"That was a mean alley-oop you caught from Ibrahim. You totally blindsided Hasan, Bugaje." Tyler Meyers said, patting Mubarak's back.
"Thank you. Hasan had it coming. You did well too." Mubarak said, guzzling down some water from his bottle.
Bilaal removed the towel that hung from his neck, picking up his duffel bag, "So how are the survival talks going?" He said once they were away from the boys.
Mubarak swiped the remnant of water from his mouth with the back of his hand. "It's a yes, we'll work on it. Let's just hope I live to witness it."
Bilaal chuckled, "Why are you so mean? We'll have you eat your words back in a few short days."
"Like heck you will." Mubarak smacked Bilaal's head.
"Easy there. What? Everyone knows how captivating Maryam is, especially with her 'spoken essays'."
"Bilaal, I still have that mailing address."
"Hey, Bugaje you wanna catch Ocean's Thirteen tonight? It's showing at Barbican." Tyler said coming towards the brothers.
"Sorry Ty, I have to pull in a fast one tonight, got tons of reports waiting for me, let's do that next week."
"Okay see you around." He turned to Bilaal, "B, we took five charges tonight, that was a good game."
Bilaal high fived Tyler before they moved out of the court.
"So, bros, do we have a date?"
"I don't know, didn't give it a thought, but will be reporting back to Baba tonight, they'll discuss it with Uncle Muhammad and we shall see what will work. Can't believe I'm saying this. But I can't wait for all of this to be over."
Bilaal rose his brows, he knew exactly what his brother was feeling, it got scary to the hilt at first, but he just hoped his brother would find it good at the end, just like he had with Sa'ima.
"I don't envy you. But it will be well in sha Allah." Bilaal said, squinting at the outdoor light.
"Yeah. Thanks for the boost, Bilaal."
Bilaal chuckled and ducked because he knew what was coming next.
***
Maryam couldn't wait for Nafeesa's bi-weekly call to come, so she called her. And somehow she couldn't get the excitement out of her voice when she spoke.
"Yes, you heard it right. Everything has been set in motion."
"What! Sury will kill you when she finds out, she has been waiting to hear this for ages."
"I called her first, I'm not going to risk making him a widower before I set foot in his house, am I?"
Nafeesah chuckled. "Maxy, you are crazy."
"Thank you, now disconnect this thing and promptly call Abubakar. I think he may be calling you now because I kind of let it slip that we may have a date."
"See this shameless girl, are you setting the date yourself?"
"Ask Umma, how many days had it been since she had finished her kola nut? Hajiya Mama has done it all. She had been at work since the day I took off from Abuja. I did nothing."
"Maa sha Allah, I'm proud of you girl. It shall be well with you in sha Allah, for agreeing to do this for Allah's sake and their happiness. You've really shown great strength, may Allah bless it for you. I've always known you are made for great things."
"Ameen. You know, somehow, it actually feels normal. I don't feel constricted in this or downtrodden. At least I know we are on the same page with him. We joke about it and I don't think we are on the hate-page anymore."
"I am glad to hear that, now I know my Abubakar is safe."
"Nutcase, who is taking your black prince when I have my fair King? Now let me leave you to make that call. Ma'assalam."
Nafeesah's laughter filled her ears before she disconnected.
***
Hajiya Kulthum was responding to her emails when her bedroom door opened with a Salam. She looked up from her desktop computer when Mubarak came into the room. Her face eased into a smile as he strode in. He sat on the brown soft rug that lay at her feet. She was waiting for him to say something, she had seen the look on his face when he came in, it was one that carried a lot of things to say. But he just placed his head on her knees and kept quiet. That was so unlike Mubarak, and it got her worried.
"Mubarak, are you alright?"
There was silence before he spoke. "Hajiya, you know I love you, right? A lot."
"Of course I do, what is up with you?"
Mubarak sighed and looked up at his mother. "Was that why you made me do it? Because you know I wouldn't say no?"
Hajiya Kulthum stilled and for a moment she feared if what he said was true. Had she used her power over him to subdue him or had she done so to make him tread the right path? She held her breath when she asked, "Are you saying no now?"
"No, actually, I'm here to tell you that we've reached an agreement and we both are ready to take the next step in sha Allah. You can pick a date."
"We can?" Hajiya Kulthum's brows rose, her breath was back into her lungs with a whoosh, she had no idea how tensed she had been until he said those few words.
"That is what you want, right?"
"Yes, silly. But of course your opinions matter, Ya Rahman come here, you have no idea how this news has gladdened my heart. May Allah bless it for you. May He bless you with obedient children that will be the coolness of your eyes and do to you more than you do to us in goodness."
Mubarak smiled. "Ameen, Hajiya. There is just one problem."
Hajiya Kulthum's hand left her son's, "A problem?"
"I need some sets of extra ears to listen to all her stories."
She swatted him with her hand, one landing solid on his back. "Gidanku, go away from this place. You are incorrigible."
"I love you too, Hajiya," Mubarak said still laughing, the joy in his mother's eyes holding his heart in a fist. Had he known this was the joy he could give his mother with his acceptance, he would have done so at the utterance of Maryam's name that first night.
Now he was into this, he had to make things work by hook or by crook. Especially if he was to maintain his niche in his parents' sight. For a moment there, he thought his father would act on his threat of stepping him down at work. That was something he wasn't ready to settle with, he had worked so hard to reach where he was, he wasn't going to lose it over a monosyllabic word he could have uttered to a girl.
If it meant taking Maryam as his wife to gladden his mother's heart and remain as the chief Legal officer at Bruno and Bugaje, then he was happy to fill in the shoes.
It wasn't like he would be chained down by the marriage.
What would chain him down was certainly the girl's feistiness and elusiveness, God! She was one vivacious girl.
***
Now that Mubarak had said yes, and Maryam had also given her consent. Their parents were both set to get them knotted. It was surreal. Maryam was not fatally in love with Mubarak, but he was a nice man if she took away his self-appreciation, and since she loved interacting with nice human beings, why not make one live with her for the rest of her life, albeit with a clear-cut expectation of what their relationship would be like?
He was a bit out there, but from the little she had observed of him, he tried to put the deen in his day to day life, and he adored his mother.
And she had seen him at work, he was so dedicated to what he did once he got himself to focus. So, becoming Mrs Bugaje may not be as bad as she thought it would be. Her only problem was what now? What if what he saw of her now wasn't how he envisioned his wife to be, he was doing this only out of duty. Just like she was?
She had heard several times, it was better to marry a man that loved you more than to marry someone you love more.
But in their case, none of them was in love, how then would they do this marriage thing?
He still hadn't known her deepest fears. How would he protect her from them? She hadn't known his deepest secrets how would she be a cover for him?
She knew what she was going into, but they were both doing it for the same purpose, to appease their parents. She knew the risk Mubarak was taking by accepting her, despite his reputation of having any girl he wanted, he had to end up with her, she couldn't begin to fathom how much he wanted to right what went wrong between him and his parents.
Maryam had always wanted to ask him what made him leave but was still wary of the answer she would get from him.
On her part, she could see a life with Mubarak, it wasn't like she had a long list of suitors before him. But if someone was willing to go to any extreme to please his parents, that should say a lot about the person's sense of duty and character, right?
Would she have chosen the best of men to be her spouse in any other circumstances? She may have died a spinster if this had not happened. The first and last time something close to this had happened, it had unleashed fury in the family.
She could remember the chaos, the tension, leaving home... Ya Rabbi, that was awful. She would give anything to avoid a repeat of that dark moment in her life. That was when she decided to have the most real talk with Mubarak.
***
"I have a confession to make," Maryam said, on Sunday night when Mubarak had met her at the gazebo.
It was a warm evening, and talking at the gazebo offered an unspoken comfort to them both.
"Don't tell me you have a thing for the Mafia now, that will really be a thing of concern for the citizens."
Maryam didn't smile and that elicited a frown on Mubarak's strong face.
"You asked me why I wanted to marry you the other day at the park."
Mubarak looked at her across the glass table between them. "Yes?"
"I'm using you," she blurted.
Mubarak reared his head back, his brows almost hit his hairline. "What?!"
"I need a husband. LIke ASAP, and somehow Allah sent you my way. Now, I've once made a promise to myself, and that is never to be ungrateful to Allah. I try to stick to my promise. So I'm using you to fill that gap in my life."
Mubarak's scowl deepened, and Maryam was forced to look away, she hated to see that look on people's face, and she hated it more when he looked at her like she was this kitten stuck in a dark pit and needed urgent rescue.
"Why do you need a husband so much?"
"Have you ever been roused from sleep at 3 am by Hajiya or Baba asking you 'kai yaya ka ke ciki ne?' As if there is a free market for women and you will just stroll down Edgeware-road and pick up a wife?"
A vein in his temple pulsed but he didn't say a word.
"Well, my mother has roused me at odd hours of the night every other night for the past five months telling me to produce a husband or leave her house.
So, when your proposal came from Hajiya, it was as if she would tie the knots at the spot. I wanted to be free of her so bad, when I came down here I was willing to spoil everything and go back so that she would disown me and send me packing. Don't ask me where I planned to go. But I wanted that so bad, I had planned your rejection script before we even met. I am so tired, of her needless reminder of my worthlessness just because my time is not due yet. Just because I am Maryam."
Mubarak closed his eyes briefly, he nodded in understanding, but he really couldn't put himself in her stead even if he tried, he couldn't imagine going through her pain. Something clogged his throat. He cleared it. Or at least tried to.
"Why didn't you tell her this?"
Maryam's wide molten eyes widened, "Do you know my mother?"
This time he nodded in understanding, "Hm. So, what changed your mind about not ruining things?"
"I saw the way you look at your brother's wife, I saw the fear in her eyes when she was in your proximity. And I knew that sometimes we have to see beyond our pains, sometimes the person next to us needs saving more than we do. I knew then, you needed saving as much if not more than I."
Mubarak rose from his seat and paced the floors of the gazebo, his hands went to his nape, he rubbed his palm there and let out a sigh, "And you saved me, putting yourself at stake?"
"No, you saved yourself. You had to be so determined and focused to do what you did, that coupled with some other reasons made me change my mind."
The corner of his lips twitched, and she knew what he was thinking, "Don't you think it, Mafia King."
Now he was smiling full-on, "What! I didn't ask you to tell me, you did. How can I help it if the image keeps popping in my head whenever you talk about the wedding. Besides..."
"Murderer!" Maryam said, gritting her teeth.
"Don't. Stop it!" Mubarak said, his eyes suddenly flaring with something sinister.
Maryam blinked, she sensed she had misstepped somewhere, this was not the first time she had called him that, why did she feel like he sounded so... bitter, he was laughing just a second ago.
"I'm sorry," she quickly said. "Uhm.. So, now you know my reason."
There was a shift in his features, some sort of ease replaced his agitation."Well, I also have a confession to make."
"You do? What would that cost me?"
"Consider it quid pro quo."
Maryam rolled her eyes, "Okay, English Mr CLO."
"I'll need a favour in return too."
"What is it?"
"This wedding? It should be just nominal, with impropriety. At least until we both get our bearings right, and we are sure of our feelings about it and all. About each other and the marriage itself. I don't want us mixing up some infatuation as something more just because we are rebounding from what we have both lost. You, your self-worth and me what would-have-been."
"That works for me." Maryam agreed without even batting an eye.
"You are good with that?" He narrowed his eyes at her, as if he was anticipating some resistance from her. But Maryam nodded.
Mubarak's gaze drilled through her, "That means no expectations from each other, not even after the wedding."
Maryam's heart almost leapt in her chest. "You mean...?"
"No attachments, only necessary calls, no sit-down chats, love letters. Nothing, we should maintain our individuality and see if things would change. Which I doubt, considering you just called me a murderer."
"That is your name! You allowed me to use it instead of your other name. I remember some pretty dangerous threats that came with the warning too."
Mubarak shook his head. "Are you sure we shouldn't share the name? Because you are about to send me to an early grave."
"Really? Is it my killer smile or my shocking eyes?" She wiggled her brows at him.
Mubarak's gaze went to her eyes, and remained fixated to the molten orbs. "So people do tell you that your eyes are shocking?"
"Yes, when you have the only blue-grey eyes among all the browns you get that a lot, some would consider you a witch too. Others would coerce you to remove the contacts you are wearing." She shrugged. She was smiling but her eyes teared up, she quickly sniffed them back. "I guess you know what I mean, considering your brother shares that oddity too."
"I get it. Not just him, people often wonder why I speak so fast."
It was Maryam's turn now to scowl."They do?" Well that was odd, considering his voice was one to soothe... okay not that. She cleared her voice.
"Shocking, right?"
"Well, next time they say that, tell them your wife-to-be says you have the most beautiful voice ever."
"Now, does she think so?" He crooked a brow and Maryam had to do her best not to stare and stay locked to the spot.
"That pretty much sums up my confession, do you have anything more to say? Ya Rabbi, I feel so much lighter, at least now I will know that I'm not deceiving you into believing I'm also into this."
"Right, it is refreshing to start on a clean slate. I commend your honesty."
Maryam smiled, and Mubarak swore the colors of her eyes just swirled, he blinked twice.
"Thank you for understanding, I guess I should go up now, Hajiya may be looking for me."
"Where is your chaperone?" He asked.
"She said we were too sweet for her ears. She took a break."
"I guess now you have nothing to fear then. Considering, this isn't even a real deal."
"Yup! As nugatory as the suds."
Mubarak nodded, the corner of his mouth twitching with the beginning of a smile. "Good." There was a momentary silence before he spoke again, '"Listen, about ruining things to make her feel bad? Please don't. There is nothing that beats being a mother. She deserves a little grace from you. Try and give her that. Trust me, you'll feel much better. Even though there are things we can use to put them in order, don't let it be this. Nothing is worth ruining your life for. Not even a husband down Sout Kensington."
Maryam held her lips between her teeth, as if thinking over his words. "Thank you, I'll try." She swallowed.
"Good, you'll be fine in sha Allah."
Maryam nodded, hoping he was right on this one. "Good night, Maryam."
"Good night, Ya Mubarak."
But her night wasn't good. For some reason, she had turned in her bed more times than she had breathed in it. What had she just signed up for?
****
LONDON, ENGLAND.
SEPTEMBER, 2007
"Take this we may need it. They are printouts of your admission letter. Everything is in the envelope. You'll receive your ID card and other necessary things when we get there."
Maryam took a flap-back leather folder from Hajiya Kulthum, she couldn't believe this was happening, she was finally enrolling in the University of London, Birkbeck.
She flipped the flap open and brought out the letter that would be her future. Maryam blinked at the letter she held. Her heart lodged in her throat and her eyes went wide. For a moment, she couldn't breathe.
"Maryam are you alright?"
Maryam shoved the letter back into the envelope and straightened her back. She nodded her eyes filled with tears.
"Ya Allah, come here and sit down." Hajiya Kulthum sat down with her on the beige and gold lounge chair in the corridor. "What is wrong with you? Do you want to wait a while?"
Maryam took in a quick breath. Wiping the dampness at the edge of her eyes.
"I'm fine." She smiled. "I'm good, It's just that..."
"Ya Allah, is it Mubarak?" Hajiya asked, her hand to her chest, she couldn't help but notice the girl had been off since morning, and she didn't miss the way Mubarak had rushed out that morning, was it in relation to what was wrong with Maryam, what had he done to her?
"No Hajiya, we are good."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"I just found out that my dream of becoming a writer might just be fulfilled. Thank you."
"For what?"
"You changed the course for me, right?" Maryam blinked at her aunt in confusion.
"No, your father filled out everything. He didn't tell you?"
"Baba? No, he didn't. I thought..." Maryam smiled, she wiped the tears that came gushing from her eyes, "I'm just surprised. I had no idea he knows."
"Come on, go and freshen up let's go, we are getting late."
Maryam nodded, she hugged the folder to her chest and went to her room. She squealed once in there and raced to the bathroom, she washed her face and dressed it with a puff of face powder and a smear of lip gloss. After adjusting her headscarf, she came out to the long corridor and found Hajiya Kulthum waiting for her with a bright smile on her face.
**
"Baba, you knew? How? I saw it, you changed the course for me from Economics to Creative writing. I thought you've always wanted me to go for Economics, that was why I was doing that PGD..."
Alhaji Muhammad laughed from the other end of the phone. "How was your registration?"
"Alhamdulillah. It went well, we are through with it. Thank you so much, I still can't believe it."
"You should thank your sister. She told me you are still writing. When I spoke to your Aunt about it, she suggested Creative writing will be suitable for you, she has also informed me of how you had helped out with the poetry project in her summer classes."
Maryam's eyes were still teary, "But how did you make it possible? I learned that a sample of one's work had to be submitted and reviewed before they got an entrance."
"Surayya gave me some notebooks containing your drafts, we looked at it and I gave it to an editor friend of mine, Malam Sani, who went over it and made the necessary corrections. We submitted that."
Maryam felt her throat constrict with chafed emotions. And there she thought her father had also played a part in making her study a course that wasn't her choice, without knowing that he was pulling all his resources to see that she had achieved her dreams. This made up for the pain she had felt the night he snorted at the idea of writing as a profession.
"Thank you, Baba. You are the best!"
"You are the first best Daaso. Have you decided on when you're coming home?"
"We've not discussed it yet, my classes begin in a week or two."
"Okay, I'll talk to your aunt and we shall see a feasible date for you. Your mother said there are some preparations to be made for the wedding and you have to come down early for that."
"The wedding? Has a date been proposed?"
"We were thinking December in sha Allah, you will be done with your first term by then. That way, you'll use your break to settle in your new home."
Maryam's eyes popped out, the wedding during the holidays! That meant more time spent at home, which meant more interactions with Mubarak. The past few months were enough, she couldn't take more.
"Uhm, can it happen later? Or a bit earlier?" It was only after she had said it had she thought of how her statement must have sounded to her father.
Desperate.
"I see you've changed your mind about Mubarak."
"Baba please..." Maryam closed her eyes as if she was in his presence.
Alhaji Muhammad laughed. "Don't worry we shall find a date convenient for both of you in sha Allah."
"Send my regards to Mama and the girls."
"Fatima said she has only spoken to you three times since you left."
Maryam laughed, that was her sister's way of blackmailing their father to call her. "Where is she? I miss her too."
Within a moment, Fatima's voice was on. "Yaya Mimie, how is London? Did you get my earphones? And don't forget about the strawberries and my cardigan. Yaa Zuby has taken mine, the one with the flower patterns."
Maryam laughed, "Timtim you'll get them all when I'm coming home, in sha Allah."
"Alright, be safe. Pray hard when you get on the plane."
Maryam's laughter died on her lips, she knew her sister Fatima was the only one who freely spoke about the incident, but every time she made reference to it, Maryam was transported back to that day.
The day they lost her.
Forcing a smile on her lips, Maryam cleared her voice. "I will in sha Allah. We will talk later, thank you for the call."
"You are welcome."
"Alright, take care."
"Okay. Say hello to Yaya Mubarak and tell him not to forget about our talk."
Maryam's forehead creased, 'their talk'? But knowing Timtim with her slithering ways, she smiled and disconnected the phone.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Maryam clenched her eyes shut, she quickly wiped the tears that made their way to the edge of her eyes.
She needed to be stronger than this.
***
Some Dan Dan Dan factor anyone?
Well, this is just the beginning.
Hihihi I just dey sip.☕️
Umm Yasmeen💞