"Good morning Adeelah." Adeelah heard Muhammad's voice behind her, so she smiled.
"Good morning bro." She greeted in return. After their little joke last night, she felt close to him and felt like giving him a name. She didn't know why but this man felt familiar to her. When he carried in the hospital, she felt peaceful perhaps it's because at that time all she craved for, was peace and since he was her husband, she felt that with him. Maybe it was natural.
He chuckled, his brow lifted. This girl was interesting. "Bro zone?"
Adeelah laughed at his expression. "Yeah I can't think of anything. Abba is still missing."
His face changed to a sad expression. He didn't mutter anything though but Adeelah knew he was sorry so instead of wallowing in sadness, she decided to let the topic drain.
"Lets go and sit in the parlor. I want us to play a game. Innit?" He nodded, thanking God for helping him out. He wasn't used to consoling people or encouraging them so that's why he remained quiet. When Adeelah's hand caught his, he was made to heave in mass of air. This girl!
As they sat on the cushion, facing each other, he noticed that she's super active that morning. She had set her worries aside obviously.
"Stop looking at me that way. I have miraculously grown past worrying. My brothers are taking care of the case, I'm praying too. My sadness won't bring Abba back anyway." Although she tried to sound alright, he could feel her breaking. She was just being so strong. He had never seen someone as strong as her, someone that bottled up so much. It's not easy going through phase after phase consecutively. Other people would run crazy but Adeelah was holding herself altogether. It made him realize that once your imaan is intact, things get easier for you.
"May Allah reveal his whereabouts soon." Adeelah mumbled an ameen.
So when she looked at him, she smiled. She wanted to play this game so she could have some ideas on who this Adeel was.
"Questions and answers? Or maybe dare?" She asked, with an objective in her mind. Perhaps with that way he would spill. If he didn't, she would use another way she learnt from an Indian movie.
Anjali? Sharma. She remembered the question and answer drill between a father and his daughter.
Muhammad shrugged. "Whichever one you choose. It's your game afterall."
"Questions first. Where did you first see me and why did you marry me on my wedding day?"
Muhammad released a deep breath. "I first saw you weeks before your friend's wedding. Fatimah is her name i think. And why i married you is because i want to marry you."
Adeelah remained quiet. "Why did you attempt to call me Dillaliya?"
"Because i heard it from your chauffeur, Salisu. And i just wanted you to feel comfortable, like to have a feeling that i know you." Truth was he had gathered alot of information about her before he met her just to sound familiar and nothing else. Immediately after the wedding fatiha, he set to get those information and that's why he didn't feel like an alien to her.
"I thought you wanted to confuse me. Because that my chauffeur is one twisted man."
Muhammad pretended not to hear the last sentence so he added. "That being said, i am to travel very soon so i talked to him about coming back to be your chauffeur and errand boy again when i leave. At least you don't have to feel weird. Is that okay with you?"
If Adeelah said her heart didn't pound, it would be the biggest lie of the century. She felt her heart thumping with a high pressure. What was Muhammad saying? Did he know Salisu was her ex? If he knew, he wouldn't dare bring him under the same roof with Adeelah. So she managed to contain herself.
"But..." the words failed her.
"Is there a beef between you two? He hesitated too. If you two aren't comfortable with each other i can change him."
Adeelah shook her head. The words on her tongue sound odd but she spilled them anyway. "No it's fine."
"Next question. Did Abba begged you to marry me?"
Silence prevailed. Muhammad wasn't liking this question session. He's scared that he would be pushed to the end and he couldn't lie. So when his phone rang, he thanked God in his mind and walked out.
Adeelah suspiciously looked at him. She sighed minutes later when she heard his car drive out of the house.
Bored, she called home to inquire about Abba's whereabouts and the story was still the same. But there was another info. Aunt Beebo was also missing so they deduced that they were safe but Adeelah panicked the more. Because she knew what other members of the family didn't know.
Adeelah walked to her room, feeling lightheaded. With two topics dancing in her head. For the first time, she decided to check what Salisu gave her but as if stopped by someone, she decided against it. She didn't have to remember the memories they shared so she just walked out of the room.
Adeelah walked out to her backyard and sat. Out of reverie, tears started dripping from her eyes. " i miss you Oum." She cried.
She felt so lonely that she didn't know what to do.
"Salisu, i miss you too."
It felt unright to say it but she did. It was the truth that she couldn't hide. She's tired of lying to herself. She's tired of everything.
The absence of Oum in her life and Salisu's absence. Then Abba.
"I wish i will hear one more Dillaliya coming from you. Just once. I wish I believed my heart..." she muttered again, with another tears, anew.
She didn't know for how long she cried, but Adeelah fell asleep there, leaning on the wall, her face on her knees like a girl who lost someone important in the middle of nowhere.
Well, she lost alot. Alot of important people.
*****
Family matters aside, I decided to focus on my own life. I would love to leave Baffa and Baba Kabo alone. If it's about wealth, i was okay with sharing with them, sharing with the whole family even but they would kill me. Although Baba Kabo didn't buy the idea, Baffa Kabo was still on his ground. I knew about this when he tried to poison my coffee. As much he thought he had people working for him, those people were behind me too. They would often tell me his plans and all i did was to double cross him.
So enough with the Kabo family palaver, i initially planned to bee Adeelah's chauffeur as someone in a new face but i changed my mind after meeting a well educated Sheikh. I told him that i had an agreement to divorce my wife after some months forth our marriage, so when I delivered an envelope and traveled, they thought it's the divorce. One way or the other i was sure they didn't read and they married her off to someone. The Sheikh had remained quiet before he looked at me.
"The second marriage is invalid because she's still your wife and if she's gotten a child out of that marriage, the child is considered yours and all his responsibilities is upon you." He had said. The thought of Adeelah conceiving another man's child made me shiver. What if they had done it already?
Out of jealousy and reflex, i called Muhammad and told him i wanted to start working the next day because i was free. He agreed willingly and i smiled.
I packed my damaged clothes in a nylon and checked my face. It's the same typical Salisu. Lean. Another thing was prior to becoming Adeelah's chauffeur, i had to quit gym and shed some weight. All those muscles had slimmed down. It's really funny how a woman would make you do crazy things.
I laughed as i set my foot out of the house.
Adeelah, your chauffeur's coming soon.
*****
Adeelah wasn't surprised that she slept outside. So when she woke up, she decided to shower and video call aunt Siddiqah. As she sat, wiggling at her aunt's baby, aunt Siddiqah asked her a question that shook her.
"So when should she expect a brother or sister?"
Adeelah laughed with unseriousnes etched in it's sound. "Aunt! I don't know because.."
Adeelah was cut because of the ringtone of her standby phone. So she excused to answer the call.
"If you want your Abba back, sound and alive, come to Kano line area. You will be wise enough not to inform anyone."
*****
Happy new year!
A filler chapter, i know. Just manage before i type a veryy long one. We are around 'the end' corner.
I have alot of books to write after this, so i will post them on my IG story as soon as i am done with this. You can vote for which you want me to start by then in sha Allah.
I'm aaeshatu___ on Instagram, if you don't want to miss.
Meanwhile, here, you can comment on what type of story you want me to write next. By the way, the comments on the last chapter made me so happy. Please keep it up!