Saturday dawned glum and gloomy.

The rainy season had begun, and it was pouring heavily outside. For some strange reason, witnessing the raindrops fall did not make me happy in any way. All I wanted to do was to bury under the blankets and sleep the entire day. And this feeling wasn't anything to do with comforting or cozy vibes. It was simply because I was drained. In other words, mentally tired to function like a normal human being.

I had disturbed sleep throughout the night thinking of what might happen today evening. So, even as I woke up, I felt distressed. One part of my mind constantly predicted that Ibrahim might say 'yes'. I was scared.

In addition to this, what happened at work yesterday added to my bad mood too. I was so upset about that 'elephant' comment that I went straight to bed last night as soon as I got home. I haven't even told Zoya anything yet.

"Alisha, this is for you," mom's voice interrupted my thoughts. I raised my head to find her standing near the bed with a cup of coffee.

Mom was very worried about me not having dinner last night. Probably that's why she had got me coffee. Sweet. Now, that was the thing with mom. Though at times she herself fat shamed me, she was always more bothered than anyone else if I missed my meals. We truly did share a love-hate relationship built on unconditional affection and countless arguments.

"Thanks mom," I said and took the cup to my hand.

"Drink this and slowly start getting ready. We don't want to be late," replied mom.

Wow. For something that was about to happen at 4:00 pm, she expected me to start preparing at 9:00 am itself. Typical brown family advice for time management. We always took things a little too seriously when it came to sticking to schedules. Especially if it involved impressing visitors.

"Sure," I nodded.

"Okay then, I'm going to the kitchen. Wake Zoya up and ask her to start cleaning the house," she said and added, "Oh by the way, don't forget to check out the new dress I kept in your cupboard." Then she left the room.

Since I wasn't in a mood to try out the new dress, I resorted to cleaning the room instead. Once I was done with that, I pushed myself to clean the rest of the house too. By the time I finished all the chores, Zoya woke up.

Her first comment was, "Excited much?"

"What?" I asked.

"You seem to be very enthusiastic about Ibrahim's visit. Cleaning the house and all," she teased.

"Ha-ha! Very funny! I was only trying to be helpful by completing the tasks assigned to you," I hit back.

"Awww how kind! I hope God spares you from this proposal and rewards you with true love at least for this kindness you are showering on your little sister," she replied with a chuckle. I only rolled my eyes at her silly comment.

Then I said, "Hey Zo, guess what Ibrahim Lite did yesterday?"

Without probing into the matter at hand, she commented, "Oh my God! You are a real double-decker, aren't you?"

I flared my nostrils, furrowed my brows and frowned — all at the same time as soon as I heard that. Because I knew what she meant by that term. 'Double-decker' was what we sisters used to describe anyone who two-timed. But how did it apply to my situation? I didn't know.

"What now?" I asked.

"I mean, one moment you are cleaning the house for Ibrahim's visit and the next moment you are talking to me about your frenemy. So yeah, that's why you are double-decker Alisha," she uttered with a giggle.

"Ewww! I'd rather two-time with pizza and chocolate. Men are not worth it, especially not those two," I retaliated.

"Nice. I like how you replaced Ibrahim and Arham with two of your favorite foods. It shows the importance they hold in your heart," she said with a wink.

"Oh please! Forget about Ibrahim. I don't even like to talk about him. As for the other one, you wouldn't say any of it if you knew what he did," I started and told her everything about yesterday's fat shaming incident.

She thought for some time and replied, "Damn! He is truly Ibrahim Lite then. What a moron! Anyway, I'm sorry. No more pairing you up with that idiot because we don't romanticize fat shamers!"

"Never ever!" I said in response and gave her a high-five for her statement. I wished everyone at home could think of Ibrahim's proposal the same way. If only they did that, I wouldn't even have to prepare for today's episode!

Sigh.

By the time I took a bath and got dressed, Shaheen and Aira came home with their families. After a while, Daneen and her husband joined too. Then started the typical family drama of overdoing things during such visits from a groom's family.

My brothers-in-law were inspecting every nook and corner of the already-cleaned house, trying to make sure everything was immaculate. One of them even suggested that we should have bought a new rug for the entrance because the existing one wasn't good enough. Zoya was instructed to dust and vacuum certain parts of the house one more time because apparently a few cobwebs were spotted on the ceilings. Shaheen, mom and Aira were busy preparing sweets and short eats to be served in the evening. In addition to this, dad had purchased some goodies from the shop too. As for Daneen, her complete attention was on my dressing and how it could be better.

I watched the whole thing happen in frustration. I so desperately wanted to run away from it all. But I knew it wasn't possible. So, I turned a blind eye to most of it and tried to remain calm, wishing for the best and anticipating the worst.

By 4:00 pm, Ibrahim and his mother arrived. They were on time. Perfectly punctual like Sheldon Cooper. But that did not impress me in the least.

I felt more anxious than ever.

So, while the adults were having a chat in the hall, I asked my nephew Rayan to get me some chocolates from the fridge without his mother Shaheen noticing it. I knew it wasn't the best decision that I made for the day but hey, I really needed something to calm myself down, okay? Stress eating was real and sweets were the only thing that had the special power to uplift my mood instantly.

Just one bite of chocolate and I already felt less jumpy. Damn! It tasted delicious!

I wanted to finish the whole bar at once but that was when Ibrahim and his mother walked into the room. The moment I saw them, I felt embarrassed. So, I soon wrapped the chocolate, put it behind me and wiped my mouth with a tissue.

I wasn't sure whether they saw me eating it but I felt very uncomfortable.

"Mama, she is fatter than what we saw on the video call," was the first comment that Ibrahim made to his mother as soon as they sat in front of me. Well, if that was his idea of whispering, he was definitely wrong because I heard him clear as hell. Idiot.

I wanted to remind him that he too looked balder in person but I refrained from saying it. I was not the type of soul to comment on another's insecurities, no matter how much I hated them.

A few minutes passed and both of them didn't speak to me directly except for the initial greeting. They were mostly whispering to each other and occasionally responding to Shaheen's small-talk questions. It looked like they were clearly not impressed with what they saw. Or maybe both had some sort of weird speech problem. Either way, it seemed like the response was going to be negative and I felt happy about that.

After a while, Shaheen left and dad joined us. In an attempt to be hospitable, he asked Ibrahim, "Can I get you some water, son?" That was dad's way of initiating conversations with new people, especially when he thinks someone is nervous and wants to make them feel comfortable.

Now, a normal person of great manners would have either accepted the glass of water with a 'yes' or politely turned it down with a simple 'no'. But guess what Ibrahim said?

"Why would I need water? Do I look like I'm excited?"

Yes, those were his exact words and that too in a rude tone. Dad's face changed but he still managed to fake a smile. As for me, I was terribly annoyed and I could not even pretend after that. I mean, how dare he speak to my father like that? Didn't he know anything about respecting elders? Insolent moron!

Perhaps his mother too felt that it was rude because she soon tried to change the topic by asking dad about his health. While the conversation was getting diverted towards that point, Aira and Daneen entered the room to introduce themselves. And dad excused himself.

"How old is the baby?" asked Ibrahim's mother as soon as she saw little Samar in Aira's arms. For once, she seemed to act like a normal human being even though her son still sat there like a stone.

"Five months," said Aira with a smile.

"Really? But he is so small noh. Premature birth? Or does he have any medical condition?" asked the old woman, proving one hundred percent that she was Ibrahim's mother.

The son fat shamed me and now the mother was skinny shaming my little nephew. Awesome. Total body shaming family.

"No, he's just very active throughout the day. That's why he doesn't get chubby easily," replied Aira with her usual response for such dumb questions. It was after all nothing new for her, although it stressed her out each time. People generally made it a point to skinny shame her kids because they weren't as chubby as her. Stupid world and their double standards!

"Yeah and he is perfectly healthy," I added with a straight face. I really wanted to chase both of them out of the house.

"Oh okay, if you say so," remarked Ibrahim's mother with a fake smile. The way she spoke sounded like she wasn't at all convinced with what we said.

Now that Aira's turn was over, she turned to her next target.

"What about you? How many children do you have?" Discomfort was written all over Daneen's face the moment she was asked that.

Great. Yet another sensitive topic.

I didn't know how or why but somehow Ibrahim and his mother seemed to have a special power of making people uneasy by asking them the most inconvenient questions ever.

"I don't have any yet," replied Daneen with an awkward smile.

"Why not? Aren't you trying?" asked the old bat.

"We have been trying for the past three years but things don't work out so easily, right. It's all in God's hands," said Daneen.

"That's a lot of time. I think you should meet a doctor soon. You are probably not getting pregnant because you are too fat," said Ibrahim's mother as if overweight females never deliver babies. How stupid!

Maybe that woman did not mean any of it in a bad intention. She probably only wanted to help. That's what most of them do. But still, why talk about sensitive matters and make others uncomfortable? I mean, by asking questions and giving out opinions, the problem doesn't get solved, right? Then, what's even the point in making mention of it? So lame!

Ibrahim who was silent all this time suddenly added, "Yeah, the entire family is fat. It's not good. All of you need to lose weight."

"Of course, we should. Maybe you can give us some tips," said Daneen enthusiastically. Her response maddened me more than anything else. Weight loss advice from a fat shamer would be the last thing anyone would need in this world!

Before he could respond, both Daneen and Aira had to walk out of the room to help mom with something in the kitchen. So, I got caught instead.

"Are you currently following any diet?" he asked with a sullen face.

"I have reduced portions for all three meals" I replied, giving him a death stare. I wasn't sure where this conversation was going.

"That's not a diet," he said and sniggered. It was the first time that I saw any sign of laughter on his face but then again, it was obviously for the wrong reasons.

I remained silent. Then he himself added, "For your size, you shouldn't be even having three meals. Cut down dinner from today."

Okay, what? Who the hell was he to advice me on my food habits? Did he consider himself my personal dietitian?

"I have tried it before but it hasn't really worked," I replied.

"It won't work if you are not disciplined enough. I will give you a proper diet plan this time," he said and added, "Don't ever consume sugary or oily food. Drink only black coffee or green tea. Stop carbs completely."

Excuse me? Did he just ask me to stay away from carbs? That too completely? What was I to eat then? Plants? Besides, why was this idiot even telling me any of this? It was after all a 'no' from his side, right?

Luckily, I didn't have to even pretend to reply to his stupid suggestions because he and his mother were soon invited to the table to eat. So, when they left the room, I finally started breathing normally and also enjoyed my chocolate. Little Dalia joined me too. I guess, she was asked not to make an appearance in front of Ibrahim because of the video call incident. That's why she had waited till they left to enter the room.

Dalia started singing as usual and I scrolled through IG, forgetting that the mother and son were even there. I mean, I did not expect them to return to the room as most of the grooms who disliked me never bothered to bid a proper farewell.

But then Ibrahim and his mother came back after some time. And guess what Dalia did as soon as she saw them?

She started singing 'Humpty Dumpty'. I wasn't sure whether she did it knowingly or unknowingly but it was funny, especially the looks it created on the faces of Ibrahim and his mother.

I tried to stop her but she didn't listen to me. However, when they both frowned at her, she immediately hid behind me. Maybe she was scared of them. Poor thing.

"I will send you a complete list of the foods you should eat and avoid. Ideally go for a vegetable, fruit and protein only diet if you are to lose this weight within two months," said Ibrahim like a robot. There was not an ounce of friendliness or politeness in the way he spoke. Rude as ever.

By the way, what was this talk about two months? It confused me.

I kept staring at his face trying to figure things out when his mother said, "We will see you soon," and Ibrahim added, "hopefully with some solid progress in your weight." With that, both of them walked out of the room without even giving me some time to process their words.

Hold on. Did this mean it was a 'yes'?

Oh no! Hell no! I hoped not!

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Does Ibrahim seriously seem to have some personality trait problem or is he just plain rude? What do you think? 🧐🤔
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