Chapter 8

September 9, 2000

The next morning, Narisa was up early and just finishing her morning
prayers when Josh opened his eyes. When she'd finished, she jumped on
top of him and straddling his covered body leaned over, kissed him
tenderly and whispered, "I love you, Husband."

He gave a silent chuckle and thought, I'm always a sucker for those
beautiful, expressive doe eyes! Returning her kiss, he answered her
profession saying, "I love you too, Princess."

Once the teens arrived downstairs to greet their parents, they saw that
Marie was on the phone while Steve was sipping coffee and reading the
morning paper. Marie cryptically ended her call and told the kids to drink
their juice so they could get ready to leave and pick up Zaara.

"Zaara? What, she's coming too?" Josh asked as he looked at Narisa a little
surprised.

Marie gave Narisa a knowing grin. Narisa hunched her shoulders forward
giggling in anticipation of the day while Josh appeared flummoxed. Steve
saw his son's frustration and commented jokingly, "What did you expect?
It's the bride's day; the groom is just along for the ride."

"What? Am I banished to the video store again?"

"Looks like it, Son," his father confirmed.

"Look at it this way, Josh," Marie joked. "You can check out that new
gaming system. What's it called: Playstation 2?"

"Now there's an idea. It's supposed to be a lot better than the one I have
now."

"There you have it," his dad replied. "Besides, aren't you excited about all
this hoopla over your wedding?"

"Yeah," Josh replied, "but in a way, it's all sort of anticlimactic, isn't it? I
mean we're already married. I just thought we'd go to court, have a simple
ceremony and it would be done with."

"A little advice, Josh," Marie cautioned, "don't start off your new married
life looking at things so pragmatically. You'll find that there are very few
events in life that you will endearingly look back upon. The first is your
wedding day followed by the birth of your children. Do you want to look
back and remember your wedding day as being associated with that
horrific day in an Iranian court?"

Shuddering, Josh confirmed, "No I don't."

"Just be a little more sensitive to your wife's perspective. She's starting a
new life in a new country, a new home and a totally alien culture. Can't you
see this means a lot to her? She hasn't had a lot to be happy about lately.
Do your part to make this day hers and the happiness she feels will
influence your marriage all the days of your life. Relish her joy and you'll be
a better man for it. This is the beginning of a new life for you two. Start it
off right."

"You're right, Mom. You're always right."

"I forgive you, but you've got a lot to learn about women."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Wait awhile and you'll find out," she answered with a coy smile. "Come on
folks, let's hit the road."

Tariq, Zaara's father, greeted everyone at the door when they arrived at the
Khalids. After they exchanged salaams, they retired to the family room and
began the usual chitchat regarding the big event. The girls giggled and
tittered as they went up the stairs to Zaara's bedroom to gossip while the
women deftly migrated to the kitchen to discuss wedding plans.

"Here's a spare house key, Mehar. I asked Mr. Freeman to arrive at our
place about ten-thirty. That should give you enough time to get ready and
meet him. Does Tariq know about our little surprise? Is he okay with it?"

"My gosh, yes. He thinks it's a great idea and won't let the cat out of the
bag. He knows what we're doing in here and he's helping your husband
keep Josh occupied."

"I suggested that the spread be set up outside in the back yard. He's going
to set up a portable floor on the lawn and we'll eat on the deck. If after
seeing the place, you two come up with a better idea, give me a call. What
am I going to do Monday morning? You can't let him in, you'll be at the
courthouse with us."

"Calm down, Marie. Just leave the gate open so he can get into the yard
and leave the back door unlocked; or, I can give him the key when I see
him."

"Thanks, Mehar. At least one of us is thinking straight! I'm as excited as a
schoolgirl. You'd think it was my wedding! I've got to get a grip or I'll give
it all away."

Marie quickly added, "Oh! What about the mullah at your mosque? Will he
perform a symbolic marriage even though they are already married?"

"At first he wasn't too keen on the idea since Josh is a Christian, but after I
told him they already had a marriage license from Iran he did a one-eighty
and changed his position entirely. He said that he would be honored to
perform a proper Muslim wedding. He told me that he was deeply moved
by our efforts and felt that it would reinforce Narisa's faith in Allah, all
glory and honor is His, to start her new life with the blessings of God."

Marie started to cry and hugged her friend saying, "He has blessed me
beyond measure with that little girl and I can't thank you enough for all
you've done."

"Hush now, it also makes me cry for joy that someone not of our faith
would be so accepting of Islam and Narisa's culture. It's a great thing
you're doing for her, exactly what her mother would have done. Allah will
bless you in the hereafter, I'm sure of it. Oh, by the way, I hired a
photographer to tape the wedding. He said he'd take prints directly from
the digital video for the photo album. I hope that was all right? I figured it
had slipped your mind"

"Thank heavens, yes! I completely forgot about that!"

"Well it's all settled then. Now go. Get out of here before the silly boy starts
to ask questions."

"You're right. We'd better go."

Walking back into the family room, Mehar called upstairs for the girls. The
giggling girls dashed down the stairs only to stop in front of their mothers
and say in unison, "We're ready, let's go!"

They looked at each other and started laughing at their simultaneous exact
response. Josh just smiled, shook his head and thought, Girls! Who can
understand them?"

Josh remembered his mother's words and wasn't jealous or upset when, in
the car on the way to the mall, Narisa pretty much ignored him while she
and Zaara prattled on in Farsi, excited over sharing the day's events.

At breakfast, the girls continued giggling and blabbering while the males
ate in silence thinking it best to let them prattle on and kept their mouths
shut. Josh was thinking that it might not be such a bad idea to be
temporarily banished from the upcoming events so he could get away from
the giggling girls for a while. Once in the mall, Josh gave his bubbly "bride-
to-be" a chaste and loving kiss, then turned and waved as he headed to the
video store to check out the latest offerings.

Once in the bridal shop, the shop owner greeted the women and quickly
told his assistant to mind the store while he concentrated on the Williams
party. Zaara gasped her approval in wide-eyed wonder when Narisa's dress
was revealed.

"Oh — my — God! It's beautiful, Sister! You're going to look sooo beautiful
tomorrow! I can't wait!"

"Thanks, Zaara. Momma picked it out. I think it's perfect!"

Narisa was instructed to try the dress on and make sure there weren't any
minor alterations still needed before she left the store. Zaara stared in
open-mouthed awe at Narisa, who was standing on a round fitting pedestal
in her wedding dress. Marie hugged the girl around the shoulder and wept
silent tears of joy at the vision of loveliness before her.

A couple of pins here and a few more there and the shopkeeper bade her
remove the gown so the final, minor alterations could be made. The girls
tittered on while the owner completed the final touches on the dress. Steve
held his wife in his arms and whispered to her, "You've done a beautiful
thing here. You were right, as always. It's the right thing to do."

"When I started all this, Steve, I had no idea how much it meant to me. It's
just that I remember our wedding day and it's one of my most cherished
memories. Through our daughter-in-law, I'll be able to live out a fantasy of
mine and be a part of a beautiful Persian wedding. Thank you for letting
me do this, I love you so very much!"

"No thanks needed, Darling. You're just doing what the woman I married
would do and you just keep reaffirming my love for you and why I married
you. Believe me, it's an honor to be your husband and partner in life. Just
one look in that young girl's eyes is proof enough that makes everything
worth it, no matter what the cost!"

While the man worked in the back, Marie got Zaara a new pair of pink
shoes to match her dress and everyone felt they were ready for the big
event. Thirty minutes later, Narisa stood in her dress for final inspection.
With confirming nods all around, the gown was deemed a perfect fit. When
the bill was paid, Steve added an extra fifty-dollars for the man's quick
turnaround on the dress. Putting the gown in a zip-up garment bag, they
left the shop, confident that the groom wouldn't get a peek at the dress.

They found Josh at a Playstation performing what looked like "body
English" while engrossed in a video game. Narisa snuck up on him and
hugged him from behind. Surprised and with his head still on the game, he
jumped and snorted, "Dang it! I just got kilt!"

Turning to the little pixie he quipped, "Boy, you sure have a way with
timing! First, last night with the game on TV, and now, right when I was
starting to get the hang of this cool new game!"

"Ah," Marie cajoled, "you'll live to fight another day. Come on let's go. You
need a haircut."

"Huh?"

Steve took Narisa's gown and Zaara's shoes to the car while the girls
scampered off to look at clothes as Marie escorted a grumbling Josh to the
hair salon. Steve caught up with his wife and son at the salon and the
couple waited together for Josh's name to be called. After waiting almost
an hour, Josh emerged from the barber's chair neatly cut and trimmed.
They then went off to track down the girls.

They found the pair at the Limited where both girls were busy trying on
clothes. Little did Josh know that Narisa, with some input from Zaara,
knowing that Josh would be sleeping alone, planned on making him
uncomfortably aroused in anticipation of their wedding night. She had an
outfit all picked out and when Zaara noticed Josh come into the store with
his parents, she waved to him to get his attention then informed her sister
that the victim had arrived. Narisa snuck back into the dressing room while
Zaara innocently informed them that Narisa was trying on an outfit.

Josh waited patiently for the little waif to appear. Zaara whispered to Marie
what Narisa had in mind and broke out into a muffled laugh. Marie then
turned to Steve and informed him of the girls' naughty plan. Steve just
shook his head and crossed his arms waiting to see what unfolded.

A few minutes later, Narisa emerged from the dressing room just far
enough to be seen by Josh and his parents, but not by the general public,
decked out in a black leather micro miniskirt that barely covered her butt
cheeks. She also wore a hot pink Zigfield bandeau top that was essentially a
bra with tie-strings that went up from the sides of the cups and tied behind
her neck.