Straightening Ali by AMJEED KABIL Page A

Ali replied, unsure whether it was what Yunus wanted him to say. “Thank you, Abbu,” he said, deciding it was best not to offend him. The words felt strange on his tongue. “How could this man expect me to call him father? He is nothing like my father,” Ali thought.
    “ I am proud to have you in the family, my son,” Ali’s father-in-law replied.
    “ I have a present that my mother has asked me to give to Sajda,” Ali said, relinquishing the box that he’d been holding.
    His father-in-law took the box, opened the lid and smiled in a satisfied manner after he’d examined what was in it. He handed the box to his wife who sat down next to him, and she removed the dress from its box. “It’s beautiful,” she exclaimed. “It looks like it has been made in Pakistan,” she added, recognizing the fine detail. “It’s Sajda’s favorite color. She will adore it. You must thank your mother. This gift is truly generous of her.”
    “ I’m glad you think she will like it,” Ali replied, wondering why his in-laws didn’t find it strange that he had not been involved in the choosing of the present.
    “ We have bought you a present as well. I shall fetch it for you,” his mother-in-law said, getting up heavily from the sofa.
    “ Thank you, but you shouldn’t have,” Ali said politely.
    “ It’s tradition to exchange gifts,” his mother-in-law said admonishingly. “Has your mother not told you this?”
    “ Rhazia,” she shouted, bellowing the name loudly through the open lounge door. “Will you bring down the gift for Ali? Hurry up, child!” Moments later, a young girl stepped into the lounge holding a clothes hanger with a suit displayed on it.
    The girl smiled shyly at Ali, before handing the suit to her mother. “This is my youngest daughter, Rhazia,” Ali’s mother-in-law said, introducing her. Rhazia smiled again and then hurried awkwardly out of the room. She reminded Ali of his own sister, Aneesa, who was just as shy when people came to visit.
    “ She’s very shy, so you have to excuse her,” Ali’s mother-in-law confirmed apologetically. “She’s a good girl. We’ve brought her up well. She gets shy around men and doesn’t talk to them like the other girls her age, just as it should be. We’re very lucky that she has turned out so well.” She handed Ali the suit. “What do you think of it?” she demanded.
    Ali looked at the suit, uncertain whether he liked it. It was dark green, and he was unsure whether he would actually ever wear it. “It’s lovely,” Ali said, pretending to be pleased with it.
    “ I’m glad that you like it. When you take it home with you, try it on, and if it doesn’t fit, then bring it back. I’ll return it for you. I checked the size was correct with your mother, so it should be the right fit,” Ali’s mother-in-law said to him, pleased that Ali had liked her personal choice of clothes for him.
    “ Thank you,” said Ali respectfully.
    “ So what are your plans for when you get married?” Ali’s father-in-law asked. “What will you do for work? Will you move to Nottingham or will you stay in Birmingham?” The questions rolled off his father-in-law’s tongue in an interrogative manner.
    “ I don’t know,” Ali said, caught off guard. “I haven’t really had the chance to think about it, yet.” What he really would have liked to say was that he’d only been told about the marriage yesterday, and that he had been living a gay lifestyle until then.
    He looked at his in-laws sitting on their comfortable sofa in their cozy home, and he realized he couldn’t treat them like strangers anymore. He’d seen their joy and happiness and suddenly knew that he couldn’t let them down. They were good people who wanted the best for their daughter. He represented a lot to them, someone who would be able to offer their daughter the best of both worlds – English and Pakistani – an ideal match.
    “ Your mother says that you work at the moment and that