The Union

I can’t keep my eyes off them. How I wish they were one, how I wish I would not see pain in their eyes when I look at them, how I wish they would be sitting beside each other instead of on a separate table. They want to be with each other but they are unable to express themselves. Sadness can be seen in their face.

When I was 6 years old, I used to spend most my time at my grandparents’ place. I would mostly spend my time with Grandpa in the Garage watching him work. At the end of the day ,just 10 minutes before he closes the Garage, he sits on the stool, facing west. He sits there calmly watching the sunset, and also looks at an old wrench thoughtfully which he takes with him at that time.

“Are you tired Grandpa? What’s that? I never saw you use this one before”, I asked him curiously. At that moment he took me by the hands and pulled me towards him making me sit on his knee. He gave me the wrench. I took it and looked at it, it was partly rusted and seemed old. “That’s a gift from an old friend. It may seem like a normal wrench but for me it is something special”, he said, looking at the wrench then looked at me and smiled.

“How’s that special Grandpa? It’s dirty and old and there are many more wrenches that you use which are same as this one”. I said. “Well, this is one is not the same. It's not only a wrench, it’s a souvenir. A souvenir is something which reminds you of a person, a place or an event. Tell me Katy, do you have a best friend?”, he asked. I looked at him confusedly. “I see you always mention your friend Rachel. Is she the one closest to you?” he asked watching me over his round shape glasses, still smiling. 

“Yes, Rachel and me are best friends”, I answered. “Then, there is something special with her. Did she ever do something special for you or gave you something special?” he asked. I thought for a moment. I noticed my bangs were clipped back. I gently touched my hair searching for the hair clip with my hands and took it on my palm showing it to grandpa. “She gave me this. Once the bangs were getting into my eyes and it hurt, Rachel had two hair clips and she gave me one to clip my bangs back”, I said.

“I see you wear it most of the time, is it because of the bangs or because you like it?", he asked.

“It's beautiful. Rachel and me have the same hair clips now, it is like we are sisters, we have same things”. I said happily with a wide smile where my teeth could be seen perfectly. Grandpa smiled and asked, “Then, tell me, when you look at that hairclip it reminds you of Rachel and when she gave it to you?”. “Yes, always”, I replied back.

“Then, the hairclip is special, because it reminds you of your closest one my dear. It’s a souvenir”, he smiled again and this time wider and I could see his teeth. “Who is this old friend of yours Grandpa? Is it Mr Jacob?”, I asked. Mr Jacob lives across the street and he often came to the garage to talk to grandpa and play cards. Grandpa went into a deep thought and answered, “The one who gave me this wrench is an old friend. A best friend. We used to work in this Garage and he once gifted me a toolbox and the only thing that was left is this old wrench.” After saying this he put me down and got up and proceeded to close the garage. 

While watching Grandpa closing the garage, I felt soft hands covering my eyes and I knew who it was because of the sweet lemon perfume I could smell. It was Mom. She came to pick me. She does not much talk to grandpa, she only talks to grandma, it was like she held a grudge against grandpa for some reasons. Mom was always busy. She was always working but also looked after me all alone. On weekends she would leave me at my grandparent's place but only the day and would pick me up in the afternoon. She would also sometimes drop me to the Sheiks.

The Sheiks are nice people. I met them at a bakery. The Sheiks are no different from 

my Grandparents. They loved me, they also liked Mom a lot but Mom was a bit distant, 

however she never forbids me from going at their place. Mrs Sheik likes cooking. Whenever I am at their place, she makes me pie, as she remembered I love pie, since the day we met at the bakery. Mr Sheik was just like Grandpa. He works at his garage the whole day. However, there are some tasks which he finds tough. He got a young boy working with him, kind of like an apprentice. Mr. Sheik constantly yelled at him as he was not doing the tasks properly. At those moments, he murmurs something between his teeth in anger and the name of grandpa could slightly be heard from it. It is when I discovered that Grandpa’s old friend was Mr. Sheik. 

The son of the Sheiks was about the same age as Mom. He also was a distant person; he would look at me and give a smile, he would not talk to me and was always busy and did not know how or did not want to approach me. One day, he was near the radio trying to fix it. I was quite curious and went near him. “Hello Mr Adam”, I looked up at him with a smile. “Hello little curious one”, he looked at me smiling back. He was rip opening the radio which seems more like he was breaking it but I was sure he knew what he was doing. After opening the radio, inside it I saw a string around the knob and asked “what does this string do Mr. Adam?”, I asked. He put down the radio on the floor so I could see better and he sat down the floor too. “This string here helps us to choose a radio station by turning the knob, you, see?”, he said and showed me by turning the knob. 

“The string went loose and this is what I am trying to fix”, He said with a smile. 

That day Mr Adam dropped me home. He also talked to Mom. They were both quite hesitant but after a while they both got along pretty well.

Mom always asks about my day at dinner time. We both eat and talk. I liked talking about my day and she loved hearing me talk about how I spent it. “So, I see you got to know Adam. You both got along pretty well.” she said with a smile and then took a bite of steak. “He said you were his best friend”, I said back. Mom was surprised, she was stunned and looked at me confusedly. She was definitely not expecting this. “What did he say?”, she asked. “He said Grandpa and Mr Sheik were best friends and so were both of you since childhood. He said I am like you, a little curious and always watching people repairing things”. Mom was looking at me, she was trying to smile but she seemed to also trying to hide some of her emotions. Since that day Adam came to visit us from time to time. Adam grew fond of me and so did I. He was always there for me and Mom. However, Mom asked me not to mention it the Sheiks and Grandpa.

On my 18th birthday, Mom and Adam decided to tell me more about their life before I was born and I found out that mom and Adam were not only best friends but they used to be in a relationship. Adam was never interested in getting married or having kids. However, one thing was for sure is that he would never leave mom’s side. They were best friends first of all and they would support each other forever no matter what. One day he changed his mind and asked Mom to marry him however things turned out bad. Grandpa would not approve of it as the 

Sheiks were Muslim. Despite being best friend with Mr, Sheik and knowing that Adam was the best friend of Mom, Gramps still did not approve because of religion. Mom tried convincing Adam that she would do anything and still marry him, but Adam was totally offended by Grandpa’s behaviour towards him and his family. Adam thought that he was right and it was better to stay away and not getmarried and also became distant and Mom left her parents' house and went to live alone in a house situated in Southhampton itself.

Today is my wedding day, and a wedding is about union. It is not only a union of two person but also a union of two family. Today is my day and I can finally ask for what I've always wished for. Watching the Sheiks and my Grandparents sitting separately pretending to be happy and celebrating almost had me into tears. I could see their love, they needed each other but were too stubborn to admit it. Since I was 6, I’ve been hearing the Sheiks talk about my grandparents and my Grandparents talking about the Sheiks but never saw them talking to each other. They were always acting tough whenever they came across each other but when I was spending my time with them, most of their stories was about the time they spent with each other. 

Mom and Adam would not admit it too, but I could see sadness in their eyes, Mom has been waiting and waiting and she would not say, but she needed Adam the most. Adam who was distant with mom and never wanted a kid grew fond of me since I was 6 years old and been there for me till now and he might have been visiting us since ages but he also did not try to move on and was waiting for mom. It was my wedding and there should have been joy but all I could see was people I love sitting in silence and looking at each other hesitantly. I just did my first dance with Derek and now I was standing before the guests and holding the mic, my eyes was filled with tears, not of happiness but of sadness. I could not bear it anymore, and said “Mr and Mrs Sheiks and Grandma and Grandpa, I am about to say something which might surprise you but today is my day. In every wedding, after the first dance a daughter dances with her father. Likewise, today I would like the honour to dance with my father. Dad would you do me the honour please?”, I asked looking towards Adam.