Khader closed the deal successfully. The first smart thing he did was invite the company representatives to the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Kanyakumari. This way, he was able to cut them off from the useless crowd that was always hovering around them, even though it had nothing to offer. Khader made himself available to serve those representatives to their satisfaction. He attended to their every need skillfully and with discretion, leaving nothing to chance. The impression they got was that, even though he liked to have fun, he was someone who would get things done. They also believed that he would bring his youthful energy to the job.

However, after everything was talked over and talked through, there was a shock in store for Khader. The director would only accept the offer if it were Khader’s own money, complete with bank statements—not borrowed money. It was an unforeseen death blow.

“My uncle is providing the capital. Won’t that do?” he asked.

“Your own uncle?”

“My mother’s second cousin. He is just like a father to me. I consult him on everything.”

The others present there tried to reason with the director, but to no avail.

Asking for twenty-four hours to sort things out, Khader left.

Next day, however, he told Aziz, “It’s almost finalized. The contract needs to be drawn. It looks like I’ll have to sign a thousand documents. So much paperwork . . .”

“Khader, I wanted to talk to you about something else,” began Aziz.

“What is it?”

“Nothing serious. You see, ever since we got acquainted, I have been talking about you to my wife all the time. It seems I was mentioning your name a lot one day. My wife suddenly said to me, ‘You talk about him so much! What’s your plan? Are you thinking of making him your son-in-law?’ I said to her, ‘Well, yes . . . perhaps.’ Turns out she took my word for it. Long story short, she wants the wedding to happen within the year . . .”

“Uncle! What?! Are you serious? This sounds crazy . . .”

“Well, think of me as a little crazy!”

“Uncle, I don’t know what to say. These days, our boys are getting BA and MA degrees. If you are willing to give a dowry of even ten or twenty thousand rupees, you will find an excellent man for your daughter.”

“Khader, don’t forget, I made my money in business, just like you. If you underestimate yourself, you are doing the same of me.”

Khader grew silent.

“What happened? Are you worried that you have not seen the girl? Do you want to see her?” asked Aziz.

“Uncle, what are you saying? That’s not our custom.”