Under the Olive Tree

22. Itnan Wa'Ishrun

Amani was mopping the floor when her Aunt returned from the market, requesting help with the bags of fruit she'd purchased. Together, they washed the grapes, fresh figs, and mangoes in the sink before placing them in the large plastic container that slid easily into the fridge. For the next few days, anybody who opened the fridge would snake on the fruit until the container became empty once again. That would be the next time she needed to make the trip.

"Has Baba said anything?" Amani asked, eating a few grapes while her aunt packaged the duck she'd also purchased.

Auntie didn't seem to mind touching its featherless carcass. It gave Amani goosebumps to see the animals they would eat uncooked, as nothing more than dead bodies. She turned away when her aunt held the long neck. "Anything about your decision or anything about something else?" She questioned the girl.

Amani shrugged. "Just anything."

"Well, he was definitely taken aback to hear that you didn't want to go back but then I told him about the boy who had asked for your hand. That intrigued him. Even though he tried to remain unaffected, I could tell he was surprised," she smiled.

"I don't think he expected me to get married when he sent me here. It must have been a shock to all of them," she murmured. Though it was her father who gave the final, awaited yes that allowed her and Muhsin to formally exchange rings, she felt guilty to have done it without the presence of her family.

Auntie reached forward to pat her shoulder but Amani shrunk back from her duck-scented hands. "A good shock I believe. And it will be even better once they come meet Muhsin before your wedding."

Amani dropped the grape she'd just placed past her teeth. "They're going to come?" She asked, her eyes wide.

"You don't think your father will allow you to marry someone he'd never met even once, do you? Do you know nothing about your father, Amani?" Auntie's tone was humorous but there were no jokes in her eyes.

She blinked. "They're going to come? Here?"

"No, they will travel to China. Yes, here."

"Baba said that?"

Auntie nodded. "He is looking for tickets now that summer vacation has begun for your brothers. Soon, Muhsin will have to meet your family like you met his. I am confident they will love him just as much as the rest of the town does. Your father will be happy."

Amani left her aunt in the kitchen and decided now would be a better time than ever to visit her grandmother's grave. She'd been putting it off because she anticipated all the gloating that would come from her deceased relative. She would say she knew this would happen, that Amani had silenced her, but she was right in the end.

It felt weird to imagine her father meeting Muhsin. Her mother. Brothers. She wondered how he would get along with her overly dramatic siblings. They were the exact opposite of his perfectly disciplined self. How would that work?

What felt most unusual was that she would witness both of her worlds colliding. The western world she'd experienced with her family, with all the high school gossip and crushes, with her partially tainted past would now meet the world she'd created around her and Muhsin. She worried he would learn something he didn't need to know.

Something that would make him look at her differently.

Then, as she turned to corner, Amani contemplated on a decision she hadn't considered before. What if she told Muhsin the truth? He would listen to her. He would allow her to explain herself. Muhsin was not the type to silence her and turn away before hearing the entire story. But what if he looked at her differently?