There was a beat of silence as Haris processed her words.
“That must have been heavy,” he said at last. “To know and not be able to tell anyone.”
“It was painful.” A tear slipped down Hena’s face. “Pretending the wedding was on. Acting surprised along with everyone else. He needed time. To run. I don’t know if I gave him enough. Or maybe they caught him anyway…Haris, I’m sorry,” she said, barely above a whisper. “I should have told you sooner.”
“Don’t apologize. I just…Fuck. Poor Nasir.”
“Now they’re back,” Hena said. “I guess if they can’t have Nasir, they want me.”
“How well do you know Reza?”
Hena looked up with a start. This again? “I met him here. At this wedding. Why?”
He put his hands on his hips, considering his words. “It was strange, wasn’t it?” he asked. “Him telling the officers he was out shopping? That’s the alibi? Really?”
Hena shifted. She didn’t want to go here. But—
“I can vouch for him.” Her face warmed. “He was, uh, making us breakfast.”
He frowned, then straightened as understanding dawned on him.
“Of course he was,” he said, his voice quiet. “Well, there you go. That explains that.” He gave her a half smile that didn’t quite meet his eyes. “I was grasping at straws anyway.”
He’s jealous.That’s what Khala had said. If that was the case, had she just hurt him? Someone she cared for, who had always been there for her?
When he left, she checked her phone. There was a missed text from Reza.
Reza:Sorry for leaving so abruptly.
Hena:Feeling better?
Reza:A little.
Reza:Do you think we could talk today?
Hena:I’d like that. I’ll be around after lunch.
Reza:I have an errand to run this afternoon, but I’ll try to swing by your room before the shaadi.
An errand? What kind of errands did Reza have to do while he was here?
She wanted to ask him. She wanted to pick up the phone. To call him. She didn’t. Instead, she sent him a thumbs-up. Then she walked back into her mother’s bedroom, set the phone on the nightstand, and sat with her. Hena held her mother’s hand as she drifted off to sleep. She tried to still her mind, though it wouldn’t stop churning.
She was here for only a little while longer. The wedding week was winding down. Until then, she needed to hold it together.
20
•
The shaadi was in less than an hour. Reza never did drop by.
There had been no call. No follow-up text.
Not that she felt a pit in her stomach. Not that she was checking her phone every few seconds like a lovesick teenager.
Maybe he got caught up with his errand. Maybe it was another migraine.
Or maybe if it walked like a duck and acted like a duck, it was a duck.
