Azam clapped him on the shoulder. ‘Be there on Saturday, at noon. And as for now—’ He looked at Enzo’s bloodied apron. ‘Best get back to the butcher’s, or your father will make meat out ofyou.’
Enzo rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. ‘Right again. See you.’
Sonya thanked him again and he turned back to give her a wink before heading out.
Dania bounced over to Azam, and he lifted her up. ‘I did the mostest help,’ she told Azam proudly. She turned to Sonya. ‘Baji, tell him.’
‘Yes, she did the mostest help out of all the helpers who have ever helped me,’ Sonya confirmed, going over to pinch Dania’s cheek. Dania giggled, pleased with herself. ‘Now let’s make some flyers!’
Azam set Dania down, and she went to get the papers. He pushed back the sofa, then peeled back the rug. ‘It’s alright if we make a mess on the floors; the rug will cover it.’
‘Ah, I see you’ve used this trick before,’ she said, as the rolled rug revealed hidden stains on the wood floors, one of which was quite big and blue.
Azam smiled as they spread out the supplies and sat cross-legged on the floor. ‘Actually, it’s why the rug is here to begin with,’ he said. ‘You see the blue stain?’ Sonya nodded. ‘I was painting a project for class, I must have been six or seven. Well, I got distracted and accidentally knocked over the tin.’ He looked sheepish.
‘Oh no!’
‘Precisely. Mama had been at work, but Baba was with me that day. I knew I’d be in big trouble the moment Mama got home and saw. The blue was even brighter then, if you can imagine, and the floors were newer, too. Try as we might, there was no getting rid of the stain, and I thought we were done for.’ Azam continued telling the story, and she listened, his words recreating the memory so vividly. She could imagine a much younger version of Azam panicking, trying to come up with a solution.
‘What then?’ she asked.
‘Then, the rug,’ Azam said. ‘We did a bit of rearranging, bringing the couch over here, and rolling out the rug, which used to be under the dining table. Baba and I kept it a secret and, for weeks, I was so pleased we’d gotten away with it. I would look at the rug and smile to myself, like a thief after a successful heist.’
She imagined his little smile.
‘It was only until one night, when I heard Baba and Mama joking about it, that I realized Baba had told her,’ Azam said. ‘He had told her the very first night. He never could keep a secret from her.’
It was a sweet story, but Azam broke off as if in pain at the last words, something faltering in his expression.
Sonya was about to ask if he was alright when he shook his head, as if shaking something out of it. He gave her a small smile. ‘Let’s make some flyers, shall we?’
Because Sonya had the best handwriting, she wrote out the information on each piece of paper while Azam added sketches of dresses and measuring tapes and spools of ribbons, and Dania decorated each with adorable, crooked thumbprint hearts.
They spent hours working, making as many as they could, and Kiri brought them snacks of cucumber from the garden to keep them nourished.
Many flyers later, Sonya had paint all over her hands.
With a smile, Azam dipped his index finger into the paint, then added it to the corner of the flier she was working on, creating half a heart. He looked at her expectantly, and her lips tilted. She put her index finger down to make the other half of the heart. It was lopsided, since his fingers were larger than hers, but it was still whole.
She smiled at the sight.
While the flyers dried, they had lunch, and afterwards, she cleaned up. Later in the evening, they drank chai out in the garden, the hot drink milky and sweet. They stayed out in the fresh spring air long after their cups were empty.
The sky was clear, and the sun was radiant and warm. Sonya read her book on a picnic blanket while Azam sketched across from her. Kiri sat on a chair, knitting, while Dania sat on the other, talking to her dolls. A comfortable quiet enveloped them.
A soft breeze lifted through the air, rustling the grass and the bushes, and Sonya paused her reading to glance around. Birds chirped overhead, flitting through the air.
A bluejay’s feather fell, spinning as it landed down, and Sonya held out a hand to catch it, smiling to herself. The feather was bright blue and soft; she twirled it in her fingers, then set it aside, going back to reading.
She felt Azam’s gaze on her from over his sketchbook. Somehow, she could always tell when he was watching her. She glanced up, over at him, and he smiled, unashamed. Then he turned his focus back to his sketchbook.
The next day, Sonya, Kiri, and Dania went to hand out the fliers while Azam worked on the sample dresses. They began by going door to door; Kiri knew all the neighbors, and they were all gladto see her and Dania. When they knocked on the first door, Sonya was afraid the neighbors would ask too many questions about her, but luckily they didn’t. Travelers were common in the Outskirts and the residents seemed to mind their own business. Kiri simply introduced Sonya, stating that she was staying at the Mirzas’, and that was it.
They walked over to Winnie’s, which wasn’t too far, and met Winnie’s mom, who Sonya thanked for the dumpling soup. They also met Enzo’s family; he was the eldest of four brothers, and his home was a bit of a madhouse, though his mother was very sweet.
Everyone was excited about the shop reopening because they had loved Bunto and loved Azam. Many people assured Kiri and Sonya they would be there on Saturday, and Sonya began feeling a jittery sort of excitement to see that their plans were leading to success.
After speaking with the neighbors, most of whom insisted they knew the way and promised to be there, they went to the market with plans to stop by every store. Kiri, of course, knew everyone there, and they only managed to visit two stores in twenty minutes because she kept getting stopped for a chat.
