Naveed placed a gentle hand on his daughter’s arm, and the gesture was grounding. “Beta, we haven’t taken a family trip together in so long. When we told Esa, he was so excited to spend time with your boyfr—with Tom,” he amended. “And with you, of course.”
She sincerely doubted that, but she also recognized what her father was doing. Frankly, she was amazed he was capable of such a low blow. Naveed and Tahsin knew she was desperate to mend her relationship with Esa. A flare of resentment ignited, and she put her head in her hands. “I have so much work to do,” she moaned.
“Your work is unending, and you need a break,” Tahsin said in a soothing voice. “Besides, Alaska has the internet. You can work there. We’ve emailed you the flight information and will see you at the airport.”
“This is impossible. I can’t leave, not now. I’m in so much trouble at work. You have no idea ...” Sameera trailed off as her parents stared at her,even more worry and questions clear on their faces. More confirmation that she was keeping secrets, she realized, and quickly changed the subject.
“Does Nadiya know you’re kidnapping me and taking me hostage in Alaska?” she asked, hoping to distract them.I’m in the worst timeline. Wake up, Sameera!
“It was Nadiya’s idea,” Tahsin said. “I called her last night. You know she keeps odd hours these days, all that studying for her dissertation. She was happy to take my call,” she added pointedly.
This made Sameera pause. What was her sister thinking?
“By the way, did Tom mention whether he was willing to convert to Islam? I don’t think his family is religious, anyway,” Tahsin said.
“Mom!” Sameera yelled, and her mother shrugged.
“I can ask him when we get to Alaska,” Tahsin said, standing up. Sameera was immediately consumed with panic. This trip couldn’t happen. Tom would think she was nuts, and her parents complete weirdos. Not to mentionthey weren’t together.How could she make Tahsin and Naveed understand?
“Please, it’s not too late. Don’t do this,” Sameera ground out.
Her father paused in tying a scarf around his neck. “Don’t shut us out again, Samu,” he said. It was the childhood nickname as much as the plea behind his words that silenced her.
That didn’t stop Sameera from immediately reaching for her phone the minute the door shut behind her parents. She should call Tom, but he was mid-flight. She dialed her sister instead. Like her mother noted, Nadiya would most likely be awake, even though it was early in the morning in the UK. Surely Nadiya would have some answers for her, or at the very least some sympathy.
Except it turned out she had neither. “Youliedto me,” Nadiya hissed. She was home this time, inside her tiny apartment near Oxford. On FaceTime, her curls streamed down her back while her eyes flashed with anger.
“No, wait, what are you—” Sameera started, but Nadiya cut her off.
“I asked if you and that Tom Cooke person were together. I specificallyasked, Sameera. You lied to my face! I had to find out fromMom and Dad about your new boyfriend. After everything you put us through with Hunter, the minute your situation stabilizes, you’re back to hiding things from the family again.”
“That’s not what happened!” Sameera cried. Nadiya was her rock. If she abandoned her now, Sameera wasn’t sure what she would do. She had to make her understand. “Tom needed a favor, and he offered to introduce me to—”
“I don’t want to hear it,” Nadiya said, and the expression on her face made Sameera cold. It went beyond disappointment and dove straight into despair. “I can’t do this again. You need to take responsibility for your actions. For once.”
“That’s not fair,” Sameera said.
“What’s ‘not fair’ is trying to console my hysterical mother from thousands of miles away, when she calls me sobbing that my little sister is keeping secrets again!”
Sameera inhaled sharply. This was a gross mischaracterization. Hadn’t she tried to mend the breach between her and her parents and Esa? Hadn’t she shown up, answered her mother’s many phone calls, brought macarons to the Eid party, even sat through Tahsin’s inept matchmaking attempts?
Or would they consider her the untrustworthy family screwup forever, no matter what she did? She felt like the girl who cried wolf. Or in her case, the stereotypical desi girl hiding things from her family forever.
“Fix your shit, Sameera,” Nadiya said, and then her phone screen went dark. She stared at it for a second, shocked. Her sister had hung up on her.
She texted Bee, knowing her friend typically stayed up late.I need you.
Her friend responded immediately.Leaving now.
Sameera dropped her phone to the carpet and let herself cry.
Bee came over an hour later, armed with cookie dough—which Sameera hated—and a bar of hazelnut chocolate, which she reachedfor immediately. By the time Sameera had finished sharing the story, Bee was a quarter of the way through her cookie dough, and there was a thoughtful expression on her face.
“Okay, so, what your mom did was completely manipulative, but it’s also sort of ... sweet?” Bee said. Noticing Sameera’s outraged expression, she backpedaled. “You should definitely not get on that plane to Alaska. Who even buys their daughter a ticket to visit her fake boyfriend in ... Where did you say Tom’s family lived?”
“Some place called Wolf Run,” Sameera said. Her parents had informed her of the details via email, along with a link to her boarding pass. The flight left in three days. Not that she was going.
Bee nodded. “What are you afraid of here, babe? No one can force you on a plane. Also, ‘never turn down a free vacation’ is my personal mantra. From what you’ve shared about your mom, this seems pretty on-brand behavior. Didn’t she ground you for an entire summer because you snuck out one night when you were eighteen years old?”
