Straightening Ali (17 page)

“
I didn’t know,” Ali hissed back at him. “I’ve never met him before!”

Ali took the opportunity to take in his surroundings without the sehra clouding his view. The lounge had been transformed since his last visit. It had been cleared of most of the furniture like his mother’s house; however, a few chairs and a two-seater sofa remained behind. The room was decorated appropriately for a party with crepe paper streamers hanging from the center of the ceiling in a multitude of colors creating the image of a maypole, but without the dancers.

It was a crowded and noisy room, and everyone was in deep conversation with each other barely noticing Ali. The men either sat on the floor or stood chatting. Little boys wearing silk waistcoats and tiny bow ties played among them, adding to the din. The only people Ali recognized were his twin cousins Majid and Sajid who sat together in a corner isolated from everyone else.

Ali glanced sideways at Yunus, who was wearing a new suit that Ammi had brought him. The white carnation on the lapel matched the carnations that Ali and Kham both wore. He smiled warmly when he noticed Ali looking at him, but the smile wasn’t for Ali’s benefit. It was for the cameraman who was filming them.

“
Cover your face. They’re going to start the ceremony,” Yunus said sharply, as Uncle Kareem returned to the room with Ali’s father and brother-in-law in tow.

“
Who is going to speak for Sajda?” Uncle Kareem asked, beginning the Nikah.

“
I’ll speak for her,” Ali’s father-in-law said stepping forward.

“
Ali, do you wish to accept the marriage to Sajda Hussein, daughter of Farooq and Balquees Hussein?” Uncle Kareem asked.

Ali took a deep breath. This was the deciding moment that would govern his fate for the rest of his life. If he said no, maybe life would be better. Refusing the marriage in front of witnesses might finally break the stranglehold grip that his family had on his life. “Yes, I do,” Ali said his voice echoing nervously in the hush that had fallen in the room. He wasn’t so brave as to defy his family openly after all.

“
Does Sajda Hussein accept Ali Mirza as her husband?” Uncle Kareem asked Ali’s father-in-law, who quickly left the room.

“
She accepts,” he said, returning a few seconds later. He sounded out of breath having rushed away to repeat the question to Sajda.

“
Repeat after me line by line,” Uncle Kareem said in a low voice before he began to recite the wedding prayer in Arabic from memory. Ali repeated each line word by word. The words tumbled from his dry mouth in steady procession leaving him feeling numb and empty. Each word he uttered cemented him deeper and deeper into a marriage he did not want like a well sprung trap.

“
Ali, will you sign the Nikah Document?” requested his Uncle handing a pen to him. Ali took the pen, signed the document without reading it and returned it to his uncle who then countersigned it. Uncle Kareem then left the room to perform the same ceremony with Sajda in the next room, with the cameraman trailing behind filming every step.

Ali sat in silence.

“
You’re now married, young man,” Uncle Kareem said returning. He shook Ali’s hand as if confirming Ali’s thoughts. “Congratulations.”

It was real and it had happened. He was now a married man. He felt stunned by the knowledge. He was trapped!

His father-in-law gave Ali a hug and welcomed him to the family. Omar, his brother-in-law, who had hovered in the background came forward and shook his hand. When Yunus attempted to give a hug, Ali shrugged him away and gave him a cold handshake.

“
Do you think it’s okay if I take the sehra off?” Ali asked Kham.

“
I don’t know,” replied Kham. “I’d leave it on just in case.”

“
I’m taking it off. It’s really annoying me,” Ali said ripping the sehra off and handing it to Kham. At that moment, the door dividing the women from the men burst open, and a large gaggle of women came pouring in. They were dressed in traditional clothes, bright in color ranging from turquoise to bright green, and all with heavy gold jewelry around their necks and wrists to proudly display their wealth.

“
My beautiful son, I’m so proud,” Ali’s mother cried happily as she swept him into her arms. “You’ve made me so happy.” She handed him a roll of ten pound notes. “Here’s five hundred pounds. Don’t give her more than that,” she whispered without any further explanation, as he was pulled off the chair by the gaggle of women.

It was then that Ali saw Sajda for the first time that day. She was being led into the room by her mother and two sisters. A group of women chanted in Urdu in the background to the beat of Auntie Fazal’s drum.

Sajda had her face to the floor as if weighed down by the clothes she wore. She was dressed in a traditional lehnga suit and a red embroidered dupatta covered her head. A gold pendent covered in jewels hung in the center of her forehead, held by a gold chain that ran beneath the dupatta, along the parting in her hair. As she approached Ali, she continued to keep her gaze to the floor and sat down carefully on the chair that Ali had been forced to vacate.

“
It’s going to cost you to sit next to my sister,” Rhazia cried as she raced to sit in the remaining chair next to Sajda. “How much do you think it’s worth?”

Remembering what he’d seen at a wedding that he’d been to in the past, Ali made a deliberate effort to stop his mind going back to his previous gloomy thoughts and began to play his part as the bridegroom. “Ten pounds” Ali offered, waving a ten-pound note in front of Rhazia’s face.

“
Ten pounds!” Rhazia exclaimed in mock anger grabbing the note from him. “What an insult!”

“
You’re just a kid, ten pounds is a lot of money for you,” Ali said. “You wouldn’t know what to do with it if I gave you any more.”

“
I know exactly what to do with money,” Rhazia exclaimed. “I’m a shopaholic!”

“
One hundred pounds?” Ali offered counting out the money.

“
I’ll take that!” Rhazia said, quickly snatching the money out of Ali’s hands with a giggle. “It’s not enough though. More!” She gestured with her hand.

“
Pull her off the chair,” a woman shouted from the gaggle that now surrounded them both.

“
How am I going to support your sister if I give away all my money?” Ali asked humorously.

“
Let him sit down. Can’t you see the groom is pining to be with his beautiful bride,” yelled another woman.

“
Triple it, and you can have the chair to rest. You must be growing tired,” said Rhazia, having noticed a sharp stare from her mother who didn’t want her daughter to appear greedy in front of the guests.

“
Done! As long as you promise that you’re going to let me have the chair,” Ali said. He counted the money out and wafted it in front of Rhazia, this time making sure it was out of her reach.

“
It’s all yours,” said Rhazia, as she got up and collected the money and joined her sister Shazia who stood by her side.

“
Did you get all that on film?” Ali heard Shazia ask the cameraman as Ali sat down on the chair.

“
Yeah, it’s all on there love,” he heard the cameraman reply gruffly before turning his attention back to the filming.

Ali’s mother checked to make sure that the cameraman was filming and then opened the jewelry box which she’d been holding and placed it on Sajda’s lap to reveal four solid gold bangles inside. She waited a couple of moments to make sure that the cameraman had done a close-up shot. She then took them out and put them onto Sajda’s left wrist one by one, proudly displaying the expense she’d incurred on behalf of her daughter-in-law.

It was Ali’s turn next as his mother-in-law took hold of his hand. She turned around to face the camera and smiled before brutally forcing a gold ring that was obviously too small onto his wedding finger. She spat on Ali’s finger to lubricate it and finally managed to slip it on leaving Ali’s finger red and swollen. She then gave him a kiss and stood back to allow other people to present Ali with gifts.

Ali’s grandmother handed him a thick roll of money. He wondered how she could afford so much until he unrolled the notes and discovered with a smirk that she’d given him several hundred rupees rather than pounds, which totaled less than three pounds in value! Meanwhile, Auntie Farooq took a modern approach and left a large gift-wrapped box in front of Ali’s chair after giving him a kiss.

Kham’s family surprised Ali by giving him an expensive Rolex watch before the rest of the guests followed with their offerings. Most of them gave money, while a few left gift boxes by the chair, all of them checking to ensure that it was captured on film so that the community saw their generosity when the film subsequently did its round.

“
Can you get up to leave,” instructed Yasmin with a whisper in Ali’s ear as she materialized from the crush of people. She noticed the pile of money sitting in Ali’s lap. “I’ll take that,” she said. She promptly picked up the money and put it into her handbag.

Ali’s mother told him to hold Sajda’s hand as he stood up. He followed her instruction and took Sajda’s heavily jeweled hand into his own and led her out of the house to the waiting car outside, closely trailed by the cameraman and the guests. While the cameraman took several more shots of the married couple, the guests took great delight in throwing rice over them.

Ali climbed into the back seat of the car with Sajda while uncle Kareem held the door open. He sat back in the seat and closed his eyes briefly as his uncle shut the car door and got into the driving seat. As the car started to move, Ali opened his eyes again. He wondered what to say to his beautiful bride, but no words came to mind.

Uncle Kareem peered into the rear view mirror trying to catch a glimpse of the newly married couple. “They are young. They have plenty of time to get to know each other and fall in love,” he thought wisely as he sighed deeply at the silence. “Tomorrow I’ll talk to his mother about Yunus and my daughter.”

The reception was taking place at a hotel in the Nottinghamshire countryside. As they reached the hotel and approached the long drive, Ali couldn’t help but feel impressed with the grandeur of the building that had been hidden from view behind a canopy of poplar trees. It was a Victorian building, four stories high with numerous glass windows in an old rectory style. Surrounding it was an immaculately trimmed lawn with a large man made lake in the center brimming with autumnal water flowers.

The peaceful and tranquil surroundings gave way to scenes of chaos outside the building. Ali and Sajda’s families were already waiting outside the hotel with the guests milling around them, as the cameraman tried to capture the vivid imagery of a Pakistani wedding reception in a country location. They all cheered loudly as the car came to a stop in the busy courtyard and Ali and Sajda got out.

The grandeur of the hotel became even more apparent as Ali entered with Sajda, followed by everyone else. The room for the reception had several crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling reflecting light generously into it, and beautiful oil paintings hung in ornate wooden frames on every wall. A wood fire burned under a large mantelpiece casting a glowing radiance around the room. The room had been filled to capacity with circular tables that had been carefully laid out with fresh napkins and cutlery for the several courses of Pakistani dishes that were now to be served.

Ali and Sajda were escorted by an usher to two chairs at a table in the center of the room, which was raised off the floor by a two-foot platform. Sajda’s family took the chairs to the right of Sajda, and Ali’s family took the remaining seats to the left of him.

A heart shaped wedding cake with three tiers sat on the table in front of Ali. It was deliciously coated in rich, sumptuous, white icing and finished off with a handmade sugar rose on its top tier. The cameraman filmed the cake from several angles before turning his attention to Ali and Sajda.

“
Cut the cake,” instructed Yasmin from where she was sitting, as she passed a cake knife to Ali.

“
Cut a piece and put it into her mouth,” the cameraman advised, as Ali stood up to cut the cake. After cutting a small slice, he leaned over to feed it to Sajda, who opened her mouth coyly. She struggled slightly with the piece finding it too big, but eventually managed to swallow it. When it was her turn to cut the cake, she mischievously cut a large slice and stuffed it into Ali’s mouth smirking at the floor as it spilled out.

“
Yasmin, cut the rest of that layer for the guests, and then put the remaining layers away,” Ali heard his mother whisper as he sat down. “We can share the rest between our own family.”

The rest of the reception sped by in a blur for Ali. The succession of people who came to offer their congratulations and give monetary gifts to Ali and Sajda at the table seemed endless. Just when the reception hall emptied and Ali thought it had come to an end, the hall was immediately filled with more guests ready to eat, offer gifts and take yet more photographs.