...

As Dahlia Ahmad sprinted down the last couple of steps, she found the Fayyads sitting around their dining table.

It was a Friday morning. The smell of her mother's Mughlai parathas were wafting from the kitchen. The regular quietness of their house was replaced by chatter.

As Dahlia rounded the corner of their hallway, she saw the ladies of her family with the Fayyad's ones, all surrounding baby Aisha - the seemingly host of the hour. Her eyes drifted in the direction of the seating arrangement in their patio, and assumed that's where the men must be. She was jerked out of her sleep by Lily's text warning her of non-mahram men, after all.

Weekend breakfasts were always a special occasion at the Ahmad household. But as the table was set, Dahlia realized it was being kicked ten notches for the guests. Soon, the men found their places around the dining table and the women carried their plate of food inside. In the process, Dahlia caught sight of Kaveh.

She was simply loading parathas and aloo bhaji on her plate when Kaveh's piercing eyes found her and he said to her, "you look nice."

Dahlia's jaw almost touched the floor. Her panicked-gaze briskly skimmed the table. She let out a sigh of relief when she realized no one had heard him. But that did little to calm her racing heart. Her eyes landed on him again. Kaveh looked completely unabashed.

Death wish, the man had a death wish.

Her first instinct was to tell him to stay within his limits. But she couldn't bring herself to do that. So Dahlia tried to hold the reins of her palpitating heart, gave him a look and said, "Really, thought I was a cow?"

Kaveh quickly looked up from his plate of food and widened his eyes in surprise. Mortification colored his face when realization hit him that Dahlia had overheard the conversation between him and his friends nearly a year ago. She quickly exited the scene after, fighting to hold back her laughter.

The rest of the event was fairly uneventful. It was around evening when Kaveh reached out to her again. Not through words, but Dahlia found those soft pink roses on her dressing table again.

The personal touches of last time were absent, no doubt due to shortage in time as he chose swiftness over preparation. The stems of the flowers were held together by silver foil, and nestled amongst the petals was a card with his name written in his handwriting - Kaveh Fayyad.

But the flowers were the same, and the message was received loud and clear - he was sorry, again.

Lily was disappointed once more.

"Roses this time too?" she sighed. "For a man as smart as Kaveh, he sure makes a lot of stupid moves."

Dahlia's heart started doing that thing again. Part of her was outraged by his audacity, part of her was flattered. Conflicted by her own emotions, an overwhelming feeling choked her.

He had sent them straight to her house too. Just seven years in a foreign land and it seemed like he had forgotten all about their conservative culture.

In less than an hour, Ibrahim asked her if she was up for a driving lesson, to which Dahlia obliged. The cousins left the house the house, she grabbed the roses and stuffed them in her closet.

What she had been doing since she had received Kaveh's apology was guarding it with her life in case someone saw it. The last time she had received the flowers, Dahlia and Lily had to go through a lot of drama to hide them. First, they took off the ribbon with her initials and kept it in a locked drawer along with the letter. Second, they tore the card with his name to as many pieces as they could and flushed it down the toilet. Then, they cleaned the wicker basket with face wipes and kept it in her vanity as a holder for her makeup palettes. Last but not the least, they hid the flowers in Dahlia's closet.

However, then the roses started to brown and wilt, since that is what flowers do, so they were bound to throw them out.

Her mother came across the bouquet while they were in the trash can.

There was a lot of speculation around the house. Dahlia feigned absolute innocence when asked. It remained as one of those mysteries around their home that never got solved.

"Just let Mom see them this time, that would be easier," Lily had suggested exasperatedly.

Dahlia turned to her sister with absolute disbelief. "Do you have any idea what will happen if I do it? We'll both suffer the consequences. Besides, I still can't believe his nerve to do something like this."

"Don't think Kaveh's worried about the consequences, Dels. The way he's doing things, I would say he's embracing them. Besides," Lily looked at her. "If our parents found out, I don't think they'd mind. In fact, I think they'd rejoice at it." Her eyes turned tentative. "Would that be so bad?"

Dahlia looked at Lily like she had lost her mind.

Ibrahim arrived at the scene and all three of them got out of their houses and inside the car. Lily was starting to drive out of their street. They were getting quite a bit of attention from the pedestrians since a women driving a car wasn't as common in their city - even though it was becoming much more prevalent in their neighborhood. Ibrahim was chatting about something.

Would that be so bad? Lily had asked so casually, like it was that easy. Dahlia looked out the window, the reality of the situation slowly settling in.

Salman Bashir walked out of the mosque with Zakariya Azad in toe.

His eyes ran over the pristine white building. The sun was shining high in the sky. The gleaming white marble contrasted beautifully against the serene greenery. Salman darted his back towards the street. They crossed the length of the parking lot, weaving their way through the crowd of men leaving the masjid, and then got into the stationery car parked on the side of the road.

Arafat looked up from the passenger seat and greeted them. Despite accompanying them for Jummah, he refused to enter the mosque.

Salman slid into the driver's seat and then waved his hand in front of Arafat's face, threatening to touch, but careful to avoid actual skin contact. The boy nearly jumped out of his skin.

Salman burst out laughing. Arafat clicked his tongue in annoyance and shot him a look. The boy had social anxiety and his personal space was something he valued more than anything.

Salman, still chuckling quietly to himself, started the car.

"One of these days you'll get yourself murdered in your sleep, pretty boy," Arafat said, voice bare of any emotions, steady gaze on the road.

"Your not the first man to threaten me." Salman said with a wink. "And I'm sure you wouldn't be the last."

He turned towards him, a glint in his gaze. "Pray tell, did those bigger men also know how to make a body disappear under an hour without a trace?"

Salman removed his eyes from the road, widening them in the process.

"Don't pay attention to him." Zakariya scoffed from the backseat. "He just likes to rattle people."

"You willing to bet your life on that?"

Salman shot Arafat a concerned look, the latter boy's lips widened into a malicious grin.

"Damn, Mr. Robot," Salman whistled, turning to the road again. "Instead of praying for your atheist soul, I should have prayed for the longevity of mine."

Salman dropped the boys off at Zakariya's place. They were planning to spend the day playing some nerdy video game Salman wasn't allowed to insult, and then invited him over too but he declined. The reason was because he had another affair, but of course Salman claimed it was because he was too cool for video games.

He soon drove to their country club. As Salman walked towards the gazebo near the artificial lake, he spotted Kaveh, at their usual table.

The morning was morphing into a pleasant afternoon. The Spring flowers breathed life into the monotonous green and white ambience. The ferryboats in the distant sea loomed towards the sky.

Hearing his footsteps, Kaveh looked up. A smile appeared on one corner of his mouth as he saw his friend proceed. Salman dragged the empty chair besides his and lowered himself on it.

"What's up?" he asked. "Long time no see, buddy."

"I should be the one saying that," Kaveh responded, meeting his eyes. "I don't think I heard from you since you left for your trip. You didn't even appear for Jummah today."

Kaveh's gaze held no accusation, only a hint of concern. A sly smile appeared on Salman's lips, but the twinkle it usually brought out in his eyes were lacking. "What can I say? I'm a man on demand. I have friends besides you too, you know," he jested.

"Ah." Kaveh nodded, Salman's words eliciting playfulness in his eyes. "And who exactly are those friends?"

"These new guys I met." A smile crossed Salman's lips, less happy and more genuine. "One of them is Zakariya Azad from York, you might know him. The other is a robot," he added. "His limited range of emotions will give your blank expressions a run for their money."

"I feel threatened," Kaveh said, unamused. "Did you pray Jummah with these guys today?"

"Yes, at the masjid at the other side of town." He shrugged. "I didn't think it would be a big deal."

"It's not, it's just strange not having you in the middle of everything." Kaveh said, the mirth disappearing from his eyes.

Salman looked away momentarily, escaping his friend's gaze. Perhaps for the first time in his life, Salman didn't enjoy the attention him and his family was receiving. Months had passed since the news of his broken engagement spread, yet, not one social gathering was spent without hearing, "Of course he failed at his engagement. With parents who don't know how to keep a family, what else can be expected from the boy?"

He met Kaveh's eyes again, the smile returning to his lips. "Have you seen Fardin recently?" He changed the topic.

Just the name of the guy elicited annoyance in Kaveh's face. He clenched his jaw. The two guys had stopped being friends a long time ago. Kaveh was groomed for success and excellence since he was a child, and was taught to keep company that reflected such. After Fardin had failed all his A' Levels, their ties naturally severed. The only semblance of association they had was simply due to Salman.

"No," Kaveh said, voice laced with resentment. "Have you?"

Salman shook his head slowly. "He keeps calling, maybe we can all hangout together sometime."

Before Kaveh could bite back an offensive response, Salman met his gaze again, the smile still etched on his face, shifting the air between them. "Now tell me, how are things going for you? What have you been up to?"

He lowered his eyes on the table and flicked a hand. "You know, same old. Busy with the business and family. Nothing has changed for me."

Salman nodded in reply. "How's everyone else doing? Daddy Fayyad, your cute little sister, the Sasquatch?"

"Good," he replied briskly. "Do give Ibrahim a call sometime, he keeps asking about you."

"Does he now?" Salman asked in a snide tone. "Why, so he can learn my location and put a hit on me?"

Kaveh rolled his eyes. "I think he's genuinely worried."

"And I'm nauseated. Tell him he can stop the fake concerns. He already got my sister."

Kaveh shook his head exasperatedly. "Do not involve me in your cat fight. Pick up the phone and tell him yourself."

Salman let out a chuckle as a response.

As the two friends caught up, afternoon melted into evening, as the rain began drizzling.