BFFs: finding love again

32. To Aqsam?

Abba wakes up all smiles, finally, his two graduate daughters are getting married, into the same family, where he's sure he won't have any problems. Well the second doesn't have an idea she is getting married but will be told today. Knowing his daughter, she won't say no. After all, she said he should find her a husband who he thinks is the best for her. And from what his PI has said, he's just the right man for his princess. Even though he's heard some very displeasing things about him, he'd like to believe he's changed.

And much to his pleasure, Hamza's father confirmed that he has actually changed. And that's all he needed to tell Hamza's father what he has in mind. And luckily for them all, he agreed, saying it is high time his thirty five year old son got married, he's getting old anyways. And so is Fatima, she's turning twenty five in two weeks time.

With those thoughts on his mind, a large smile - resembling that of a Cheshire cat - he takes a long refreshing bath. He needs it anyways, God knows he'll knock the breath out of Fatima. His smile turns into a grin with that thought. Deciding not to go out today he slips on a cream jalabiya and heads to the dining, still all smiles.

Fatima is surprised to see Abba at the dining smiling as if he has won a lottery. He's usually not a morning person thus, the surprise. She greets him and he answers her enthusiastically, which heightens her surprise. She masks the surprise and goes into the kitchen to start preparing the breakfast. Apparently, Amal would be assisting in the kitchen to sharpen her culinary skills since her marriage is in less than two months. But after a month, she'd stop entering the kitchen to fully enter the gyaran jiki stage, where she'd be getting top-notch treatments.

After preparing chips, fried egg and black tea for her sisters, ginger tea for her and her father, pap and dumame - warmed leftover swallow and baobab soup - for her mother and lastly sausage sandwich for herself, she cleans the kitchen. She doesn't know what got into her, but she normally doesn't take anything apart from ginger tea as breakfast, sometimes, if she's feeling like taking something else she takes little bread. And if she wakes up very hungry, then she'd take dumame.

But today she just feels like taking something... Meaty? She herself doesn't know but the first thing she feels like eating is a sausage sandwich. Luckily for her, there's sausage, probably remaining from the shawarma Amal made as part of her 'getting used to the kitchen'. Normally, they hardly keep things like bacon, shrimps, sausages and other frozen food, apart from poultry of course. But this time around there's plentiful of them in their freezer, all thanks to Amal.

She starts to set the table and surprisingly, Abba stands up and starts helping her set the table. Fatima smiles appreciatingly, and they start to set the table.

"You know, when you get married, you'll have to learn how to talk with your husband while setting the table." Fatima's jaw hits the ground. Why is her father suddenly talking about marriage? Has he found her a husband? Why did she tell him to find her a husband? The reminisce of the reason makes tears accumulate in her eyes she blinks them before they get a chance to fall.

"Hmm, Abba kenan. May Allah spare our lives till then." Abba smiles, happy with her response.

They finish setting the table and Fatima goes to call Amal and Afnan while Abba goes to call his wife. They seat on around the table and everyone serves themselves, already knowing what's for them.

"Fatima, if I said you should get married in less than two months..." Abba is cut off by Fatima choking on her sandwich. Amal passes her water and Afnan runs her back.

"What's wrong?" Innayo asks. Fatima shakes her head, and Innayo swallows the morsel on her spoon.

"Fatima, answer the question." Abba urges.

"Whatever you choose for me is the best bi iznillah." Abba smiles.

"Okay then." He takes the last gulp of his ginger tea. Then pushes the cup aside, leaning back on his chair.

"We're having a second wedding, together with Amal's In Shaa Allah. I have gotten a husband for Fatima. He'll be coming to see her this evening In Shaa Allah." Fatima loses her appetite, hence, she pushes her plate away.

"Darling, don't you think that's a little too early, and fast. I mean for Fatima. She needs time to know him and..." Abba cuts her off.

"There's nothing to worry about. If anything she knows him more than anyone else." Everyone's face contorts to that of confusion.

"His name is Aqsam." Fatima's eyes are as wide as saucers now. Abba smiles, this is the reaction he was waiting for. At least he wasn't giddy for nothing.

"Aq... Aqsam?"

"Yes, your therapist from Dubai, and Hamza's brother." Abba says and silence envelopes the dining room. Everyone, except Amal who knew all along, and the bearer of the news, stop eating at once.

Innayo glares at Amal who's carelessly eating her chips.

"What? I knew all along." Innayo removes her slippers and throw it across the table, making it land in Amal's plate. Amal groans, did the slippers spirit touch her mother again? She can't even remember the last time her mother raised her slippers at them, almost ten years ago. She stands up and takes her plate to go dump the food, it can't be eaten again.

"I don't even understand the relationship between Nigerian mothers and slippers." Amal mutters as she walks.

"What did you say? Amal ki kiyaye ni fah. Wallahi zan ci gidanku." Innayo says and Abba chuckles. Watching Innayo scold her children, especially someone as stubborn as Amal, never gets old. It's the perfect live classic comedy.

"So Fatima, since you know him. Should I give him the permission to come? Or should I cancel everything?" Fatima smiles at her father's thoughtfulness. He hasn't even given permission yet, he's waiting for her. She doesn't want to agree to all, she wants to get married to someone else, anyone but Aqsam.

Reminiscing the day she acted upon sunnah and told him she liked him makes her clench her fists. She remembers the way he disgraced her, even though it was in private, it'd still hurt. She remembers the sentence that broke the camels back; just because I let my guard down and let you in you think I love you?

I'm way above your league.

Disgusting people like you don't deserve people like me, it'd do both of us good if you just left now.

That's the problem with men, always saying women should ask them out, women should propose, because apparently, that's what Khadija (RA) did, and it's sunnah. But once you make the mistake of acting on it, they make you a laughing stock. They use you as the mannequin of disgrace for other women.

"Whatever you choose for me Abba, is the best." Fatima says and stands up leaving the dining room. The voices in her head are starting to disturb her. She needs to sleep again.

Abba signals Innayo and she follows Fatima. He smiles, Aqsam was just being stupid, he knows that. Once his father talks to him, he'll realize his mistake.