Page 87 of Stand Fast
Oh, damn, now she really was going to cry.
Her other sister pressed a tissue into her hand. “Here.”
“I’m not crying,” she insisted.
“Sure you’re not.”
“So,” her father said, turning to the rest of them. “I understand we’re all going to dinner together in Bourton?”
“I can’t wait, it’s been years since I’ve been back here,” her mother exclaimed, sidling up to Zaid to slide an arm around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder. “You both look so happy.”
Jaliya smiled through her tears up at Zaid as he laced his fingers through hers. “I’m so happy.”
Her mother and sisters chatted with Zaid as they walked toward the road that led to the village of Upper Slaughter, and her father lingered behind to speak to her alone. Jaliya braced herself for a lecture or at least a few sharp-edged questions.
“You always did like bucking tradition and going your own way,” he began in a wry tone.
She didn’t argue, because it was true.
“Does he go to mosque regularly?”
“Daaaad,” she groaned. “I already told you all this. He’s like me.” She’d told him over the phone. Her preferred method of communication with him when they had to talk about something contentious. Which was pretty often, throughout their history.
He grunted and kept walking, staying a handful of strides behind the others. “You know I don’t approve of the way you went about this.”
“I know.” He would rather have met Zaid in person first, grant his permission and then wait for the religious ceremony performed by an imam. She and Zaid hadn’t wanted any of that.
“But I can’t say I disapprove of your choice.”
Jaliya glanced up at him in surprise. “You mean that?”
He smiled. “I do. I like him. And it’s obvious you both love each other dearly.”
“We do.”
Another nod, and he shifted his gaze to the others. “Then I’m happy for you. And I’m proud of you.”
“You are?” she whispered.
He nodded, frowning at her. “We might not see eye to eye on a lot of things, Jaliya, but I love you, and all I’ve ever wanted is for you to be happy. And I believe you’ll be happy with Zaid. He’s as strong as you are.”
TheI love youdid it, piercing her heart like a razor-sharp blade. They were the words she’d longed to hear her whole life, and he’d just casually thrown them into the middle of the two most loving sentences he’d ever said to her.
She started to cry. Right there in the middle of the beautiful village path in the early spring sunshine, she stopped and covered her face with her hands as the tears began to flow. All her life she’d secretly longed for her father’s approval, and when she’d least expected to receive it, he went and did this.
Her father gave a gruff laugh and curled an arm around her, patting her back awkwardly. “Are you so surprised?” he asked.
Nodding, she fought to get a grip on herself. Couldn’t.
“Jaliya?”
She hurriedly wiped her face and put on a shaky smile for Zaid, who was hurrying toward her, his face full of concern. “I’m okay.”
“You sure?” he drew her to him, casting a suspicious look at her father, who raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.
“I gave my blessing, that’s all. I promise. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness together.” Tossing her a final grin, he strode over to Jaliya’s mother and sisters, who were all watching them.
Overwhelmed, Jaliya leaned into her husband’s embrace and watched her father walk back to her family, so full of joy she thought she might burst. It was too much. “I never dreamed I’d hear those words from him, let alone to my face.”
“So it’s okay that I invited them here? I went back and forth about it a couple of times, then decided to go for it.”
She leaned back to look into his eyes, her love for him filling her entire body with warmth. “It’s perfect. The most perfect wedding gift I could ever imagine.”
He smiled and kissed her tenderly on the lips, a heated promise of what awaited her when they got back to their room later. “Good, because there’s one more gift coming, as my parents are flying in tomorrow.” He grinned down at her, raised his eyebrows. “Surprise.”
Laughing, she leaned her head on his solid shoulder, wrapped an arm around his waist. “I can’t wait to meet them.”
Zaid slid an arm across her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. Together they followed her family down the winding path lined with cherry trees full of fluffy pink blossoms, ready to spend a magical evening celebrating the first night of their lives together with the people she loved—and the people who loved her—the most.
—The End—