She Is My Hayaat

Chapter 26: Oh Heart, Be Still

In honor of reaching #5 in Spiritual on January 11th, 2016. :)

"Bhabi, did you know Izhar Bhai used to have a motorcycle?" Daud asked over a glass of orange juice.

I slowed down as I chewed on the chocolate croissant and looked up at Izhar. He coughed on his blueberry muffin, and Huda Appi handed him a glass of water. Imaan stifled a giggle behind her hand while Amirah and Mahirah hid smiles underneath their napkins. 

"Really? I didn't know," I said.

"Bhai, you never told Bhabi?" Daud smirked at Izhar.

He looked at Daud and gave him the glare. Daud laughed and went back to chatting with Sahar. The elders had already eaten breakfast, and Kabir and Malaica were on their honeymoon.

"It wasn't interesting enough to share," he shrugged not meeting my eyes.

My eyebrows rose, and Huda Appi said, "I bet Nouran begs to differ."

I nodded at her with a smile, and they all laughed. 

"Did you ride it often?" I asked and took a sip of my coffee.

Izhar shrugged one shoulder and said, "I used to before I stopped and gave it away."

I nodded gently and caught myself before I could ask why he gave it away. Something told me it had to do with his past. 

"Izhar Bhai, why don't you take Bhabi on a ride and show her around the last remains of London that she couldn't see?" Daud said.

Everyone around the table agreed. "Why don't we all go together?" I volunteered softly.

They all sent me innocent smiles and looked at each other knowingly. "Um, all of us have already been around the city except for you. Plus, you can do more things when it's less people. You guys should go and have a good time before we leave," Zargham Bhai piped up from Huda Appi's side.

I shyly looked down unaware of how I felt about going out with Izhar when all his family members were home. 

"Yeah, Bhabi! There's so much to see. It'll be fun," Amirah said.

I looked at Izhar, and he smiled to himself. His family was so gentle and cared for everybody. 

"Now there's no time to waste, come on. Everyone finish your breakfast and Izhar and Nouran, you guys should be on your way as soon as possible so that Nouran can see everything she hadn't before the wedding," Huda Appi said.

It was our last day in London, and the wedding was over. The Nikaah, Mehndi, and Walima flashed by within a blink of an eye. Isn't it funny how we take all this time to plan something, and when it's finally over, it feels like it was just yesterday when we were sill preparing for it?

I had toured London when we got here before the wedding, but time only allowed so much for me to discover. There were little local excursions I hadn't taken, and Izhar along with everyone else knew how much of a sucker I was for those things. 

Everyone finished breakfast, and the elders were told about taking me out. Before I could even utter a word, they gave me their blessings to continue and proceed along with Izhar. 

Izhar and I were in our room changing to go outside. He switched out of his pajamas to dark denim jeans, chestnut brown dress shoes, and a navy blue and gray cardigan that he wore over a black V-neck shirt. He pushed up the sleeves and combed through his hair. 

I changed from my cotton salwar kameez into matchstick white jeans and a chiffon off-white shirt. I was about to grab the maxi hunter green long-sleeve cardigan when one hand tugged the belt loops of my jeans back, and the other brushed on my exposed hip where the shirt had moved astray. I shivered at his touch and turned around in his arms when Izhar suddenly caught my lips in his.