This vacation was like nothing I have ever experienced, it was too good that I feared something would go wrong eventually and sometimes I ask myself if I really deserved all of Mahmud's love and affection, for not trusting him, I felt I had failed him but he never gave me the chance to properly apologize and even gets upset when I try to. I never knew this kind of love existed, not even what I felt for Nazeer could compare, I know now that it was a mare infatuation, I loved for the wrong reasons but for once in my love life everything felt right, I didn't have to beg for love and affection or convince myself of how true the love is.
I never have to pretend to be happy and I loved him even when I hate him for eating my last slice of cake or when he ruins my morning sleep all in the name of talking to the baby or even when he insists on naming the child after me...." too much of Manal is a good thing" as he would say when ever we argued about it.
If I could I would stop the hands of time, if only these few days would serve as eternity I would die a happy woman but even now I would keep the memories in the place I would find peace in difficult and dark days and pray that I am able to give him half of the happiness he has adorned my life with.
The days passed by in a hurry and in a Blink of an eye we were packing to come home,
" you are coming back with me to our house young lady! Forget all the formalities it has been empty for a while now but not anymore" he argued with a very serious face while I laughed inwardly.
"I can't...I really can't come with you, what do you want Mamie to think... you know, she even suggested that I stay with her until after the baby is borrrr...." I tried to tease before bursting out with laughter, His expressions were indiscribable.
"Oucchhhh" I screamed moving away from him before he could pinch me again " it hurts" I whined laying down on the pile of clothes I was packing as if I was about to die any moment.
"Ooh my! I am so sorry....where does it hurt?...I am really sorry, you know I don't like it when you prank me like that, I was even thinking of relocating back to Mamie's house as well because I can't live without my hippo" he laughed.
"Wayyo Allah Mamie na! He just called me a hippoooo" I screamed squinting my eyes, "where is my phone? Mamie must hear this" I added
"Waooow" he snatched the phone from my hands " you didn't let me finish, you have never looked more beautiful in your entire life, in fact I don't mind you being pregnant all the time" he laughed kissing my forehead and the fool in me couldn't help but smile .
It isn't always perfect with mahmud, we fight over who gets the last piece of meat on the plate, when he wears his orange shirt that makes me want to puke, bringing grilled fish into the house or coming back late during the weekends but the best part of the whole fight is when we realize that we complete one another and we end up hurting ourselves because we cannot even stay mad at each other for a whole day.
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Months Later.
Mahmud
I went back to sleep after praying subhi with my darling wife, without making sure the curtains where down as I was so engrossed in our little conversation while I put her to sleep.
I began to feel the soft rays of the early morning sun on my face as I opened my eyes slowly all I could think of was it waking up my wife as she hadn't gotten any sleep before Fagr. I got on my feet and tiptoed to the window the air was glazed by the enchanting scent of the rose garden which gave me a nice but challenging idea, I wanted to make breakfast for my wife but I didn't know how, imagine my guts.
I let the curtains down and walked slowly downstairs googling pancake recipes as I made my way to the kitchen, I wouldn't say it turned out bad but it was far from what i had expected, I never knew they were this hard to make, the whole kitchen was covered in flour, most of the pancakes were burnt and the worse of it all I nearly set my apron on fire before Minal came to the rescue.
"Innalillahi wa Inna ilaihi raju'un"! She said standing mouth agape, "what are you doing? If you were hungry you should have woken me up or put some of the leftover in the microwave, what if you had started a fire or worse got burnt.....?" She scolded me like a little child and all I could do was stand there staring at her big belly thinking of what it would be like when the baby is finally here.
"I am talking to you" she added snapping her fingers which brought me back to the real world.
"I just wanted to surprise you with your favorite pancakes, come on try it!...I followed all the instructions on Google" I said with a pout as she laughed picking up a very burnt pancake.
"Come here" she said opening her arms wide engolfing me in an uncomfortable embrace, "Ahhh Ya Allah" she screamed loudly, here I thought I was the one being squeezed all in the name of hugging.
"The baby " she screamed letting me go, in that moment I felt my heart in my hands, I have never been that scared in my entire life, not even when I thought I had lost Minal.
In a few seconds, what started off as a beautiful Sunday morning turned into a nightmare, the baby was not due for delivery at least not for another two months.
I was so confused that I ended up calling Amani instead of Mamie on our way to the hospital as the small ouch turned into loud screams, very loud screams.
She was wheeled into the emergency room as soon as we got to the hospital, I felt so useless and helpless as I blamed myself for every single pain my wife was experiencing.
I couldn't take it any longer, I went to see another doctor, he couldn't even understand what I was saying, all he understood was "Minal" and "baby". He tried to calm me down but all I wanted was to be with my wife, I wanted to be by her side, I wanted to go through every process with her but the doctors wouldn't allow it.
A few minutes had gone by before a nurse approached me with some papers to sign, I wasn't in any position to read and she understood that,
"Sir, we would need your signature to perform a caesarean section... please sign here" she said pointing to the paper.
I sat back after signing the papers as my legs couldn't carry me anymore, all I could do was chant prayers and dial Mamie's number over and over again telling her how much I need her by my side. Hot tears rolled down my cheeks as Mamie walked in, I ran to her arms and stayed in her embrace for a while as I felt my worries almost going away.
"Haba Mahmud! Stop behaving like a child and wipe your face" she said trying to hide her own fears "she will pull through inshaa Allah, let's just pray for her" she added patting my back.
Those few minutes where the longest minutes I have had to experience, not to exaggerate but I was almost seeing the light before a nurse came calling out for reletives of Minal Mahmud Bello, I couldn't move or answer, it was like my nerves were shutting down as I watched Mamie walk towards the Nurse.
"Alhamdulillah!" I heard Mamie chanting with a smile plastered on her face.
"My wife?" Was all I could muster
"Your wife is out of danger, you should be allowed to see her in a few minutes " the nurse answered with a smile.
It was like a burden was lifted off my shoulders, as excited as I was to welcome a child into the world I wasn't even ready to meet her, I wanted to see Minal first.
Amani soon arrived at the hospital with the baby box and a few things Minal would need, she was too excited that she walked passed me to the room Mamie was.
I inquired after a while and was told that she was still sleeping, so I went to a mosque near by to pray Zuhur crying out to my lord in sujud.
Minal turned slowly towards the door as I pushed it open, I walked to her side holding her hand in mine staring at her like it was the first time I am setting my eyes on her,
"I am sorry I scared you" she said in a hush tone as tears rolled from the side.
"Shuuu shhhush! Don't say a word, not after what I have seen you go through, I swear that I am in love with you, I can't breathe if you are not there, I can't think properly, and I swear that I don't love myself half as much as I love you, I love you with every fiber in my body Minal, if you would love me nearly as half as I love you then I would live my life a happy man, you have given me more happiness than I deserve...if you happen to fall out of love with me, then I will love you until you learn to love me again, I will love you through the tides of time, I will love you even when it hurts me, I will love you until my heart stops beating, I will love you where love doesn't exist, I will love you with my heart, body and soul, I will love you in this and the next life and if that's not enough I will lay down my life for you, this I promise you... it will always be you Minal" I poured my heart out as I stared at her.
It was quite for a while as we exchanged messages not with words but through our eyes that only we could translate, "have you seen her" she asked softly,
"No" I answered scratching the back of my head " I wanted to see you first" I added kissing her on the forehead just as Mamie walked in.
"Please leave my baby alone, she needs to rest" Mamie scolded.
"Mamie where is she?" I asked shamelessly.
"Who are you taking about?"
"My baby" I answered with a side grin as I played the words over and over in my head.
"Well you don't expect them to give her to me, she needs to be placed in an incubator" Mamie answered turning her attention towards Minal.
"Ohh yaya she is the tiniest baby I have ever seen" Amani chirped
Before I could say anything the incubator was brought into the room with this tiny being in it, I never knew it took just a few seconds to fall in love until I laid eyes on her, I stared for a while thinking about all the things we could do together...the thought of me being a father was a bit scary, I knew there would be a few mistakes along the way but I wouldn't give up trying.
Three weeks had gone by and we where finally allowed to take little Zara home, yes we named her after Ammi...It was Mamie's idea of making Minal happy.
Nasreen, Amrah and Amani had a little surprise party to welcome baby Zara home, those three are always looking for reasons to celebrate. They were all engrossed with how cute Zara is they wouldn't even let me hold her, worse of it all I wasn't allowed to be alone with my wife.
It started off as a joke but I ended up moving back to Mamie's house until they were ready to return my wife and child to me. If teasing could kill I would have long been buried but I was going to endure it all if it meant being close to my family.
Minal
I stood beside zara's cradle watching as she slept peacefully when a pair of familiar hands were wrapped around my waste.
"Hey Momma" he whispered kissing my neck.
"Isn't she beautiful" I said with a sigh of relief, " I think she takes after you" I added with a pout feeling cheated.
He laughed a little "don't worry love, you can have the next one" he answered.
"I don't think I can ever thank you enough Minal, I will forever be grateful , you have given me more happiness than I can ever wish for, I love you for Zara, I love you for you and....." I stood on my toes and merged our lips before he could say anymore.
THE END
Alhamdulillah we have reached the end of this journey with Minal and Mahmud, I am thankful to all my readers for pushing me this far, for standing by my side even when I was a total mess. I am forever grateful to you all, it would have never been possible without you.
I would try and do better in my up coming book inshaa Allah. I had a lovely time and I am truly sorry for keeping you waiting. We have made it through together and I hope to get the same love and support in the future. Once again I am grateful.
Yours Truly
Halimalili