Read Online Rooftops of Tehran by Mahbod Seraji - Free Book Online

agree to you two . . . ?” Zari doesn’t finish the sentence, unsure where their relationship is heading.
    “Well, they’ve forbidden me to see him,” Faheemeh says with a sad look. Then she suddenly cheers up. “But once they get to know him, they will fall madly in love with him. I’m certain of it.” She reaches over and grabs Ahmed’s chin in her hand. “Look at this face, can you blame them?”
    Ahmed turns red as Zari and I laugh.
    “When he was following you, did you want him to talk to you?” Zari asks after a few seconds.
    Faheemeh thinks for a while, and says no.
    “No? Really?” Ahmed asks, surprised. “You didn’t want me to talk to you?”
    “I was scared. I didn’t want you to get in trouble,” Faheemeh says quietly. “I felt as if someone was pulling my heart out when my brothers were beating you up.” Tears fill her eyes.
    I look at Zari. She bites her lower lip and smiles. Ahmed blushes again. Then he points to me while talking to Zari and says, “They were lucky my buddy here didn’t go after them. Did you know he’s a boxer?”
    Zari shakes her head no.
    A boxer? Punching a bag makes me a boxer?
    “Oh, he’s a marvelous boxer,” Ahmed says. “He’s faster than anyone I’ve ever seen.”
    Uncomfortable with Ahmed’s undeserved compliments, I try to change the topic, but Ahmed continues. “Well, he’s the son of an ex-heavyweight boxing champion. He’s got good fighting genes.”
    I finally break in. “So, you and Doctor have known each other forever, huh?”
    “Yes,” Zari says as she sets the full teacups in front of us. Then she turns to Ahmed and Faheemeh. “I admire people like you. I have always been intrigued by how strangers fall for each other. For as long as I can remember, I was supposed to be in love with Doctor.”
    Supposed to be in love? I wonder, bitterly.
    Zari puts a sugar cube in her mouth and starts to drink her tea while looking at Faheemeh. “I always wondered how it happens,” she says. “I mean, what makes two perfect strangers fall in love? How do you know you’re making the right decision?”
    Faheemeh looks at Ahmed, and he shrugs his shoulders.
    “You don’t,” I say, as though I’m some kind of an expert on love. “In an arranged marriage, you rely on the wisdom of the elders; in cases like theirs, on the intuition of your own heart.”
    I wish Mom were here to see that I’m not as introverted as she thinks I am. I have no doubt, however, that she would claim her engine oil is working.
    Ahmed gives me a smile and a little wink.
    “Intuition of the heart,” Zari repeats with a spark in her eyes. “I like that: intuition of your own heart.”
    “He’s got a way with words, doesn’t he?” Ahmed boasts. Then he looks at me with an expression that tells me he’s about to inflict some serious pain.
    “His words are like beautifully composed vignettes strung together unabashedly by characters and time.”
    I know at that very moment that Ahmed will not live long enough to marry Faheemeh.
    Zari looks at Ahmed for a while. I think she’s trying to figure out what he just said. Then she turns to Faheemeh. “Giving in to the intuition of your heart must’ve been a lot more exciting than going along with the wisdom of your elders, huh?” she says, obviously thinking of Faheemeh’s narrow escape from her arranged marriage.
    “It was,” Faheemeh confirms joyfully.
    “It’s like what you see in Hollywood movies,” Zari says. “Letting someone new into your life, sharing your secrets with him, learning new things about him, all of it sounds so romantic to me. It also sounds risky and dangerous. I never had to deal with any of that with Doctor.”
    “You didn’t?” Faheemeh asks.
    “No. He and I were playmates as children,” Zari explains. “Of course now I only get to see him a couple of times a week. He’s much too busy. And he only comes over when my parents are home. He doesn’t want people to talk; you know what I