Twice Upon Qadr - A Shot At Love **EDITING**

Chapter 2

"Salaam Hanoon!" Hisham exclaimed once he had pryed himself away from his wife's kisses, and made his way over to his sister. She gave him a smile, returning his embrace.

"Walaikumasalaam!"

"You okay?" he asked, peering at her suspiciously as if he could feel the internal battle she had raging on, and maybe he could, he knew her so well after all.

"Yup!" she exclaimed with a cheerfulness she didn't feel. "Just looking at the pictures I took of Hamoudi."

"They are beautiful habibi you have to see them!" Ilham exclaimed, pulling her son's hands out of her hair, and Hisham smiled, extending his hand for the camera.

"Let me see here," as he scrolled through the pictures his smile got wider and wider. "Hana habibti, you are absolutely talented Ma Shaa Allah, these are incredible!"

Hana blushed fiercely as the two of them heaped praise on her, and she hurriedly took the camera back, slightly uncomfortable. She didn't do too well with being the center of attention, and she didn't like having people look at her, which made photojournalism an odd choice for a career. But she loved it with all of her heart and if she had to endure a few hours of feeling out of place to get a few nice shots or to get an interview, which had yet to happen, she would!

She was still doing Quran and Islamic Studies classes at the Masjid, all these years later after Yusra had left. It gave her a little extra money to spend on camera equipment that was too expensive to ask her parents for, and while she loved her students, she wished that she was doing something in her line of work. It certainly wasn't for lack of trying that she had yet to make it. She had graduated from UC Santa Barbara three years ago, and had been applying to everything even remotely related to her major, and had yet to get any acceptances. It was disheartening but she had to keep trying. One day she would get an interview or cross paths with a star, and that would be her lucky break!

As she now glanced up at Hisham and Ilham, the pang of loneliness in her heart got stronger. Hisham's arm was around his wife's waist and they were listening to Hamoudi babble on about something. Eventually Hisham threw his head back and laughed loudly before pressing his lips to Ilham's head, and she closed her eyes, a smile on her face. It was a beautiful shot, and as Hana hurriedly snapped a picture, the two of them looked over at her in surprise as the flash went off, and she offered them a smile.

"It was such a perfect picture I couldn't resist."

Ilham laughed, and gave her son to her husband before going forward and hugging Hana.

"Thank you! I want copies of all of the pictures you have on that camera!"

"Of course!" Hana said returning her sister's embrace. Once Ilham had let her go, she put her camera in its bag before shouldering it. "I should go."

Ilham's face fell.

"Oh Hana you have to stay for dinner! Dawud and Layla will be home from school soon and will be so upset if they miss you!"

"Sorry Ilham, maybe next time, I have Islamic Studies class." She said apologetically, and Ilham gave a sad sigh.

"Well let me fix something for you to eat on the way!" Ilham exclaimed and Hana laughed.

"Thank you dear but I'm ok. I'll get something after class!"

It took her another five minutes to convince her sister that she wouldn't starve during class, and after hugging and kissing everyone goodbye, she went out to her little blue bug. Ilham had given it to her when the children came along as she needed a bigger car to fit their car seats, and while at first she had been mortified that they were just giving her a car, she loved it. It fit her personality perfectly, and it always made her smile when she saw it.

As she got into the car, she started the ignition and backed out of the driveway, pausing at a red light to turn on the radio, flipping through the channels. She came to a halt at one of the stations as she heard the name 'Shaykh' and realizing it was the ending of the championship game between the Lakers and the Celtics she turned up the volume.

"With only ten seconds left on the clock, and both teams tied, you can feel the tension in the air!"

"The Lakers no doubt will use their star player, Hoozam Shayk to make the winning shot, and yes here he goes. Dribbling down the court, they have him boxed in, he shoots the ball to Crewe, side steps his guards, dashes under the basket, Crewe throws him the ball, they are coming after him and..."

Hana tightened her grip on the steering wheel murmuring a 'Bismillah' under her breath.

"AND SCORE! ANOTHER AMAZING SHOT BY SHAYK! THAT'S IT! THE LAKERS WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME FOR THE FOURTH YEAR IN A ROW! And here they are giving the MVP pin to none other than Hoozam Shayk! That man is on fire, and has to be one of the best players I have ever seen in all of my years!"

"I have heard him labeled as the 'Muslim Michael Jordan!"

"That's perfectly fitting considering Jordan is his idol!"

"Here comes the man of the hour now!"

"Mr. Shaykh congratulations on winning the championship game again! How does it feel to win MVP for the third year in a row!?"

"Thank you so much! It feels great of course. I can't even express how happy and blessed I am."

Hana smiled widely as Houssam's deep voice filled the speakers of her car, and if she wasn't driving, she would have closed her eyes to savor hearing him.

"Did you expect to win?"

"You know Grant, you really cannot know for sure. There are some very talented teams out there and everyone gives it their all. All you can do is try your hardest and pray that you make it!"

"Now that the season is over what are your plans?"

"I plan to spend as much time as possible with my family!"

Hana's heart began to beat fast as she realized that meant he would be coming home. She hadn't seen him in two years except for when she saw him on her television screen, and while she didn't want to admit it as she wasn't one to trust with her heart so easily, she had missed him.

A lot.