Completing half of my deen [a Muslim love story]

𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝟽- An unexpected guest

♡

Friday morning came and Adanan and I were prepared to leave. We were sitting on the sofa enjoying a yoghurt bowl before driving to the airport. I was dressed. He was dressed. All we had to do was lock up and go.

I bit into the crunchy pieces of muesli and picked out a berry with my spoon. Adanan made a great yoghurt bowl.

"This is great!" I say to him from across the sofa.

"Thanks! Pinterest recipes" He casually says.

"You don't say" I laugh.

"I can hear the sexism in your voice. Men can cook, alright" He jokes.

"If this is cooking, then yes, they can cook" I bite my lip and laugh.

"You ain't seen nothing yet, missy" He laughs.

"Hey, I'm up for the challenge. Show me what you got. I don't mind to be cooked for"

"Hey!" He says pointing at our cooking schedule on the fridge. "Then what would that buddy be for?"

"It's a suggestion. I can't be forced to do anything against my will" I cheekily say.

"Okay princess" He says as his phone buzzes on the table.

Incoming call.

Adanan hesitates for a moment and then moves closer to answer it.

"Hello" he says.

"Hello" I hear his mothers voice.

"Mama.. how are you?" Adanan asks and puts the phone on speaker. I greet her as well.

"I'm good. We are good. You will never believe why I am calling"

"Why?" Adanan slowly asks.

"Adanan, Layla is in town"

Adanan freezes for a few seconds.

"Layla?" He repeats.

"Yes! Layla. Your university friend. The one with the--"

"Yes, yes" Adanan interrupts while looking at me.

I shrug my shoulders and he gives me a nod. I continue to eat my yoghurt bowl.

"She came from Lebanon last night. She's moving here. She's here"

"Okay" Adanan says.

"She's here with us right now. She wants to see you and meet Asma and -"

I look at Adanan in concern.

"Now?"

"Yes Adanan!" his mother screams from the other end.

"We're going somewhere for the weekend"

"Adanan, you don't want to be rude now" I hear a strange woman's voice call out from the other end. She must be Layla.

"Hey Layla!"

"Babes" she boldly says. "Babes come over. I've missed you so much. Let's have dinner with your mom. Bring your wife along"

Bring your wife along?

Who the hell was this woman?

I give Adanan a frown.

"Layls, we were actually heading out"

"So I come all the way from Lebanon to see you after years and you don't wanna see me?" she sounds petty.

I continue staring at Adanan.

"Come over!" Adanan's mother screams through the phone. "See you in ten" she says and hangs up the phone.

I look at Adanan with a stern face.

"Who was that?" I asked placing my bowl on the table.

"You heard my mom... a school friend"

"Friend?" I cross my arms.

"Why are you getting defensive? " He asks.

"I'm not" I say. "She called you babes. And you called her Layls. She doesn't sound like a 'friend' to me. She sounds like an ex or something"

"So you're accusing me of dating her now? You don't even know her" Adanan puts his phone in his pocket.

"What is that suppose to mean?"

"It means she's just a friend and there's nothing there"

I could tell that he felt bothered by my probing.

"Now what?"

"What do you mean now what? You ask too many questions"

I ignore his remark. "Are we still going or not?"

"I mean, we might as well go over to my mother's house for a while. We can leave...-"

"We booked a trip. We are supposed to be at the airport now. We can't just re-schedule for someone who's--"

"Who's what, Asma?" Adanan raises his voice a little.

"Fine. You go to your mother's house and see your girlfriend. When you're done you can fetch me" I walk to the sink to wash my bowl.

"You're overreacting"

"And you're under-reacting. We had plans. You can't just cancel something at the very end. That's called integrity"

"What should I do Asma? My mom called me over. I can't just -"

"Just go" I say and walk upstairs.

"Are you serious?" I hear Adanan calling from behind me. "She's just a friend Asma. We can have many more trips together"

I turn around and look at him from the top of the stairs. "Do what you want. I have an idea. Take her to Oman" I say and walk away.

"I'm not leaving without you!" Adanan yells. "I promise we can pop in there and say hi for a few moments. We can leave for the airport after that. We can still have our trip"

I remain quiet.

I hear Adanan leave through the front door. I can't believe he actually left after saying he would not leave without me. I was even more upset now.

Who the hell is Layla and what does she want with Adanan?

I threw myself on the beg and screamed into a pillow.