Against The Tide (Formerly Two Tribes)

56: Bridging Gaps

"Wa alaikum salaam warahmatullah wabarakatuh, Jameel. How are you doing? How's Najah and everyone else?" Hajiya asked.

She hates us.

Jameel didn't fail to notice how she only mentioned Najah's name. Afrah and Fawaaz were 'Everyone else'?

"Najah, Afrah, and Fawaaz," he mentioned. "Are all doing fine, Alhamdulillah. The same goes for me. I hope you are feeling much better now?"

"Yes, I am. I feel a lot better now."

"That's good to hear. Masha Allah. Your grandson is longing to see you...so I was thinking of coming to you tomorrow and bringing you back here with me. This way, you will be cared for a lot better here. There's me, Najah, and Afrah too."

"I would have loved to come but I can't right now. If I leave, who will be able to take care of my livestock the way I do? When they are a bit grown, I promise to come. I also can't wait to hold him in my arms and shower my blessings on him."

Jameel hummed. He wasn't really convinced with her excuse but at the same time, he couldn't disagree with his mother. "Alright, Hajiya, in Sha Allah."

"My regards to them. Assalamualaikum."

"Wa alaikum salaam."

Immediately after the call ended, Jameel kept the phone aside and massaged his temples with his thumb and index fingers. Speaking to his mother, he realized Afrah was not entirely wrong to feel the way she felt but her manner of approach was wrong and provocative.

Zealous to resolve the issue between them, Jameel decided to call Afrah's mother and complain to her instead of keeping it bottled up and making it escalate. He needed a solution and she was the only person he could think of venting to.

"Assalamualaikum, mum. Good evening, ma." He greeted her when she answered the call.

"Wa Alaikum Salam, Jameel. How are you doing?"

"Mum, there's something I need to talk to you about...I don't know if I can do that right now."

"You sound..." Her voice trailed. "Is everything okay? Afrah?"

"Don't worry, she's fine. Fawaaz is fine too."

"Alright, go ahead and tell me. I'm listening."

"It's about Afrah...I didn't want to do this but she pushed me to the wall. I don't even have peace in my home anymore."

"Calm down and tell me what exactly happened."

Jameel heaved a sigh to calm himself. "I returned from work today very tired and went straight to Afrah's room to see her and the baby. Upon entering the room, she attacked me with accusations and even disrespectfully addressed my mother. I understand that the arrival of our child has been stressing her but that shouldn't be reason enough for her to go off at me at every given chance. She doesn't even speak to me like I'm her husband anymore. She talks to me the way she likes. I didn't use to mind but it's getting too much now. It's like she is beginning to take my calmness for granted. A little respect from her is all I ask. I give her respect to the maximum. If there's a problem, as adults, I expect her to come to me with it in a respectful manner and we can reasonably resolve it, not by nagging or throwing blame at my mother and accusing her of hating her and even her grandchild.

"This is not the first time she's insinuated this...I always let it go, but today she called my mother a tribalistic woman. She was going on and on, and I had to stop her otherwise she would have insulted her—"

"Haba!" Mrs. Amina interjected. "Afrah would never do that. Insult your mother? I didn't raise her that way."

"I'm trying my best to be the best husband and father there is," Jameel continued, ignoring Mrs. Amina's interjection. "She complains that I work too hard...I'm doing all these just for them. For my family. I love Afrah so much but I'm beginning to get fed up. The way she handles a problem is just not it. I have been patient. Allah knows that I have."