Boy vs. Girl Read Free

and cardamom pods. The halal butchers had people queuing upoutside and, all the while, the delivery vans kept coming.
    Practically everyone here was Asian. Once in a while, you might see an old white man or woman, walking a dog or pulling a trolley, but they were a rarity, like relics from a bygone age. This was the closest you could get to Pakistan without a plane ticket.
    But Auntie Najma didn’t stop. They carried on driving until they’d left their neighbourhood behind them and were heading towards the other side of town.
    â€œWhere are we going, Auntie?” Farhana asked at last.
    â€œWell,” Auntie Najma replied, “I’ve started volunteering at a women’s homeless shelter twice a week, and I promised someone I would be there today.”
    The twins looked at each other. Homeless shelter? Auntie Najma caught their shared look and smiled.
    â€œRelax!” she said. “I’m not going to make you wash all the dishes in the soup kitchen or anything! I won’t be long at all. You guys don’t even have to come out – although you can if you like… and,who knows, you might benefit from it.…”
    After parking the car, Auntie Najma asked the twins to help her with the bags. As it was a women’s shelter, Faraz took the bags as far as the door, then waited outside. Auntie Najma signed in, then went to the common room.
    Farhana looked around warily, not wanting to stare, but curious about this place and its inhabitants. Some of the women looked at her suspiciously, others stared past her, uninterested.
    Auntie Najma,
niqab
up, walked towards a young lady with more piercings than Farhana could count. Through the fuzz of shaved hair that was growing back, she could see a large tattoo on the woman’s scalp. Farhana shivered involuntarily and was about to go when her aunt, all smiles, called her over.
    â€œAlice,” she said, “I’d like you to meet my niece, Farhana… Farhana, this is Alice.”
    Farhana tried to smile and sound normal. “Hi…”
    â€œHi,” said Alice in a soft voice that didn’t seem to match her appearance. “So you’re the special niece I’ve heard so much about!”
    Farhana looked questioningly over at AuntieNajma who grinned. “You know I’m always showing off to everyone about my bright, beautiful, wonderful niece,
masha Allah
!”
    Farhana smiled, embarrassed. “Well,” she said at last, “it was nice meeting you…” She didn’t know what else to say. But it was clear that Auntie Najma and Alice did not have a shortage of things to say to each other. They spoke animatedly for about twenty minutes, bursting out laughing several times. Then, Auntie Najma took out some papers and gave them to Alice, who smiled gratefully.
    â€œThanks so much, Najma,” Farhana heard her say. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”
    â€œDon’t mention it,” was Auntie Najma’s response. “We’ll see that justice is served,
insha Allah
.”
    Alice smiled then, showing two gaps where her teeth were missing. “Yeah,
insha Allah
…”
    The two women embraced briefly, then Auntie Najma flew back to Farhana.
    â€œIs that lady Muslim?” Farhana wanted to know.
    â€œNo,” smiled Auntie Najma, “she picked up
insha Allah
from me. But you never know….”
    * * *
    Soon they were all sitting in a booth on retro red leather benches, studying a menu made up entirely of milkshakes.
    â€œHmmm,” murmured Auntie Najma, “I
still
haven’t tried every flavour. But I think it’s banana peanut butter for me. What will you two have?”
    The twins stared at the menu, overwhelmed by the choice.
    Auntie Najma smiled at them. “Take your time, it’s OK…” She pulled a brocade-covered book out of her Moroccan leather bag.
    â€œWhat’s that, Auntie Naj?” asked Farhana,