Page 86 of Written By a Woman

“If you’re not too busy,” I tried my best to sound casual, but probably didn’t, “You have a visitor in the front here to see you.” I winked at the two women. Mrs. Ansara smiled at me in appreciation, whereas the younger woman looked almost defeated behind her thin smile.

“…Who?” Zaid asked, his deep voice making my heart rate spike. Hearing his voice while being in the presence of his mother did odd things to my nervous system.

“Bisbous,” Mrs. Ansara leaned over the ledge a little so she could speak into the phone, “Come say hello to your mother. There is someone I’d like you to meet.”

The line was silent for a moment before the telltale sound of the phone being hung up rang through, and the line was dead.

I set the phone back on the receiver as I turned back to the women, “Can I get either of you anything? Water? Coffee?”

“We’re fine, thank you,” Mrs. Ansara nodded as she tucked the woman’s arm tighter against her body as if securing her to this spot.

I nodded, and we sat there in what I felt most as uncomfortable silence while we waited for Zaid to join us.

“I like your shirt,” the younger woman finally spoke, gesturing to my shirt of the day. I glanced down to remember what I wore; it was just a picture of an open book with flowers and birds and greenery flying out of the pages. Thank god, because I wasn’t sure if Mrs. Ansara would have appreciated my, “anti-social book club” t-shirt I almost wore instead.

“Thank you, do you read?” I asked, leaning my elbows on my lower desk ledge and looking up at the women.

“I do,” she smiled, an accent similar to Nikhil’s coating her words, “Mostly fiction, though.”

Mama Ansara’s eyes were going back and forth between the two of us, curiosity on her features.

“I prefer romance myself,” I lifted a shoulder.

“Oh, Ilovereading romance,” for the first time since she entered the building, the woman looked a little more relaxed. A little more open, “Have you read anything good recently?”

“Oh yeah,” I nodded my head enthusiastically, “Most recently I read—”

“What are you doing here?” Zaid’s voice made me lean back in my chair as if I had gotten caught shooting the shit with someone when on a deadline. I wasn’t, but Zaid’s tone wasn’t exactly friendly.

I threw a quick glance at the younger woman, who had immediately tensed up again as Mrs. Ansara pulled her forward, facing the CTO who finally approached my desk.

“Zaid,” his mother gestured towards the younger woman, who looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole, “This is Aarna Pandya, she works with me at the hospital, and—”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Aarna,” Zaid interrupted his mother, an action that made her snap her mouth shut with a firm press of her lips. Zaid held his hand out, only waiting a second for Aarna to offer her hand to him in a shake.

As soon as he gave the woman a polite smile, he pulled his hand away and turned towards his mother, “May I have a word?”

His mother adjusted her grip on Aarna’s arm before saying, “We didn’t want to take up too much time, I just wanted to introduce—”

“If you wouldn’t mind,” Zaid interrupted his mother twice, making visible irritation tense her facial features as she nodded and patted Aarna’s arm once, before following her son down the hall and just around the corner.

Aarna and I both turned to look at each other with wide eyes before I couldn’t help it and a small giggle escaped me.

Thankfully Aarna’s lips pulled into a grin in response to my inability to hold it in, and she covered her face with her hands, “This is humiliating.”

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered back to her, “Do you need to make an escape? I can cover for you.” Even though the offer was entirely based on my own personal interests and only marginally based on the discomfort Aarna was experiencing.

“I think I’ll be okay,” she turned to face my desk, leaning her elbows on the top ledge, “I was ambushed. She asked me to lunch and announced that she was going to make a quick stop on the way back to the hospital. I had no idea she was playing matchmaker today.”

“I could tell,” I grinned, “I feel for you.”

“Thank you,” she sighed, “I guess now might be a good time to let Mrs. Ansara know that I am already happily in a relationship.”

“No way,” I widened my eyes, “You must havereallybeen ambushed.”

“Yes,” Aarna huffed a laugh as she palmed her forehead, “She means well. I don’t want her to feel too bad. She’s clearly a mama who wants her son to be happy.” Then the sound of footsteps was approaching, and the two of us turned to see Mrs. Ansara walking towards us without Zaid, who must have gone back to his office.

“I apologize,” Mrs. Ansara spoke to the two of us, “Thank you for letting me take this detour.”

---