Sharp jaw, large brown eyes, dark curly hair flopping over his forehead, and dressed in a travel-sensible black hoodie and blue jeans, Saif Rasool looked impossibly handsome. She hadn’t seen him in nearly five years, since he had moved to California after law school. The son of her mother’s best friend, he was also her forever-unrequited childhood crush, so of course it made sense that she would bump into him now.
Not that it mattered—Saif likely couldn’t pick her out of the crowd. She was just another one of the daughters of his parents’ friends he nodded at vaguely duringdawaats, dinner parties. Whereas she had been in love with him, on and off, since she was twelve years old.
In all the times Maryam had fantasized about casually bumping into Saif outside of their family orbit, she was always effortlessly chic, her makeup on point, hijab tied just so—not in her current sweaty, cranky, caffeine-deprived state. In an effort not to draw his attention, Maryam carefully maneuvered so that only her side profile faced Saif, and cast her gaze behind her, straight at beaming brunette Barbie.
Clearly, God was testing her.
“You sure have a lot of bags,” the young woman remarked, not bothering to keep her voice down as she slid her phone back into an expensive-looking handbag, all friendly smiles and dimples. Maryam bet this woman wouldn’t turn a perfectly curled hair if she bumped into her childhood crush at the airport. Who was she kidding? She bet all of brunette Barbie’s childhood crushes serenaded her via acoustic guitar, like Adam Sandler inThe Wedding Singer, professing their lifelong adoration.
“My family considers the two-bag limit more of a suggestion than a hard-and-fast rule,” Maryam replied.
The pretty woman laughed loudly. From the corner of her eye, Maryam could have sworn Saif looked up.
“Would you mind keeping your voice down?” Maryam hissed.
“Why?” her unwitting conversational partner asked, brows furrowed.
“Because... because... my grandfather is sensitive to high-pitched noises!” Maryam said in a rush.
The woman was unfazed. “Is that your grandfather talking over there? He’s so cute! My grandfathers both passed away when I was little, and I didn’t get to know them at all. Hi, I’m Anna,” she added, extending her hand.
“Maryam.” The women shook hands, and though Maryam hated making small talk, this conversation was a good distraction from wondering whether Saif had noticed her yet, and if she should hide behind the Christmas tree until their flight departed.
“I saw you and your family in the departures lounge. Your parents?” Anna asked, nodding at Ghulam and Azizah seatedbehind Maryam. She glanced again at the luggage piled around Maryam. “And those must be all the bodies you’re smuggling across the border, right?”
Anna laughed that musical laugh again, and Maryam looked around uneasily. A few of the other passengers had looked up at the words “smuggling” and “bodies.” Barbie really didn’t seem to get it.
“That’s not funny,” Maryam said. “You do realize we’re traveling while brown and Muslim, right? You could get us into trouble with that sort of talk.”
Instantly, Anna clapped a hand to her mouth, her pretty brown eyes rounding in embarrassment. “I’m so sorry!”
Maryam stood up. She needed to take a breather, get some space from Saif and from Anna, too. It was also probably time for her diabetic grandfather to have a snack before his blood sugar dipped.
When Maryam returned a few minutes later with a fruit smoothie, she stopped in her tracks. Instead of Anna disappearing, as Maryam had hoped, she was cheerfully chatting to Maryam’s parents and Dadu.
“Yes, first time flying to Toronto. Our daughter is getting married to a surgeon,” Azizah boasted.
Anna, noticing Maryam’s approach, grinned at her. “You didn’t tell me!” she said, beaming. “I’m flying to Toronto to meet my boyfriend’s family. I guess we’re both taking a huge plunge!”
“I’m not getting married,” Maryam said, handing the snack to her grandfather.
“Our younger daughter, Saima, is thedulan, the bride. She’s a doctor, too! She and Miraj both work for Doctors Without Borders,” Azizah explained proudly. Maryam felt her chestexpand at this descriptor—she really was so damn proud of her little sister. Even though Saima’s impulsiveness was hard to deal with, the thought of seeing her sister again filled her with joy. They were close, and when Saima was at home, they spent a lot of time together. It had been too long since her last visit.
“If you’re all flying into Toronto together, where is your sister?” Anna asked, turning to her.
Maryam glanced at her watch. Saima’s connecting flight should have landed by now. The plan had been to meet at Denver International and fly to Toronto together. Saima had insisted on stepping foot on Canadian soil with her family.
An announcement interrupted her response: “Flight AC7164 with nonstop service from Denver International to Pearson International in Toronto, this is a special announcement. The inbound flight has been delayed due to weather. The new departure time is fifteen hundred hours.”
Maryam looked at her parents. Since they had elected to fast today, despite the difficulty of doing so while traveling, this new delay meant they would have to break their fast in the air, and not in Toronto, as they had originally planned.
“I’ll go pick up some meals,” Maryam said, resigned. “I’m sure Saima is calling Miraj from a pay phone. I’ll look for her, too.” At least this additional errand would be another distraction from Saif. But when she glanced over, she saw he had disappeared. With any luck, by the time she returned, Anna would be gone, too.
While in line for takeout, Maryam caught sight of her sister at the duty-free shop, rubbing perfume on her wrists. She waved, and her little sister ran to her, clasping her tightly in a hug. She smelled strongly of some heavy floral fragrance, andMaryam wrinkled her nose, even as she held on tightly to her sister. Laughing, Saima released her, sticking her wrist under Maryam’s nose.
“It’s called Happy, don’t you love it? So sweet and floral!” Saima said.
Maryam recoiled at the scent, which was even stronger now that they were facing each other.
