“I’d rather not say,” Sameera said, grasping for straws. If her parents knew about Andy, they would know that she was in danger of losing her job. The last thing she wanted was for them to think her incapable of getting any part of her life right. It was bad enough that they knew she had terrible taste in men. Her only saving grace was she had always been a good student and had landed a prestigious job, as far as they knew. She had some pride.
“Um ... attorney-client privilege,” she added lamely.
Again, her parents exchanged another, longer glance, this time conducting an entire silent conversation. She hated when her parents did that. Finally, her father sighed, and her mother nodded.
The prickling sensation at the back of her neck was the first indication that whatever her parents had just decided wouldn’t be good news.
“Then it’s settled. We are all going to Alaska to spend the holidays with Tom and his family,” Tahsin said.
Chapter Six
“What?” Sameera said.
“We bought tickets for everyone,” Tahsin explained breezily, as if that were the problem. “Well, not Nadiya.” Again, her parents exchanged a loaded look, and Sameera wanted to scream.
“What is happening?” she said. How did her parents know Tom was traveling to Alaska? She had found out only last night.
“We simply wish to meet the man you are seeing,” Tahsin said.
“I told you, Tom and I arenot together,” Sameera said.
“We want to be part of your life,beta.Even the parts you are ashamed of,” Naveed said. Perhaps because the words came from her calm, anxious father instead of her suspicious, prickly mother, Sameera stayed silent. “We can’t lose you again, Sameera. I don’t think we could stand that.”
“When we first found out you were seeing Hunter, it was a shock to learn you had a long-term boyfriend we knew nothing about. We allowed our shock and hurt feelings to ruin our relationship with you,” Tahsin said.
Sameera was stunned by her parents’ admission. She had no idea they felt this way. So much had been left unsaid during their emotional reconciliation earlier this year. Sameera could recall every moment—her sister’s coaxing and nagging over weeks; walking into the café where her parents waited, huddled over two lukewarm black teas; bursting into tears and falling into her mother’s arms while her father hovered, wiping his eyes, patting her back. Their mutual apologies and professions of love followed, and it had all felt beautiful, touching, a balm to her soul.
It wasn’t until much later, when she was alone in her condo, that Sameera realized that while both she and her parents had resolved to do better, to be better, they hadn’t actually discussed what had led to their huge fight in the first place. Hunter, her feelings, their sense of betrayal ... It was all swept under the rug in the name of family togetherness and solidarity—an unspoken agreement that she now realized had left gaping cracks in their relationship.
Clearly, her parents still didn’t trust her judgment—or lack thereof. They still wanted to control her, to insert themselves into her decision-making, to demand that she live according to their expectations. Their lack of trust felt like a slap to the face, sudden and stinging. And here they all were, again.
“When I saw the biryani cooking video, I knew you were hiding something from us,” Tahsin continued, theagainclearly implied. “I knew I had to do something about it this time. I looked up Tom online and discovered he was from Alaska. I checked his social media and sifted through his followers until I found his parents. Then I messaged them.”
Sameera stared open-mouthed at her mother. “Youstalkedmy fake boyfriend and looked through his millions of followers?”
“I got in touch with my daughter’s new boyfriend’s family because I was concerned she was in over her head or being taken advantage of,” Tahsin corrected. “After all, it has happened before.”
Sameera’s stomach tightened in response to her mother’s allusion to Hunter. Sensing her immediate defensiveness, Tahsin added, “I would do anything for you,beta.”
Sameera closed her mouth with an audible snap. This was insane. She was in the middle of a bizarro nightmare and would soon wake up, surely.
“Tom’s stepmother, Barb, is a lovely woman,” Tahsin went on. “When I introduced myself, she immediately recognized you from Tom’s video. She agreed that you two seemed to be hiding your relationship, though we couldn’t figure out why. We got to talking, and I suspect that your new boyfriend also does not visit his parents as often as they would like. In fact, we seemed to have a lot in common.”
“I’ll bet. What happened next?” Sameera asked. It was like watching a car crash, yet she couldn’t look away.
“I mentioned how much we wanted to visit the beautiful state of Alaska. Barb generously invited us to visit her and Tom’s father, Rob. They live in a charming little village called—what was the name, Naveed?” Tahsin said, turning to her husband.
“Bear Paw?” Naveed asked, wrinkling his forehead.
“Wolf Run,” Tahsin said, snapping her fingers. “Population: less than two thousand.”
Sameera stared at her parents. “You invited yourself over to Tom’s family’s home? For Christmas? InAlaska?” This last came out as a shriek, and her parents winced in unison.
“I would never invite myself where I’m not wanted. Barb extended the invitation, Sameera. Do keep up,” Tahsin said. “And you know your father has always wanted to take a cruise to Alaska to see the icebergs.”
“This will save me the trouble of planning a trip,” Naveed said, as if he could sense his daughter’s head was about to explode.
“No,” Sameera said flatly. “I’m not flying across the country because you refuse to believe me or trust me. No way.”
