Her Boyfriend, My Husband

CHAPTER 27

Abdallah's POV

I stayed in the bathroom long after Maryam left. Doing what? Well I don't know. First it was just grinning to myself like a mad man and then humming a tune as I imagined Kaka throwing that Yusuf not only out of this house, but out of Maryam's life as well and then upon imagining mine and Maryam's wedding, I broke out into a full on dance, swirling from the sink to the bathtub and occasionally catching glances of my ecstatic self in the mirror.

After my little merry making happy hour, I went out the door of the bathroom and looked out at the place Maryam had just vomited in, over my shoes, right in front of me. She was throwing up her guts at my feet but I was still enchanted when I saw her, wondering how someone could be this pretty and so effortlessy gorgeous. I was deathly worried and angered at how that Yusuf could leave her in this state and go on to do God knows what. What was the use of him coming with her anyways? If only I had been allowed to drive her here myself last night I would have never let her get sick but instead, Aunty Hajaru went on a shouting fit at me and now the result was Maryam not only being worried but being sick too. No one could take care of her like I could, no one could love her as I could, and that's why she's my Maryam.

This house was large but also too quite, I had expected a hundred relatives right in here but all I met was Maryam's grandmother when I came in. The aunts and uncles will be arriving later on, she told me. But what if the old man kicked the bucket while none of them were here? Well that'd be sad but atleast, he did me an inrepayable favour before he went to heaven. He was going to remove that Yusuf from our lives, I no longer have to wait more than ten long months before Maryam is mine, finally they'll be nothing keeping us apart.

Kaka wasn't my grandfather, sure I've known him since forever but we weren't related and to be honest, I never like him since he never liked me either and he's always busy being strict and shouting at me. He was Maryam's grandfather, meaning he was the father of my aunt's husband but now however, I know I love him more than I do my real grandfather and if today be the day he passed away, I would forget all those times he scolded me and pay to have wells built in his name, I would go to some orphanage and donate in his name and I'd do so much more things all in his name. He was the one who ended my wait for Maryam after all.

Should I go over to his room? Knock innocently and say I was here to check up on him? Well if that would get me access to see that sorry excuse of a human being thrown out of our lives, then that's just what I'll do. I strode gallantly, inching my ears at every step to catch Yusuf's voice pleading but I didn't hear anything until I arrived to find the door to the room wide open.

I was about to knock anyway but the Maryam's voice stopped me, her words boring a whole in my heart and when I looked in, I saw her hand entwined with that Yusuf's and the half dead old man was just laying there and looking with what? A smile?

What in the bloody bloody hell just happened? This isn't what I was supposed to see nor hear. I looked from Maryam to Yusuf and I cringed at how he was looking at her. This isn't supposed to be happening, this isn't supposed to be happening... I tapped my foot on the floor trying to muster enough courage to go in and pretend like every vein in my body wasn't on fire right now.

"Yaya Abdallah?" my Maryam called out to me, she must've noticed my presence by the door. Of course she would notice me anywhere, just like I would her.

I looked up and flashed a smile, even though I noticed Kaka's own smile slackened immediately. I have no idea what his problem with me is. Since we were kids, he's never been warm to me and now when he was on his death bed too? Scratch all that I said about doing charity for him, when this old man died in just a matter of hours, I'd simply attend his Jana'izah prayers and after that, forget that he ever even existed. What mess did he just create? He was supposed to drive Yusuf away from Maryam, not make Maryam promise to never let go of her "husband's" hand. So now I guess I'm back to waiting for a grueling ten months all thanks to him.