Can we try again?

Ninety-two

Daniel

Daniel had never felt happier. His evening with Samira and Jameel was a success. Even though he was nervous at first to meet His son, with the help of Samira, he was able to do the right thing and get on Jameel's good side.

Somehow, he'd even managed to the little boy to hold his hands. In fact, he didn't have to force it. Jameel just casually slid his hands into his as they were walking back to the car. The smile on Daniel's face couldn't get any wider.
It just seemed so natural, the way the three of them walked side by side - all holding hands. Anyone looking at them from the outside would have had no doubt that they were a couple.

The perfect couple.

He thought about Samira. He had to admit, he liked her. He really did. The way she spoke to Jameel - that mother and son relationship they had. It was one he envied and aspired to get one day. He loved the way she carried herself, with an air of confidence. Although she came across as demure, there was something strong and fierce about her which he admired. The fact that she'd brought Jameel up singlehandedly and he's turned out just fine, perfect even, and she's managed to make a life for herself too. That was a bonus.

And most of all she was beautiful. She wasn't tall or olive-skinned like Kim, nor did she have light brown eyes nor have long sexy legs. But her perfectly rounded face was everything to look at. And when she smiled, the room lit up. She was intelligent and self-confident - not bothered about what people thought about her. In fact, he couldn't have picked the perfect woman as a mother to Jameel.

But Daniel wasn't sure Samira liked him too. Did she think about him the same way? Did she even think about him at all? Or maybe deep down, she was still angry with him? Maybe she still blamed him for abandoning her all those years? Although he knew that it wasn't really his fault - How on earth would he have known, right? 

If at all Samira thought all of these, she didn't show it, neither did she mention it to him. All Daniel noticed the whole of that evening was that she seemed very happy. Content. There were times when she looked at Daniel with such affection, a big grin on her face, and for a little longer than necessary.  

 And then there was the comment that she made in the car driving back home, that Jameel was good-looking just like his dad. Meaning that she thought he was handsome. It was everything to make Daniel beam from ear to ear. He knew she regretted saying it and the fact that she was so embarrassed that she let that remark slip out, and brushed it off nonchalantly, made it even funnier for Daniel. 

He probably would have to spend more time with her in order for him to suss out how she actually feels about him - maybe the more time they spent together, the more things like that she'd let slip out.

But then why does it even matter what she thought of him? What was the point if his heart was meant to be somewhere else?

Daniel's mind drifted back to his fiance. Kim. She was still not making things any easier for him because she was not speaking to him. They'd both leave for work each morning, go all day without talking to each other, get back home and go to sleep in separate rooms.

How long was that gonna go on for? How long did Kim intend to drag this out for? They needed to talk to each other and make peace. The more the days went by without speaking to each other, the bigger the divide between them, Daniel thought.
He knew things haven't perfect between them for a while now - and it all started since last Christmas. And following that, Daniel's felt a hole between them. At first, it seemed very minuscule, easily repairable. But as time passed, the hole had begun to widen, moving them further apart. So much that he was beginning to have great doubts now.

He felt alone most of the time, except when he chatted with Samira, which was now every single day. He was happy that he was getting to know his family now. They talked on the phone - when Kim wasn't around - and Daniel even had the chance to speak with Jameel as well.