Chapter 19 - The Shafis

                                    

                                          
For once in so long, the Shafi household had been quiet at the dinner table. It was like someone had used a universal remote and muted all their sound. Ola had been opening and closing her mouth continuously before she'd just go back to eating, which was also what Mrs. Shafi had been doing. 
Mr. Shafi remained silent because he wasn't sure what was wrong with his family, and why they were acting so awkward and distant. 
The man also wondered why they didn't have Freda joining them for dinner. This was the first time in 2 whole months that they were eating without the redheaded woman, not counting the days when she was sick. 
He was just sure that something was definitely amiss with his family currently, he just wasn't so sure what it was though. 
It was the seventh time that Ola had placed her spoon full of chicken curry and rice down onto her plate with her mouth opening to speak something. But before she could close it back up and pretend that there was nothing she had to say, Mr. Shafi caught her attention as well as his wife's.
"Okay, what is wrong?" 
Mrs. Shafi sucked in a breath as she looked over to her daughter who looked the most afraid to say what she had told her only a few hours ago. 
"N-Nothing." Mrs. Shafi spoke up quickly and caught her daughter look down at her plate. But even when his wife had done such a bad job at assuring him, Mr. Shafi wasn't the least bit assured. 
"Ola, what do you want to say?" Turning away from his wife, Mr. Shafi looked directly at his daughter, who looked as if she had lost the war. What war? We would find out in a moment. 
Just tell him you want to marry a woman and she's the most beautiful woman you've ever seen, also how she'd be an amazing daughter-in-law.
Ola tried to ignore the voice in her head or in her ear – she still wasn't so sure – as she took a breath and spoke up. "I wanted to tell you something, papa." 
Mr. Shafi nodded his head immediately, prepared to hear what his daughter had to say, even when his wife wasn't ready to see what was to happen. 
A part of her told her that she was going to have to convince her husband to punish their daughter or do something so she would get the idea of having intimate feelings for Freda out of her head. 
But as soon as her daughter had said what she had wanted to say, Mrs. Shafi saw a change in her husband's usual loving eyes. 
"I think I have romantic feelings for Freda." 
Mrs. Shafi looked on as Mr. Shafi got up from his seat and within a flash, slapped his only daughter across the face. His eyes looked red with anger as he stared down at the girl, he had loved with all of his heart. 
Loved. 
Ola wasn't sure what had actually happened as she kept her head turned in the direction it had been forcefully moved to.
"What are you doing?!" As soon as the hand had struck, Mrs. Shafi was out of her seat and going over to Ola as if she hadn't just done the same thing only hours ago.
"Did you hear what she just said?" Mr. Shafi looked at his wife as if she had grown two heads and that she hadn't just heard their daughter talk about being a homosexual. 
Mrs. Shafi stared at her husband as her hands came up to her daughter's cheek, as she pulled the woman's head closer to her chest in a protective manner. Ola still wasn't sure what was happening as she felt the throbbing pain on her cheek. She hadn't ever felt such a pain before, but something inside of her was trying to compete with the pain she felt physically. And that pain was winning inside of her.