Life. Love. Marriage. Children. No one talks about all the stages of Love. The movies and romance novels would have you believing it's just about the chase. It's as if once the man and woman declare their love for each other and we explain all misun...
My phone rang - it was Ali. I couldn't talk to him right now knowing that he would surely ask about Anjali; Ali had been like a brother to Anjali. I let the call go to voicemail. I waited until my phone beeped indicating there was a voicemail and then hit listen.
"Hello, I hope you're doing well. Salma, the kids, and I are all missing you guys. Our monthly get-togethers don't seem right without all of you, so we've decided we'd like to come and visit you this summer. I'm looking into tickets and I wanted to make sure you'll be in town when we come to California. Call me back when you have a chance, so we can coordinate. Looking forward to catching up. Give our love to Anjali and the kids."
I sank into the chair and thought of all our friends back East. Ali was like a brother to Anjali, so both of our families spent a lot of time together. I couldn't believe the number of years that had passed since I met Ali. I met Ali through Anjali, but we became friends irrespective of her.
Ali and Salma, like Anjali and I, had an interesting story on how they ended up getting married. Ali came to the U.S. for college and then medical school. He wasn't interested in having a relationship until he finished his medical residency. He assumed he would go home to Pakistan when the time was right and have an arranged marriage. But life had something else planned for him.
Salma worked in the administrative offices at the hospital he did his residency. Ali was smitten with her the first time he met her. He kept finding excuses to go to the admin office just so he could see her. Salma's parents were very strict, so Ali and her would sneak around and see each other. Ali knew that if Salma's parents found out about him, they would expect him to marry her and he still wanted to finish residency before marrying Salma. He needed to earn a proper salary so he could afford a wedding and an acceptable apartment for them to live in. But a year and a half after they started seeing each other, Salma's parents started to pressure her about marriage. That's when she let the secret out of the bag and told them she was in love with Ali.
It was not a pretty scene; there was plenty of drama surrounding the entire situation. Ali immediately asked for her hand in marriage, and Salma's parents agreed. They were not happy she had snuck around behind their back, but at least Ali was Muslim. The wedding was arranged quickly to appease Salma's parents.
Arriving late to their Nikah (wedding) the Imam had already begun reciting verses from the Quran. The men were seated on the groom's side and the women and bride on the other side. Even though Anjali was Ali's friend, she sat on the other side.
From where I sat, I only saw Anjali's side profile, but I knew it was her. She looked breathtakingly beautiful wearing the traditional heavy salvar khameez with her head covered by the dupatta (shawl) customary for women to wear during a Muslim wedding. I stared at her the entire ceremony and barely heard a word of the ceremony.
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After the ceremony, we ate a lavish meal although still separated by gender, meaning I still hadn't spoken with Anjali. As soon as she finished, she joined Ali's family, helping with the remaining wedding details. From afar I noticed how sad her eyes looked and the usual sparkle in her eyes and step were missing.
