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• Amir •

"Is it connecting, yet?" Amir asked Sergeant Decker.

"It's nearly ready. There. Now, it should connect to him," he said, eyeing Amir. "You have five minutes on this secure line, so make it count."

"Thanks, man."

Amir's fingers stayed fidgety as his heart somersaulted. A small lump settled in his throat while he tried to figure out what to say to Luna's father. Colin set up a live video chat for him to speak to Mr. Carlyle because he wanted to ask for his blessing to propose to Luna.

Sarah's acceptance comforted him. He played UNO and hide-and-seek with her. He smiled after she urged him to refill her sippy cup with her favorite drink. Sugar-free fruit punch.

As she urged him to color at the table, Amir realized he was home. He wanted to protect Luna and Sarah. Always defending them.

Pressure built in his chest when the dial tone stopped and Mr. Carlyle appeared on the screen.

He raised his eyebrow and asked, "May I help you?"

"Hi, Mr. Carlyle. I'm Amir Khan from Islamabad."

"Oh. The hospital volunteer. The person who broke Luna and another patient out," Mr.Carlyle said, fixing his glasses and staring into the screen.

His silver hair flashed under his lamp, and his blue eyes looked like gems through the camera lens. Amir hadn't made the best first impression by breaking Luna out of a place she never should've been in.

Amir breathed deeply and nodded. "Sir, may I explain?"

"What could you offer me? You broke Luna out of an institution that was helping her. Dr. Kim explained everything. You wooed my daughter to escape. I don't know you, Amir. I know she is vulnerable and has endured enough. You used her."

Amir swallowed, his heart beating quickly. "Yes, sir. Luna has been through a lot, but the institution wasn't what it appeared on the outside, Mr. Carlyle."

"Call me Lawrence. Since you're in my daughter's life, we should call each other by our first names," he said, adjusting in his seat at his desk. The sun shone through a wide window behind him. "Now that Luna is free, how is she? How is my granddaughter?"

"They're well, Lawrence. Sarah's with her mother and aunt."

"Liberty. I'd like to speak with her after we chat. I was told I can't ask where everyone is, but I assume my family is okay. Since you called me, what can I help you with?"

Amir trembled.

Lawrence was stern and direct, but now was the moment he'd been waiting for. He needed to say what he felt for Luna and Sarah. He was sweating profusely when his back felt damp.

"I am in love with Luna, and I adore Sarah as if she were my daughter. When I first saw her mother, I was immediately drawn to her. She had an energy about her that struck my heart, and I knew I'd never let anything happen to her."

"But how, Amir? You've only known each other for a few days."

Amir glanced away and nodded slightly after Lawrence's remark. To be fair, Mr. Carlyle only heard about him volunteering at the hospital through Dr. Kim and didn't know they'd met months earlier. Lawrence wouldn't ignore that detail.

"What did Luna do to earn your appreciation, son? How do you know it is love?" Lawrence continued.

"Because she's my everything. I'd keep her and Sarah safe."

"Okay. I'll level with you. I can see that Luna has made a big impact, but what you said tells me nothing. What are your intentions for my family?"

Amir smiled and pinched his lips together, then said, "I would like to ask for your daughter's hand in marriage. I know you and I haven't had much time to talk, but I'd like to get to know you better someday. If Luna says yes, I could meet you and get close to you."

"But how are you going to provide for them while being on the run? All of you will need money to survive."

Amir realized what was bothering him. Most fathers contemplated their children's partners. He could access his Pakistani account. Even though they were hiding, he was still able to take care of Sarah and Luna. They wouldn't worry again.

"I'm conservative and have a lot of money back home. A little under thirty thousand dollars."

After thinking for a few minutes, Lawrence gave a nod and said, "I will say that it makes me feel better that you want to marry Luna. I'm worried about where you three would live. Are you all going to return to Pakistan?"

"Sir, we haven't talked much about that. I'm sure we will, though," Amir explained. "We're taking each day as it comes," he added.

The door behind him slowly opened as Vikram entered the room. Lawrence noticed him and called him over.

Vikram waved to his soon-to-be father-in-law and said, "Hi, Lawrence."

"Hello, Vikram. How is Liberty?" he asked, looking at him from top to bottom through the screen.

"She is good. She is drawing a picture right now with Sarah."

Lawrence straightened in his chair and said, "I'll be honest with you both. I'm sure my daughters and granddaughter are fine, but I haven't met you, Amir. I have met Vikram," Lawrence said, and Amir nodded as he moved over an inch to give Vikram more room. "I want to believe you are a good person. I can see that you are polite and respectful, but I want to know more about you before I give you my blessing."

"I understand, sir," Amir said after taking a deep breath, his throat dry.

Vikram said, "If I may, Lawrence," as he looked between the two of them. "Sir, I want to speak for Amir. You respect me and what I say, right?" he asked, and Lawrence nodded. "Amir is a lot like me. He will never disappoint Luna or Sarah, and he loves them both equally. I do not doubt that he will do everything in his power to make sure that both of them are safe and happy."

Amir couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw Lawrence have tears on his face through the camera. Luna's father was affected by what Vikram said about him. He hoped that Vikram's explanation would make him feel like he was being honest.

After a few minutes of silence, Lawrence gave them a nod and looked back and forth between them. "Amir, because Vikram's words were sincere, I will give you my approval to marry my daughter. I trust that you are not like Chase. Even he didn't have the decency to ask for my acceptance before proposing to her, and for years I didn't like him. For starters, I didn't like that Luna stayed with him because of who he is and how controlling he is. I kept my mouth shut and put up with the holidays and family gatherings with him."

"I understand, and I love both Sarah and Luna," Amir said with a smile.

"That's great. I'm excited to learn more about you. What about your family? Have you talked to them in Islamabad?" Lawrence asked, and Amir exhaled. The next phase was their phone call.

He shifted in his seat when Vikram got up and walked behind him.

Looking straight into the camera, Amir said, "I haven't talked to my family yet, but I plan to shortly. I'm sure they will be fine with Luna and I getting married, Lawrence."

"We'll see. You know, Luna, Sarah, and my wife went to Islamabad a few years ago. I don't know if Luna has told you this or not, but Sarah's father died while he was in your country."

"I know, sir. She and I have talked about it. Luna's still getting over it. Sam was a big part of her life."

"Yes, he was," Lawrence replied. "And Chase? He wasn't my choice for her. He was good to Sarah, I'll give him that, but he was awful to her mother. I'm more worried about my granddaughter. If Luna is with someone else, it will confuse her."

"I understand, Mr. Carlyle."

"Lawrence, Amir. What's wrong with you?"

Amir laughed and apologized to him. "I meant Sir."

Lawrence laughed and nodded. "That is one thing I've never gotten from Chase: respect. At least you are kind to people and tell the truth. I'm delighted you're part of our family, Amir."

"Thank you, Lawrence."

"I do have a question."

"Sure," said Amir.

"How does a wedding work in Islamic culture? Are there traditions to organize?"

Amir cleared his throat and said, "Yes, Lawrence, but if Luna and I decide to get married while we're hiding, we'll have a Nikah. Raul and Mera said they know a local Iman who can perform the ceremony."

"What does a Nikah mean?"

"It is a ceremony that brings two people together and makes their marriage official. My bride and I will sign legal papers that say we are husband and wife according to Islamic Law."

Lawrence nodded toward the camera and said, "That's interesting. I'll look into how a Nikah is conducted. Vikram told me how a traditional Indian wedding is done and what he and Liberty will have to do to get prepared."

"Yes, sir. Vikram and I value our beliefs and cultures, but if Luna accepts my proposal of marriage, I'll adapt to how she wants to get married."

"I'm sure my daughter will say yes. You seem like a great person, and I'm glad we were able to talk."

"Thank you, Lawrence. It's been a pleasure."

After talking for a few more minutes, Amir ended the call. When Lawrence got to know him, he welcomed him into their family with open arms. That made him feel better and calmed him down.

Now it was his family's turn.

Ten minutes flew by for Amir, hearing his mother's worried tone for him and Faisal and being away from home. But in the end, he was able to calm down his parents and tell them about Luna. Maryam cried, and Nasir was most worried about the choices their son was making.

Nasir said, "Amir," in a stern voice. "I don't know why you want to marry this American girl when you have a perfectly stable girl here. The Malik's daughter is perfect for you and a great choice. We know her and her family well."

"I know, Father, but Luna is everything to me, and my heart is with her."

"How do you know that? You fly to America, meet this young woman in a hospital, and now you want to marry her?" Nasir shook his head, groaning. "We haven't even met her. You're going against our tradition, Amir. Our family has performed arranged marriages for generations. I won't let you make a stupid choice like this. Go get Faisal and come home right now!"

Maryam shifted in her chair and took deep breaths. So Amir moved closer to the camera and looked straight into her eyes. "Mom, please don't cry. This is what I want."

"I know that my boy, but you can't go against tradition," she said while turning away.

"When I spoke with Father about it in his office before coming here, he didn't seem to mind," Amir said, glancing at the family ring on his finger.

"I didn't mind because I thought it was a fantasy for you," his father said, staring into Amir's eyes. "Tradition has always kept our family connections civil. Our ancestors merged our family lines to keep the peace between us, so falling in love before marriage never happened. I did take one look at your mother on our wedding day—not before—and I was glad that she was arranged for me. We must stay with tradition. It's our duty, Amir."

Amir leaned back in his chair and looked at his mother, who kept wiping her closed eyes with a tissue. He knew she wasn't ready for a serious conversation, but he wanted his family to know this was what he wanted. He wanted Sarah and Luna to be his family. He cared about his culture just as much as his parents did, but he also cared about Luna and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

His parents didn't want him to marry someone they hadn't met first, but Faisal and Raul came in and began telling them what they thought about Amir's love for Luna.

Neither of his parents knew Raul, but they could see it through the screen. He told the truth about how Amir felt about her. When Nasir and Maryam looked at each other, he could see in their eyes that they were disappointed that he wouldn't have a Pakistani wedding in their home country. They had planned to see his Nikah as soon as he decided to get married, so it wasn't because of who he chose to marry.

"Mother," Amir said as he looked her into the camera. "I know a Nikah is important to you. It's important to me, too. If I can request your and Dad's blessing to propose to Luna and she says yes, I'll talk to her about having two Nikahs."

Nasir said, "Amir, you can't be serious. You want to have two Nikahs? I've never heard of such a thing."

"Father, I'm serious. It's legal and fine to have two Nikahs. I want to marry her more than anything, and Raul told me he knew someone who could do the ceremony here in America."

Amir was worried that he and Luna wouldn't be able to get married legally in the United States if they used their fake names. If they filled out a form or got a license in their real names, they would both be discovered. But if they do a Nikah in their biological names, they will be married under Islamic law, and they could get married legally once things calm down.

"Mom, I promise I'll talk to Luna about having another Nikah ceremony with you, Dad, and Adnan. I'm sure she'll say yes, and she won't mind having another ceremony."

"Son, does Luna believe in Allah? Is she a Muslim?" asked Maryam.

Amir exhaled a breath, then said, "She's more or less a Christian. She's spiritual and believes in God. That's good enough for me."

After hearing what he said, his parents asked Faisal what he thought.

Faisal smiled at the camera and told his Aunt Maryam, "Luna's great. You'll love her."

Nasir looked straight at Faisal and said, "I'm sorry, but Amir isn't supposed to marry someone out of our tradition."

"I know, Uncle, but he loves this woman, and she loves him. You'll love her as soon as you meet her," Faisal persisted.

"Does Luna love you, Amir?" Nasir asked, and Amir nodded. "I'm not sure if I'm okay with you marrying someone your mother and I haven't met, but I can see that Luna has changed you."

Raul stood next to the wall in the back. Amir looked at him and back to his parents. He said, "There's something else about her you should know. She has a seven-year-old named Sarah. Luna is a single parent."

Maryam then lost it. She kept crying and wiping her eyes with a handkerchief for a few minutes after Amir's last words. "I know it's not ideal to marry her because she's a mother, but Luna is a great mother, and Sarah is incredible. I love her like she's my child."

"I'm not crying because Luna is a mother, my boy. I'm crying because I'll finally have a grandchild to spoil. I've been waiting for that day for thirty-four years," Maryam said with trembling lips.

Amir let out a happy sigh and smiled at them both.

Nasir rubbed his chin and asked, "Where is Sarah's father?"

Amir narrowed his eyes and looked back into the screen. "He passed away."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that." Nasir cleared his throat. "Can we speak to Luna?"

"I'll be right back," Raul said and walked out.

"Raul is checking on her," Amir said to his parents. "I'll try to contact you two this week, and we'll talk more about Luna and Sarah."

"I'd like that, son," Maryam whispered. "I'm finally a grandmother."

Amir smiled, glad that his parents liked the woman he chose to marry. Even more, he was glad that his parents liked Sarah before they even met her.

Raul came back to the office several minutes later.

"Where are they?" asked Amir.

"After playing with Sarah, Luna decided to take a nap, and Cami and Liberty are getting Sarah ready to take a bath," he said, forming a thin line with his lips.

Amir took a deep breath, then said, "Thanks, brother." He then veered around toward the camera. "Luna and Sarah can't come down here right now, but you'll see them soon."

Nasir looked at him and said, "Amir. I want you to know that I'm disappointed that you didn't choose our tradition, but I'm proud of you for following your heart and choosing someone who will make you happy. From what I've heard about this American woman and her daughter, they seem like great people."

"She is, Father. Both Sarah and Luna are special to me, and I can't imagine my life without them. Luna is my life partner."

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