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August 12

A knock at the door woke Halima from the mini snooze she was in. She got up with a deep sigh and wore her bedside slippers, slipping on the floor-length purple hijab lying on the bedside bench over her violet pyjamas.

The knock sounded again, this time gentler. She reached the door finally and opened it to Jamal's smiling face. Then, she widened her own lips into a smile.

"Good Morning!" He greeted chirpily. She nodded and greeted him back, watching him adjust himself of her door frame. He was wearing a pair of black khaki shorts and a sweatshirt with 'Nile University' written on it. She understood why he was wearing such a sweat shirt, she read somewhere that he lectured at the University's business school once a week.

"How was your night? Sleep fine in a new room and the thunderstorm?"  She smiled and nodded that she had slept very well, even woken up in time for Fajr. It had rained from around twelve to around Fajr time.

"Good, so I came to ask, do you like oats?" She nodded. "Yes. I like them. Let me brush my teeth and make some for you. I'm sure you must be hungry, sorry I slept so late." She watched as the muscles of his face arranged into a frown.

"I didn't ask you to come make it. Yes, you could go freshen up, I should have been done making it by then. Just take two turns after the end of the staircase to get to the kitchen." Halima sighed and slouched. She definitely was not expecting that from him, so she nodded quietly and walked back into the room when he walked away.

She sat on the padded bench and leaned back, bracing her elbows on the bed, stunned. Halima wondered what kind of training his mother instilled in him. She deserved a medal for the kind of man she raised.

Halima got up and wandered to the window and parted the cream curtain with chocolate brown embroidery to look down at the car park and the house that she could see across the road.

She walked to the bathroom and sighed as she looked at the decor again. It was all like a dream. Her room was decorated in shades of brown, with a vanity table, mirror placed on a side, near the bathroom door. Her bathroom had a glass shower box and white ceramic bath-tub, a small vanity mirror in front of the washbasin.

Hajjo had helped her unpack her cosmetics the previous day, the vanity table was filled with her bottles of humra, spray gel, body creams, hair products and makeup. She swiped a container of scrub and applied some to her face.

As she waited for the scrub to activate, she went to her stack of boxes and took out a dark blue atampa skirt and blouse that she would wear later in the morning. She also took out a light blue veil to wear over it and placed them all on the bed and entered the bathroom.

When she came out, she wore the atampa and wore the purple hijab over it. After eating, she mused, she would come back to finish dressing. She came out of her room and shut the door behind her and walked the carpeted hallway painted in dark green and arched ceilings.

She reached the kitchen very soon, the rug hiding her footfalls. When she touched the door, it swung open and she walked in. Jamal was scooping oats from a pot into two bowls. She walked in further and waited for him to finish.

"You're here? Good." He took another bowl, filled with cut up bananas and strawberries and scooped some unto each full bowl of oatmeal.

"Here. That's yours. Have a seat." He pointed at the eat-in breakfast bar holding the granite kitchen island. Halima sighed and took the spoon wedged in the food and took a bite skeptically. She swallowed eagerly after finding out that it tasted really good.

"Do you make oats a lot?" She asked him as he wolfed down his food. He nodded.  "Yes. I know how to make a lot of dishes. Mum is a far-reaching human. She spent time teaching me how to cook." Halima smiled and continued to eat.

"So, today, we'll go see our parents. Then tomorrow, we'll have a luncheon with our wedding party. In the morning, we'll do a food drive thingy to give out food. That's all." Halima nodded. She had nothing to say. Summayah had told her Jamal wanted her to meet his friends and he meet her cousins and friends too.

"When are the girls coming home?" She asked of Jariyah and Lubna. "Whenever you want. They're already fidgety. I spoke to them this morning." He then got up and took him plate to the sink, rinsed it and turned it over to dry. Halima watched him in stunned silence as he did all these things, her mouth suddenly went dry.

The doorbell rang as she finished her food, and because he was washing his hands, Halima got up and went to get it. When she nearly reached ghe door, the bell rang again and she hurried to open it. It was Farida.

"Riri. How are you?" Halima automatically smiled at Jamal's youngest sibling. She threw her hands arohnd Halima's neck. "Congratulations Ya Halima." Halima hugged her back and thanked her.

"You're the one Mummy sent?" She asked as she took the slightly heavy basket from sister-in-law. "Yes oo. And the yeye Uber i took broke down and it's all Because mummy asked the house drivers to transport all our relatives to the airport." Halima sent her a look of worry. "Sorry about that." She waved it away and they walked side by side to the kitchen.

"Why are you late?" Halima watched as Jamal frowned when Farida reached him. "The Uber i took broke down. I'm sorry." He shook his head. "We've eaten breakfast already. You should have called I'd have asked you to go back." Halima gawked at the both of them.

"I'm sure it wasn't her fault. She had no idea we'd eaten." Jamal shook his head and walked away. At the foot of the stairs, he turned around at the foot of the stairs and pointed at Farida.

"I've not forgotten what you did." Halima's eyes wandered between them both and watched Jamal climb the stairs.

"What happened?" Farida sighed. "I was the one who brought Haniya Usman home, to daddy in London."

Oh.

******

The drive to Jamal's parents house was very quiet. Only the continuous ping of Halima's phone punctured the silence. She reduced the volume when it got even louder, then began to reply messages of various people everywhere. She wondered how they got her email address.

She laughed at one who asked what type of Turaren she used and if she could recommend same for her. She wondered what theories people had, they just could not accept that she had married Jamal because she loved him, not for another reason, not that money hurt anyone.

Soon, the four wheeler stopped and Jamal turned off the engine. Halima turned off her phone and put it in her bag. Then, as she opened her side door, Farida slammed her own door and carried the food like she had brought it to their house. It reminded Halima of what she wanted to do.

"What was the meaning of what you put your sister through earlier?" Jamal rolled his eyes and shut his door carefully, pressed the keyfob and the car locked.

"I just had to register my displeasure?" He asked in an almost rude tone. Halima narrowed her eyes and nodded her head, rested her body against the car as though she had nowhere to go, inadvertently blocking him. "She only introduced them, she didn't force your father to fall in love with her." Jamal chuckled.

"Whatever her reasons were, I don't want to know." Halima rolled her eyes in brimming anger. "Don't start with that so early in the day. She said she apologized a hundred times already, but you still behave so stubborn and so unlike your age. Forgive her and get it into yourself that she didn't put them together, for heaven's sake she was distraught when they came together if anything."

Jamal sighed and nodded. Halima frowned and walked away, but didn't get far before Jamal grabbed her and put locked his fingers around her waist. "I'll apologise. How's that?" Halima sighed and said "Sincerely apologize. She's not at fault. Your logic is so faulty." She felt him nod against her neck. She sighed again and turned to let him put his face in the crook of her neck.

"This scent drives me crazy." He sniffed again and Halima had to use her elbow to push him away.

"You have no shame. We're in public." She admonished and walked into the house, blushing at Jamal's laughter.

*******

As they all sat down for lunch, Halima who was sitting directly opposite her mother-in-law noticed that her complexion was not right.

When they came in, she had complained of a headache, so Halima attributed it to that. But as everyone else ate, Jamal's mother didn't eat, instead she filled her cup of water twice, sweat broke out on her on her nose and forehead.

"Mummy? Are you okay?" Halima voiced out her concern. She patted her mouth with the napkin provided and shifted her chair to walk to the older woman, she crouched beside her. "Is everything okay?"

"No, I probably need to rest." By now the whole table had stopped eating and they were watching the exchange. "Let me get you to your room. I don't like how you're looking." She nodded and Jamal scrambled out of his chair to help his mother shift her chair back. But the moment she got up, her body became completely limp and she fell right into Jamal's arms. 

Halima screamed, Farida rushed fo the door and pressed a red button that alerted the ambulance service in their estate, Summayah screamed her mother's name over and over, while the house staff crowded at the dining door.

Less than a minute later, the ambulance arrived. Sirens blaring loudly and Farida rushed to open the door for them, the three paramedics marched in with a stretcher and carefully transferred Mummy unto it. Then they wheeled her as quickly as possible into the ambulance, Halima watched as they attached a ventilator to her and turned it on. Farida jumped into the ambulance, tears streaming down her face.

Halima walked back inside in a blur to get her handbag and Jamal's car keys because he could not even move, Summayah took the keys from her and they rushed to the car.

When they were moving, some minutes later, Halima wondered why Jamal's father, who was sitting at the table with them, did not even make a move. Instead, he stared at his phone, chuckling from time to time.

She wondered what could have happened since the last time when Mummy put her life on hold to care for him.

*****"""

Heyoo people, how are you all? Fine I hope? Please, stay safe. Especially for those of you in Kano, we're especially praying for you in this time.

So, who's feeling this chapter? Anything can happen oo😶😁, especially depending on how many votes and comments we get. Hehehehehehehe.

So, see y'all when I see you. I love all of you, keep washing your hands, keep practicing social distancing.

TheOmoope ❣️