Our Day of Love

18. Our Day of Love

Assalamu alaikum

Please pray your Salah, Read your Quran and whatever you have to do before reading.

~jazakallah khair

"Hey baby" A hand came out of nowhere in front of Hifza with a paper. She took the paper and examined it. It only had an address in it. She looked around the police station she was in. She had been there to cover a victimized arrest. She found Ryder with a flirty smile inside a cell. He had handed her the paper. A knowing smirk appeared as she raised her eyebrows curiously.

"How about you accompany my son in my home? And I will join you later?" Ryder had asked suggestively. Ryder's voice was equally bad as he looked. Obviously he had had a tough night, because all signs of his handsomeness were diminished. Hifza sighed and was about to give a witty reply. But all of a sudden Ryder was pinned to the wall by a huge figure. The man looked like a butcher with his hard features and a huge pot belly. The butcher let his hand roam all over Ryder as he nuzzled his face in Ryder's neck. Ryder's eyes bulged out as he screamed bloody murder. The police station which was on full rush came halt followed by a pin drop silence. Then all the silence vanished as everyone rushed to Ryder's cell. There was a full on chaos.

"Miss you are not supposed to be in here" as if Hifza didn't know. But she was indeed escorted out as she laughed her stress out.

"Hey miss black Hobo, please go to the address and look after my son, he is sick" she heard Ryder yell as he himself was bombarded with questions. She knew she shouldn't just go to an unknown address especially address gave by a prisoner. But she did go to the address expecting horror as she was aware of her foolishness. But she was relieved to find the babysitter leaving the baby in her care. Turns out the babysitter had an unavoidable meeting and Ryder was not supposed to get arrested.

But thus she met little Nate, Ryder's son. He was a very sick and whinny baby. The boy wouldn't close his mouth. He was either blabbering in his own language or he is crying his lungs out. Hifza doubted if Nate ever slept because whenever she would take him near his crib he would clung on to her like a monkey. At one point they started to chat as both of them would say things neither could understand.

Hifza was covered in milk powder and baby mix after her struggle to feed Nate food. She felt like won a battle as she finished but soon the battle for medicine started. Hifza was trying to console a whining Nate when Ryder came home by seven in the evening.

"Ow Natey boy, daddy missed you" Ryder took Nate from her and hugged him.

"I am so sorry, I will never mess up like this" Ryder rocked Nate and Hifza's mouth hit the floor as Nate drifted off to sleep.

"I am so sorry daddy was so careless"

"I am so sorry" Ryder repeated again and again. Hifza felt like intruding and so she slipped into her shoes and took off with a tranquil smile. Oh!! The wonder of family affection even though it's dysfunctional.

"Oh my gosh Ryder you are blushing" Ruma exclaimed. For the five years she had known him, not one woman made him blush. Not one, she must say.

"My my how is the butcher of yours" Hifza teased him confidently as Ryder laughed. And at that moment Ehsaan came.

"You won't believe, he proposed to me after the fiasco. They had to change me to a different cell" Ryder gushed in an excited disgust. Hifza burst out laughing. Hifza was still giggling as they got into the jeep. Ruma and Hifza took the back seat while Ryder took the front one with Ehsaan.

"Doesn't he look too posh to be a driver" Ryder asked as he settled in.

"I am Hifza's husband" Ehsaan had spat.

"Oh you name is Hifza? Funny we never exchanged even our names" Ryder gushed.

"Ryder Hunt, nice to meet you" Ryder extended his hands to Ehsaan.

"Ehsaan Sadaq" they gave each other a firm shake as they started to move.

"Anyways Hifza why did you leave without saying that day?" Ryder asked.

"I didn't want to intrude" Hifza replied.

"What?? You are kidding right?"

"You didn't even let me thank you. You left everything for a stranger to help him and you say you didn't want to intrude" Ryder exclaimed.

"So what? You can thank me all you want now" Hifza replied coolly.

"I can't thank you enough for trusting me and that too when I was inside a cell. No one would have trusted a stranger in a cell. And if you haven't helped that day Nate would have cried on his own till I returned" Ryder thanked him.

"What!! You put your trust on a stranger you met in a cell?" Ehsaan asked horrified.

"I hope you do know that's foolish of you right?" Ehsaan exclaimed.

"Bro, she was foolish yes. But that saved my son, so I can't stand by leaving you to yell at her" Ryder came to her defense.

"Oh this is how it works? You trust a passing strange? Then why wouldn't anyone think about taking advantage Hifza? Tell me" Ehsaan fumed. For the first time Hifza realize that they indeed tried to take advantage because she trusted them easily. Hifza stared at him silently and then turned away.

"Bro please understand. Yes it could have turned out horrible. But it didn't so let's both thank god for Hifza yeah?" Ryder reasoned as Ehsaan gave a curt nod and turned away.

"Well you guys care to explain what happened?" Ruma piped in feeling left out. And thus Hifza and Ryder jumped in to narration. Everyone was laughing including Ehsaan. Ehsaan did try to control his laughter but then he decided his ego didn't worth it.

"So, what has happened to little Nate? Why isn't he here?" Ehsaan asked.

"Actually that's a good question" Hifza said but she was clear to convey she was not okay with him yet.

"He is fine. He is cool. Why wouldn't he be?" Ryder said lifeless which earned him a smack from Ruma.

"Little Nate is no more" Ruma informed as Ryder gritted his teeth and looked away.

"What? How?" Hifza asked shocked.

"His immunity was low and a strong dose caused a heart arrest" Ruma explained. She had babysat Nate more than anyone. She had shared Ryder's teenage mistake as much as he did. But still this time she couldn't share his misery, because it was just not hers to carry. But she had invited Ryder over after he was found passed out in his apartment without eating anything.  After that the rest of the drive was quite, until their jeep was punctured.

"Urgh I think the Tire is gone" Ehsaan stated examining the lifeless tires.

"So what do we do now?" Hifza wondered.

"Thank God we are not that far from the tribe. So we can just walk and we can collect our stuffs later since there no threat for theft" Ruma informed and so they got down for walking.

Ryder walked slowly and Ruma decided to stay with him. Hifza and Ehsaan walked side by side on either side of the read separately. There was a commotion cause of monkeys jumping from trees to trees in group and next thing Hifza knew, she was in Ehsaan's hands. When Ehsaan realized there was no threat, she let her go. And then slowly it started to drizzle and then the rain poured down totally.

"I a-m sor-ry. I wo-n't tru-st a stra-nger" Hifza called out shivering Ehsaan just laughed.

"But do trust me" he informed marching towards her.

"Ca-n I tr-ust yo-u to sta-nd up f-or me li-ke that eve-ry ti-me to-o?" Hifza asked.

"I would do it hundred times" Ehsaan said with a grin.

"That's al-l I ne-eed" Hifza said gratefully.

"Come here" he said spreading.

"That's alright right?" he asked after remembering Hifza was not that comfortable with all the touching but that had vanished these days. Hifza smiled and settled into his hands taking all the warmth she could. And thus they walked home cuddling, the rest of the world forgotten.