Knowing what was right was a burden, it kept haunting her how she'd kept the trip she was planning, to herself. She held on to the pink towel she had on, which had now stained yellow from the dilke she was being rubbed with. She hated the smell of it, she hated the whole procedure. Kolo had said it would make her skin look better, but she it was a futile attempt to make her stop complaining about it. She could only see a yellower skin, nothing better than than the original, she'd said, while Aishe spent a fortune on the ingredients. She had her eyes on Yasmeen, making sure she adhered to all the instructions Kolo had given and done the routine unfailingly. No long baths and no scrubbing, Kolo had warned, hence her ruined towel. She could have gone to the spa like aunt Ruwaya had suggested, but her mother was adamant. ' Yasmeen is just too pale' she'd said. 'One would appreciate her complexion only from a fair distance.'
Her mother also never forgot to repeat the speech about how sorry she was for herself that she only had one daughter who unfortunately was Yasmeen.
She felt bad that her mother thought she was being obedient, letting go of any grudge she'd had towards the alliance and as any mother would, began preparing for the wedding. Her mother had bought a ton of kitchen items, as Yasmeen had expected. She bought some for herself too, the exact same type and color with the ones she'd brought Yasmeen. When aunt Ruwaya asked her why, she said she wanted a mum-daughter matching home items, that way Yasmeen would not miss home very much. But Yasmeen knew her mother just came up with that to cover up the fact that she might end up keeping some of Yasmeen's items for herself.
The entire Mai kura family didn't have many daughters, so it was a big deal when there was a girl's wedding around the corner. Her cousin Raihan, had called her a few days ago, saying she would be back from Cyprus in two days to attend the wedding, so would the rest of their friends and relatives all round the globe.
Her thoughts drifted back to Abdulsalam. Although it all had started with both of them trying to get their parents off their backs, unlike her, Abdulsalam didn't have two ends to the marriage happening.
There was no better way to get through it than to face it she decided, calling him and telling him right away was the only way to prevent herself from contemplating what his response would be.
Meanwhile
Abdulsalam rocked back and forth in his chair trying to fathom the situation he was in. His wedding with Meena was in a few days, that of Khadija he didn't even know. His mother had prepared everything for the latter,and it scared him. She could come up to him anytime like she had done the last time and tell him he was married.
What frightened him the most was how Meena would react if she found out. He couldn't bring himself to tell her. He knew he had to, since there was no way out of it. His father appeared to turn a blind eye to his mother's doings as she had vowed not to associate herself with anything that had to do with Meena as well.
Abdulsalam bit hard on his lower lip as if that would gather him all the courage he needed to tell Meena he was marrying Khadija in a the least destructive manner possible. He would need her to understand that he was entirely against it. Then he stopped. He didn't need to explain himself because to Meena, he was in love with Khadija, and hers was a forced marriage. He knew, to him it was far from forced but he'd rather she perceived it that way.
It was time to leave, but he didn't want to go home. That house was no longer the place he went to find peace. His room was filled with stuff that reminded him of the very thing he was running from. The fact that his mother treated him different now, incessantly talking about Khadija and how much she would love to have her in the house. She had long made it clear to him that Khadija would be the one to live in the house with him, since the alliance with Meena was still on, and his father wasn't backing down neither.
As much as he was terrified of how Meena would respond if she found out that he was getting married, he wished he'd marry her first.
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Yasmeen sat on the bed, still in her stained towel going back and forth with herself about the decision she'd made to tell Abdulsalam about the trip. She knew there was no way she could talk him into changing his mind if he said no, and the chances of him saying yes was close to none.
Yasmeen couldn't believe that she might not get to attend the farewell party. She knew it wasn't convincing to say she really wanted to go, but she really did. It was all she could think of ever since Noor informed her. Wasn't there anything she could do? Yasmeen slapped her palm against her forehead again, as if it would help shake up a better idea.
What if she chose Leeds for their honeymoon? But everyone would think she'd gone crazy. Taking honeymoon to Leeds was like doing it at home. She was going crazy with thoughts until it occured to her that she had a willing father-in-law. She literally jumped at the idea that popped up. There wasn't any time to waste. She sought out Uncle Bashir's number and dialed.
She moved further on the bed, resting back against the headboard, using the duvet to cover her bare thighs. The phone rang twice before it was picked.
" Assalamualaikum." Yasmeen said in a small voice.
"Wa alaikum salam. My daughter."
Upon hearing his voice, Yasmeen's heart beat faster. Her hand was cold against her opposite elbow.
"Nda dubdo Baa " Her voice was a bit shaky. What was happening?
" K3lewa nda nyi. How are you?"
" I am fine Alhamdulillah. How is work?"
" Work is fine My daughter, Alhamdulillah ."
Yasmeen was getting flustered. Her body was getting aware that she was talking to her father-in-law and so the response. She was finding way to calm her heightened vitals when he asked her if there was anything she wanted to talk about.
" I aah... I was thinking I could talk to you about ummm..."
" You can talk to me about anything. I am your father. Just mention it, anything you want me to do for you."
" Yes. Well....There is this farewell event that is coming up to be held in Bradford which I would like both Abdulsalam and myself to attend... I um."
"Where's Bradford?"
" University of Bradford, Leeds. My alma mater."
" Sure! I remember.... Farewell for who?"
" One of our professors there is retiring. We wanted to make it a memorable one, all of us being there to honor his leaving."
" Of course! You must go." Yasmeen almost jumped out of the bed upon hearing that. She knew it was the wrong to approach the matter that way but she was desperate. If it happened Abdulsalam got upset about what she did, she knew how to make it up to him.
_______________________________
Hauwa had just spoken to her father over the phone. It appeared his medical visit had turned into a world tour. He was currently in Kuwait, a week after he'd sunned himself away on the beaches of Mauritius.
The fact that he was delightfully okay, wandering around the globe made it clear to Hauwa that he was not concerned whatsoever about the upcoming election. He would usually make some contacts and do a few things to make sure every plan put in place was going to be fruitful before any election. Was he testing the waters to see the amount of impression Abdulkarim was going to make? But that was too big a gamble. What if l Abdulkarim got overthrown and their party was plunged into quandary, losing the leading position? Thanks to her little plot Asheikh was now in jail. The other party would take a while to catch up and still wouldn't stand a chance against them with the current situation.
The issue at the moment was choosing a running mate for Abdulkarim. He had not revealed the person he had in mind yet. The members of the party suggested that Bukar be given the role, stating how he had made notable contributions to the party. Hauwa however believed the party was just trying to compensate him for the prior happenings, not wanting him to look like a complete sore loser. Along with that, she was also aware that the members of the party didn't like the fact that she could get away with things they couldn't, simply because she was ASG's daughter. They believed he was providing her with some level of immunity, allowing her to have her way with the affairs of the party without question. Hauwa didn't want anyone to go easy on her because of her father. Besides, wasn't like coming this far was cupcake for her, but it was hard for others to see that.
Hauwa had given up investigating Bashir. So far, his name hadn't come up anywhere according to captain. She decided she would focus on the campaign and not stress herself to BP again about the matter. Besides, Abdulkarim was returning to Nilefa tomorrow, it was too good an occasion for its eve to be spent mulling over shady, selfish, greedy men.
_______________________________
Aishe and Ruwaya sat in the incredibly large parlor in lounge gowns.
" It's a pity you missed this sallah with us at home Aishe." Ruwaya said and got ignored, plainly. "I say nothing beats Nilefa Eid, with the horses and amazing drums and dancing, makes you forget all the-....."
" Yes Ruwaya, you loved your time with your brother's wife, I get it. Can we get over it please and make yourself useful at least, help me finalize this menu." It was then Ruwaya realized she had brought up Hauwa Sadiq every time they'd spoken, but to God she did not intend to upset her best friend.
" Aishe come on.....-" Ruwaya began before Aishe cut her.
" Don't Aishe me. Ever since my return everyone had nothing else to talk about, even worse you would not stop talking about the laffaya she gave you. Who knows, you may like her better than you like me now-.... "
" Absolutely not! Darling I didn't even realize, come on. You know no one compares to you."
"Do I?" Aishe rolled her eyes, and continued to scroll on her iPad, faking nonchalance.
" Yes you do." Ruwaya moved and sat next to Aishe. " You are the best." She said hugging her.
Ruwaya knew just how to cheer her friend up, so she booked a spa session for the evening.
_____________________________
In the morning, Yasmeen woke up to a rowdy house. At first she thought it was a set of wedding guests that had just arrived, but it soon became alarming when she heard her mother's voice higher than ever. She quickly washed her face and mouth and rushed down the stairs to the hall.
Yasmeen had never seen aunt Ruwaya that messed up, her mother was not to talk of.
" What happened? Mummy."
Everyone went quiet. Even the workers in the hall stopped tending to their tasks.
"Your brother has gone missing from the rehab center."
________________________________
" Alhaji Bashir to what do I owe the pleasure." Hauwa welcomed Bashir in her office. " The last time I have seen you in this building was two years ago."
" I stopped by to give you some news. And to see how the future First lady is doing in the absence of his future Excellency." Bashir said in his unpleasant voice.
" I am doing fine as you can see. Let me get you something to drink." Hauwa offered.
" Oh that's nice but you don't have to. I am fasting."
Surprised was an understatement given the look on Hauwa's face. Like her father, Hauwa didn't peg Bashir as a holy man, and fasting was a difficult holy act." Okay."
" Let me get straight to the point. Your little plot to bring Asheikh down has begotten a bigger problem"
" I don't know what you are talking about." The moment Bashir finished the sentence, Hauwa's heart skipped a beat. She braced herself anyway trying to hide the apprehension.
" Don't worry about how I found out. You know I am on your side." Bashir flashed her a dreary grin.
Hauwa refused to make any comments on what he just said.had so many questions, she needed to end this conversation as soon as possible so she could contact Captain.
" Bukar left our party. He's contesting in Ba'ana's stead."
" I believe there's nothing to fear. Bukar is an idiot. With that party's reputation, I won't think of them as competition."
" This isn't about winning. This is about the deep hole you have dug. You may think it's only Baana they are investigating, but all of Nilefa's politicians are being brought to book." He paused and leaned forward on the sofa resting his elbows against his knees." Including your father."
_____________________________
Abdulkarim had just arrived home. Aishe was at Sayinna's, so he only found the kids in the house. He had heard the news the moment he set his foot in Nilefa. Habib, his eldest so had left the rehab center in New York and was nowhere to be found.
Of course it was the wrong news because when he contacted the organization, he was told that he was delivered back to Leeds along with a relative. That frightened him to the gut. They had no relative in Leeds and no one here knew Habeeb was in rehab. Had someone kidnapped his son?