Twice Upon Qadr - A Shot At Love **EDITING**

Chapter 63

Hana unlocked the front door of her apartment, tossed her keys on the counter, and let out an excited squeal before twirling around the living room. Oh my God she had seen Houssam! And he had looked amazing. And it hadn’t been awkward at all! She raised her hands to her face, which was flushed despite the cold New York air she had just been walking in, and she gave a smile.

She had been worried about how it would be seeing him again, after all it was practically a year since their last encounter at the Masjid. Ever since she had arrived in New York, she had been trying to figure out a way where she could see him. But short of calling him up, which would have been totally inappropriate, she couldn’t think of anything. So when Carol, her boss, had mentioned that they wanted to do a piece on Houssam’s charity work, but it would take a long time to get in since he didn’t usually do interviews beyond the monthly ones his manager arranged, she didn’t hesitate to mention that she knew him pretty well, and perhaps she could be the one to go to the stadium. To say her boss and colleagues had been surprised, and slightly impressed, was an understatement, and they had badgered her endlessly about him. Needless to say, when the time finally came for her to go to the game, she was a nervous wreck, especially when she found herself in front of the doors clutching her press badge. At first they had dismissed her right away saying ‘Mr. Shaykh’ didn’t do post-game interviews, but when Harold, Houssam’s manager, heard her name, he had ushered her in, a wide and slightly mischievous smile on his face.

Hana couldn’t help but wonder then what Houssam had said about her for her to get that kind of special treatment.

Oh but he had looked amazing! His hair had grown back down to his shoulders, which she loved. His smile was bright, his eyes were kind, and she had forgotten how truly beautiful he was. She had missed him. Every single inch of him.

“So I’m guessing by the way you are floating on air that you got to see him?”

Hana looked up with a sheepish smile as her roommate, Ayah, came into the room. Ayah was from Inland Empire, where Rashid and Eman lived, and had gotten into NYU for her master’s program. When Eman had heard the news that Hana had gotten a job with The New York times, she had set the two girls up, and they had become fast friends and confidantes.

“Yes I saw him,” Hana unpinned her Hijab, and twirled towards her friend, “I saw him, and he was beautiful, and I’m even more in love with him than I thought!”

Ayah laughed.

“Wow, only one time of seeing him and you are in love!?”

Hana shook her head.

“I never stopped loving him. Like I told you, we just needed some time apart.”

“And do you think you’ve been apart long enough?”

Had they been apart long enough? It had almost been a year. That was a long time. At first, Hana had been struggling really badly with how she was supposed to know that she was ready? How did they know that a sufficient amount of time had passed before they could ‘maturely’ be together?

But now she understood. At least from her end. He had already made his way in the world, had made a name for himself since he was twenty years old. If she had married him, she would just be that lady who was Houssam Shaykh’s wife. But now, she had paved her own road. She worked for a huge newspaper, had moved alone across the country, and was very successful MashaAllah. Now if she married him? She would be Hana Ismail, whose husband was Houssam Shaykh. They would be a power couple, both able to fend for themselves, but at the same time, rely on each other.

And she wanted to be with him so badly.

“I think so.”

“Well do you think he feels the same?”