Come, Fly With Me

THIRTEEN

Our nikaah was now only three weeks away and today me and Saffa were going to go to the tailor to sort out my dress. We had all decided that the nikaah would be simple, not extravagant, as we would have plenty of glamour at the reception. I had opted for a gorgeous silky pink floor length gown with embroidery on the top, and wide sleeves, and we would be buying a small bouquet closer to the day to compliment the dress. I would also be wearing a similar coloured hijab. Although I had reserved the fabrics and design, I had not yet confirmed my sizes yet so that is our task for today. As we pulled into the mall, Sami called my phone.

"Salaam. Aleena, where are you?"

"Wa alaikum salaam, at the mall, why?"

"Ehsaan and his family are coming over tonight."

"Oh, I didn't know they were planning to"

"They weren't, but they said there is something that needs to be discussed as soon as possible."

"Oh"

"Just come home soon, drive safely, salaam"

We decided to just leave the mall for today and just grab a coffee from the drive-through on our way home instead. I was anxious to get there, hoping and praying that nothing was wrong and that everything was okay. There was a feeling in the pit of my stomach that I couldn't ignore, and all I could do was hope for the best.

The need to suddenly come over to discuss the matter meant that whatever it was had to be of importance, and my mind couldn't help but wonder the worst.

As soon as I got home, I prayed salah and freshened up just in time for Maryam Aunty, Uncle and Ehsaan to arrive. I couldn't help but notice that Aaminah and the twins hadn't joined them.

We took a seat in the living room with Sami, mama and baba. Though we were all conversing as normal, I could detect the slight tension of an undiscussed matter hanging in the atmosphere and it scared me.

"Ehsaan, why don't you go and speak to Aleena beti"

"Yes" baba nodded.

"You can go into the dining room and talk my dear, but leave all the doors open please" chimed in mama.

I tried to catch Sami's eye, but he simply shrugged, he was just as clueless as I am. I stood up and made my way to the door before turning round to face Ehsaan without looking at his face for too long and signalled for him to follow me.

We stood in the dining room and I pointed at a chair, offering for him to sit down.

"Assalamu alaikum, how have you been?" he started.

"Wa alaikum salaam. Alhamdulillah, been busy with working and the wedding planning, but its great, I'm enjoying it."

"That's good" he smiled, before clearing his throat and looking back down at his hands. 

The nervous feeling returned to settle in my stomach, making me want to just ask if anything was wrong.

"You're probably wondering why we came at such short notice today, but I needed to discuss something with you. Our parents are also probably talking about it now too." He seemed reluctant to continue, as though he didn't know how I would react. I simply nodded, encouraging him to carry on.

"Yesterday I received a phone call from my boss, and he gave me some news that will not only affect me, but you too. I've been offered a position as a junior partner at the firm, but the problem is that it would require me to transfer to a different office, that would mean having to move. So I asked where it would be, expecting them to give me one of the other national branches of the firm, but they want me to be transferred to the Dubai office, and it would have to be sometime within the next two months."