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Narisa 2
By C. Stanton Leman
Chapter 6
September 4, 2000
The next morning, both kids dressed in jeans and a shirt and looked like
everyday American teenagers off to school, except Josh thought Narisa
looked hot! After the teens left for school, Marie started making phone
calls. Neither of the adults had any classes until eleven, so she felt she
might have enough time to begin executing her planned surprise.
"What are you in a tizzy about with all the phone
calls?" Steve asked.
"I'm going to blow that little girl away. Our son and
daughter think that
they'll just have a civil ceremony and then it's all over, but when we get
home they'll be coming home to a small Persian wedding and reception
with the Khalids! Mehar and I cooked up this little plan."
"You're more hyped up about this than the kids, aren't you?
How are you
ever going to plan a Persian reception in six days? What's the cost?"
"I don't care about the cost. I'll cash in one of my mutual
funds if I have to.
Steve, let me do this, please? Narisa is the daughter I could never have.
Let
me do this for her… and for me. She's in a new country, different customs
and culture. Let me bring a little bit of Persia into her life on her
special
day. This way, her wedding day will be like she's imagined growing
up."
"You don't have to cash in a mutual fund; we'll just sell off
some of our
Exxon stock, that should cover everything." Steve snickered as he had
another thought. "Hell, if I didn't know any better, you'd think you
were
Persian!"
"I am, in my heart… Hello, Mehar?"
The ride into school was okay, but Narisa was a little frightened.
Josh
chuckled inside when he thought about his first day at school. He guessed
she was feeling something like that.
Narisa was thinking along the same lines. Allah, please give me
strength. I
feel like this is my very first day at school! This new life will really be
hard
for me even though I now have a friend to help me, but I know I'll have
to
do the work. Even with Zaara and Josh I feel so out of place. I'm still not
used to dressing like this; I hope I don't get a lot of looks from boys. I
don't
want or need that now. Please, Allah, help me get through this!
The two lovebirds walked into school hand-in-hand and headed to
their
lockers. From about thirty feet away, they saw Zaara waving to them with a
wide smile. Narisa shuffled ahead and the two hugged like sisters when
they met. Still gun-shy from the other night, Josh approached with some
skepticism.
"Good morning, Sister!" Zaara exclaimed and followed by
kissing Narisa on
the cheek. "I'm so excited! It'll be really cool to be together, don't
you
think? Just imagine! We can talk in Farsi and the teachers won't know
what we're talking about. They'll think we're talking about class work.
Cool
hey?"
"Hi, Sister," Narisa answered while returning the kiss.
"I'm glad one of us is
excited; I'm kind of scared at the moment. I've just got to do well
in school.
I need to prove to Josh and my family that I can do this."
"Hey, Narisa, don't make the mistake of stressing out about
this. You'll be
fine, you'll see. I'll help you. You won't have to do this alone. You've
done
okay so far with Josh's parents translating for you, right?"
"Uh huh."
"So, don't sweat it. It's just that now, I'll be the
one translating. You'll pick
it up soon enough. Just don't go getting all upset and start thinking about
how hard it is. Just follow my lead and do it, right?"
"Right! I can… I mean we can do this together!
"Now you're talking!"
"Hi, Josh. Glad to see you! Don't worry about Narisa, I'll
take good care of
her and hook her up with a really hunky guy. Is that okay with you?"
"Hi, Zaara. Very funny. Since when are you the queen of
matchmaking,
seeing this is your first week at school? Following your mother's
lead?"
"Nah, just kidding, you old fuddy duddy. Seriously, don't worry
about her.
I'll take good care of her and I'll even make sure she doesn't flirt with
any
cute guys, okay?"
"You do that. Just try to start teaching her some English a
little at a time so
she can become independent and do things for herself."
"My gosh! Both of you are a couple of worry-warts! Take it
easy on her; it's
her first day, for crying out loud. Just chill! If she sees you all
stressed out
she will be too. Is everything okay? You seem preoccupied with
something."
She noticed my apprehension: she's a smart one all right.
"You're right,
Zaara. A husband's worry I guess. Don't pay me any mind."
"Well shape up, Buster. Let's get something straight, Josh.
The two of you
have been through a lot, but I've lived through a war and survived. I'm
tougher than you think and I won't let anything happen to her. Trust me,
please?"
"I'm sorry. You're right. I trust you, but please understand
just how much
she means to me and I can't help but worry."
"Being concerned is okay. Worry? It just muddles things up.
She'll be okay,
I promise."
"Thanks, Zaara for being our friend. You don't know how much
it means to
Narisa… and me."
"Now you're talking! See you later, Josh."
Narisa got Zaara's translation about their conversation and
putting up a
brave front said to her husband through Zaara, "Josh, don't worry,
I'll be
fine, honest. Zaara will help me and we can do this together, right?"
"You've got it, Princess. Now we'd better get going or we'll
be late for
homeroom. Just remember that I love you with all my heart."
"I love you too, Husband."
After closing his locker, Josh, wanting to deeply kiss her goodbye,
was
afraid of being spotted by a teacher so gave his pixie a quick, chaste kiss
goodbye and left the two giggling girls to get to homeroom. He looked back
when he heard an "Eeeek!" and Zaara was scoping out Narisa's
engagement
ring. Josh just shook my head, chuckled and continued on my way.
"Eeeek! Oh – my – god! It's beautiful! When did you
get it?"
"Yesterday. Our rings are a wedding present from Mom and
Dad."
"I think its sooo romantic! I'm so happy for you, but you
know someone's
going to notice that that's an engagement ring, don't you?"
"Well, Sister, I'm not going to hide what I am: a married
woman."
"You got guts, kiddo. Whatever happens, I'll be there right
beside you."
"Thanks, Zaara. That means a lot to me."
"Come on you old married hag. Let's get to homeroom before we get
detention. You wouldn't want that your first day of school in America
would you?"
"Old hag? Remember girl, you're older than me."
"Shut up you young hussy, or I'll send you to your room
without any sex."
"Oh no!" Narisa whined in mock disappointment. "Not
that!"
Being a married man, the first day of school proved to be a trying
one for
the young groom. First, his fears of starting off in the hole came to
fruition
when he found out he had homework to make up in all his classes. He
asked his teachers if he could do it this weekend and turn it in on Monday
and they agreed although they didn't look too happy about it. After making
all those arrangements, He suddenly remembered he was getting married
again on Monday. Oops! He resigned himself to turn it in on Friday. On top
of that, he worried about Narisa and how she was doing. It was hard to
keep his mind on his work. One thing all that worrying did do was relieve
him of the usual jitters one has when starting at a new school: being new,
no friends and not familiar with the surroundings. All that seemed so
unimportant now.
When lunch came around, Josh hustled to his locker, threw his
books
inside and hoped that Narisa would show up. After a few minutes, she and
Zaara came scampering down the hall. As she passed a group of guys, one
of them grabbed Narisa's butt and she turned and slapped him right across
the face. Josh smiled and said to myself, That's my girl! Don't take any
shit
from those butt-heads!
"Hey, you jerk!" Zaara scolded after Narisa slapped the
boy's face. "Grow
up and get a life. How about she kicks you in the balls next time, huh?"
Turning to her friend she said, "You go girl! You're learning
fast!"
"I didn't even think. When he grabbed my butt I just reacted,
but I'm glad I
hit him. It felt good!"
"You done good, Sister. Jerks like that only understand one
thing and you
gave him a good reminder to put him in him place. Oh, look. There's
Josh."
When she saw her hubby, Narisa scooted down the hall ahead of
Zaara and
gave him a quick hug and a kiss and a teacher saw them. "Hey, you
two!"
he hollered. "No PDA 's!"
"PDA?" Zaara said with an unknowing shrug.
"Yeah, public displays of affection. Take it off campus after
school."
"Yes, sir." Josh replied.
Zaara explained to Narisa what the exchange was all about and she
blushed
saying "I sorry."
"Don't be sorry." Josh told her. "Have I told you ‘I
love you' in the past
thirty minutes? Well, I do. I love you, Narisa Williams with all my
heart!"
"Aw, that's so sweet." Zaara said.
"Come on, let's get lunch." Josh quickly added.
Narisa got a salad while Zaara and Josh had a hamburger and fries.
With
one ear tuned to Zaara and listening to Narisa talk about her day with the
other, she seemed to be doing okay although she said it was still pretty
hard even with Zaara's help.
"How's your day going so far, Sweetheart?"
Swiveling her hand as if to say "so-so" Narisa replied,
"Okay, but its still
frustrating. I'd be totally lost if Zaara wasn't translating for me. It's
okay, I
guess. It's not all work though. Zaara and I do chat once in a while
and it
helps relieve the tension. I'm pretty good at math and numbers are the
same the world over so that's my easiest class to understand. English and
History are harder than I thought."
"Don't worry, Josh. She's doing fine. I remember when I
started first grade
here and it was sooo frustrating! I couldn't talk to any of the kids or
understand what the teacher was saying. ESOL classes helped but I really
learned to speak English by watching TV."
After they finished eating, the kids dumped their trays and went
outside for
a stroll. The girls chatted and Josh just walked along listening to the
girls
prattle on. I'm so proud of her. Even with this new environment, she
still
manages to laugh. Thank God for Zaara. We'd be lost without her.
Sadly, lunch period was over and he watched with a little less
worry as his
wife walked the opposite way to her next class. They met again at their
lockers at the end of the day and the three of them walked out of school
together. Zaara said she only lived about ten blocks from school and would
wait for Kamya then they'd walk home together. Narisa and Josh headed
towards the bus after the two "sisters" said goodbye.
Josh and Narisa arrived home about four-thirty and he began his
homework. He really couldn't help Narisa with hers because he didn't
speak Farsi and really felt bad about it. Narisa just cheerfully started
getting things out of the fridge and started to fix dinner. Their parents
arrived home about six. Josh finished up his homework while Marie and
Narisa put the finishing touches on dinner. He'd even got a head start on
completing a couple of his of make-up assignments.
After dinner was finished and the dishes sorted out, Josh sat down
with his
mom to help Narisa. He learned that she was pretty quick at remembering
data like with history and biology and she was telling the truth: she was
as
good as he was at math. English was a struggle and he could see that he
was going to have to help her write all her reports. All in all, it only
took
them about an hour and a half to finish Narisa's first night of homework.
They completed her make-up assignments in math and English. After that
first night of schoolwork, Josh vowed to learn Farsi.
Marie went into the study and joined her husband to prepare for
the next
day's classes and check with Mehar about her little surprise after the
teens
headed upstairs for a shower and bed. Narisa was about halfway through
her period and they didn't fool around any, just some serious kissing. The
lovebirds then snuggled up and were soon fast asleep.
The rest of the school week went pretty much the same except that
Josh's
teachers were pleased when he handed in his back assignments on Friday.
Josh found out from Zaara when he spotted Kamya sitting with what
looked like a rough crowd that she had the same lunch period that they had
on Tuesdays and Fridays. He studied Kamya as he ate for a few moments
and she appeared to be feigning interest in those at her table. It struck
him
as odd that although she came on pretty aggressively the other night, she
now somehow seemed to be in some internal turmoil. She noticed Josh and
gave him a quick, forced smile as if suddenly being polite and went back to
pretending she was involved at the table.
My life sucks! Kamya muttered to herself. I shouldn't have
treated Josh
that way. Anyone can see he's undeniably in love with her and my gosh,
she's so pretty even though she looks like a little girl. I remember when I
was like her…
Narisa was involved in a conversation with Zaara and she had her
hand on
Josh's thigh and was subconsciously rubbing her hand up and down - not
in a sexual way, but one of closeness and affection. Josh asked Zaara about
Kamya and she brushed it off commenting, "Oh, she's like that all the
time.
Sometimes she's okay; other times, she's either mean and nasty or
depressed." She then went back to her conversation with Narisa
When they'd finished lunch, they dumped their trays and left for
their daily
walk. When the three passed Kamya's table, she smiled and said hi to Josh.
He smiled and said hi back.
Zaara remarked, "What's up with her? Did she take a ‘nice’
pill or
something?"
"I don't know. She's your sister." Josh replied
with a shrug.
Once outside and in the courtyard, Zaara was all giddy and wanted
to hear
from Narisa about their Monday wedding.
"Oh Narisa, you've just got to tell me about your
wedding. Will you have a
big one? You know with a maid of honor, bridesmaids and all? Who will be
Josh's best man? How about your gown? What's it look like? Will it be an
American or Persian wedding?"
"Whoa, slow down." Narisa replied. "What's all this
about a big wedding?
From what I understand, it'll just be a simple ceremony in the judge's
chambers. I never thought about a gown, although maybe Mom will let me
get a white dress. I really would like to be dressed in white. It's
times like
these that I really miss my family. Sometimes I feel guilty because Josh
and
his parents have treated me like their own, but it's still not the same,
you
know? I even feel terrible about missing my family because Josh's family
treats me so well. Weird isn't it? I miss my momma the most. She'd be so
proud of me if she could see me dressed in white, my rings… Oh, God. I
miss my momma!"
"Yeah, I can understand exactly how you feel. I'd really be
lost without my
mom, but you've got Josh, right?"
"Yeah… I've got Josh. When I think of how terrified I was on
my wedding
night and how he was so gentle and loving, it makes me want to cry I'm so
happy. Now, I can't imagine my life without him."
"Insha Allah, Girl. You've got every girl's dream: a hunky
guy that really
worships you. You know, you're right. He is a teddy bear. When I talked to
him that first day at school, he just caved in when I got a little hard on
him.
Remember what your momma did to your dad. Train him the way you
want him right from the start." They both giggled.
"Can you be my maid of honor?"
"I love to, but, but, that means I'd have to miss
school on Monday too. So
I'll have to ask my parents first, okay?"
"Okay!" Narisa replied with a smile and affirmative head
nod.
Zaara and Narisa continued jabbering in Farsi while Josh just
scanned the
courtyard. When their conversation ended, Zaara turned to him and said
she was talking to Narisa about their wedding and wanted to hear his take
on the big event.
"What's to know? We'll go before the judge, he'll tell us to
repeat after him,
we'll exchange our rings, then voila! We'll be married… again. Then, I'll
give
my bride the biggest, wettest, juiciest kiss I can and curl her toes.
Later, on
our wedding night, I'll make sweet tender love to her for hours. Anything
else you want to know?"
"Wow! What all are you going to do to make love to her for
hours? I mean
usually when Mom and Dad do it, it only lasts about twenty minutes. If you
two do it for hours, she won't be able to walk to school the next
day!"
"Maybe not, but I guarantee one thing: she may be sore but
she'll sure be
happy!"
Zaara translated what he'd said and Narisa turned a bright pink as
she
smiled then covered her face with her hands. Zaara said something to her
and they went into a giggling fit. "What?" Josh asked.
"I just told your wife she had to give me an hour-by-hour
account of her
first time."
"How do you know it'll be her first time?
"I'm not stupid, dork. Just mention ‘doing it’ and she
blushes! She's a
virgin all right. If she's not, Kamya's never been kissed either," she
said
with a giggled smirk. "Have you ever done it?"
"Have you?"
"I'm a nice, sweet, innocent little Muslim girl."
"You never answered my question: Have you?"
"No Josh, I'm a virgin and I'll stay a virgin until I find my
one, true love.
Satisfied?"
"Thank you for sharing, Zaara. Narisa and I are both
virgins."
"That's sweet! Can I ask you a question?"
"You can ask, but that doesn't mean I'll answer you."
"Would it be all right with you if I talk to Narisa about
sex? My mother has
only told me what I needed to know when I got my period, but she won't
teach me anything else. She says I'll find out on my wedding night and
Kamya tells me to forget about sex, it's not all its cracked up to be. You
know we all hear a lot of talk from kids, but I'd like the truth. I'd like
to
know what's going to happen before he climbs on top of me."
"Zaara," he answered with a sigh, "we're going to
have to trust you an awful
lot with our personal lives and to be frank, we really don't know each
other
that well yet. I will say this: if Narisa is comfortable talking to you
about it,
then I'll be okay with it also."
"Thanks, Josh, I'll never tell any of your
secrets."
"I'll take your word for that, Zaara. Whatever we tell
you about our
personal lives stays between us - that means even from your sister or
parents. Agreed?"
"I promise, and thanks."
Zaara turned and translated their just-finished conversation to
Narisa. She
looked at her husband for confirmation and he smiled and silently nodded.
She turned back to Zaara and looked her in the eye for a moment and then
suddenly got a serious look on her face.
Narisa said to her friend, "I can understand why you asked,
and I
sympathize with you, but you know it's frowned upon to discuss one's sex
life outside the bedroom. I can give you information about sex based on my
experience, but I cannot discuss specifics about our sex life. I just don't
think it's right or fair to Josh."
"I understand, Sister and I'm sorry I put you in that
position. I opened my
big mouth before thinking. If I were in your shoes, I don't think I'd want
to
share those intimate details either."
As Josh sat in last period history, his mind wandered back to his
earlier
conversation with Zaara, He knew, even before they had dinner that night,
they'd have to share some private details of their life with Zaara He also
noted that she hadn't looked at him with any interest other than as
Narisa's
friend. But sex? It just proved his mom's point that girls are just as
clueless
as boys when it comes to sex. He smiled and chuckled when he thought I
wonder if Narisa will tell her how good it feels getting her honey pot
licked?
"Mr. Williams!" Ms. Mc Kinsley tersely asked,
bringing him back to the
present. "Who was the first person to sign the Declaration of
Independence?"
"Ah, ah, John Hancock?"
"Maybe you were paying attention after all."
Honey pot, her hand on my cock? He chuckled out
loud.
"Something funny, Mr. Williams?"
"No, ma'am. Nothing at all."
Ten minutes later, he was dodging traffic in the halls on his way
to meet his
mini diva to go home for the weekend. The girls were already waiting for
him when he arrived. After retrieving what books they needed for their
weekend homework, they turned to leave after the girls exchanged hugs
and a kiss on the cheek. Leaving Zaara on the steps to wait for Kamya, they
said goodbye and boarded the bus for home.
Josh and Narisa snuggled on the bus, quietly said a few ‘I love
you's’ and
were even able to give each other a few kisses. Narisa seemed more quiet
than usual as they neared home and he wondered if Zaara had anything to
do with it. He asked her, "What's wrong?"
All she said was "Momma" and he instantly knew what was
the matter. He
hugged her reassuringly and tried to comfort her, but she was slowly
becoming unglued like she did on the plane. He quietly shushed her and
told her they'd be home in a few minutes and hoped she understood him.
Damn! I've just got to learn Farsi!
She was a real trooper though and waited until they were inside
the front
door before the waterworks began. Josh threw their backpacks on the floor
and walked Narisa upstairs to their bedroom. She bawled the whole time as
he pulled her shoes and socks off and directed her to lie down. He crawled
up beside her and just held her. She clung to him as she sobbed only
muttering "Momma" several times.
Why is life so hard and unfair? All because I stepped outside by
myself, I'll
never see my family again. Oh, Momma, I miss you so much! Talking to
Zaara today brought back all those memories of my times with Momma
and talks together. If you can hear me now, please give me your strength
to be a strong woman and a good wife. I need to hear your words of
encouragement.
They eventually fell asleep and that's how Marie found them when
she and
Steve arrived home. She shook Josh's shoulder and he woke with a start.
Narisa stirred but turned over into a fetal position and fell back asleep.
He
covered his sleeping wife and went downstairs with his mom and told her
he thought she's really homesick and missing her mom, retelling how
Narisa just gradually went into a funk and started crying as soon as they
were in the door. Marie said to let her sleep and she would go up when it
was time for dinner and talk to her.
Josh helped his mom prepare dinner by peeling the potatoes and
making a
salad. When the veggies were on the stove and his dad started grilling the
steaks, Marie went upstairs to attend to Narisa. Steve and his son finished
getting dinner ready and were setting the table when their two spouses
came downstairs together, Steve revealed the fact that he had all of their
documents certifiably translated at the Center and they were ready for
presentation to Judge Stiles. Narisa came right to Josh and wrapped her
arms around his chest. He hugged and rocked her back and forth as he
mouthed to his mom, What's up?
He managed to get the little pixie to sit down and Marie
explained, "She
and Zaara were talking today and she started to get melancholy and
missing her mom when Zaara was telling her how close she and her mom
were. It reminded Narisa of her relationship with her mom. After
dinner,
she's going to write her mother a nice, long letter and we'll take some
photos of her in her new clothes. I told her to hold off sending it until
after
the wedding and we could send some photos of the ceremony also."
"Are you okay, Princess?" Josh asked concerned.
"I miss Momma."
"I know, Sweetheart. I can't imagine what it'd be like not to
be near my
parents. Are you feeling any better?"
"Sad, much sad."
"What am I going to do with you? You can't be sad:
we're getting married
on Monday. You're only allowed to cry happy tears," he teased.
Marie rubbed her back and said, "Tomorrow, we'll go out and
find you a
nice white dress to wear at the ceremony. A bride has to wear white
at her
wedding, right? Do you think your mother would like to see you dressed as
a bride?"
Nodding vigorously with a smile, Narisa replied, "She'd be
very proud and
happy for me. Why are you and father-in-law doing all this for me? Why
are you treating me as a daughter instead of your son's wife?"
Marie threw her head back and laughed saying, "You are our
son's wife and
we love you. We also love you as our daughter. You will one day give us
grandchildren and you are a part of this family and that means you're an
equal member. We love and treat you as a daughter just as much as we love
Josh as our son. Now come. Let's eat before the food gets cold."
Narisa did feel better during dinner but she still had that
noticeable look of
melancholy. Narisa spoke of her conversation with Zaara concerning the
wedding and asked if it was acceptable to have Zaara as her maid of honor.
Josh's parents both chuckled and Marie answered, "Sure,
Sweetie. That's
what best girlfriends are for. I'll call her mother after dinner and see if
it'll
be all right with her parents." Marie winked secretively to Steve.
After dinner, Narisa retreated to their bedroom to begin her
letter. Steve
watched some TV news while Marie called Zaara's mother. Josh left a
melancholy Narisa to write in peace and after doing the dishes, watched TV
while his parents worked in the study. Narisa came downstairs about ten
and cuddled on Josh's lap. She nuzzled his neck and whispered, "No
unclean," and then giggled.
He growled and nipped her earlobe. She squeaked and broke free and
jumped from his lap. He chased her around the coffee table and she
squealed like a little girl. He finally caught her, picked her up and threw
her
over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He carried her to the den and
told
his parents they were going to bed. Narisa asked him to put her down and
she immediately went to her "mother" and embraced her saying
something
in Farsi. Marie's eyes welled up and she hugged the little pixie even
tighter.
Josh asked his dad what she'd said and he told him that Narisa had
told his
mom that her mother had said to her that Marie would be a real mother to
her and to trust and love her as her own mom. Josh started to get choked
up when he looked at his mother and felt such a sense of pride and
admiration for her. She, more than anyone, has been the conduit between
Narisa and him concerning their private and intimate lives.
Narisa suddenly squealed out in delight and started clapping her
hands
and jumping up and down like a three-year-old. Marie turned to Josh and
said, "Mehar said that Zaara can stand as Narisa's maid of honor. Both
she
and Zaara will meet us at the courthouse at 9:30 Monday morning."
Narisa skipped over to her soul mate and leapt into his arms,
wrapping her
legs around his waist, laying kisses all over his face. Josh was just happy
that something brought her out of her melancholy, even if only for a
short
while. As he turned with his little princess wrapped around him, he said
over his shoulder, "Goodnight, Mom and Dad."
Narisa turned, giggled and echoed his words. Marie and Steve bid
the two
lovebirds good night and Josh carried the little imp upstairs, fondling her
luscious little derrière all the way up the stairs. She "Eeek'ed"
out a giggle
when he tossed her on the bed on her back and told her they should take a
shower.
Edited by Morgan
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