The Scars They Hide

Epilogue

Epilogue

"Weeeeeeeeeeeee.".

The sharp scream split the air, the scream travelling from outside, the bathroom walls echoing with the sound. Lutfiyah winced, her headache made worse by the loud laughter in the backyard. She stared longingly at the paracetamol bottle in the medicine cabinet before sighing and closing the door. She would have to survive without.

She leaned her head against the cool wall and took a few deep breaths, trying to remember her yoga exercises through her pain. She was so engrossed with trying to concentrate the pain away that she almost jumped out of her skin when she felt cool fingers massaging her temples.

"Still so bad?," Jaafar asked, his deep voice soft and soothing. She felt better almost immediately.

She turned around and leaned into his chest, his hand moving around her head to massage the back of it. "Yeah and the loud noises aren't doing a thing to help. I feel horrible for being so out of it today of all days."

They stood in silence for a few minutes, the sound of laughter and chatter fading into the background, Lutfiyah almost moaning in relief as Jaafar massaged her head.

"Mamaaaaaa!"

Her daughter's high voice broke the temporary peace. Jaafar grinned into Lutfiyah's hair, Lutfiyah mostly wondering how her daughter had found them. "Such a small body but so much power in her voice."

Lutfiyah moved out of her husband's arms to bend down to her toddler's level. The rosy-cheeked girl threw her arms around her mother and proclaimed, "I love you, Mama!". Her wet swimsuit soaked Lutfiyah as well but she didn't even flinch.

Lutfiyah's heart swelled and she hugged her baby back, taking a moment to tuck her nose into her curls, the soothing scent of her daughter relaxing her further. "I love you too, my angel."

"Kifi! Come back. You're wetting the whole house," Jane called, probably shouting from the backdoor in hopes that the toddler would listen.

The call had the child removing herself from her mother's embrace and almost hurling herself out of the bathroom again, nearly smashing into the wall, her mother's warning shout loud and scared. She just swerved to the right and continued on like it was no big deal.

Jaafar watched all of this with amusement. "Why don't I get a hug and expression of love like that?" he asked, pulling Lutfiyah up as she struggled with her added weight..

She placed a hand on her swelling stomach. "Maybe when your little boy comes along then you'll be his favourite."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm May's favourite. You can have Kifaayah all to yourself. We'll share our son."

She laughed and took a moment to look at his handsome face. She never got tired of looking at him and she never got tired of the way he looked at her. Sometimes, the love in his eyes blew her away. He always looked at her with such tenderness and love, it made her ache. Even when they argued, it hurt more to be angry at each other than to win the argument.

He cupped her chin and pulled her in for a long kiss, his hand holding her in place the entire time before he pulled away and smirked at her. "You know you taste different when you're expecting."

She squawked and hit his shoulder. "What do you mean?"

He grinned. "Not in a bad way. Just a different way."

She rolled her eyes. "Weirdo."

They pulled away when Randy entered the bathroom, the space suddenly small for three adults. "Okay, lovebirds. Sara is arriving any minute now. Your family is bustling away in the kitchen so I'm guessing we're not going to have a problem with food being on time?" she looked at them for confirmation then raised an eyebrow. "That's a guilty silence. I don't get you people. I'm thanking god you told Sara to come later then."