Chapter 22 –Home
"Do not marry unbelieving women until they believe; a slave woman who believes is better than an unbelieving woman, even though she allure you. Nor marry (your girls) to unbelievers until they believe; a man slave who believes is better than an unbeliever, even though he allure you. Unbelievers do (but) beckon you to the Fire. But Allah beckons by His Grace to the Garden (of Eden) and forgiveness, and makes His Signs clear to mankind: that they may celebrate His praise."
-Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 211
Waliya was standing at the airport with Aahil's family. She knew that he was going to be unhappy with the fact that his parents were there, but she could not refuse them when they called her asked if they could tag along with her to fetch Aahil at the airport.
She didn't have it in her to tell them that it was against Aahil's wishes. She didn't want to be the one to make them cry or hurt their hearts. The morning that he was due to return home, they met her on the highway and together they drove to the airport.
Purposefully they arrived at least half an hour after Aahil's plane had landed so that they could be there as soon as he came out of the gates. International arrivals were always a hassle. Standing at the arrivals area, they were quite compressed against the stainless steel railing between two, larger families each waiting for their own to come out of the automatic gates. Aahil's mother, Husna, had her arm around Waliya's waist keeping her firmly to her side so that Waliya was not swept away in the crowd standing and waiting for their loved ones to return. It was a typical thing that any mother would do to keep their child to their side.
Signboards with different names were being held in the air by men in black suits, while families held flowers and teddy bears and more colourful cardboards with 'welcome home' decorated in a multitude of glitters and paints.
Suddenly, a group of fifteen or more children walked out of the gates, all dressed in black and maroon track suits, and then the crowds that had caged Waliya and her in laws in, dispersed. Waliya was happy and about to take a step to get some breathing space, but then another crowd came and stood next to her. It was tough competition to keep your spot on the front rows. With a sigh, she turned to face her mother in law. "Maaf," she said gaining her mother in law's attention. "I am just going to fix my scarf up," she added.
"Don't take too long, dear. He'll be out any minute now," she told Waliya, who then quickly ran off to the bathroom to fix her scarf up.
Husna Khan smiled at Waliya as she left and turned to her husband. "She doesn't even realise just how soon Aahil is going to walk out of those doors," she said. She was glad to have another daughter in law who was a lot like her own daughter.
"Why didn't you tell her he was going to walk out sooner rather than later?" her husband, Nadeem said.
Husna sighed and gave her husband an evil eye. "She has gone to beautify herself for her husband," she said in a somewhat annoyed tone. Husna may have been angry at her husband for being so blonde, but she was ecstatic that her daughter in law made every effort to please her son and keep him happy. Many times during his absence, she would just pop into Waliya and Aahil's home with short notice, and yet everything remained spotless. If she had given notice the night before or something, Waliya would have an array desserts and cakes on her table that were all homemade. "How could I tell her to stay?"
Nadeem shook his head. "You know that Aahil will want to see her first after that long separation between them. Even before he sees us."
Husna rolled her eyes at him. "Of course, I know that. I just wanted to see what his reaction would be like because I can see him walking this way." She was grinning at the prospect of his reaction.
Husna and Nadeem faced the gates with bright smiles, waiting for their son to walk out there and come and greet them. The bubble of the talking around them was ignored as soon as Husna saw her son pushing his silver and blue luggage trolley and his eyes that were searching for his bride. His smile faltered as he saw his parents without Waliya.
However, the good and obedient son that he was, he wouldn't dare utter his disappointment to his parents. He pushed his heavy laden trolley to his parents and hugged them and kissed their cheeks before greeting them. "Assalaamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatu," he said smiling at them, but Husna saw his disappointment.
"Wa'alaikumusalaam warahmatullahi wabarakatu, my son. How are you?" Husna asked as they started walking slightly in the direction of the toilets.
"Alhamdulillah, I am good shukr."
Nadeem took the trolley off his son's hand and gestured for him to take a seat on the bench. Aahil shook his head. "How was the trip?" Nadeem asked with a smile on his face.
"Alhamdulillah, it was okay. It was just very long," Aahil answered, respectfully but shortly. Nadeem and Husna shared a look, they knew he was thinking about getting home to Waliya, but they were also trying to delay his question until they saw her and showed him where she was.
"Well, soon and you will be at home where you can sleep to your heart's content," Husna said.
"And Waliya will be there to wait on you and spoil you," Nadeem said slapping Aahil's shoulder.
He laughed weakly and faced his father. "Where is Waliya, dad? Didn't she come with you guys?"
"Hmm? Did you say something?" Nadeem said as if he hadn't heard what Aahil said.
"Jee. I asked if Waliya came with you guys to come and collect me." Aahil's face was slightly unsure, he tried to remain passive but his parents saw through his bluff. They could see his eagerness to see his wife, to hold her. They could understand his desire to be in her company.
"Of course she came with Aahil," his mother said in an exasperated tone. "She's standing behind you!"
Aahil turned around, leaving the dust swirling in the air as he rushed to get to Waliya's side. Nadeem and Husna stood side by side, with Nadeem placing a possessive arm around Husna's waist and watched as Aahil faced his bride. Aahil stood about a metre from Waliya, nervousness surrounding the two of them. Forgotten were the crowds around them, the noise of families meeting one another. All that existed in that moment was Aahil and Waliya.
They were not touching, yet the environment around them gave off a private feel. It made Husna and Nadeem feel like they were invading on a private moment. Although, they couldn't bear to look away from Aahil and Waliya. It was much too much of a sweet scene.
Aahil and Waliya were staring into one another's eyes, gazing deep into their souls. Silence enveloped them, happiness radiated from every fibre of their being. Sweet smiles were resting on their lips like a portrait. Waliya's hands were curled on the edges of her scarf, as if she were shocked to see Aahil at that moment.
Aahil ran at the mention of Waliya being behind him. Finally after six months apart, she was just a few steps behind him, within arm's reach. She was finally where he could hold her. He reached her as fast as he could, but nerves overtook him and he stood rooted to the ground just about a metre away from her. He was oozing excitement, but the nervousness surrounding them was almost tangible. His heart was pounding hard against his chest; he could feel the blood rushing to his head but all he could focus on was his Waliya. A smile as large as the Milky Way covered his face as he noticed her, smiling shyly at him.
Although the airport was full and crowded, but none of that bothered Aahil. None of rowdy conversations surrounding him, could deter his focus off of Waliya. For those few minutes, she was all that was in his world.
With a shaking hand, he reached forward and cupped Waliya's cheek in his hand. His larger hand covered more than half of her head, including her ear and it made him smile even more. "I missed you," he said and the closed the distance between them as he engulfed her in a hug. "Waliya," he breathed and let his head rest on her head, "I missed you so much."
Her face was squashed against his broad chest, her hands were wrapped around his waist, but yet he was happy that she spoke. "I missed you too."
"Liya," he said and loosened his hold on her, but immediately she stepped back and looked at him with big, fearful eyes. It scared him to death to see that look on her face. He stepped closer to her, trying to get to hold her again.
"Your parents are here," she said with her eyes wide, bambi like. He frowned, not understanding her implication at first.
"They won't mind this once," he smiled at her and tried to reach for her arm, but in her frozen state, she shook him off.
"I don't think so. I think we should still remain respectful," she said.
He sighed and rested his forehead against hers. "Fine but there should be no distractions today. Today is yours and my day –alone."
She smiled at him and pulled his face away from hers and walked away from him, to stand by his parents. "I'll take the trolley," she said to her father in law.
He stared at her, which turned into a glare when she tried to pry the trolley away from him. "No, Waliya. I can manage this. No women in my household ever push a trolley, whether at the supermarket, shops, or the airport. That is a man's thing to do. It shows respect to his women."
Waliya stepped away with a blush on her face, but to further her mortification, Aahil came up behind her and placed a hand on the small of her back. Instantly, she shied away from the contact. "Maaf," she apologised to her father in law and then, briefly shot Aahil an apologetic look.
"Ah, no worries my dear," he said waving it off. "You must let me know when Husna and I can take you shopping," he told Waliya.
"Uhm, really, there is no need," Waliya stuttered out.
Husna and he both shook their head at her. "No, really, we insist," he said stubbornly.
Waliya looked at Aahil for an answer, who just smiled sweetly at her and nodded. "Or if you truly wish it, we could take you when you are pregnant," he added with a little smirk.
Waliya choked on her spit. "No Jazakallah, I would not like to impose on you, but since you are insisting, I will let you know In Shaa Allah," she said shyly.
"We took Aqeela shopping before she was even married for three months. However, we figured that you might need a little more time because Aahil wasn't here," Husna told her. "We absolutely insist on it, Waliya."
"Jee," Waliya said. "Whenever."
Husna laughed and hugged Waliya. "Do not worry. If you are afraid to spend the day with us, we can make it a girl's day and go with Aqeela as well."
Waliya just nodded. She was uncertain what to feel. She liked her mother, Shukr to Allah for that since not many people were as fortunate as her. Many had wicked and evil mothers in law who could not care two hoots about their happiness, yet here was Waliya's mother in law who wanted to take her shopping and spoil her.
Waliya was beyond blessed and she made lots of shukr for having a mother in law that loved her, a father in law that adored her like a daughter and brothers in law that treated her with respect and like their little sister. "In Shaa Allah, it would be nice to have all of you come visit us for lunch on Saturday," Waliya said as she looked at Aahil.
He frowned at her, but she noticed that he didn't look upset. It was a positive sign in her eyes. Until her father in law spoke. "No, I do not think so." Her heart plummeted.
"Why don't you and Aahil come over to our house instead? That way we can even invite your parents and your siblings one time?" he said a second later.
To her utter surprise, it was Aahil that answered instead. "Jee dad, I think that is a better idea. That way, everyone is there at one time. Otherwise it would have been a lot of work for Waliya to handle alone at home," he said smiling at her warmly. "Not that I wouldn't have helped her," he added hastily as he saw the look his mother was giving him.
"At your house, there is enough space for the children to play outside, or inside one of the rooms," Aahil supplied further. "We'll bring dessert on Saturday. Will you tell her parents?" he asked as they reached the pay station just before the car park.
They had a few days together before Saturday would come and they would be forced to face the hordes of people. "Jee," his mother said. She hugged him and turned to face Waliya. "Jazakallah for allowing us to come and fetch him with you," she told Waliya and then hugged her too.
"It's a pleasure," Waliya smiled and hugged her back. "Jazakallah for not leaving me alone while I had to come here."
"Assalaamualaikum," her father in law said to her and gave his son a hug, before he left to go and pay the parking ticket.
Husna greeted them and left to join her husband, but not before she reminded them that they would have to come on Saturday. At last, Waliya and Aahil were alone. Waliya was feeling slightly nervous as she pulled out her wallet and scrambled to find the parking ticket she had to pay for.
"Give it to me," Aahil said to her as she walked away. She turned to face him with a smile.
"Do you have South African money on you?" she asked.
He pulled out his wallet and searched through it, only to come up empty. "They accept credit cards, Waliya, I can pay with mine," he said adamantly.
She shook her head at him. "Don't be silly. It is going to cost you more money to swipe your card then it will be to let me pay in cash."
He rolled his eyes at her.
"Stop arguing with me. If it makes you feel any better, you can take me for ice cream tomorrow instead," she told him and then ran off to pay for the ticket. When she was done, she walked back to him with a smile on her face. Standing next to him, she looked up at his tall frame and said, "Shall we?"
He looped her arm through his and pulled her against his side. "Now, and only now, we shall, my dear wife," he said with a teasing smile. Waliya blushed a furious red and hid in Aahil's side, trying to avoid letting him see the red tint on her cheeks, but she failed when she heard his booming laughter echo in the empty parking lot.
"You are far too adorable when you blush," he told her.
She pulled the corner of her scarf resting on her chest and covered her cheeks with it. "Do you want to drive? Or are you too tired to drive?" she asked him, trying to get the topic away from her.
"No, I'll sleep when I get home," he told her.
"I made some chicken and mayonnaise sandwiches, I hope you don't mind. I thought that you might not want something very heavy when you come home," she mumbled, and then rambled on nervously. "I mean, you must have had a very long flight and that must have tired you out even further."
When they reached the car, Waliya unlocked it and passed Aahil the key. "Go and sit inside the car," he told her.
"No," she said shaking her head. "Let me help you."
He gave her a flat look. "Stop being stubborn. Go and sit in the car and let me quickly unpack the trolley."
Realising that fighting with him would prove to be more than fatal, Waliya silently went and sat in the passenger seat and waited for him. Once he loaded his bags and put the trolley way, he jumped into the driver's seat of the car and strapped his seat belt on. Starting the ignition, he leaned over the steering wheel, and slapped a light, and sweet kiss on Waliya's shocked cheek.
"Right then, sweet heart, let's go home."