Chapter Twelve
I took a detour on the way home; who knew when I'd be out next so I thought I'd take advantage of this. I took a stroll through the park and entered the local café. At first I didn't notice the customer sat in the corner table as I made my way towards Elizabeth. Her golden, brown hair was dyed a darker brown and pulled up into a high bun, tucked under a little cap, little strands framing her face. She had her jacket on and appeared to be getting ready to leave.
"Liz!" I called out, catching her attention.
"Hey, girl!" Her face shined with excitement. "Perfect timing, I have an hour to kill before I need to be somewhere. Shift just ended but Annabel just got here and she's out back getting ready. Once she's here, we can chill. What can I get you, though?"
She pointed towards the staff room when she mentioned Annabel's name. I can never get over how much she talks.
"I'm good, just thought I'd see who was around before I headed home. I don't think I've seen Annabel in such a long time either," I smiled, approaching the counter.
A couple of minutes later, Annabel walked out from the back and made her way towards the cashier desk. She tucked the strays of black hair that escaped her pony tail behind her ear and flashed a wide smile at me. Her dark eyes glistened at me.
"Hafz, long-time no see!" She squealed. "Where have you been?"
"Oh, ya know, just with my mother-in-law," I replied. Technically, that wasn't a lie.
By that time, Elizabeth came around to stand beside me.
"So, what's the latest?" Annabel questioned as she wiped down the counter in front of her absent-mindedly.
There was actually nothing to clean.
"Oh, n ––" I began but instead found myself being dragged by Elizabeth to the closets table.
"Sorry Annabel, I have something important to discuss with her. Maybe you guys can catch up later," she apologised without meaning it.
Elizabeth wasn't too fond of Annabel ever since Annabel went behind her back and applied for the manager position, fully aware that she wanted to do the same. She wouldn't have had a problem with it if only Annabel had told her that she planned to apply, too. When Elizabeth first told her that she wanted to apply, Annabel had acted supportive without letting her know that she had already applied for it and the decision was made.
When Elizabeth had finally announced to her supervisor that she wanted to apply for that position, her response was, "Oh, didn't Annabel already tell you that she's got that position?"
From that day onwards, the friendship between the two has never been the same. I found out later that Annabel didn't tell her because she seemed so enthusiastic about it that she didn't want to ruin the mood and she didn't have the heart to tell her. Annabel's not that bad and as much as I tried to explain it to Elizabeth, she just wouldn't listen. That girl is as stubborn as a mule.
She pulled me to sit down and then took the seat opposite me, leaning close so no one else would hear.
"Can you believe her? Acting all nice," she began, rolling her eyes, referring to Annabel.
"It's okay, Liz. Stop worrying about it," I sighed.
"Anyways, guess what?" She squealed excitedly, already forgetting her last sentence.
I raised an eyebrow, refusing to guess as I was the worst at them.
"Remember I told you about this guy called Andrew? He asked me out the other day. We're going on a date tonight!"
I smiled at her, covering up the fact I had no idea who she was talking about. I must admit that she rambles on so much that I find my mind wandering to other places during her conversations.
"I'm happy for you."
I gave her a dramatic hug to prevent her from figuring out the lie that escaped my mouth. Oh, not the being happy for her part because, of course, I was but that I had any clue what she was on about.
She didn't seem to notice and went on about Andrew and his greatness, all the while gazing into the air as if she could see him. I took this opportunity to run through my own life in my head. How foolish I was to think that marriage would solve all my previous problems. When one problem ends, another begins and I didn't train my poor little mind to think that far ahead. Sadness overcame me seeing Elizabeth's eye shine with hope of a future with a man that she barely knew and knowing the disappointment that was to come.
"...oh, and you know what? He has the cutest dimples, they're so deep. Wouldn't it be the cutest if our children inherited those dimples from him?" She sighed.
"Woah woah woah, hold up there! You're only going on your first date together and you're already planning for children? Are you okay, Liz? Slow down a little!" I replied, a little louder than necessary, catching Annabel's attention.
"You both okay?" She asked with concern, making her way towards us.
She placed a cup in front of me.
"Oh, I didn't order anything," I frowned, staring at the cup.
"I know, it's on the house. Hot chocolate, your favourite, right?" She smiled at me.
"Oh, thank you! And we're all good, sorry for being loud."
"No, it's okay. There's no one really here apart from another customer anyway." She used her chin to discreetly point towards someone in the far corner where it was almost dark, right by the toilets. "Guys, don't look that way though, you'll make it obvious!"
Both Elizabeth and I snapped our heads back before we could see the other customer when Annabel whisper-yelled at us.
That paved the way for Elizabeth to go on about this customer.
"You know she's been here since opening this morning? She was, like, waiting outside until I came and opened up the café. She literally has been sat there for hours and ordered, like, one drink the whole time. You know she even fell asleep at some point but she hasn't even left that seat. Oh... actually, wait, I think she got up, like, twice to go to the toilet," she uttered, all in one breath. I was wondering when she would stop to breathe.
She was whispering so that only Annabel and I were able to hear. I took this opportunity to glance over at this customer they were talking about and I gasped.
"Guys, I know her," I leaned in and whispered back.
It was the girl who had returned my phone when I had dropped it in the park. She was leaned against her chair, one leg propped up on the chair and against the table and the other swinging on the floor. The chair next to her was filled with her bags. Her eyes were closed at the time and the hood of the same hoodie I had seen her with the night before was tightly wrapped around her face.
"Seriously, how? She just seems..." Elizabeth trailed off.
I knew she trailed off because she couldn't think of anything nice to say. To be fair, she did look a bit of a mess.
"I'm going to go speak to her," I replied, uncertainly.
As I pushed my chair back and stood up, Elizabeth grabbed my arm to stop me.
"Are you sure? She doesn't look like she wants to be disturbed," she frowned.
"Liz, she looks like she needs help and I can't just leave her like that. What person carries that many bags as if they are carrying their whole lives with them. And she's been here all day, doesn't that seem a bit... ya know? I have to see if I can help her," I explained. "She's my friend."
She may not be my friend but I felt like I had to say something that would calm her down and let me go. Elizabeth let go and I nervously made my way towards the girl in the corner. I stood in front of her, on the other side of the table. Her eyes were still closed so I cleared my throat. When she didn't move, even a little, I stretched out my arm to tap her but decided against it.
I turned back to the girls, looking over my shoulder and shrugged. I, then, swivelled back to her to see her eyes were open and staring at me in shock. I jumped, not expecting to see her with her eyes open.
"Uhm, are you okay?" I panicked without explaining what I was doing here.
She looked at me like I was an alien and frowned. It was obvious that she had no idea who I was or what I was doing here. It was like I had just invaded her space.
"I'm fine, are you okay?"
From the tone of her voice, I could tell that she wasn't asking me in terms of my emotional or physical state but more about my psychological state.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm the girl that dropped the phone and you gave it to me before and you spoke to me about Surah Yusuf. I just thought I'd come say hi and... uh, you know, just that." I smiled at her even through my niqab.
I was trembling. I wasn't sure what else I was going to say. I watched as her expression softened as she finally recognised me.
"Assalamu alaikum," she smiled.
"Waalaikum assalam. Do you mind if I sit down?" I felt calmer with the warm greeting she gave me.
She moved her bags to the floor to allow me to take a seat. I took a seat as she sat up on her chair properly.
"I just... I mean, how are you?" I continued.
I gulped, the nerves growing inside. I didn't want to scare her away.
"I'm... okay," she hesitated.
"So... I read Surah Yusuf after we spoke about it," I mentioned to lighten the mood.
"Oh." Her face lit up.
"Yeah, before I read it, I was going through something which I was losing hope in but after I read it, I have a hope that I haven't had for a while. I've been wanting to see you for a while and just say JazakAllah khairan. It helped me so much. Honestly, I feel like Allah made us meet for a reason and I really needed it at the time," I opened up to her.
I observed her physically relax and her face shine.
"Alhamdulillah, I'm so glad to hear that. This surah has really helped me through a lot," she sighed.
To be honest, the reason I opened up to her so soon is because her apparent was very rough and I thought it would be easier for her to tell me her deal if I told her mine.
"Alhamdulillah. Are you okay though?" I turned to her bags to show her what I meant without voicing it the obvious.
She glanced at her bag and then down at her intertwined fingers which were resting on the table. She fiddled with the strings of her hood and loosened the hood a little, revealing the slightest part of a black under scarf. This was the third time I was taken aback. I was surprised that she was covering her hair even if it wasn't with an actual scarf.
"Yeah," she replied cautiously.
"Hey, you don't have to say anything but I can see that something is wrong and I just want to help you," I prompted, hoping she'd tell me what was going on.
"I'm fine, really," she answered firmly.
I don't know why but I couldn't just leave. I was dissatisfied with her answer and I felt the need to help her no matter what. Since the moment I met her, I was drawn to her in a way that I felt like I needed to know her. Since that day, I'd been hoping to meet her again and this was my chance. I would be extremely disappointed with myself if I left without helping in some sort of way.
"Listen, I saw you last night on my way home. You didn't look fine then and you're literally wearing the same clothes with the same bags and everything. I, uh, I don't mean to intrude but are you h––" she cut me off.
"I've been kicked out." Her eyes began to tear up and she swallowed her spit.
Her eyes bore into the table ahead of her and she refused to look up at me. My stomach dropped even though I had already assumed that.
"Do you have anywhere to stay?" I asked, certain that she didn't from what I could see.
She hesitated then peeked through her lashes to look at me and then back down. She shook her head, pulling her hoodie further over her forehead to cover her eyes. The embarrassment was evident.
"You can stay at mine." I responded without a second beat. "We have a spare room."
To this day, I have no idea why I made the offer without consulting Mum or Eijaz. In hindsight, I should have known it may have caused an issue with them but I wasn't thinking beyond her situation at the time.
She gaped at me. "I...I can't."
"Why not? You have nowhere to go and I have somewhere for you. Let's go. You can take a shower and I can make you something to eat. I heard that you haven't eaten anything all day."
I stood up and began picking up some of her bags, which gave her no other choice. She stood up and followed pursuit.