TWO

 HAIDAR’S POV

“Good morning sir. Shall I get you coffee?”.  My secretary said as I walked into my office.

 I shook my head.

 “That won’t be necessary”. I replied as I walked to my seat. “Thank you”.

 She nodded.

 “I’ll be at my desk sir”. She said before she turned around and walked out closing the door quietly behind her.

 I set my keys and phone aside before I sat down and relaxed into the leather seat. As if yesterday’s discussion with mother wasn’t tiring enough, I received an invitation this morning saying my supposed ‘fiancée’ would be graduating soon.

 It would be my first time meeting her, it would be the first time I would be meeting the woman I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life with.

 I didn’t want to meet her and I didn’t want the wedding, but of course, it didn’t matter.  Preparations are in full swing and I can do nothing to stop it, I do not wish to drag her into the dark pit which is my life, neither do I wish to have anything to do with her, a cousin she was, yes, but that was it.

 I leaned forward and rested my head on the table, I couldn’t work now, not with such thoughts disrupting mind. At that moment I heard the quiet sound of the door clicking open, and I knew no one would barge in without knocking except Zarah and Hussein, my cousins and also best friends who had ditched me and gotten married last month, an arranged marriage, yes, but they had gotten married nonetheless, and they surprising got along fine, which was unexpected because they had thrown a feat when it was about to happen.

 I raised my head in time to see them make their way to the table.

 “Hey man, you good?”. Hussein said as he walked to a chair and sat down, Zarah did the same.

 They sat in front of me, legs crossed and back relaxed in the comfort of the soft seats. They both had shades on, it gave them that badass ‘Kassem look’. They were supposed to look intimidating but in reality they just seemed friendly, they had almost identical smiles which brought out prominent dimples on both side of their cheeks. As kids they were mistaken for siblings for they bore great resemblance to each other; they had brown eyes, pink lips and the most vibrant of smiles, lately though, Zarah stuck to red lipstick to at least lessen the resemblance.

 A thought crossed my mind, what if ‘she’ looked like me? Would I be mistaken for her brother when we were together?

 I cleared my throat quietly and shook my head.

 “Yeah”. I answered his question. “What’s up?”.

 “Everything!”. Zarah answered enthusiastically.

 I arched a brow questioningly.

 “ Hayfa’s graduation and your wedding”. Hussein said seeming almost bored, as always.

 “You always make us state the obvious”. Zarah said.

 I kept my usual smile on to mask my feelings.

 “You both seem excited”. I said rather dryly.

 “Yeah. So, what are you getting  Hayfa?”. Zarah asked.

 I’m glad she asked ‘cause I hadn’t thought about that, it hadn’t even occurred to me to get her anything.

 They waited for my answer while I just stared at them blankly, realization dawned on them and Zarah pried off her shades dramatically.

 “You don’t know?!”. She said.

 “Yeah, I was hoping you’d help me with that”. I lied.

 They smiled smugly.

 “Ahh, that’s why you looked so worried when we came in”. Zarah said.

 I nodded but said nothing.

 “Hmm”. Zarah hummed thoughtfully. “Hussein, what would you get me if I was graduating?”.                  

 Hussein seemed thoughtful for a moment before he said;

 “I’d get you the latest fashion line in LA”.

 Of course he would, there was no denying that Zarah was addicted to fashion and new clothes.

 She smiled, her eyes twinkling fondly.

 “I’d love that”. She said. “ Hayfa though, she’s a little less inclined towards fashion lines than I am”.

 She sighed.

 “Poor kid, doesn’t know what she’s missing out on”. She said. “Or perhaps you could get her a cat, sorta her own little companion. I hear she doesn’t have a lot of friends”.

 “Yeah, but whom amongst the Kassems do?”. Hussein said.

 “You know what I mean Hussein”. She answered dryly.

  I regarded her wryly.

 “I beg your pardon, a cat?”. I asked.

 It may be that she had no friends indeed, but that didn’t mean she would settle to have a cat as a friend, more or less a companion.

 She nodded.

 “A cat. A nice and fluffy pussycat with pink paws”.

 “Don’t say such things”. Hussein spoke lowly, his jaw clenched ever so slightly.

 A smirk curved my lips and I leaned back into my seat.

 Zahra rolled her eyes defiantly.

 “What things?”.  She asked.

 I rolled my eyes exasperatedly. What was with them? It’s not like we all weren’t used to talking as we did.

“You were saying something, Zarah”. I prompted.

 “Indeed, get her a nice pussy-cat that purrs a lot”. She said, a deviant glint in her eyes as she glanced at Hussein who seemed to have a lot to say but chose to say nothing.

 “Interesting”. I said, not at all referring to her suggestion but the building tension between them. “Keep going”.

 “Yeah? What would she name it then?”. Hussein asked dryly. “Champagne Royale Kassem?”.

 Sarcasm was thick in his words.

 Zarah laughed and nudged his arm playfully.

 “I can’t wait for the wedding, you guys are gonna look perfect together, I have a feeling you’ll be taking couple of the year from us”. She said.

 A nice change of topic indeed. Out of the frying pan and into the bloody hell.

 I kept my ghostly smile on but said nothing. Did no one really realize that I wasn’t down for this?

 I watched them slide on their shades again as they stood up.

 “Well, we’ll see you at the graduation”. Hussein said.

 I also stood up to see them out.

 “Yeah, graduation it is”.  I said.

 We exchanged a bro handshake before I reached out and shook Zarah’s extended hand.

 “Could you do me a favor and tell my secretary the details of the cat you’d like me to get?”.

 “Of course, it’s going to be the best cat ever”. She said.

 I nodded.

 “By all means, go crazy”.

 She was about to say something when Hussein’s hand came between ours.

 “You might wanna keep off, she’s taken”. He said smirking at me, no malice intended and no offense taken.

 I merely rolled my eyes, we all grew up together, we did unimaginable things together, surely we had done more than just holding hands.

 “She was my cousin first”. I said simply.

 They laughed.

 “Yeah well, that was then, and this is now”. He said. “It can’t be helped.