“Sufiyaan Sheikh wants to meet you.”
“Why?”
“Can’t say.”
“Find out.”
“Should I say you are interested?”
“No.”
“Ok. I will find out by tomorrow.”
“Hmm.”
“Hey.”
He ended the call and pushed his mobile inside his pocket.
“Who are you Hmming to?” Amaal asked from beside him. He did not look at her, staring ahead. Quiet.
“Fine. Don’t spit it. Thanks for coming tonight.”
“I wasn’t informed it’s a birthday party.”
Amaal came in front of him and covered his view of Iram. Not because she was tall enough to block his sight, but because her blue sparkly eyes blindsided him for a second. Samar swallowed the uncomfortable feeling and tried not to look into her eyes for another second. But then she smiled — “Have you not attended birthday parties as a kid?”
“No.”
“Then this is IT.” She threw a thumb over her shoulder. “Cream cake, samosas and wafers. In London, the kiddie birthday parties were a little different. Cucumber sandwiches, jam scones, chicken nuggets, stationery sets and Barbie stickers. But I have photos of my birthday parties from here with exactly this menu.”
“Hmm.”
“Did you wish Iram?”
He looked back at the girl in question. For a shy, innocent, scared little chit, she was enjoying the attention being lavished upon her without any trouble. The liar.
“Go, go, wish. You can’t have cake unless you wish the birthday girl or boy.” She caught his elbow and turned him around to go. Samar dug his heels in — “Are you drunk?”
“No.”
“Then what’s hyping you up?”
“I’m just happy,” she grinned.
“Why?”
Her eyes softened. “Because… clearly this is a good day.” The childish delight faded from her eyes. “It’s come at a challenging time for us to handle this. But I have a feeling they will be good for each other. Aren’t you happy looking at Atharva?”
Samar could not give her the actual answer to that. A lie wouldn’t fly with her. So he turned and marched towards Iram. Good time to mellow his open hostility. He saw Atharva notice him in the periphery and continued to walk.
“Iram?”
She turned to him. And it was like he was wishing Aamir Haider. Samar swallowed the feeling down and adjusted his specs.
“I wanted to wish you for your birthday,” he grated.
“Thank you.”
