He knew it was wrong to give the firm she works in the contract but ever since the day he met her in the mall, yes, with her husband, he'd wanted to see her just one last time. What made matters worse was when he saw her on that blessed day in the restaurant, he couldn't stop thinking about her ever since then. He knew he was absolutely wrong for doing it, she's a married woman but a married woman that is the coolness of his heart.
He still remembered the day she yelled at him to leave her house vividly. How upset she was. He'd never seen her like that and till this day he wished he didn't. As he walked out of the house he knew he'd lost her forever. That another man would sweep her off her feet. Listen to her talk, giggle, smell her. Do all the things he wanted to do to her. Tell her everyday he loved her. Do the things she didn't ask him to do. Shower her with gifts and touch her skin. Her skin looked so soft.
God.
He sighed as he rolled out of his cherry brown oak table and walked out of the office. He needed to take a walk to clear his mind. He couldn't be thinking about Kameela all the time. He wasn't doing justice to his own mental. He can't have her. She was someone else's wife. Maybe it's the thought that they were suddenly in another city together that made him have new thoughts centered around her. Because certainly he didn't think this much about her before her arrival with Maimuna.
He was hurting. It felt like the first heartbreak from a first love. But he felt bad. Real bad. He had Na'ima and Fadeela. Even though things had been rough for reasons unbeknownst to him ever since Fadeela was born between them and seem to only be getting worse by the day, he made an effort to keep the thing going cause she was still his wife and they had a daughter. With all the back handed comments and ignoring him constantly, he was still down for her.
'What if?' he thought. What if she acted that way because she still wanted him to herself. That was little hope he could live on. Hope that the marriage had a future.
It didn't.
He went home for the second time that day and climbed out of his car. He walked to the front door and brought out his house keys. Putting the keys into the keyhole, he paused. He wasn't excited to be home because he had to talk to Na'ima about her going through his phone and texting Kameela when he was home earlier to change his stained shirt. He didn't have the energy for it. He wasn't made for confrontation but he had to do it.
He walked into the house and first thing he saw was Fadeela playing with her toys. He immediately checked his watch.
'It's late' he thought.
She didn't notice her father till he stood right in front of her, shading her sight on the toys. A pleasant smile displayed across her face. She was ecstatic to see him. Earlier, her mother had told her he was going to leave and never come back. She cried and cried till she fell asleep. But seeing him now just made her the happiest toddler.
"Mami, why aren't you asleep yet?" He picked her up and she sat pretty on his hip. He walked to the room she shared with her mother. He entered and saw Na'ima with her phone in her hand and her legs stretched out on the bed. He knew she was feigning being asleep because he knew she could never sleep in her hijab. They made her very uncomfortable.
"Na'ima." He called here name.
Silence.
"Na'ima I know you're awake."
Silence.
He tapped her on her leg then he heard her hiss, very loudly then turn to her other side and continued feigning her sleep. He wasn't having it today.
"Na'ima!"
"What is it?" She yelled.
"Why did you go through my phone today?"
"Cause all you men are disgusting!" She replied him with so much venom in her words. He felt Fadeela flinch. She couldn't be there. This was no sight to see. No child should see their parents yell at each other or fight.
He walked out of the room and goes into his room. He placed Fadeela on his bed.
"Do you want to sleep in Baba's room tonight?" He asked her while he straightened her sleeping Cinderella shirt. She nodded enthusiastically.
"Okay good. Now lay down here. Let me go get ready for bed too like you are." She laid there in the middle of the bed. Her spot.
He closed the door behind him as he walked out of his room and entered Na'ima's. He saw she had pulled off her hijab and tossed it aside. She looked like she was ready to fight. He turned and made sure he had also closed her door. Anything to not disturb or scar his baby girl.
"Na'ima why? Since when did we start not trusting each other and start going through our phones?" His voice was so soft. He had love for her. She was his wife, mother of his child. He couldn't process why she'd go that far. She wasn't like this. If someone told him she would do this before she gave birth to Fadeela, he'd laugh so much his stomach would hurt.
"Trust?" She laughed as she asked the question.
"Why would I trust a man that even when he's married, he'd still go out looking for another woman? Is it that you're not satisfied with one? It's too little for you to handle? You're a big man abi? No wait, that can't be the case when we can go to bed without knowing what we will eat for breakfast. Why do men do this for God sake? You can barely feed your family but you're looking of ways to increase the number of people to not be able to feed??? Isn't that mental to you?" She had found her way to him and she stood right in front of him. With little height difference, she was looking at him dead in his eyes.
"Na'ima, that's not fair. You can't throw our financial situation in my face. I'm very aware of it and InshaAllah everything will be sorted. But that can't be an excuse to do whatever. There was no reason for you to text her."
Ahmad didn't like how she used every opportunity to bring up their finances. Yes, there have been few days when they hadn't known where the next meal would come from but they haven't ever gone a whole day starving before. Him and his brothers really wanted to startup a business and he knows that it'd workout for them.
He cut off his flashback episode because he didn't want to go on and hear her say that thing that crushes his soul. But before he knew it, he found himself in front of The Edgbaston Hotel. It was something he clearly didn't think about because what could his next move possibly be? Knock on every door till he got to their room? Then what? Talk to her? Then say what? What could come out of his mouth that would make sense?
He was about to turn back around when he remembered he had a lovely Kung Pao Chicken at their restaurant the day he saw her. So he walked right into the hotel and went to the restaurant.
He gave his order and waited for it. While waiting, he felt the table behind him being occupied. Less than a minute, a waiter went to the person to give them a menu.
"No thank you, I'd like 2 plates of Chow Mein, 1 plate of sweet and sour chicken and 1 plate of fried dumplings. Takeaway, thank you " She listed out.
He knew that voice. He knew it'd be somehow to ignore her but he also didn't really want to talk to her. He was going for the ignoring option till he remembered she could be the key to seeing her.
He turned around and cleared his throat a little.
"Assalamualaikum."
"Wa alaikumus salam." Maimuna turned too and their eyes met. She immediately looked away.
'Not again.' She thought.
"How's Birmingham treating you?"
"Real nice. Maryam here likes the change of scenery, don't you?"
"Yesh!!!" The girl screamed even though she didn't know what scenery meant as she fiddled with the tablet Aunty Kameela gave her.
He looked at the girl intensely. She looked nothing like her mother or father. Children and picking their looks from the most random family member. But she slightly looked like Maimuna. Weird.
"MashaAllah. What are you playing there?" He asked the girl that was punching her index finger into the screen.
"I'm pyaying game."
"Really? I can't play it. Will you teach me?"
"Yesh!!!" She stood on Maimuna's things as she moved closer to him with one hand holding the tablet and the other anchoring her on her mother's shoulder. She played around with her words in her attempt to teach him.
"Wow! You're a great teacher. But did you learn this by yourself?"
"No, Aunty Kameeya taught me." His heart dropped for a minute. Aunty? Like she's not her mother? Then who's this child's mother?
"Oh wow, she has a wonderful apprentice." The girl just smiled widely and continued playing her game.
Silence hung over them till he spoke up.
"Sooooo, any plans for today?" He didn't mean to be less formal than he had been but he wanted any information that could make him know anything about Kameela.
"Yes, we're going to Kameela's place. That's why I'm here actually, she's asked me to bring food for her." It was till everything came out of her mouth that she realized he didn't know Kameela. At least, not to her knowledge.
"Oh, that's nice. Is it far? I can order an Uber for you."
"I was about to install the app."
"Let me order the ride, when you get there, you can install it." He wanted to sound as cool as he could. He's about to have her address. At least he can go and visit 'his friend'. Surprise Ismail since they live in the same city now.
"Okay, thank you." They have small talks about the project. His food comes first but he waits for hers. After she gets hers, she gives him Kameela's address and he orders a ride. 5 minutes later, he escorts her to the car and bids her farewell.
On her way to Kameela's, she thought why she'd be the reason of the nepotism. They weren't ever close and it's not like Na'ima worked at the firm. Was it truly her?
They arrived at the house and rang the bell. Like she was waiting for them, Kameela opened the door almost immediately. Maryam ran into Kameela's legs.
"Aunty Kameeya, I teach a man the game."
"That's great!" She held her tiny hand and they walked further into the house. Maimuna also entered and shut the door behind her.
Maimuna was contemplating to tell Kameela what she was thinking. She saw her taking Maryam into the kitchen. She sat down and placed the take outs on the floor beside the coffee table.
"Kameela, you remember the day you came over to the hotel. When I had something to tell you?"
"Yes, when you told me to 'nevermind', I remember clearly." Kameela answered as she walked into the living room with a tray of plates, cutleries and drinks. Maryam closely following her with her lips around the straw of her Ribena.
"I was thinking it was because of me we got the contract because the person that is heading it is Ahmad. But now that I think about it, why would he give a whole contract to the firm just because of me?" She didn't want to mention the fact that him and her sister could be a reason for him not to give the contract so she stopped there.
Kameela set the tray on the oval coffee table and sat on the floor. She was thinking of a way to ask about Ahmad but without making it seem like she was chasing her sister's husband. She was just curious. How was he? What has he been up to?
"You told me it was a rumour in the office so likely it wasn't true." Kameela stretched her arm towards Maimuna. Maimuna passed the plastic bag of takeouts to her, still wanting to discuss the issue with Kameela.
"But some rumours aren't baseless you know. What if there's something like that?" She watched Kameela open each takeout box.
"Then what? Even if he did it cause he knows you, what will happen then?" She was internally screaming. She wanted to hear about Ahmad so bad.
Silence hung over them and Maimuna really thought 'then what?'
It was killing her, she didn't want the conversation to end.
"You could just ask him. It's not going to hurt anyone." With this, she could later ask Maimuna how it went. Jackpot.
Maimuna thought about it for a second. Kameela was always the one that gave her confidence to do things she normally wouldn't do. Not necessarily bad things but just things out of the ordinary for her.
"Alright then. I shall ask him." She said more to herself like she was reassuring herself.
"Good good, let's eat now." Kameela said while mentally high fiving herself while she dunked the takeout box of dumplings on her plate.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Standing on the welcome mat in front of a black door, Ahmad was hesitating to press the white doorbell. What if Ismail was home and he had to explain how he knew the address. Shit. He didn't think it through. He was just standing in front of the house, with his hands going in and out of his pockets, unable to come up with a decision to do anything. To leave or ring the bell?
Just when his chicken side got to him and he turned around to leave, a woman turned into the yard.
"Yes?" Hajiya Rabi asked as she looked at the strange man she'd never seen.
He could tell with her tone she was evidently a resident in the house. He went down to greet her. After exchanging pleasantries, he could still tell she wanted explanation.
"I came to see Ismail."
"Ismail?" Hajiya Rabi's eyebrows dipped in.
"Yes, Doctor Ismail." He had forgotten his surname and that was the only way he could describe him
"There's no such person with that name here." Hajiya Rabi had a slight feeling she knew who he was referring to but even if she did, she sure knows he didn't live in that house.
That reply just made Ahmad confused. Then why did Maimuna tell him this was Kameela's house? Was it a bluff? But why would Maimuna need to bluff about Kameela's house?
He sighed, defeated and didn't know what to say again.
"Then it's my mistake, thank you." He said. He walked out of the yard.
Now what possible way could he find her in this big city he thought to himself. He ordered an Uber. While he waited, he walked back and forth from the end of the house he thought was Kameela's because he didn't want that lady to see him to the end of the street. Just when he saw the Uber was 4 minutes away, he walked off the end of the street and bumped in to someone.
"Ahhhhh!!!..." The impact had her crashing to the floor but he caught her and she also caught a glimpse of the cause of the crash.
"...Mad?" She continued his name.
He picked her up from halfway to the ground while looking at her facial features. He missed those tiny eyes of hers. He pulled away from her when he saw she was balanced on her own two feet. He didn't want to intrude in her personal space.
"Hey hi!" She said nervously.
"Hi! How've you been? What are you doing here? How's the family?" He let out in one breathe. He finally has her in front of him. Not in a dream and he must know everything.
Kameela laughed wholeheartedly.
"Alhamdulillah I'm good. I live and work here. Everyone's fine." She replied all his questions.
"How're you?" She asked him.
"I'm good too. Perfect actually." She smiled and nodded her head.
Silence.
"How's the family?" He knew what family she was referring to.
"Fadeela is fine."
Kameela stared at him. Surely that wasn't all. What about wifey? She thought.