Hashim's POV.
I quickly run to the porch to avoid getting soaked by the rain. It has been raining for a while, I waited in the car to see if it might subside but it didn't, so I decided not to wait any longer. I had to leave my laptop, files and folders in the car so they wouldn't get wet. Now I understand what Mustapha (his brother) meant when he said I shouldn't make my garage far from the main house.
I remove my Hermès flats when they almost landed me on the floor because of the wet tiles. I open the door and felt a cold breeze hit me.
I walk in and drop my shoes by the door before closing it. I could tell the Air conditioner was on because the house was freezing cold. I keep my car keys on the console in the passage before walking in the parlor only to see him....Mansur.
He is close friends with Nafisa but everyone knew he liked her but it's like she's in denial because she gets angry anytime I try to tell her that he likes her.
She looks at me with an irritated expression before turning back to him. She was still angry at me for trying to get Muhibba a job in the same company she worked. I just thought it might keep Muhibba off her case and because Muhibba also wanted to work with celebrities and high class people and I thought since my wife works there it would be easier but I was wrong.
And now this man is here in my living room with my wife, holding my baby girl in his arms like she's his. I force a smile.
"You're here. It's good to see you" I lie.
"You too" he says coldly.
He comes to my house and he can't even address me properly. He probably hates me for landing the girl he loves, Well that's too bad because she and I are far from separating.
I sit beside Nafisa. I hold her hand and feel her tense up. She is still angry, I tried all I could but it doesn't seem like she'll let it go, at least for now. She always forgives me anyway so there is no point in getting upset but I have to be honest I hate when she starts the silent treatment.
"So I heard from Tahir (Hashim's brother) that you got a promotion last week"
Mansur says with a smirk.
Nafisa turns out and gives me a death glare. I didn't tell her because the mood wasn't right, I didn't know how to tell her.
"Yeah. It's good that people know and I don't, right?" She asks sarcastically through gritted teeth.
"Well..sometimes you can't be too selfish and destroy people's moods" I reply back.
"I think she's asleep" He says adjusting the bow on Anissa's head.
"Let me get her to bed" Nafisa says as he hands Anisa to her. She gently walks upstairs with my baby girl in her arms.
"It seems so tense here, what happened?"
"I don't see how that's any of your business" I answer back.
"Nigerians..."he laughs "They never think you ask because you are worried".
"Why should they?" I say back getting angrier by the second "I think you should leave, the rain has subsided".
"Okay" he gets up "By the way....Kabir is a little worried his sister has been acting off lately. I just hope it's not ending, I meant what we all thought was special. And I don't think this time your inheritance is something that can fix it"
Oh lord! If Nafisa hadn't come in at that exact moment I would have punched the teeth right out of his ugly face. He was talking about our marriage. I wish he'd just keep in mind that this...our marriage, will last a lifetime.
"You're leaving?" She asks.
"Yeah. Give a kiss to chichi when she wakes up"
Chuchu?
Is he referring to my daughter as Chuchu?
She smiles "Thank you for coming, I'll see you next week"
"Alright then....bye"
She walks him to the door and comes back in.
"Chuchu? Why is he calling my daughter Chuchu?"
"Come on Hashim, you are overreacting"
"Overreacting? Me? Why didn't you tell me he was coming?" I semi yelled.
She raises her eyebrows.
"Do I have to inform you, dear husband? Last I remembered you didn't inform me when you brought your ex to live with us....PERMANENTLY!" She sighs "That's in the past anyway...the real question is why you didn't tell me you got promoted"
"I wanted to tell you but...but I didn't know how".
"Wait? What? You didn't know how to say 'hey Nafisa I got promoted?' That's absurd. Did you tell Muhibba?" She asks crossing her arms.
"That's not what we are talking about now"
"Come on Hashim, it's just as easy as yes or no, So ? Did you?"
"Yes".
She scoffs.
"It's not surprising....let me say this now so you wouldn't say I never told you. It's no longer just us, You and I. Now there's Anisa too and she is too young to start witnessing her parents arguing and fighting all the time. And she's also the reason I'm fighting for my place in this house"
She scoffs again, something she does a lot when she is angry.
"How ironic right? Now I'm fighting for MY place in MY house....oh sorry I meant your house since apparently it belongs to you"
I sit beside her, quietly.
No one says a word.
10seconds.
2minutes.
5minutes.
8minutes.
10minutes.
11minutes.
"I'm so sorry" I blurt out.
She doesn't move or say anything. Her eyes are still fixed on the blank TV.
"I know I have been selfish and I have been asking for too much but I just feel lost. I just want to hold onto to everything and anything that comes into my life. Life has been difficult for me since I was a child. My mother married my old father at an early age. Unfortunately I am the only child that came out of it. I had to face the wrath of my 2 step mother's and their children alone. Luckily the third one never loved my father so she didn't care. My step mother's always plotted against me, making baba angry with me most of the time. And then he and my mother got divorced and I had to go from my mum's house to my dads house. Since then I started hating letting the people in my life go"
I know she's heard this story but I just want her to understand the reason I do some of the things I do. I wasn't trying to make excuses, I was trying to make a point. She looks at me with tears in her eyes.
"You should know it won't always work when you tell me that story" she says smiling.
"So.....I am sorry for being a self centered son of a bitch".
"At least you know."
"Am I forgiven?" I ask hopefully.
She hugs me.
I held her tight.
"For now...." she answers back jokingly.
:
I sat on the couch thinking about what that stupid loser Mansur told me yesterday. I know my family is twisted but at least they always knew how to keep things within family. So like any sane person I called Tahir, he is my one of my 9step haters. Luckily the other 4 don't hate me or like me. They just don't give a fuck just like their mother. The good thing about them is that, whenever you want family, they are there but don't expect much from them.
I call him twice but he doesn't pick up. Tahir's phone is always with him so I have no doubt that he intentionally ignored my calls.
"Muhibba!" I call her.
"Yeah?" She says when she comes in.
"Can I have your phone? I want to make a call"
"Okay" she gives it to me and sits on the couch beside the one I'm sitting on.
I called again and this time he picks it up after it rings 3 times. BASTARD!!!
So you decided to answer a stranger's phone call but not mine?
Dear Bastard brother, what do you want?
He asks sarcastically.
This is the part where I let you know that my mum got pregnant before she and my dad got married. My hater siblings say it was so my dad would have no choice but to marry her. Honestly, I'm at a stage where I kind of believed it too. Because guess what? My mother married three times in the last 13 years. The first after baba was a senator but she divorced him after he was allegedly caught stealing government funds but she says it's because he didn't understand her, this was 10years ago. Then the second man, he was a professor in MIT (Massachusetts Institute Of Technology) so she lived in Boston, Massachusetts but she divorced him after he retired but she says it was because he was maltreating her and that was 6years ago. And the last man who she met 4 years ago, he has petroleum stations all over Nigeria. But luckily for him she's not done with him.....yet.
What did you tell Mansur?
Oh! Just that you might soon become a divorcée soon.
And why the hell will you tell him that?
Mind your language when you're talking to me. I'm not one of those sick men your mother hops to each time she's broke.
Talking about my mother is crossing the line, just because I didn't bring up your thirsty mother doesn't mean I can't say things about her too.
Touché. But you should know by now I don't give a crap about that woman.
I don't care. It's going to be better if you keep family matters between family.
Does that include your 3step fathers? By the way I heard Kabir talking about how worried he is that his sister is married to you and as a close friend of a friend I advised him to keep a closer eye on his sister. How would you tell him you forced his sister to live with your ex?
I stay quiet.
Come on brother. Don't keep quiet now. Mansur saw her when he went to your house and that big mouthed whore told him. What a pity, no matter how old you get you still want the old and used bicycle over the custom made one you already have, just pray the new bike rust sloooowwwllyy.
But seriously how will you tell him?
He asks laughing.
I hang up and give Muhibba back her phone.
This is partly Nafisa's fault. Whenever she knows someone, at the end of the day that person will know every single relative she has.
"What's wrong?" Muhibba asks.
"Family problems"
"Aren't I family?"
"No.....No....definitely not. Don't mistake kindness for anything. You're just here until you decide if you want to keep living off people" I flip and walk out. I left Muhibba seated there still stunned by my outburst.
Weird thing is I couldn't control my mouth. I didn't mean the words I said. I didn't want to hurt her. But it was like I couldn't control my mouth and I just kept blabbing until I finished insulting an innocent soul.
A soul I still love so much.
A soul I don't think I can live without.
A soul I can give up every for.