Page 60 of First Comes Marriage
‘I get that, Zaf, but don’t lose sight of what’s commercially viable and what’s not. I get there’s a lot in favour of this deal for you, but the price he’s now asking for is not worth it and the timeline he’s proposing is also ridiculous. I’ve checked the numbers out and if you have too, then you’ll agree with me. If anything, it’s beginning to look dodgy. I know you want this to work out because it’s what your granddad wanted, but come on, man. Don’t let that become a set of blinkers for you. You’ll end up making mistakes if you don’t pause long enough to take in the full picture.’
He heard Murad’s words but they did nothing to ease his worries. ‘I need to come back. Let me get back and let’s set up a meeting with him. I’m sure I can get this thing back on track. I’ll see if I can get a flight for tomorrow.’
Zafar turned in his pacing and saw Daadi and Reshma standing just inside the front door. Daadi’s mouth was hanging open, while Reshma’s expression looked closed off. Her shoulders were hunched and her eyes seemed vacant before she dropped her gaze.
‘I reckon you should wait, Zaf. We’ll keep you looped in from here on so that you know exactly what’s happening, and if we need you, we’ll reach out first thing, I promise. I know you can’t access documents, but if we need you for anything, I’m sure we can patch you in for a call or something. Hold your horses and let’s see what we can do.’
Zafar watched as Reshma led Daadi to her room and then came out a couple of minutes later and made her way upstairs, not looking his way even once. He needed to have a chat with her at some point, but for now, he needed to concentrate on the matter at hand.
‘You at home?’
‘Yes. Why?’
‘I’m going to video-call you. Let’s go through everything with a fine-toothed comb and see where we’re at. I’ll feel more in control if we go through the details and then you can fill Ibrahim in with anything he needs to be filled in with and we’ll take it from there.’
Murad sighed. ‘OK.’
By the time Zafar ended his call with Murad and got up from his chair, it was well past two o’clock in the morning. His back and neck were stiff and achy and his eyes felt like he’d rubbed sand in them. Going through the particularswith Murad had reassured him that his groundwork was solid. He closed everything down and headed upstairs, mindful of making any noise, lest he wake Reshma up.
She had left his bedside lamp on and was turned the other way, curled up under the duvet. He knew things hadn’t gone as she’d hoped this evening and, to be fair, if he could have chosen, he’d rather have been with her back at the restaurant than have to deal with what he was, but such was life.
He was feeling dog-tired, so he stripped straight out of the shirt and trousers he’d worn for their date and got into his shorts and hit the sack. He still had tonnes of work to get through tomorrow with both Murad and Ibrahim and he hoped he could resolve everything without having to cut their trip short. A small – very small – part of him was reassured that he didn’t have to fly out first thing. He’d managed to go through things with Murad enough to be satisfied that it wasn’t as dire an emergency as he’d believed it might have been earlier that evening, though there was still the possibility of it all falling through and him losing the hotel. Hopefully, things would work out just fine. At least, that’s what he told himself before he fell asleep.
When he got up the next morning, it was to find the bedroom empty. The curtains were still drawn, but sunlight was peeking in through the gaps.
Zafar checked his phone and saw with some relief that there had been no work emergencies since last night. The second thing he noticed was that, once again, he’d slept in pretty late. When he got back to London and his usual schedule, he was going to feel it so badly, the thought made him wince. He flung the covers back and got out of bed, skipping out on having a swim and going straight in for a shower instead.
He went downstairs and found Daadi on the phone. There was no sign of Reshma and he assumed she might have gone to her aunt’s villa. He kissed Daadi on the cheek before making his way to the kitchen to get some breakfast. He’d barely eaten anything last night and he was starving. He knew if he hoped to make any more progress with his work, he needed to fuel up adequately. He needed to be firing on all cylinders.
He had a small window of time before he was scheduled to e-meet Murad and Ibrahim and he was hoping to catch Reshma, so he could fill her in on what had happened. He remembered her expression from the night before and had a feeling that she might be under the impression that he planned to leave earlier than they were scheduled to and, to be fair, she wouldn’t have been entirely wrong. At the point where she’d overheard his conversation with Murad, that had definitely been his plan, except the subsequent work he’d done with Murad had bought him some time.
Daadi got off the phone and made her way towards him as he finished eating. ‘Morning, sweetheart. Another late night for you?’
‘Yeah, just some trouble on the work front, but fingers crossed we’ll get it sorted.’
‘Inshallah, you will. You’re not thinking of leaving today, are you?’ She looked at him with concern.
‘I hope not. It all depends on Murad and Ibrahim.’
She sat down in the chair adjacent to his and held her hand out for him to take. ‘I love you. You’re one of the most caring and considerate of boys, with a heart of gold. There’s no responsibility you have that you don’t fulfil with the utmost dedication. But I hope that dedication of yours doesn’t come at too high a cost. It has in the past and that worries me.’
‘Daadi, you have nothing to worry about. In fact, that’s the last thing I want you to do.’ He wasn’t sure what exactly his grandmother was getting at.
‘I know, my darling. But … do you remember me telling you about taking after your grandfather in the wrong aspects of your life?’
Zafar nodded his head as Daadi looked at him solemnly.
‘I thought that since getting a break from your work and coming here, things were changing for you. You had a chance to pause and lift your head for long enough to see what you were missing and what you were letting pass you by. Reshma’s such a special girl and I don’t want you to focus so much on trying to make your grandfather proud and carrying his legacy forward that you lose sight of what’s really important. It’s better to carry no legacy forward than to carry the wrong kind of legacy forward.’ Zafar watched as his grandmother shook her head. ‘I speak from experience, Zafar. Your grandfather did many praiseworthy things for us, but would I say he made the effort to be a good partner to me? No, I wouldn’t. He often prioritised his work over being with me or the children or even with our grandchildren. Yes, I’m grateful for the hard work he put in and the luxuries we get to enjoy as a result, but I’d trade them for him spending time with us and us sharing special moments together in a heartbeat, no questions asked.’ She squeezed his hand. ‘Don’t make the same mistakes as him and certainly notforhim.’
This wasn’t the first time he’d heard his grandmother talk about his grandfather in less than complimentary terms, but it was the most insight she’d given him about what had made her unhappy with him. Not knowing what to say in response, he nodded. He knew what she meant. He could see her perspective and he agreed with it too. He hadbeen about to go down a similar path but had been saved from doing so. He had no intention of doing that again, not when he could see what he would lose as a result.
‘Where is she, Daadi?’ His voice sounded rough.
‘She’s gone to Ruqayyah’s place. She called her this morning to help wrap gifts to take to the reception. She’s also called the hair and make-up people again for whoever wants so I think she’ll be there for a bit. In fact, I’m expecting one of the boys to come and collect me, so I can join them.’
‘Well, hopefully I’ll get a chance to have a chat with her before the reception.’
The doorbell rang just then and Zafar let Khalil in. They exchanged greetings and Khalil asked Zafar to come with them. ‘I’d love to, but I’ve got some work to get done and it’s time-sensitive. I should see you later though.’
