by Emma Easter
*****
Zainah smiled at Audrey and Sienna as she went with the consultant to try her wedding dress on. Entering the dressing room, she stood still while the consultant handed her the wedding dress Faizan’s sisters had chosen for her.
She had fully agreed when Faizan had told her his sisters wanted to choose her wedding dress and buy it for her, as she didn’t have the faintest idea what an American wedding dress looked like.
The consultant buttoned up the back of the dress, straightened it, and then turned Zainah around so she could look at her reflection in the mirror.
“You look great! What do you think?” the consultant asked, smiling.
Zainah stared at herself in the mirror with a mixture of worry and admiration, but more worry. The wedding gown was a beautiful white satin dress, but it was strapless, had a low neckline, and was fitted to her body. She’d never worn anything as revealing as this. Not even close.
“What’s wrong?” the consultant asked. “You don’t like it?”
Zainah forced a smile. “I do. It’s beautiful… but I have never worn anything like this before. I feel so exposed.”
The consultant laughed. “You are wearing this for your special day. You are not supposed to have worn anything like this before. I think you look spectacular in it.”
Zainah thanked the consultant and then told her she was ready to show the dress to her sisters-in-law. The consultant lifted the dress from behind while Zainah daintily walked out of the dressing room.
The girls gasped as Zainah approached them. She smiled a little shyly as she came to stand in front of them. “What do you girls think?” she asked, looking at the duo. They both had huge smiles on their faces.
“You look amazing!” Audrey said. “Faizan will probably cry when he sees you.”
Zainah laughed. “I doubt that. He is sweet, but he’s not really a crier.”
Sienna had tears in her eyes as she said, “My brother is blessed to have you, Zainah. He loves you so much. I’m really glad you are here because he was a wreck for so long without you.”
Zainah held back a sob. When Sienna got up, Zainah hugged her tightly. Audrey also got up and wrapped her arms around her. The three of them laughed and wept together for a few minutes and then Sienna and Audrey sat down again.
“You are now officially one of us,” Audrey said to Zainah.
“Thanks,” Zainah said. “You ladies have been so kind to me since I came to America. And I am so glad you helped me pick out this dress because I would not have had the guts to pick it out for myself.”
The consultant led Zainah back to the dressing room. She slipped out of the wedding dress and put on her shift navy blue dress. She walked out of the room and went to meet Sienna and Audrey. They all left the bridal store together and got into Audrey’s car. Sienna sat in front with Audrey, while Zainah got into the backseat.
As they talked, Zainah felt herself becoming a little sad. Soon, Sienna and Audrey would go back to Peru and Miami, respectively. She would have to start taking up a lot of the planning herself. Yes, Faizan would help her out and Audrey would be here on some weekends, but a lot of the planning would fall on her.
Suddenly, she felt her heart twist as she thought of Leila. How she missed her best friend. If Leila were here, she would not have any cause for concern. Even without her sisters-in-law, she and Leila would plan the wedding together. Even though both of them didn’t really know much about planning an American wedding, they would figure it out together as they went along. They always did.
“Zainah, what’s wrong?” Sienna asked, looking back at her. “You suddenly went quiet.”
Zainah sighed softly. “It’s just that I miss my best friend, Leila.”
“Is she at the camp now?” Audrey asked, looking at her in the rearview mirror.
“Yes,” Zainah answered. She looked out the window at the cars zooming past and the big buildings and then thought about the camp, how small the tents were. How simple the life there had been. She wondered what Leila was doing now.
“Is there no way she can come to America for the wedding?” Sienna asked.
“No.” Zainah shook her head. “She doesn’t have any money now to make the trip here or to get a visa, and I don’t have any to give her.”
Sienna looked back at Zainah. “That’s no problem. Any of us can easily sponsor her trip here.”
Zainah shook her head. “I couldn’t ask you to do that. Besides, even if you give her money for the trip, she has no chance to get a visit visa. When I was processing my visa, I researched her chances of getting one because I really wanted her to come to the US for my wedding. I found out that the chances of her getting a visa were almost nil.”
“But we could at least try,” Audrey said. “We are family now, Zainah. If you need something, we are here to make it happen. If we act as your friend’s invitees and sponsors, maybe she would be given a visa. There is no harm in trying.”
Hope began to stir in Zainah’s heart. Maybe Sienna and Audrey were right. When she married Faizan, his sisters would be her family as well. Maybe she should just let them pay for Leila’s trip here. As much as she didn’t want to impose, she really wanted Leila here. A huge grin broke out on her face and she nodded. She leaned forward and said to Sienna and Audrey, “Okay, thank you both so much. I’ll tell Faizan about it.”
“And how will you contact your friend?” Sienna asked.
“I’ll have to try to contact Miriam first. She’s like the leader of our camp and the only one with a phone.”
“But how does your leader charge her phone if there is no electricity?” Audrey asked in a curious voice.
“That is the problem and why I am unable to speak with Leila a lot of times. Miriam tries to conserve the battery power because she only goes to town once or twice a month, so the phone is almost always off. I will keep trying until I get through to her. I’ll ask Leila to leave the camp. We have a friend called Fatima who leaves in a town some distance from the camp. She can stay there while her visa is being processed and it will be easy to contact her from there.”
Sienna turned around and took her hand. “We’ll try everything we can to make sure your friend is here. Don’t worry about it.”
Zainah smiled appreciatively at her.
As soon as they got to Audrey’s house, Audrey went to the room she shared with her husband while Sienna sat on the couch in the living room beside her husband, Bryan. She put her feet up on the coffee table and exhaled loudly. Bryan grinned at her and drew her close.
Zainah smiled at how cute they looked together. Bryan’s hand was on Sienna’s swollen belly, while Sienna ran her fingers through his blond wavy hair. Zainah left them and went to look for Faizan. The house was huge; not quite as huge as the Rahmanis’ mansion, the house she’d worked as a maid last year, but huge all the same. She didn’t find him downstairs, so she climbed up the stairs to search for him.
A few minutes later, she found him on the patio overlooking the courtyard. He was leaning on the balustrade with his back to her, looking into the distance. He turned when she began walking toward him and a huge smile spread across his face. Holding his arms wide open, he enfolded her in as she went to him.
“How did your dress fitting go?” Faizan asked, squeezing her tightly.
“It went great,” she said, her head buried in his chest. When he drew back slightly, she realized her words had been muffled and he hadn’t heard what she’d said. She said again, “The dress fitting went well. It doesn’t need any adjustments as it’s perfect the way it is.”
Faizan smiled, kissed her cheek, and then let her go. “I can’t wait to see you in it,” he said, leaning on the concrete balustrade again.
She nodded and stood beside him.
For a long moment, they stayed in comfortable silence, gazing at the courtyard below with the swimming pool surrounded by palm trees. After some minutes, he turned and said to her, “I think I’ve found a few places that we might be able
to move in to once we are married. We can go see all of them sometime this week, and then we’ll both decide which place we like best. It definitely won’t be as big as this one, but it will be nice.”
“I would like that very much,” she said, smiling. She liked this house where he lived with his sister and her husband, but it wasn’t theirs. As big as the house was, she wanted them to start their married lives together in total privacy. A shiver of anticipation ran through her and she said to him, “I can’t wait for us to get married and start living together.”
When he turned to wink at her, she smiled from embarrassment and pleasure. “I can’t wait either,” he said. He took her hand, kissed it, and threaded their fingers together.
For about an hour, they talked about their hopes for their future together.
“I want a lot of children,” he said to her. “That’s if you want that as well.”
She nodded, her heart beating with excitement at the thought of having his children. She couldn’t believe she was standing beside the man she loved with everything in her, talking about marrying him and having his kids. “As you know, I grew up in a large family. I want that as well.” She grinned. “But unlike my father, I’ll be the only woman having those kids for you.”
He looked into her eyes and then put his palm on her cheek. “You are the only woman I want and will ever need as the mother of my children.”
She leaned in to kiss him briefly and then said, “About the wedding, Audrey and Sienna promised to be Leila’s sponsors so she can have a better chance of getting a visa. They also promised to pay for her trip here.”
He shook his head and looked at her. “I asked if I could help with her trip, Zainah, but you said you didn’t want to impose.”
“I told your sisters the same thing, but they insisted. Besides, I didn’t want to burden you financially, knowing your high school income isn’t that much.”
A strange expression crossed his face and she frowned. She tilted her head and searched his eyes. “What is the matter?” she asked.
“Nothing,” he said and smiled. “Umm… it’s not something I can discuss right now. I’ll tell you when we are married.”
She studied his face, looking for clues to what he wasn’t saying, but he looked away and stared into the distance again. For a moment, she wondered what he wasn’t telling her, and then she let it go. Just as he said, he would tell her when they were married. She trusted him fully and she was totally safe with him.
She sidled up to him, and he held her again. He kissed her hair and her cheek.
As she stood with her arm around his waist and his around hers, her heart overflowed with love for him until she couldn’t hold it in anymore. She said softly, “I love you so much, Faizan.”
He beamed at her. “I love you, Zainah. Know that I will always love you.”
Chapter Three
Faizan held Zainah’s hand as they walked into the third house they were to view for the day. The realtor had shown them the first two already—an Edwardian-style house that Zainah liked, and a two-bedroom single-story home that she was also enthusiastic about. Faizan also liked the houses, but not enough to choose either of them. He had his suspicions that Zainah would like all the houses they were going to see today. Hopefully, there would be one that she liked more than the others, and that he would also like that one as well. If it went that way, they would choose the home they were going to live in for a long time and raise their children in. He couldn’t contain his excitement.
This particular house was a modern three-bedroom home and furnished. Zainah’s eyes widened as they entered the plush living room.
“It’s beautiful, Faizan!” she exclaimed. “But won’t it be expensive if it’s furnished?”
“The furniture is just to make the house look interesting to buyers,” Faizan said to her. He looked around the living room, decorated in white furniture with gold accents. “You need to envision the house without this furniture.”
Zainah looked disappointed and Faizan added, “But sometimes, it can be sold to buyers if they like the furniture.”
Zainah nodded. “I like it.”
Faizan smiled at her. “Okay… but maybe we should look at the whole house first before you decide. And we still have two more houses to look at.”
The realtor, a man in his late thirties with bleached blond hair, led them to the kitchen. It was bigger than Faizan thought it would be. As usual, Zainah loved it. She especially loved the marble island and polished wooden cabinets. The realtor walked out of the kitchen and led them to the guest bedroom.
They walked from one room to the other. When they went upstairs, the first room the realtor led them into was the master bedroom. It was a well-appointed room, with a large bed and ensuite bathroom. Zainah gasped beside him and he turned.
“I love this bed,” she said to him. She went to sit on the bed and Faizan smiled. It did look very inviting. He couldn’t resist going to sit beside her. She caressed the blue and white duvet and then looked up at him with a dreamy expression on her face. “Can you imagine it, Faizan?”
“What?” he asked, smiling with amusement.
“Can you imagine waking up here,” she looked deep into his eyes, “with me?”
His heart jumped at the sultry expression on her face. It was the first time he’d seen this look on her face and it set his body on fire. He was glad the realtor was in the room because he didn’t trust himself to hold back if the man wasn’t.
“Let me give both of you some privacy to take this place in,” the realtor said, and walked out of the bedroom before Faizan could protest.
Faizan’s pulse raced wildly as Zainah shifted closer to him, the sultry look still on her face. She put her arms around his neck, pulled him to her, and kissed him.
His heart beating, he drew her even closer, and kissed her with every yearning he felt for her. As they kissed, he pulled her down on the bed and dug his fingers in her hair. Suddenly, as he realized that they were both straining to get closer even though they were already wrapped around each other, alarm bells rang in his mind. He told himself to pull back, but he couldn’t. He whispered a prayer for help. His cellphone began ringing in his pocket and he jumped. Zainah pulled away, and he took a deep breath.
His body shook as he fumbled to get his phone out of his pocket. He finally dug it out, cleared his throat and answered. “Hello,” he said, avoiding looking in Zainah’s direction. He felt slightly guilty for his lack of control. Thankfully, the Lord had delivered them using this phone call.
Jake’s voice on the other end of the line said, “Faizan, it’s Jake. Listen, I have a job for you.” Faizan’s eyes widened in surprise. After he’d been recruited by the CIA to act as an informer and helped them get Hassan and the members of the terrorist groups he had formerly belonged to, he had been told to lie low in Rosefield for now. That had been quite a while back. He’d lived a fairly ordinary life since then, though at the back of his mind, he knew he would one day be called upon again to work for the CIA. He’d dreaded this call. And it couldn’t come at a worse time.
He looked self-consciously at Zainah. She was staring quizzically at him. He’d told her he had made some friends in the government and that was why he wasn’t indicted when he confessed his terrorist past. She didn’t know that he worked for the CIA and he couldn’t really tell her until they were married.
He stood up from the bed, quickly told her to excuse him, and left the room. “I’m planning my wedding now,” he whispered into the phone as he went into another room furnished with a shaggy white rug, pink and white bedding, and fuscia pink curtains. He smiled in spite of himself. It seemed so strange and a little funny to have the kind of militant conversation he knew he was about to have with his handler in such a soft, girly room.
“I don’t really care, Faizan,” Jake said. “I told you I was going to collect soon when you asked me to help you get your friend out of Mali. Do you remember?”
Faizan sighed. “Ye
s, I remember, and I’m not saying I won’t do what you want. It’s just that the timing isn’t right because…”
“You are planning your wedding,” Jake finished his sentence for him. “Unfortunately, what we want you to do cannot wait. You have no choice, and frankly, neither do I. The powers that be want this done now, and you are the best person to do it.”
“And when do I have to leave for this ‘job’?”
“First thing tomorrow.”
Faizan laughed harshly. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am dead serious.”
Faizan’s heart began to pound. He asked, “Is there no way it can be postponed? My wedding is in less than a month…”
“No!” Jake said. “It can’t be postponed.”
Faizan shut his eyes as he tried to keep his frustration in check. He asked, “And how long will this ‘job’ last?”
“Anywhere from a week to several months. I can’t really tell right now.”
“What?” Faizan’s eyes widened. “Several months! No, Jake. If Zainah and I don’t get married in three months, she will have to leave the United States.”
Jake said, “I’m sorry, Faizan. There is nothing I can do about that.”
For the first time in a long time, Faizan felt like swearing. He pressed his lips tightly together and raked his fingers through his hair. This could not be happening. He had to marry Zainah now. But they couldn’t even elope with Jake saying he had to leave first thing tomorrow.
Jake said again, “You haven’t even asked what your assignment is to be. You might enjoy this one.”
“The only assignment I want now is to marry the love of my life!” Faizan spat out.
Jake continued as though Faizan hadn’t spoken. “You’ll be flown into Washington tomorrow and briefed on your assignment. I’ll meet you at the airport.” Jake ended the call before Faizan could protest again.
For a full minute, Faizan stood looking at his phone. He suddenly let out an angry roar and almost threw the phone across the room. He sighed when Zainah rushed in, followed by the realtor.