muaaz who had his chai in one hand and a paper in the other.

"Tea break, Muaaz." She tells me with a scowl.

"Yeah, I know." I replied, still focused on reading.

I feel Noor lean forward, and takes the paper from my hand, careful to not spill the hot beverage.

"Eyyy,"

"Tea break me sirf Tea. Nothing else."

"Ok, you're the boss." I sing, raising my arms up in surrender. It is as though it click for the both of them what his next move was going to be. We reach for my phone at the same time but Noor was a second quicker, and grabbed the device off the table.

"You're not playing that song!" She announced as we shared a hearty laugh ignoring the fact that our minds were in complete sync with eachother.

My phone buzzes in her grip, and she looks at the screen to see his mother calling.

"It's your mom."

"Not Mom. It's mum."

"I forget you're a Brit. It's you're mum. Better?" I smile at her in response before answering the call.

"Salam!"

"Are you at work?"

"Ji."

"Ok." I frown at the screen when the line goes dead.

"What happened?" Noor asks, enjoying her tea.

"She asked me if I was at work and I said yes and she hung up."

My phone rings immediately, and it was mum again. FaceTiming me. Quickly running my hand through my hair, I finger comb the sides and bounce my brows at Noor, wordlessly asking if I look presentable enough to speak to my own mother.

"Just your--" She points to my head. "Chonch at the back."

"Cho---sorry, what!?"

"Ufff Mr. Angrez," she rolls her eyes, and ushers me forward. I lean over the table, and I realised it was too much for me. The sudden close proximity my senses couldn't bear the stimulation.

Heat crept up my face as I felt her close, my nose tingling with the sweet smell of the perfume that she wore. Goose bumps pricked my skin when I felt her fingers work on the cows lick section of my hair at the crown of my head.

Noor wasn't looking at me, her eyes zeroed in on the task at hand while I didn't let the opportunity go to treat my eyes with the close up of her. Her honey green eyes that shine bright like a warm sunny day 24/7. The tiny button nose that scrunches up any chance it gets that I feel like pulling it. Her smile, whenever she smiles, now has the power to light my heart up like Christmas tree especially when I am the reason for making her smile.

My eyes find their way back to hers again, my mind doing its own thing as it mentally pulled up a song and pushed play for me to hear the lyrics of the old classic in my ears.

'Gulabi aankhen jo teri dekhi

Sharabi ye dil ho gaya

Sambhalo mujhko o mere yaaro

Sambhalna mushqil ho gaya--

"Done." She says, breaking my chain of thoughts and ending the song mid sentence.

"Thanks, cousin." I am able to say with ease as though I wasn't just basking in the close proximity.

I sit back in my chair and hit answer. Ma's face taking over my screen.

"Salam!"

"Walaikumsalam, Muskaan hai?"

"Haan."

"Put her on the phone then."

My brows pull together. "Take to me first."

"I talk to you everyday." She argued.

"No, you don't. Not anymore."

"Acha, we'll sort it out later. Abhi to muskaan ko do phone."

"Ma, but I am your son!" I claim as though she didn't know while Noor laughed to herself in the corner.

"Thanks for telling me, bete. I didn't know."

"Maaa!"

"Stop whining. Saira ke saath rehke American hojare tum. Maaaaa!" Noor burst out laughing at that, slapping the table lightly. As much as I was annoyed at Ma for saying thay, I couldn't help the smile that broke out on my face looking at Noor.

"Muaaz," Ma calls over the phone, regaining my attention. "Give her the phone, baba."

"First, promise to FaceTime me when I get back home."

"I promise."

"Pakka?" I press.

Ma smiles at me. "Urdu saaf hori mere bete ki."

"Did I get it right without the accent?" I grin.

"Mm-hmmm." She nods.

"See, I'm making progress." I tell Noor before turning back to Ma. "You may talk to her now."

"Assalamalaikum, aunty." She smiles at the screen while I relax in my chair watching the two women, having significant importance in my life, chat.

They talk about anything and everything, from work, home, weather, news, food, family, fashion, and most importantly me. Seeing them speak to eachother with such energy and enthusiasm no could tell these two are speaking to eachother after years. The last time they spoke was probably when Noor could only do gu-gu ga-ga.

"Did I tell you we're taking your shahzada to shopping?"

"Oh, your bestfriends wedding. How's that coming along?" Ma asks.

"Ohkay. Well be starting all the shaadi things this Sunday right from the house decor."

"Sounds great. Reminds me of the time when I was getting married and we had all the family together." Ma sighs, and I notice the awkwardness cross Noor's face. I step in instinctively, reaching for the phone and plucking it from her hand.

"Ok, Ma. You're making her uncomfortable. We'll talk later, got work to do."

"No, no, I'm fine--" Noor protested, as I took my phone from her.

"Let me say bye." Ma said. I flip the phone, so she could bid her farewell with all the 'khush raho, khayal rakho,' stuff. "Aur, zyada tang kara na Muaaz shopping ke time, mujhe call karo. I'll deal with him."

"Ok, aunty."

"Trust me, you need it. He is the most krankiest person on Earth on it comes to shopping."

"Thank you for embarrassing me, Ma. I'll speak to you later about it. And prove you wrong this time."

"Dekhinge." She challenged. "Text me when you leave so I'll keep my phone on me the whole time."

"Allah Hafiz." I say and stab the end icon.

"Mahn, you guys are cute." Noor says, beaming.

"Whyyy, thank you."

Noor's eyes still sparkle from the warm conversation as we hear a knock on the office door. A peon stands there, looking slightly anxious.

"Saab, bibi, bade saab bulaye hai cabin mein." Kishore announces.

I glance at Noor, who shrugs slightly, and we both get up to head to the boss's office. The walk to his cabin is brief but feels longer, filled with a shared sense of anticipation.

As we enter, Afsar, our boss, barely looks up from his papers. His office is large, dominated by a massive mahogany desk and shelves lined with books and awards.

It's the first time im taking in his office like this since only my second visit here. The first time around, I was thrown off guard with the surprise of seeing Noor here and the tension that followed blurred my forst day at Heritage.

Afsaar finally lifts his gaze, and his expression is stern. "Sit," he says curtly. We comply, settling into the chairs opposite him.

"Muskaan, Mr. Hussein, I've been reviewing the budget report you submitted for the project. Frankly, I expected better," he begins, his voice dripping with disappointment. "Muskaan, the budget you've outlined is way over what we agreed upon. We're talking a significant overrun. What's your excuse?"

Noor's cheeks flush, but she keeps her composure. "Sir, I understand your concern. The increased budget is due to several unforeseen expenses, including additional resources and last-minute client requests that weren't accounted for in the original plan."

Afsaar leans back in his chair, unimpressed. "Excuses. If you can't manage the project within the allocated budget, maybe you're not cut out for this job."

Before Noor can respond, I interject. "Mr. Khan, with all due respect, Ms. Noor has been managing these unexpected costs with a lot of diligence. The client's additional requests and the need for extra resources were necessary to maintain the quality of our deliverables. We should be discussing how to manage these changes more effectively in the future, not just blaming one person."

His eyes narrow as he looks at me. "So, you're saying it's not her fault?"

"I'm saying it's a team effort, and the blame shouldn't fall solely on one person," I reply firmly.

Noor, emboldened by my support, adds, "We all have areas to improve, and I'm committed to ensuring we stay within budget moving forward, Mr. Khan. But it would be helpful to have more flexible contingency plans and support from leadership when unexpected expenses arise."

There's a tense silence as Afsaar studies us both. Finally, he exhales slowly. "Very well. I'll be watching closely. Make sure the final draft is within budget and meets all client requirements. Muaaz, ensure the team is on track and aware of any financial constraints."

We nod, and as we leave his office, Noor gives me a grateful smile. "Thank you for standing up for me," she whispers as we walk back to our desks.

"Always," I reply, feeling a sense of camaraderie and determination as we return to our work.

☕️🥤

Hello fraaands, chai peelo.

Jaate jaate update pe feedback dere jana na bhulo.

Byeeeee!