Kareem was playing quietly in front of the television where Barney was on, Layla was laying on her stomach coloring in a Sesame Street coloring book, and Houssam was sitting over them on the couch, his computer on his lap as he worked on his next article. Dawud and Mohammad were sick and as Ilham didn't want Layla to get sick, she had been staying at Ilham's parent's house. However her mom had a doctor's appointment today, and as Hisham was working, the only situation they could think of was to have Layla stay with Houssam and Hana when she came. He hadn't minded of course he liked the little girl, and she was great with Kareem.
They had been sitting in the living room for half an hour and so far neither child had expressed being bored, so he was pressing his luck until one of them spoke up. This was like his third article that he had written and he was on a roll. He still had ideas, and had decided to just write as much as he could now, that way when he went back home, they would have a few of his articles before needing to find a replacement. He hadn't sent them to Hana yet. She had been acting weird lately, almost as if she was angry with him, and it was kind of annoying. He had come to think of her as a close friend, and now that she barely said more than two words to him, the feeling of loneliness was starting to creep back. He hadn't realized it until now, but she had begun to take away some of the feeling of aloneness that he had been experiencing lately, and without her, it was coming back.
"Amu Houssam I'm bored!" Layla exclaimed twenty minutes later, and Houssam closed his laptop before motioning the little girl over to him. She hurriedly scrambled into his lap, and he kissed her head before pushing the hair back from her face.
"What do you want to do?"
"Can we go swimming!?" she exclaimed her eyes lighting up, and Houssam paused for a second to think about this. Both Yusra and Ilham had given their okay for the kids to go swimming if Houssam was up for it, Kareem's swim things had even been laid out in his room, and Layla had a bag of her swimsuit and water wings. But he just wasn't in the mood for it.
"I don't know Layla."
"Oh please Amu?! Please?!" she exclaimed, stretching out the 'e' in the second please and he sighed.
"Okay fine. Go get changed."
The little girl squealed before kissing him on his cheek, grabbing her bag, and dashing into the bathroom.
"Come on Kareem. Let's go change." He said scooping up his nephew. Kareem screamed in protest, reaching out towards the screen.
"Barney!" He exclaimed.
"Barney will still be here when we get back! You want to go swimming?!"
Kareem's eyes lit up and he began to bounce up and down in his Uncle's arms. Houssam laughed and took Kareem into his room. After putting on the baby's water diaper and swimming shorts, he put him into a full on body suit that floated. After that he borrowed a pair of swim trunks from Amir, and after making sure he had the key that unlocked the gate to the pool, he went back downstairs, finding an excited Layla in the hallway already dressed in her swimsuit.
"Amu Houssam can you help me with these?!" she exclaimed, extending out the water wings, and once he had slid them on her arms and blew them up, he took each child by the hand, and went outside. Almost immediately Layla went flying into the pool, and though she disappeared momentarily, she floated back to the surface, giggling like crazy.
"Woah hold on a second buddy!" Houssam exclaimed as Kareem tried to do the same, and he pulled off his shirt before snagging his nephew in his arms and slowly descending into the pool. Kareem shrieked with laughter as the cold water hit his legs, and he clung to his Uncle, jumping up and down with excitement. Houssam laughed and went further into the pool, of course the shallow end barely even came up to his waist. He would be able to stand in the deep end, which was only six feet, and still be able to see above the water. But he didn't want to take the kids out there, so he stayed on the shallow side. At first Kareem didn't want to let go, making sure Houssam's hand was always in reach. But soon he took Layla's hands and the two of them were swimming off together, laughing and playing.
Houssam laughed as Kareem splashed Layla and she took it in the face. She laughed as well, she was a sweet little girl, and began to pull him around the pool, causing the baby to just let out unrestrained laughter.
He had originally planned on letting them swim for half an hour, and then getting them cleaned up before Hana came, after all it wasn't fair to make her have to do the clean up. But they were having so much fun, and he was having just as much fun watching them, that he didn't realize that an hour had passed until he heard a car turn into the driveway.
"Oh Khaltu Hana's here!" he exclaimed.
"Yay!" Layla exclaimed, and Kareem began to copy her even though Houssam was sure the child had no clue what was going on.
***
Hana let herself into the house with the key Yusra had given her, and after taking off her shoes, she went into the living room, looking for everyone. As she approached the kitchen, she heard the shrieks coming from the backyard, and as she stepped outside with a smile, expecting to find them on the small swing set, she froze in her spot as she saw them in the pool.
He was shirtless.
He was shirtless.
Oh my...
She quickly turned around, trying to catch her breathe. She couldn't look at him. Oh my god she had to get away from him this secon...
"Hana!"
Darn it.
"Um Salaam Houssam." She said, keeping her eyes on the ground. He stood before her, water dripping from his body, muscles rippling, Kareem on his hip, and it was such a glorious sight that she honestly wanted to run away. She had never exercised more self-control than at that moment. Perhaps sensing her discomfort, he put Kareem down and pulled his shirt back on. As soon as all of his skin was covered, she let out a deep breath, and managed to look up at him with a smile.
"How are you?" he asked in concern for she looked quite flushed. Maybe she had a fever?
"I'm good. Hi Layla." She called to her niece.
"Hi Khlatu!" she exclaimed before jumping back into the pool. Hana laughed as Layla climbed out to do it again, and she hurriedly grabbed Kareem's hand as the baby tried to rush back towards the water.
"Maya?" Kareem asked using the Arabic word for water and pointing at the pool. Houssam and Hana laughed, and Houssam picked him up.
"I think that's enough for today. Layla come on habibti."
"Aw Amu I want to swim still!" she whined, but when Hana sent her a sharp glance she climbed out of the pool, and wrapped the towel around herself before following the two adults inside.
"Ill get Layla cleaned up if you want to do Kareem?" Hana asked, and Houssam flashed her a smile before going up the stairs and Hana pulled Layla into the downstairs bathroom. Once she had showered the little girl and put her clothes back on, they sat in the living room. A few minutes later, Houssam returned with Kareem, both of them freshly showered as well. Houssam's hair was let down and flowing down his face, and Hana let out an internal sigh.
Here she was totally pining over a guy who liked her best friend. She hadn't told anyone, even Kalthoum that Houssam had asked about her. It had just been too painful. When those words had left his mouth 'she isn't married right?' she had felt the weirdest pain rip across her heart, and she had to resist the urge to put a hand over her chest, and lean over until it went away. He hadn't asked anything else, just that question but it was enough for Hana to know where his thoughts were.
"Hana are you angry with me?"
Hana was startled out of her thoughts and she looked up at him in confusion.
"Why would you think I am angry with you?"
He gave a shrug.
"I dunno you've been acting weird."
Did he know her well enough to know when she was acting weird?! Hana didn't think so.
"Oh. Well I'm sorry if I gave you the impression." She said, purposely misleading him, but he was too smart for that.
"You didn't answer the question." He said with a smile.
"I am not angry with you."
Relief crossed his features.
"Good! It was making me feel bad!"
Hana's heart began to speed up.
"Why would it make you feel bad?"
He gave another shrug.
"Because you've become a good friend to me."
***
Amir clutched the steering wheel tightly in his grip. His jaw was clenched, his whole body was tensed, and he was trying so hard not to lose it.
"What are you trying to get us killed!?" Yusra snapped as a car appeared from nowhere, and Amir swerved to avoid hitting it.
Amir ignored her, tightening his hold to an almost painful degree. She had been an absolute monster lately. While he hated to say anything negative about her, it was true. She was no longer angry at him about their fight, but it seemed she was mad at him about everything else in the world. They were coming home from six hours at the hospital and she hadn't said two words to him because apparently he didn't have the foresight to offer to hold her purse for her.
He hated this. He hated that she was mad at him, he hated that he was mad at her. He hated that no matter what he did she got angry at him. He hated that they hadn't kissed in almost two weeks. And most of all he hated the fact that he couldn't help her.
He knew that her illness was getting worse. That was obvious just by looking at her. She had dark circles under her eyes, her face was pale, and she just looked totally worn out. She also woke up screaming from pain, and was having trouble walking again. That was why he just let her act that way she was. She needed to get out her frustrations, and he was the closest thing to her. It did hurt of course, but if it made her feel better he was willing to take a few hits.
The only thing was that he missed her. He missed hugging her and holding her. He missed kissing her and watching her laugh and smile. He missed the way she rushed to him when he came home from work, and the way she didn't want to be away from him. He missed her, and right now, this wasn't Yusra.
"I want to invited Hisham and Ilham over for dinner Sunday." She said in a clipped tone and he resisted the urge to sigh.
"As you wish."
She glared at him.
"Are you mocking me?"
His jaw clenched tighter.
"No Yusra. I'm not."
"Whatever." She mumbled, turning her head to look out the window.
Patience Amir.
"How are you feeling?" he asked after another few minutes of silence.
"I'm fine."
"The infusion didn't make you feel sick?"
"I said I'm fine!"
"I was just asking! No need to jump down my throat!" he exclaimed, his control slipping finally.
"Excuse me?" she asked and he shook his head, intent on telling her exactly how he was feeling. But one quick glance into her tired face changed that.
"Never mind." He said and they fell silent the rest of the ride home. As Amir pulled into the driveway, Yusra barely gave him time to put the car in park before she had opened the door and was getting out. "Wait! Yusra!" he exclaimed and she stopped, looking up at him with eyes that held unshed tears.
"What?" she demanded, and he took a step towards her. They just looked at each other for a few seconds before Yusra sighed. "Look Amir I'm tired and just want to check on the baby and sleep. What do you want?"
"Just one thing." He said, and before she realized what was happening, he had gripped her arms, pulled her roughly towards him, and pressed his lips to hers. At first she resisted, pulling away from him, but soon she stopped fighting, and after he had pulled back, he gripped her face in his hands. "I love you." He said quietly, and she swallowed hard before nodding, the tears falling down her cheeks. She didn't say anything else, and he kissed her on her forehead before she pulled back from him, shouldering her purse and going inside the house. He sighed, and got back into the car to make it to the Masjid for Asr. It wasn't perfect yet but it was a start.