"Speech! Speech! Speech!"
Houssam laughed as everyone in the room picked up the chant, and he made his way up to the microphone, a giant smile on his face.
"Barak Allahu Feekum for coming today. I am going to make this short because I know how hungry everyone is! I know I am!" a laugh traveled across the room at that. "I am so honored and blessed to have all of you in my life! I can't tell you how great it is to be home, and be here with my family and friends again! I missed being here at the Masjid and being a part of my wonderful community again. InshaAllah I hope to spend many more happy days here! Now please enjoy the wonderful buffet of food!"
The room exploded in applause before everyone got up and began to form a line in front of the buffet. Houssam made his way to the back of the line, protesting as everyone urged him to go to the front.
"Habibi Houssam it's your party!" Hisham's mom said and he smiled at her.
"Thank you Khaltu but elder's first!"
"Are you calling me old!?" she teased and he laughed.
"Not at all! You don't look a day over twenty!"
She laughed and shook a finger at him.
"Considering I have a twenty three year old, I can't be twenty!"
"You have a twenty three year old!?" he asked in confusion and she nodded.
"Yes, my daughter Hana."
Hana.
Oops. He had called her Hanan.
"Oh MashaAllah she looked so much younger!"
"You've seen her?"
"Yes we were just talking a few minutes ago. MashaAllah I didn't recognize her!"
"Well it has been awhile since you have seen her. She is looking for a job in photojournalism so if you hear of anything!"
Houssam smiled.
"Of course Khaltu!"
As they approached closer to the front of the line he took a plate and absently began to fill it. It had been bothering him that he didn't remember Hisham's sister. After all he had known Hisham his whole life which meant he knew her. But for some reason he couldn't place her! It's almost as if Hisham had been an only child. He wondered if that just meant he wasn't observant. She used to work with Yusra so it's not like he had never heard about her.
He sat back down at his table just in time to hear Amir tell of some funny thing Kareem had done, and soon he was laughing with the rest of them. He was going to spend the whole day with Yusra tomorrow and was looking forward to it.
The rest of the night passed quickly, and soon the only ones left was Houssam and his Halaqah brothers.
"Thank you so much all of you for doing this for me!" he exclaimed.
"Well we kind of like you!" Mohammad teased. Houssam laughed and began to help fold up the tables. Soon they had cleaned up and as they were leaving the multipurpose room, Hisham put a hand out to stop him.
"Wait bro, there is one more thing."
"What?" Houssam asked curiously, and when everyone pulled out pieces of paper, his eyes widened in surprise.
"Can we have your autograph?"
***
"Alright Houssami, I am your sister and I love you so there is no way you are getting out of this!"
Houssam eyed Yusra suspiciously as she sat down next to him with a notepad and pen in her hands.
"What are you talking about Yusra?"
"We are going to find you a wife silly!" she exclaimed and he groaned.
"Aw man! No Yusra I don't want to do this!"
"Well too bad. We have about half an hour before the baby wakes up from his nap and will demand your attention so let's get started. I asked Ilham to make a list of girls that she thought would be good, and she still hasn't finished hers yet, but will send it to me as soon as she is done."
"Why do I have to get married?" he grumbled and she glared at him.
"Because you have girls throwing themselves at you and it's getting harder and harder for you to reject them!"
"What?! Did Amir tell you I said that!?" he demanded and when she didn't say anything he crossed his arms in annoyance. "Stupid Amir."
"Hey! Amir wouldn't have had to tell me if you did! Why didn't you!? I thought we didn't keep secrets from each other!" she exclaimed in a hurt tone.
"I dunno Yusra this was different."
"How so."
"It's kinda weird telling my sister that I have women trying to seduce me all the time!"
"Well you just told me now and it wasn't that hard!" she exclaimed. "Look I wouldn't have judged you for it because I know you aren't chasing after these women!"
"Thanks." He said after a moment, and she leaned over and pushed into his shoulder.
"Now come on, listen to some of the girls I came up with."
"Yusra," he groaned, but she ignored him and opened her notebook excitedly.
"Okay. What about Rania Abushanab!?"
Houssam's eyebrows crinkled.
"Who is she again?"
"You know her! Amu Zaid's daughter!"
"Oh, no thanks."
Yusra sighed impatiently.
"Why!?"
"Because."
"Because why?"
"Because Yusra!"
"Ugh fine. What about Zina Abdul Fattah!?"
Houssam made a face.
"Yeah no."
"How come!?"
"She annoys me."
"You haven't seen her in like years!"
"Fine, she annoyed me when we were little."
Yusra rolled her eyes, before looking back down at the paper.
"Okay what about Aliyah Hamid?"
Houssam snorted.
"Pass!"
"Why!? She's very pretty!"
"Yeah and her boyfriend thinks so to!"
Yusra's mouth dropped open.
"No!"
"Yes!"
"Wow. Okay I didn't know that." Yusra hurriedly crossed out her name before saying another name which Houssam promptly rejected. Ten minutes later she had finished everyone on the list, and she gave a frustrated sigh.
"Houssami! You rejected all of them! How are we going to find you a wife if you keep shooting them all down!?"
He shrugged.
"You won't."
"Why are you making this difficult!?" she narrowed her eyes at him. "Do you already have someone in mind!? OH MY GOD DO YOU!?" she screeched and he laughed.
"Calm down Yusra! No I don't!"
Her face fell slightly.
"Oh. Well we still have Ilham's list to look forward to!"
"Great." He said with an eye roll, and she punched him in the arm.
"Why don't you want to be happy?!" She demanded.
"Yusra, it's not that I don't want to get married, it's just there hasn't been anyone who I was interested in! InshaAllah when the time comes it will happen!"
"But I want it to happen now!" she whined, and he shook his head in amusement.
"Okay the second I am interested in someone I will let you know!"
Before she could answer there was the sound of a baby bellowing 'MOO SAM' at the top of his lungs, and they both laughed. Kareem had fallen instantly in love with his Uncle upon meeting him and wanted to be with him every single second of every single day. His own father was even a little jealous that his son perferred Houssam over Amir.
"Looks like someone is awake." Yusra said nodding towards the baby monitor.
"I'll get him." Houssam said with a laugh.
"Houssam! What about Zaineb Bassel?!" she called after him, and he laughed, not bothering to turn around.
"No!"
***
"Hey Hana have you seen my blue notebook with the flowers?"
Hana looked up from where she was painting Layla's toenails, and nodded in the direction of the kitchen.
"Last time I saw it, it was on the dining room table."
"Thanks habibti." Ilham said, and a minute later she returned, sitting down next to her daughter, and opening the notebook to a fresh page. She began to write in it, pausing every so often to tap the pen on her chin.
"What are you doing?" Hana asked as she moved onto her niece's other foot.
Ilham gave her a sheepish grin.
"Don't laugh, but Yusra and I are making a list of candidates for Houssam."
Hana's hand stilled.
"What do you mean candidates?"
"You know, for marriage!"
"Hey! Amtu you got paint on my toe!" Layla exclaimed as Hana's hand began to shake.
"Sorry habibti." She said, and once she had cleaned off the paint with nail polish remover, she turned back towards Ilham.
"He wants to get married?"
Ilham gave a slight shrug.
"I think so. He is just having trouble. He isn't interested in anyone."
"Is he okay with you guys making these lists?"
Ilham laughed.
"I don't think he has a choice. You know how Yusra is."
Hana's laughed sounded hollow to her ears, and she hoped Ilham couldn't pick up on it.
"Well who do you have so far?" she asked and Ilham flipped the page over to the front.
"Maya Bahar, Haneen Asfoor, Jameela Mustafa, Nahla Shoaib, Bilqees Shams, Hala Nassar, and Loubna Saeed." Ilham looked up from her paper. "What do you think?"
No! No! No!
"They are all good sisters MashaAllah." Hana said trying to keep her voice neutral, and Ilham nodded.
"Yes they are MashaAllah! I am trying to think of more but I am drawing a blank. Can you think of anyone Hana?"
"Um not right now. I'll have to think on it." She said quietly and Ilham nodded.
"Let me know."
"Mama, what about my Quran teacher Miss Laila for Amu Houssam!? She has my name and would be very good!" Layla chirped and Ilham laughed.
"That's a good idea habibti!" she said. "Hana you work with Laila right?"
"Yes." She said uneasily. This whole conversation was making her feel sick to her stomach.
"Amtu can you do my hands too?!" Layla asked, and Hana smiled.
"Of course habibti."
The room was quiet for the next twenty minutes as Hana did her niece's fingernails, and Ilham sat pondering over her notebook. Soon Ilham went to get Mohammad who had woken up from his nap, and once she came back downstairs, she settled him on the floor with his toys before turning back towards her notebook.
"Hana?" Ilham asked after a few minutes.
"Yes?" she said looking up.
"There was one more person I was thinking of for Houssam." She said, and Hana felt her face flush as Ilham looked at her curiously.
"Oh. Really?" she said trying to keep her voice calm.
"Yes."
Hana tried to get her breathing under control, because at that moment she felt like fainting. Once she had calmed down she looked up at her sister, trying to keep her face blank.
"Who?"
Ya Allah! Ya Allah! Ya Allah!
"Your friend Kalthoum! Wouldn't they be a good match?!"