Jameel
"What do you mean by what you just said?" Hajiya hauwa yelled. "You want to get married to that woman?"
Jameel heaved a sigh of exasperation. The moment he left his house for his mother's in Katsina state, he knew she wasn't just going to give in to what he wanted that easily, but he never expected her to be so irritated. "Hajiya," Jameel started, taking his mother's hand in his. "You already know how I feel about that woman. I have always done everything you ask of me. When I thought I had lost Afrah, I had no intention of ever getting married, but I didn't reject Najah because you specifically told me you want her to be your daughter-in-law, so please," he beseeched. "Support me in the decision I have taken."
Hajiya Hauwa removed her hand from her son's and shook her head. "I'm afraid I won't be able to support you this time."
"Why, Hajiya?" Jameel asked. He wanted so badly to know why his mother was proving difficult. His mother used to love Afrah a lot. "Don't you want me to be happy?"
"I'm not stopping you from getting married to her, I'm just not in support of it. You can go ahead and do your thing."
"Don't you want me to be happy?" Jameel repeated his question. He knew his mother had seen how miserable he had been in the past couple of years, so why wasn't she yielding?
"Not at the expense of my other child. Have you thought about how that poor girl would feel? She has practically no one she can call hers in this world, except for you and me. I promised her that I will make sure you're never unfair to her, and I plan to keep that promise. Najah is not just my daughter-in-law, I consider her the daughter I have never had. You've been married to her for less than two years and you're already planning to marry someone else?"
"Hajiya, you know I didn't marry her because I love her," Jameel's eyes floated upward. He was mentally and physically drained-tired of having to explain himself over and over again. "But that hasn't been leveraged for me to be unfair to her. You can ask her if you don't believe me. I give her the utmost respect she deserves. If that isn't the case, she wouldn't have supported me in this decision."
Hajiya's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"Najah is the reason Afrah agreed to marry me." He nodded. "Afrah told me she wanted nothing to do with me anymore, but after Najah spoke to her-I have no idea what she told her-she agreed."
"I didn't know Najah is so unwise," Hajiya Hauwa huffed. "I'm disappointed."
"She isn't unwise" Jameel disagreed. "She knows I won't give up on Afrah even though she doesn't approve of my decision. She knows that for a fact."
"So what's going to happen to Najah?"
"Absolutely nothing. I still won't be unfair to her. I won't treat her any differently."
"What if she asks you to divorce her?"
"Who? Afrah?" Jameel chuckled. "She's compassionate. She will never ask me to do that, and...even if she does, I won't do it. You know me, Hajiya, I will never do something like that. Please give me your support. It's all I ask for."
"What can I say when the person I'm concerned about isn't even concerned about herself? You can go ahead and marry her since you're bent on doing so. At this point, I don't even think I can stop you."
"You know you can, Hajiya. Just tell me you don't want me to marry her and I will forget all about the plans I have made."
"I don't want you to marry her." His mother declared.
Jameel exhaled slowly; his face dropping.
"When is the wedding?"
"Huh?"
"For the fact that you're my son and I have no other desire in this world than to see you happy, I give you my blessings. I pray you're not making a mistake though."
Jameel flashed a grateful smile at his mother. He didn't know what could have been of him had she not supported him. Albeit the love he had for Afrah, he wouldn't have gone ahead with the marriage if his mother wasn't in support. Her approval meant the whole world to him. "Thank you, Hajiya."
"Don't give Najah any reason to complain about you or that woman because if she does, you won't like what I will do. And I mean it."
Jameel nodded in understanding. It was only fair.
•
Jameel walked into the room he grew up in. Everything was in place-exactly the way he had left them a month ago when he visited.
He collapsed on the bed, face up. No matter how he tried to compose himself, he couldn't stop him from smiling sheepishly. His heart was literally jumping in his chest. His dream of becoming Afrah's husband wasn't farfetched anymore. Jameel could already imagine his life with Afrah in it. Incredible.
Not able to wait any longer to share the food news with Afrah, Jameel took out his phone and quickly dialed her number.
She picked at the second ring.
"I have good news!" That was the first thing Jameel said when she picked up his call.
"I also have good news!" Afrah exclaimed. "Should I go first or let you?"
"I know I'm supposed to allow you to go first, but sincerely speaking, I believe my good news is more important than yours."
"You think so?" Afrah asked. "Alright, go first. "
"No," Jameel breathed. "It doesn't feel right. How about we do it together? At the same time."
"Okay."
"On the count of to three! Are you ready?"
"Yes!"
"Three...two...one!"
"My parents have agreed to allow us to get married!"
"Hajiya just gave us her blessings!"
Jameel sat up; his eyes enlarging by the seconds. He couldn't believe his ears. "Come again."
"I spoke to dad today. He is against us getting married anymore."
"Wait..." Jameel's voice trailed. He was finding it hard to believe what Afrah had just said. The same man that lied about his daughter's death to separate them? "Are you sure? You didn't mishear him?"
"Of course," Afrah chuckled. "He wants to meet you."
"How? How did you manage to convince him? I was getting ready to come to the house anyway. I still can't believe this. Are you really sure he's had a change of mind? Did he say the words?"
"Relax, Jameel," Afrah laughed. "I know it sounds unreal, but it's true. My parents are no longer a hindrance. They have realized that I meant every word when I said I wouldn't get married to anyone else."
Afrah's words sent chills down Jameel's spine. He wished he could express how grateful he was to Afrah for keeping herself for him even when he broke their promise. The more they conversed, the greater the intensity of his love became. Afrah was his treasure. He couldn't wait for them to get married so that he could express his bottled-up emotions. He wanted to cherish her the way she deserved to be cherished. His Afrah was indeed one in a zillion. "I love you so much, JaFrah. I don't know if I have thanked you, but I'd like to do it again right now; thank you for not giving yourself to someone else. Thank you for waiting for me...for not giving up on us. I'd have lost my mind if you moved on, and I'm not even joking about this. Thanks for helping keep my sanity."
"Don't thank me too much. I also did that for myself because I can't imagine my life with anyone else. I don't know what type of spell you cast on me."
Jameel chuckled. "I will keep casting that spell on you if it will make you keep loving me the way you do. My love spell. Especially for you."
"You're not serious," Afrah laughed. "I was being serious."
"Me too. I wasn't joking either. Afrah," Jameel called. "Let's get married tomorrow."
Afrah gasped. "What? You play too much these days it's something I have noticed."
Jameel blew out his cheeks and shook his head. If it was up to him, he wouldn't have any problem getting married to his Afrah that day itself. He had waited enough. Even a week seemed like an eternity to him. He could already imagine holding Afrah and spending the entire day in each other's arms. It's a dream he couldn't wait to come true. His heart craved for every piece of her. He had been able to stay years away from her but the thought of staying even a minute more away from her made his heart burn. He wished he could convey exactly what his heart wanted but words kept failing him. "I mean it. I want us to get married as soon as possible. Isn't that what you also want? Our parents have agreed. I don't see why they should be a need for any delay."
"Preparation," Afrah sighed. "Preparation, Jameel. We can't just get married overnight. I need to be prepared, and I don't even have a dress yet."
"You don't need any stupid dress to make you stand out. You can just put on one of the dresses you already have. I'm sure it's going to suit you perfectly." Jameel couldn't see Afrah but he could swear she was rolling his eyes at his words. "You always look good in anything you wear."
"It's my wedding," Afrah pointed out. "I will only get married once. Why don't I make the most of it?"
"Will a month be enough for you to get a dress made?"
"It's not only about the dress, Jameel. There are other preparations too. Four months."
"Four months?" Jameel asked in disbelief. He was starting to feel Afrah wasn't as excited as he was for the wedding. She didn't sound eager at all. It saddened him to think that. "Is that what you really want?"
"Of course not...just like you, I'm also looking forward to the marriage, but you have to understand that weddings aren't-"
"Two months, Afrah," Jameel cut her off. He really didn't want to add another month for he alone knew how it was going to affect him but he had to be considerate. "Please."
"Three," Afrah negotiated. "let's make it three at least."
"Two months is more than enough for any preparation." Jameel insisted. "We should grab this opportunity and do it before our parents decide they don't want us to get married anymore."
Afrah laughed. "That isn't going to happen."
"You can't be too sure."
"But—"
"You're starting to make me feel you don't love me like you used to, or is this you punishing me for the mistakes I made?" Jameel couldn't help but ask. He didn't like the nonchalance laced in her voice. "Am I being punished?"
"Come on, Jameel, you already know the answer to that question."
"I don't."
"Okay," Afrah succumbed. "Two months it is."
Afrah's tenderheartedness was one of the innumerable reasons Jameel adored her. She was everything he wanted in a woman and more. He would do everything and anything to ensure she never becomes unhappy. Her happiness had to be one of his top priorities. "I hope you understand why I'm rushing this..."
"Don't worry, I completely do. I also want this as much as you do. I don't want you to ever feel otherwise."
"I love you so much, it hurts. Can we fast-forward to two months? I might dry up and blow away waiting for the day to arrive."
"Two months isn't as fast as you think it is. Believe me, it will arrive before you even know it, okay?"
Jameel hummed his response. How could he explain that to his persistent heart?
•
Assalamualaikum/hello!
So the wedding is in two months! Who's excited? 😁
Do you think Jameel will be unfair to Najah?
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