An Unexpected Connection in Between: A Love and Acceptance Novel

By Arjina Khanom

Neeya Chowdhury feels trapped in her own life. As a closeted bisexual 24-year-old, she doesn't have permission from her Muslim parents to see the world. Her family and culture expect her to marry the man they choose, and they expect her to trust their guidance. While struggling to find her own self within the constraints of tradition and bias, N

• Language: English
• Publisher: New Degree Press
• Release date: Sep 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9798885046510

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An Unexpected Connection in Between

An Unexpected Connection in Between

A Love and Acceptance Novel

Arjina Khanom

New Degree Press

Copyright © 2022 Arjina Khanom

All rights reserved.

An Unexpected Connection in Between

A Love and Acceptance Novel

ISBN

979-8-88504-535-3 Paperback

979-8-88504-861-3 Kindle Ebook

979-8-88504-651-0 Ebook

To all the angels who supported and inspired me to keep writing.

To all the people who love someone from the core of their hearts and never give up on their relationships.

To all the people who are struggling to find themselves, their freedom, love, and soulmates.

Contents

A Note from the Author

Chapter 1.

Neeya’s Dream

Chapter 2.

Direct Messaging

Chapter 3.

Continuing the Conversation

Chapter 4.

Feeling Good

Chapter 5.

A Voice Message

Chapter 6.

The Unexpected Phone Call

Chapter 7.

The First Hug and Paper Bird

Chapter 8.

Ariel’s Identity

Chapter 9.

The Research

Chapter 10.

A Spring Morning Walk

Chapter 11.

Ariel’s Dysphoria

Chapter 12.

Keeping Distance

Chapter 13.

Neeya’s Confession

Chapter 14.

Just Good Friends

Chapter 15.

Falling Deeper

Chapter 16.

Going Out

Chapter 17.

The Injection

Chapter 18.

The Doctor’s Appointment

Chapter 19.

Time to Be Independent

Chapter 20.

The Gender Marker Letter

Chapter 21.

Stress

Chapter 22.

Jealous Feelings

Chapter 23.

The Guests

Chapter 24.

Neeya’s Lies Unraveled

Chapter 25.

A New Life

Chapter 26.

Presenting Aaron Gomez

Chapter 27.

The Hysterectomy

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.

—Brené Brown

Disclaimer

This book does not intend to hurt, discredit, or demean any person’s feelings, cultural or religious beliefs, or community. This is a work of fiction based on research. Except for the setting, everything is fictional. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

A Note from the Author

Dear reader,

A lot of people in this world stay with someone they never love. It is very hard to find true love in real life. Those people who have found it are so lucky.

An Unexpected Connection in Between is a romance novel about a bi woman who falls in love with a trans man even though their family and their cultural and religious differences put a strain on their relationship.

Much of this story was inspired by my own experience. I married young, and it only lasted six months. I started to hate relationships, love, and marriage. I even stopped listening to music or watching movies related to love or romance.

After my divorce, I suffered from depression, anxiety, and panic attacks. Then I went to therapy. My therapist encouraged me to write down my thoughts. I always liked writing as a child though I never thought I would publish. But after I started my therapist’s assignment, I decided to help others going through the same things by blogging.

I started to watch romances again and blogged about my thoughts. Eventually, I wanted to write my own story. Writing this book reminds me that true love still exists and can overcome any obstacle.

Where I grew up, anyone who was different wasn’t allowed to be open about who they were. I had a cis male neighbor who used to like guys and even loved to wear dresses. For this reason, his family beat him multiple times. He’s gay but hides his relationships from his family.

So when I moved to New York, I was exposed to all kinds of people who were proud of who they were. No matter how much progress we have made, some people still don’t care or aren’t willing to respect others who are different. I feel their pain. It is always hard to change one’s way of thinking, but I tried my best to understand them after listening to their stories.

I had the chance to make friends from different communities, especially from the trans and nonbinary communities. One of my friend’s dad didn’t allow him to be trans. When he went for hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, his dad removed his name from the insurance. I have another trans friend who struggled to find a partner; he even believes he’s too ugly to get a partner. After hearing their stories and their struggle, I was sad. This encouraged me to recount their stories because I believe every story matters.

By writing this book, I want to support anyone who doesn’t feel comfortable with their body or doesn’t feel they’re good enough to have a relationship. I want to tell them they aren’t alone. Many people are going through the same situation. Just like my unhappy relationship, nothing bad is permanent. After a dark night, the morning must always come.

I want to encourage those in the community to lean on their chosen families for support. Turn to those who love you for who you are, regardless of your gender or sexuality. After all, accepting yourself is much easier when you have the support and love of others who understand.

I want you to see this book as an opportunity to learn about LGBTQIA+ romance and intercultural relationships while enjoying themes like acceptance, love, and support.

Thanks for believing in me and picking up this book. It means the world.

With love and gratitude,

Your author, Arjina Khanom

Chapter 1

Neeya’s Dream

Middle of December

Neeya sat on a crowded train, returning from college around five in the afternoon. She looked through her Machu Picchu information brochure from her travel and tourism club meeting. She breathed in and out; she mentally prepared to ask her parents to get permission to travel.

Half an hour later, the train arrived at Elmhurst Ave station. Neeya felt relieved once she exited the New York City subway. It was a frigid, dark winter evening. She wore a black jacket, black jeans, and a brown hat. She walked fast to get home soon. Her home was a few blocks away from the subway station. She lived with both her parents and her little brother in a two-bedroom apartment.

When she arrived in front of their apartment door and took out her keys, her mother, Mrs. Fariha Begum, opened the door.

She stepped into the apartment; a fried, oily smell came from the kitchen. Her six-year-old younger brother, Ehan, was eating evening snacks at the kitchen table.

While her mother sat down to join Ehan, she asked, Neeya, I cooked chicken nuggets and French fries: do you want to have some?

No, Amma, Neeya sighed. I’m okay for now. It was a long day. I’m tired. Neeya walked toward her room. It was on the opposite side of the living room.

She entered her room. Compared with other rooms in their apartment, it was tiny. One small reading desk near the window, one small closet and a single bed, some wall paintings, and some money plants created a nice ambiance.

She tossed her bag onto her reading desk and laid down on her bed. While she was relaxing, she looked at the white wall opposite the side of her bed. She’d hung multiple acrylic paintings on this wall that she’d collected over the years. One of them was a Machu Picchu painting. When she learned about the ancient city of the Inca Empire and the Inca’s most notable monumental architecture, Machu Picchu, it became her dream to visit there.

After some rest, she got up from the bed. She opened the side pocket of her bag and pulled out a brochure with the information about the travel club trip. She looked at the brochure to gather the courage to talk to her mother about the trip. It was a great opportunity to travel to a new country, but she was thinking about her parents’ reaction. They were always very conservative and never allowed her to travel alone.

Once she wanted to travel to Chicago with her friends for three days, but her parents didn’t allow her because she was under eighteen. Now that she was almost twenty-four, she hoped that maybe they could allow her to travel with club members.

Traveling the world had been her dream since childhood. She liked to see many historical places and learn how their incredible architectural constructs had survived for centuries. She believed that if she visited historical places, it would give her a chance to travel to past civilizations that had been created many, many years ago by people in ancient times.

She quickly changed from her jeans to comfortable, flower-print, cotton pants and came to the living room with the brochure in her hands. Her mother was fixing some pillows on the sofa.

Amma, I have to talk to you. Neeya sat on the sofa, took a deep breath, and said quickly, Amma, I want to visit Machu Picchu.

Her mom left the pillow on the sofa and looked at her with surprise.

She took a brief pause and continued slowly. Amma, you know I’ve been dreaming about going to Peru since I took history class. Some people from my travel and tourism club are going to visit. I have some savings and time, and I want to go with them. Can you talk to Baba to permit me to go with them, please? Here are the trip details about date, time, cost, and duration. Neeya showed the brochure to her mother.

Trip to Peru. Neeya’s mother took a look at the paper, put the brochure on her side, looked at Neeya’s eyes, and said in a serious manner, You don’t know what you are talking about, Neeya. You are talking about traveling to a different country, not a different state in the United States. You know your father very well. He will never allow you to travel alone. And that’s why you came to me, right? But he won’t listen to me and he will be very upset if anything happens with you during the trip, and I would be responsible for it.

But Amma, I’m not a kid anymore. I’m almost twenty-four years old. Also, I’m not traveling alone; there will be other club members, Neeya replied.

If your Baba hears this, he will get so angry. He doesn’t trust any of your friends or club members. So, stop thinking about it. When we have a chance, we will travel there together. Okay?

After hearing this, Neeya went to her room and tossed the trip information into the trash under the desk. She felt upset. Nobody understood her, not even her mother. She laid down on her bed, and her eyes got stuck on the radiating sticker stars that she put on the ceiling in her room. She felt like a bird in a cage who wanted to fly but never had a chance.

Neeya didn’t understand whether being born into an Indian middle-class family was fortunate or not. After all, most middle-class Indian families (especially in the rural area) didn’t let their girls travel alone outside the city or country because of safety issues.

Her parents came from an Indian rural area, but it had been almost fifteen years since her father had come to live in the United States. Still, he hadn’t changed much. And if her parents found her a future husband who thought like her father, then she would never have freedom.

***

The next morning, Neeya sat at the dining table in the kitchen. The kitchen was just big enough for a table with six chairs. Mom and Ehan already sat in their seats. Ehan loved to eat food that was made with chocolate. Mom helped Ehan to put some Nutella on the bread. Neeya was staring at her cream cheese toast.

Why aren’t you eating, Neeya? You didn’t eat anything last night, either. I went to your room to call for dinner but saw that you fell asleep. Do you want to eat something else? her mom asked.

No, Amma, I don’t feel like eating, Neeya replied. I just came to talk to Baba to talk about the trip. But I don’t see him here. Where is he?

Oh, he left for work early today at work. I will tell him once he returns home, okay? Now eat something.

Neeya drank a glass of water and went back to her room. The whole day, Neeya stayed in her room, watched her favorite show, and slept on her bed. During dinner time, Ehan came to her room.

Sista, Baba is calling you for the dinner, Ehan said in his sweet voice.

Ehan was learning how to pronounce English words.

After hearing Ehan, she rolled over and got out of bed. Since she didn’t eat well last night, she was hungry.

She came to the kitchen with Ehan and saw her father, Mr. Nahid Hossain Chowdhury was already at the dinner table. She sat beside her dad. There were multiple dishes on the tables such as white rice; vegetable curry; chicken curry; spicy, fried salmon; and salad.

What do you want to eat, Neeya? Her mom asked. I have cooked your favorite—salmon.

Neeya tried to avoid her mother and called to her brother, Ehan, my cutie pie, come here and sit with me.

While Neeya was using the edge of the fork to pick at the rice on her plate, her father said, I heard you want to travel to Peru with your college friends.

Neeya stared at her mother, and after looked down at her plate. She replied with a low-energy, agreeable voice. Yeah.

You don’t need to travel anywhere now. You can travel after your bachelor’s degree. Her father asked, How many semesters do you have left?

Neeya’s face was distorted with rage. She exhaled slowly her breath to calm down and replied, Two more semesters.

Okay, to finish two more semesters, you only need one more year. Next year during this time, you will probably get married. After your marriage, you could travel anywhere with your husband. So, for now, stop thinking about travel with school friends. It’s not safe, anyway: it’s better to travel with family, her father said.

Neeya knew her father wouldn’t allow her to travel alone but still, she wanted to ask because she believed she was old enough to take care of herself. But her family rules were very strict for girls.

Her father added, If you want to visit somewhere, you can go to visit New York City. There are many things you can do there.

Amma, can you pass me the salmon? Neeya asked and tried to finish her food quickly. As she swallowed food without chewing, it got stuck in her throat. She started to cough.

Drink some water. And forget about traveling alone, her father said as he moved the fork in the salad bowl.

After dinner, Neeya went to her room, opened the window, and looked outside.

She remembered when club president, Mike, declared, We got the approval from Campus Life. We are going as a group of fifteen people. So far, we have only eight people, and we still have some spots left. This is the last call. Let me know by the next two days if you want to go. Before getting the travel tickets, we have to do some paperwork.

Neeya raised her hands and asked, Do you guys have any plans to visit this same place next fall? Or it will be a totally new place? Because I really want to visit Machu Picchu, but I have some family problems right now. Maybe by next year, my situation will be different.

We always look for new travel destinations. But it depends on club members and where they want to travel. If there are enough people who want to travel to previous places, then we may decide to visit the same place again, Mike replied.

A tear fell from her eyes. Ehan walked into her room and noticed her wet face. Sista, don’t cry; once I am older, I will take you wherever you want to go.

Neeya turned around to her brother and hugged him and said, You understand, but Amma and Baba never try to understand me. If I was a boy, they wouldn’t mind my traveling alone or with friends. They won’t give me permission because I am a girl. I’ve never had enough freedom to make my own decisions. Neeya looked down at her little brother, who was too young to understand her situation.

Oh, sista, it’s okay. I will take care of you. Don’t be sad, Ehan said.

After hearing that, Neeya gave a little smile. Ehan was just six but behaved like a mature brother. Neeya kissed her brother on his forehead and said, Oh, my cutie pie. I love you so much.

When Ehan left her room, she turned off the light and went to bed. She couldn’t even think about what would happen after her graduation. Maybe she would have to marry someone who would also control her, like her father. Maybe that person won’t allow her to go anywhere or give her the freedom to travel with her friends or travel alone. She wished she had that freedom or a partner who would help her to fulfill her travel dream. She wished she could help herself.

***

In the middle of January, Neeya was bored of staying at home during her winter break. Since she used to work as a college assistant on her campus, she was free until classes resumed. Since the new semester would begin in the last week of January, she still had some free days. So, she decided to visit the outside of the One World Trade Center in New York.

It was a frigid and sunny winter day. Neeya stood and admired the tower and felt the icy, withering wind. Her breath was steaming in the air. She rubbed her arms. Maybe it wasn’t the right day to visit the tower.

Neeya put both hands inside her coat pockets and walked around the Twin Tower Memorial for a while. She looked at the skyscraper and felt some hopeful sunshine on her face. She wished to take a picture in front of the tallest building in New York to post it on her Instagram, but she didn’t like to take selfies. Since she went there by herself, there was nobody to take her picture. She decided to ask a stranger to take her picture.

After waiting a few minutes, she saw a young, skinny, white guy walking toward her. He was wearing a long, black coat and his black hair was blowing in the air.

As the guy crossed her path, she asked, Hello, excuse me? Can you please take a picture of me with the One World Trade Center? I want to post on my Instagram.

The guy stopped and looked at her. He nodded his head and said, Yes, sure.

Neeya smiled. Here is my phone.

She stood in front of the building and took a simple pose with a nice, smiley face.

While