Page 97 of The Love Match

Sharmila:

Hmmm. I would never let my daughter act so imprudently.

Zoba:

I agree. If Zaynab had a better handle on her children, she’d be planning the wedding of the year right now.

Sharmila:

Anyway, you wouldn’t happen to have Nasrin Shah’s contact details, would you? My bhagni is even prettier than Zahra and about to graduate from Northwestern.

Meera:

There is no hope for you two, is there? ??

Zoba:

Afa, what on earth do you mean?

*Meera Hussain has exited the chat*

Chapter34

Life returns to a quietsort of normal after that.

The Tahir girls start college.

Dalia, Dani, Ximena, and I spend as much time as humanly possible together until the day comes that we drop Mena off at JFK for her flight to Haiti. She and Dani share one last tearful goodbye, with a vow to stay friends and keep in touch. Neither of them have an epic last-minute change of heart, but perhaps it’s for the best that they’ll get to learn who they are without each other. Who knows, maybe they’ll even get back together one day, if it’s meant to be?

Things are finally looking up for my family, too.

Irony of ironies, Amma’s wedding dress business has really taken off. After the concert, she gave the bride-zolad a piece of her mind, threatened to back out too close to the wedding for her to find anything not—shudder—off-the-rack, and got a hefty bonus for her efforts.

I’ve never been prouder of her!

The bride-zolad ended up with a dress straight out ofVogue India. Pictures of her wedding outfits blew up the Auntie Network WhatsApp for weeks, giving Amma plenty of free advertising. While people might still be gossiping about us, in the end, getting the best outfits matters to them most. She’s been up to her ears in commissions.

Resna starting kindergarten means Amma and Nanu have plenty of time for the business, especially since the imam’s family picks her up with their own gaggle of elementary schoolers after school.

Arif has also gotten working papers from his guidance counselor, permitting him to pick up a few shifts at Chai Ho on the weekends without compromising his grades. Mr. Tahir has been having a field day taking my poor brother under his wing, but despite the frequentplease help meeyes Arif shoots me, I don’t think he genuinely minds our boss’s antics. Mr. Tahir’s not a father figure, exactly, but definitely a well-meaning, if cranky, uncle.

Then there’s me.

I am killing it!

Amma finally paid me back (with interest!). Since I have financial aid this semester and don’t need that money for classes right away, I’ve saved enough to buy a Frankenstein’s monster of a Subaru to go to class and work and visit the people I care about, including the twins! Their dorm room is truly a pastel goth work of art.

So although I’m still working most days at the tea shop,I’m getting to attend school twice a week. It’s already helped a lot with my book.

Speaking of which… I finished the rough draft!

At first, I worried how Mr. Tahir would react to me working fewer hours due to school and writing, since with Nayim and the girls gone, he needs me more than ever. But he’s been kind about it. Like,reallykind. He even agreed right away when I asked if my brother could work with us… though maybe he had his own ulterior motives for that, being short-staffed and all.

“Thank you for convincing Daniya to stay. I can never repay you,” he told me one night when the two of us were alone, manning the shop. “We’re discussing allowing her to study abroad next semester. That way, she gets to travel for agrade.”

Peak Deshi dad, but at least the Tahirs are happy.

We’reallhappy.

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