Hadeza had been feeling left out ever since Aisha came into the big picture. It seemed her mother had suddenly turned all her attention towards Aisha.
Cathay was treating Aisha like she was some sort of lost princess who had been rescued or her prodigal son who has returned home after donkey years.
While Hadeza was off duty, she dropped by a newly opened restaurant in the city for lunch. Hadeza bloated her cheeks and walked tiredly to the counter to give her food orders. She sat on a long stool and stared at the menu while waiting for one of the waiters to attend to her. "Excuse me" She said to a waiter at the counter.
The waiter approached Hadeza. He was tall and lean. Hadeza assumed he was Muslim because he wasn't wearing the restaurant cap instead he wore his traditional Muslim hat on his head. His I.D card that showed he was a staff in the restaurant was clipped on the chest pocket of his shirt.
"Can I have a--" Hadeza hummed as she still wasn't sure on what to eat.
The waiter corked his left brow at Hadeza as he waited for Hadeza to give her order. "I'll have a cheese belly burger sandwich" She said not feeling sure of her.
"A cheese what?!" The waiter responded, surprised.
"Wait" Hadeza cried. "I'll just a have a milkshake"
"Don't you want the usual today?" The waiter said nicely to Hadeza.
Hadeza looked surprised. She wondered what the waiter was talking about. "I have a usual?" She asked.
"Beanscakes"
"Beanscakes?"
"Yeah" The waiter confirmed.
Hadeza realized the waiter must have mistaken her for Aisha because this was her first time here and Aisha's favourite food was beanscake. "No, no. Just give me a cheese burger and a milkshake"
Some minutes later, Ma Kesem rushed out of the kitchen with Hadeza's meal. She stopped when she saw Hadeza sitting at the counter. She gave a defeated sigh as she saw it was Aisha's twin sister and not Aisha herself. The waiter who took Hadeza's order had earlier told her in the kitchen that Aisha wanted to eat something different today which was quite surprising. She slowly walked towards Hadeza and dropped her meal in front her on the counter. It was her first time meeting Hadeza. Hadeza's strong resemblance with Aisha took her breath away. It looked awkward seeing Aisha with a low cut. She never thought Aisha would cut her hair.
Her facial expression and the way Hadeza sucked her lower lip surprised her.
Hadeza smiled back at Ma Kesem and took her meal from the counter. She brought out money from her pocket and gave to Ma Kesem but Ma Kesem gently pushed the money back to her on the counter.
"It's free" Ma Kesem said.
Hadeza's eyes widened. "Why?"
"You're my daughter's sister"
Hadeza looked confused. "So, you are -"
Ma Kesem nodded. "I'm Aisha's mother. I raised her and it's finally nice to see you. You know, Aisha has told me a lot about you"
Hadeza smiled brightly like someone that had just won the lottery not because she had just met Aisha's mother but because of the free meal. "Wow" She said joyfully. "It's so nice to meet you, this must be the restaurant my mom got you"
"Yeah"
"It's cool. You're cool" Hadeza said and sipped her milkshake as she tried not to sound awkward.
Ma Kesem chuckled. She gave Hadeza an awkward stare like a secret admirer.
Hadeza didn't care by the way Ma Kesem was staring at her. She tried hiding her face but it was no use.
"Why the sad face?" Ma Kesem asked in a husky voice.
"Nothing" Hadeza answered while sipping her drink. "I'm fine" She added.
"Come on, honey. I know when Aisha's sad. She keeps her face like yours and isolates herself in a quiet place"
"I'd rather not talk about it. Besides you're Aisha's mum" Hadeza said under her breath. She maintained eye contact with Ma Kesem as she talked in hopes to convince her that she wasn't sad.
"That's nonsense. I'm your mother too. How am I supposed to know what's going on inside your head if you don't open up to me"
Hadeza kept quiet for a while and averted her gaze away from Ma Kesem. She wasn't sure about opening up to Ma Kesem. She felt Ma Kesem was only going to brush her off if she said what was bothering her. Her mother always did that to her when she complained to her. She moaned in a gruff sound. "Don't you hate it when people aren't there for you?"
Ma Kesem grew more concerned. She removed her Torque from her head and shoved it inside the pocket of her apron. "You've got to care about people if you want them to do the same for you" She said. She slowly paced her words when she talked.
"Do people even care about themselves? My mother is hiding a lot from me because I am a cop. Then there's Aisha who has become mom's handbag all of a sudden. Mom treats her like she's some sort of princess or something."
But Aisha is a princess Ma Kesem laughed internally.
Hadeza continued "Not that I'm jealous or anything. I just want to spend more time with my sister. Its hurts. It really does. I give out all my love and affection and at the end of the day I just feel lost and empty. I'm the kind of girl who is there for others and checks on my friends to see if they're okay but no one ever checks to see if I'm okay. Everyone is getting married or pregnant or promoted and I'm getting a milkshake"
Hadeza squeezed her lips and sucked her cheeks inside and when she did, she still looked pretty.
"Is that why you're sad?" She asked. She could tell Hadeza was really sad because her eyes were faint and hollow.
"Maybe" Hadeza squeaked.
"You need to see a therapist" Ma Kesem suggested.
Hadeza smiled and glanced at her meal. "I need more music"
"Is that how you deal with being sad? Listening to sad songs"
"Sad songs don't depress me. It's all this pop music that makes me want to slit my wrist"
Hadeza said as a joke but that was the way she usually expressed herself to others. Sometimes she made jokes to mask her insecurities and her cry for help.
"If you feel that you're life is not as good as anyone else, then kill yourself" Ma Kesem said.
Hadeza stopped chewing her food and almost choked on the lump in her throat.
"Drink your milkshake, dear. Drink your milkshake" Ma Kesem said to Hadeza.
Hadeza signalled with her hand that she was okay but she drank her milkshake. "Ma Kesem" She said "I was joking when I said I want to kill myself"
Ma Kesem knew Hadeza's joke was just her cry for help. She wanted to help out so she asked. "When was the last time anyone told you how important you are?"
Hadeza shook her head strongly. "No one" Her voice cracked like she wanted to cry.
"Well I'm here to tell you this" Ma Kesem said and smoothed Hadeza's cheek like she did to Aisha when she was little. "You are important and that's all that really matters. A pretty girl like you shouldn't be worried about the attention of others. Beautiful things don't beg for attention"
"You think I'm pretty?" Hadeza asked like it was funny. "I see, You're just saying that because I'm your daughter"
"No, from what I've heard about you. I think you're a wonderful girl" Ma Kesem said. She turned around to see what was going on at the far end of the counter. A customer was raising his voice at the waiter who had attended to Hadeza.
Hadeza looked at the waiter. She saw how calm and quiet he was. He didn't react to the rudeness of the customer nor did he show any sign of anger. The customer was a buffed man who looked like he was in his mid-forties. He was almost bald and wore a faded pair of jeans. His face was mean, Hadeza wasn't surprised. She decided to handle the scene before something like a fight happened. "Hey!" She called but no one answered her. "Hey, what's going on there?"
The customer turned his head and gave Hadeza a rude but awkward stare.
Hadeza wasn't scared of the way the customer looked at her. She was a cop and she had seen stranger things. "I said what is going on there? Are you deaf?" She said strongly and stood from the stool she sat.
The customer stuttered. "I want another waiter to take my order" He demanded.
Ma Kesem was surprised. "Why is that?" She asked in a slow pitch.
"Are you a waiter here?" The customer asked Ma Kesem. He acted more rudely and even pointed his finger at her.
"I run this place and if you've got a problem with any of my staff. Let me know" Ma Kesem said boldly and gestured with her hands like an American gangster.
"So you call the shots around here, huh?" The customer chuckled with a smirk on his right cheek. "I don't want this guy to take my order"
"Why don't you want him to take your order?" Ma Kesem asked tiredly as she rolled her eyes.
"He is a Muslim" The customer said.
Hadeza got confused. She hated situations like this. She remembered when Milan made a racist remark on her when she was a kid. She walked and stood beside the waiter like she was his bodyguard then faced the customer.
The customer looked at Hadeza.
"So you don't want him to take your order because he is a Muslim?" She asked.
"Yeah" The customer answered in a grumpy voice.
"Why?"
"Aren't they the ones bombing buildings, killing people and terrorizing the streets?"
"Not him. He's a waiter, not a terrorist"
Hadeza interrupted the customer.
The customer was disgusted. "You're a cop. You should stand by me" He yelled.
"He has the right to practice any religion he wants the same way you get to choose the job you want. It's a free world"
The customer was staring at the waiter rudely. He felt defeated and ashamed.
"Maybe you should have your breakfast at Tiffany or somewhere else that suits you" Hadeza suggested.
"Yeah, I will" The customer said. "I will eat somewhere else. I just won't have my order taken from people like him"
"Leave. Now!" Hadeza ordered. She pointed at the door and directed the customer to leave. She looked serious.
"Alright, I'm leaving" The customer shrugged as he said before walking to the door.
"I don't want to see your face here ever again. You hear me!" She yelled at the customer as he walked out of the restaurant.
"Thanks" The waiter said to Hadeza.
Hadeza smiled at the waiter and said "I'm just doing my job"
Ma Kesem walked to Hadeza and clapped lightly for her.
Hadeza found it funny that Ma Kesem was clapping.
"The last time I was in the states I hardly saw people standing up for the oppressed" Ma Kesem said.
"Why didn't you stay? You could have made a difference" Hadeza asked.
Ma Kesem took a deep breath and brought her torque from the pocket of her apron. Her eyes were somewhere else. "I thought I was heading to a land of golden opportunities then bam! I landed in Americannah"
Hadeza finally saw who Fatima got her sarcastic nature from. She rushed when Ma Kesem called her to join her in the kitchen.
Ma Kesem happily introduced Hadeza to her employees and told them to clap for her.
Hadeza wasn't shy, she just smiled and blushes like a kid again.
Ma Kesem held Hadeza's hand and gently dragged her to the grill. She wore her an apron and asked "Can you cook? Your sister is a very good cook. She's been cooking since she was eight". Ma Kesem looked serious.
Hadeza gasped. She realized Ma Kesem was serious with the way she was looking at her. She could only boil water and warm cooked food. She couldn't even make a good cereal. I mean who puts milk before cereal and eats, she thought to herself.
"I'll take that as a yes" Ma Kesem said and gave Hadeza and bell peppers for her to cut.
Hadeza gently cut open the bell pepper. She giggled when she realized she had accidentally carved a grinning face on it. She showed Ma Kesem bell pepper and made the same face at her. She was so proud of herself.
Ma Kesem wasn't surprised.
"Zee" Aisha yelled from the counter, in her mild and tender voice.
"My better half!" Hadeza replied and rushed out of the kitchen.
Aisha kept quiet for a while. She was surprised to see Hadeza in an apron on top of her police uniform.
Hadeza could hear Aisha's heavy breathing. She didn't say anything either as she patiently waited for Aisha to let the words slip out of her mouth.
"What the hell are you wearing? Aisha yelled in her soft baby voice. "Anyway that's not what I came here to tell you"
Hadeza chuckled "What? Are you pregnant?" She asked.
"Why does everyone keep asking me if I am pregnant?" Aisha cried sadly in her baby voice. She sighed and said "We need to talk. In private"
"What is so important that you can't say in front of me?" Ma Kesem joked from behind Hadeza.
"Mom! Privacy please" Aisha raised her voice, embarrassingly.
Hadeza removed her apron and followed Aisha to a table. Aisha gave her a newspaper which had Obadiah Reign's picture on the front page. Hadeza read the article beneath his picture which stated he was missing and abducted by the Nostalgia a few days ago. Hadeza pretended to be shocked by what she read at the end of the article.
Aisha groaned.
Hadeza buried her face in her palms and breathed out. She was distraught that Obadiah knew Nostalgia's true identity and that would implicate her because she is a police officer.
"Can you help me find him?" Aisha asked.
"No" Hadeza said no under her breath. She thought Aisha was going to ask her if she was the Nostalgia. She hadn't told Aisha yet about Khadija. She wondered if Aisha knew about Khadija.
"I need to see that man" Aisha said, pointing her lips at the newspaper.
Hadeza figured Aisha was talking about Obadiah Reign. "This man" She touched Obadiah's picture on the front page of the newspaper.
"Yes"
"Why?" Hadeza was curious.
"Because he killed dad"
"I don't believe you"
Aisha lowered her head down. She knew Hadeza would question her. "Believe it or not. I was there the night Obadiah murdered our father. Dad hid me in a tunnel before the big bang. It's important that I see this man. I have to bring him to justice. I can't let dad die in vain. You're a cop right? You can help me get to him"
Hadeza was so convinced but she wasn't sure she could help. "He was my father too but I'm not sure I can help you. Besides, you need strong concrete evidence if you're going to put this man behind bars again"
Aisha peered close to Hadeza. She removed her glasses like she was ready to hear the truth. "He's been in jail before?"
Hadeza looked at Aisha, surprised that she didn't know. "Obadiah Reign has been serving time in prison for years now for crimes like domestic violence on my mom. He was also convicted for being a drug dealer. He was involved in the smuggling of kids to Libya and the eastern Sahara in Africa. He did other terrible things too" She added.
"Mom knew him" Aisha asked. Her mind was blown.
"He-was-my-step dad" Hadeza squeezed her eyes as she said.
Aisha's jaw dropped as she leaned her back on the chair. She couldn't believe her ears. She zoned out and Hadeza suddenly became invisible in her eyes. She thought Obadiah was responsible for most of the things that happened in her life. He went from playing a small role in her story to playing a major role. He wasn't just her father's murder. He was also Hadeza's abusive stepfather. Her heart nearly skipped a beat when she heard a heavy snore. She snapped back into reality and looked at Hadeza sleeping on the dining table.
Hadeza snored heavily like a warthog. She looked so exhausted. Her mouth was wide open as she slept.
Aisha wondered why Hadeza must have fallen asleep by this time of the day. "Zee", she really needed her help. She saw an incoming call on Hadeza's phone and picked it up for her.
It was her other sister.