Twice Upon Them

Chapter 3 | Harun | Out of Pity?

Dedication: WiseLemon, since her comments just make my day (weirdly enough at that). :P Can't wait to see your comments, lol.

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"No. Maymunah, please stop. I swear, I'll-" I abruptly stop talking due to the fact that there is hose water in my mouth.

Yes, hose water.

Maymunah drops the green hose onto the grass, which is still spraying water. She crumples down on to her knees as she laughs hysterically. I shake my head as I turn off the hose, since it will be detrimental to the flower beds if there's too much water in the soil. I sigh as I stare at her. Her long, orange sundress is now drenched, but she doesn't notice as she wipes away her tears.

"I can't believe I'm marrying you," I mutter in disbelief. I drop the hose to the ground. As she struggles to keep herself calm, I sit down next to her on the grass. The sun beats down on our backs, and the cool summer breeze ripples our clothes. This could have been a beautiful and serene moment if it weren't for Maymunah's continuous laughter. "If you don't stop, I'll send you to an insane asylum. Let me see you laugh then."

She finally ceases her giggles. She lets out a long breath. "Same here."

"What?" I ask, perplexed.

"I myself can't believe we're actually getting married, and so soon at that. But I feel like something's wrong with you." Her tone changes from cheery to a bit serious. "If you want to tell me something, go for it. I don't want to start a marriage like this, Harun. Just tell me what's on your mind."

I shake my head at her ridiculous statements. "It's nothing."

"Then it's something," she confirms. "We can't keep a full conversation about our future since you always change the subject. If you don't want to get married, tell me. I can wait. And it's not like we're in a rush, you know."

"Yup. I don't want to have you as my wife since you're super clumsy, optimistic, happy, nerdy, and pretty all at the same time," I reply sarcastically.

"Wow, Harun, you never called me that before," she says in an affectionate yet somewhat sarcastic tone.

"What, pretty?" I inquire with a raised eyebrow.

She shakes her head. "No no no, your wife."

"I didn't even-"

"See?" she interrupts me. "I was just talking about how you shift topics and now we already digressed from what were discussing."

"Hey, we're on vacation. Please stop using the big vocabulary; I don't want to think about college for the next three months."

She rolls her eyes. "Irene was right; it'll be tough living the rest of my life with you." She rises to her feet and brushes off the grass that's clinging to her dress. I get up as well and return the hose to its reel, which is mounted to the wall facing the backyard.

"Mom's calling you," I hear my younger brother say to Maymunah, who appears right next to me. He glances at Maymunah before giving me a hard stare. She nods in acknowledgment, climbs the steps of the deck, then passes Ali to enter the house. My brother steps outside and squints his eyes to avoid the awfully bright sunlight. "Are you stupid or are you stupid?"

I look up at him, already getting annoyed. "What did I do now?" I ask him with an equally blank expression.

"Kayla," he replies curtly.

"And?" I already have an inkling as to what he'll say, but I want to to hear it from him first.

He sighs as he walks down the stairs of the deck. "God, you're an idiot. How the hell can you invite her to your wedding?"