Odyssey... ~~28- A Friend's Wedding

As hesitant as Hana is to except Valery's offer to be her mate of honor, for she can not see herself walking down the isle where all the inquisitive eyes staring at her and perhaps talk amongst themselves that who is this foreign women that Valery has chosen instead of one of her sisters, she can not possibly say no to her friend since she learns in American custom of wedding that position is only offered to the closest person to the bride. Hana knows of Valery's sisters and while most brides choose their one of their sisters for that position, Valery has chosen her. She is grateful, frightened, and rapturous.

~{~

A deadly silence fills the ambiance that dark Sunday night. Mother and son, each in their own ways, avoid each other. In their quite times, living under one roof, and being so far away seems very unreal to both of them. While Farhad is irritated for his peace being disrupted because of Valery's wedding, Hana kindly and secretly takes care of him by first avoiding him and second preparing the food he likes. However, they do not eat together. Hana usually eats left overs from the night before as soon she comes home from work or college. Then he cooks a fresh meal for her son. In their solitude and avoidance, Farhad every night watches televising in the living room, while Hana, in her bedroom, works on Valery's gown. Sometimes Valery calls her and wants her to go shopping with her. If that is the case, Hana without directly talking to Farhad, repeats to Valery her reason for going out.

Hana finds a card one evening in the kitchen when she comes home. She looks at the card, recognizes Farhad's hand writing, examines it, and reads her son's words to her on the envelope, "Mom". While trembling of a doubtful uncertainty, she is more hopeful that the content of the card is words of making up than continuation of breakage. Ironically even the feeling of optimism does not help her twitching. She sits on the floor of the kitchen, looking at the envelop, wondering what the content of the envelop might be. An unexpected wave of nostalgia haunts her and she realizes how much she has missed everything, everybody, her home land, her sisters, and the only brother she has left, and above all her sons. When finally she opens the card, she breaks into a cry.

"Mom, please don't eat dinner. I'm taking you out. Love, Farhad"

It is a simple card with no sophisticated words on it, yet it says a lot, it shows plenty, and it touches her to an extent of feeling guilty for ignoring her son for the last two weeks. Suddenly she recalls her grandpa's words and once more she believes in that consecrated man's wisdom. However that blissful reminiscence of her grandfather reminds her that if she had acted upon grandpa's profound discernment about life, she did not have to live a miserable life for doing the right thing. A delusion overshadows this ecstasy and she suffers for her share of causing their wretched lives. From the beginning f her marriage to Hamid, she listened, obeyed, bought his bluffs, and allowed him to do what he did. At last, she comes to realization where she went wrong. By doing nothing, she had thought her right doing would overwhelm Hamid's wrong doing. Grandpa never told her about the psychopaths.

When that evening Farhad comes home with one stem of yellow rose, her favorite color, mother and son, like two strangers, look at each other. None of them volunteers to speak first. She looks at this handsome young man and tries to remember him as a baby; but what comes to her mind is her busy life of finishing school and working at the same time. However she can recall the times her mother rained his soft, small body with baby powder after bathing him. How much she loved the smell of that baby powder on her son's pink skin!

To Be Continued