remember when we went to that party at your cousin’s a year ago?
Comment by Poppy
Yeah?
Comment by Salman
and remember how we got so bored that we made up a photo scavenger hunt? why don’t we do that?
Comment by Poppy
Huh, that’s not bad, actually. Yeah, because she’s an adventurer, so that’s right up her alley, and even though he’s shy he’s got enough of an itinerary to provide structure to the date. Like maybe they could recreate a film scene or have to find a weird item and pose with it! Or even something as cheesy as jumping in the air at the same time and pulling a silly face.
Comment by Salman
see, you’re getting it. it’s interactive but more fun and personal. maybe .?.?. we’ve been thinking about the dates all wrong.
Comment by Poppy
What do you mean?!
Comment by Salman
i’m just saying, romance doesn’t need to be dramatic and all planned out.
Comment by Poppy
Delusional Headline Alert: Man works two weeks at a matchmaking agency and suddenly believes he has solved romance.
Comment by Salman
all of our best dates were the ones we didn’t plan. case in point: the scavenger hunt. it was my favourite date, hands down.
15
‘I’ve got to say, I’m impressed,’ Sadia says at the end of the week as we sit in her office to discuss the date proposals. ‘I especially liked the date you suggested for Nishat and Ibrahim. It’s relaxed without being too simple, and it’s intimate in an unexpected and subtle way.’
I feel Salman turn his head in my direction, probably wanting to convey with his discerning glare that he was right about his idea, but I can’t make myself look at him. Not because I won’t give him the satisfaction of having produced a good idea, but because I spent all of yesterday evening staring at the document for Nishat and Ibrahim. His final comment was the only thing I could focus on.
All of our best dates were the ones we didn’t plan. Case in point: the scavenger hunt. It was my favourite date, hands down.
My heart was in my throat as I read the words, my chest aching as I resolved all remaining comments to send a clean version to Sadia. I couldn’t believe how casually he’d written them. Meaning, I also couldn’t muster the courage to respond; ‘mine too’ were the only words my fingers wanted to type out.
But how could I? He’s only talking to me at all because it’s convenient. Because we work together. If he hadn’t got this assistantship, nothing between us would have changed. If he really cared about me, he would have reached out ages ago.
Still, even now, the memory of that night haunts me. Itwas the night we finally got together, a year after we built the birdhouse, a year of secretly crushing on him and wondering if our friendship would ever become anything more. I can still remember how sore my cheeks were from laughing, as we spent the evening coming up with the most rogue prompts for our photos. It was even funnier because we couldn’t leave the party, so we had to make do with what we had on hand. My favourite moment was when Salman made a fake protest sign that saidJUSTICE FOR PLUTOand held it above his head as if he was at an actual protest, only for an uncle to stumble into the room, be stunned into confusion by the sign and swiftly walk away as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Just thinking about it makes me smile.
But it was the moment after that that’s been ingrained in my mind ever since. We were sitting on the carpet in my cousin’s old bedroom, scrolling through the pictures we’d taken for the hunt, when I stumbled upon a photo Salman had taken of me mid-laugh, my facial expression so odd I looked like a monster out of a fairy tale.
‘Oh my God, noooo!’ I practically screamed when I saw it. ‘You need to delete that right now, I’m not joking.’
‘Why? It’s a nice photo.’
‘When did you take this?’ I zoomed in on the picture, searching for imperfections.
‘Stop it – there’s nothing wrong with it!’ He pried the phone out of my hands, our fingers brushing, and considered the photo again. ‘We were in the park playing rounders with the others and I snapped it right before you got smacked in the head by the ball.’
‘Wow, you just had to capture my downfall, didn’t you?’
