You, Me & the Alter(cations) - Farmeed AU

5.

"Okay ab, plan kuch aesa hai ke we are going to be having five events in total."

Umeed's pen froze, Farjaad was raising his mug and his arm stilled. Both of them were frozen in place, wondering if they had misheard it.

They sat at the rooftop of some private restaurant, it was midday and Rubina insisted they join for coffee to finally get the works started and the plans in progress. Umeed had already abandoned her tea due to the nerves, and now she was certain it would get cold. There was no way she'd be able to swallow after the weight of information she was having to carry.

"I- I'm sorry?" Umeed's voice cracked, slowly raising her head so her eyes could meet Rubina's. "Formal events matlab?"

Farjaad did the same, wondering if that is exactly what he had heard. He wasn't a wedding specialist, but even he knew that eight events was not the norm. Five.

He placed his mug on the table and went to fix his turtleneck. He wore a dark brown turtleneck for the cold weather. He'd feel the wind hit him if it folded, and this time he felt really exposed.

"I asked Azhar, aur uska you koi as such plan nahi hai, liken mashallah se inke cousins bohot hain aur unhon nein kaafi kuch kaha. Ab har roze thori aesa mohol hota hai, so I thought bachon ke liye aik hi daffa sab kuch dhoom dhaam se karte hain. There are actually a total of eight events, but I'll be needing you guys for five"

Umeed was already biting onto her lower lip. It's his wedding, why the hell did it matter what his cousins thought? What's the need for such a 'dhoom dhaam' when they'll be back to normal afterwards. Or was she unable to calibrate her thought process with the people around her? Because to her the standard wedding in itself is full of 'dhoom dhaam'.

"Um, aunty, ye eight events hain kya?" This time it was Farjaad sitting up and placing his mug on the table. Him and Umeed sat next to each other, Mr and Mrs Hashim in front of them. The whole time they hadn't shared a word or a glace, yet now it felt like their attention was more towards the people in front of them.

Hashim Siddiqui did not have much to say, as both of them had expected. He was just sitting with a faint smile, enjoying the panic arising on the faces of the youngsters in front of him, a mug of tea in his hold.

"Ye eight events." She picked up her phone, seeming to forget the list. No surprise. Farjaad glanced to his right to see Umeed focused on Rubina, frozen in place, the pen in her hand nearly bent.

Her other hand went to hold onto her chair handle, and it gently brushed against his. Farjaad simply moved it away, too focused on what the woman in front of them was about to say.

"Dholki, mayoun, mehndi raat, bachelor's night, mehndi, baraat, walima aur aik reception brunch." If this was a friend of Umeed, she'd place her notepad on the table and start laughing. Hysterically. She'd spend a good few minutes laughing and then release a list of curses over that list.

What on earth is a mehndi raat? Aren't the first three events she listed pretty much one? Isn't walima basically a reception brunch? And since when do men celebrate bachelor nights? Don't they just go out?

This time, they both turned their heads to one another. They had to. Rubina left them no other choice. Umeed wondered if he found it as bizarre as she did. And by the look on his face, he wasn't intrepid about this, something unusual on him.

"Abhi bhi waqt hai, na kar dou." Spoke out Hashim, seeing the fading of colour on both their faces. Maybe it was the unexpectancy of the situation, because they struggled to laugh. Umeed hesitated, Farjaad uncertain about many things.

"Ab aese tou na bolein." Rubina mumbled, patting her husband's arm before focusing back onto the two people in front of her. "Bachon tum logon ke paas wese time hai. We trust you guys and I don't want to put any pressure on you."