Beautiful new cover by The BookQueen 77

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-Ahmad-

The bride walked in amidst drumming and music with the bridesmaids trailing behind her. My eyes search for her and for a moment when I caught sight of her, I held my breath. She always has that effect on me..... she takes my breath away.

The bride looked beautiful in an A-lined satin and lace dress in egg shell white. The head piece was decorated beautifully with lots of crystals and semi-precious stones. It is absolutely gorgeous.

I remember her saying the dresses she makes are crap, but seeing the bride, I have to admit she makes elegant crappy dresses. Obviously, the dress was a hit among the ladies as I caught several discussions concerning it.

She sat two tables from mine along with my sister saudah and two other men, one of whom happened to be the groom's second cousin and the other who I don't recognize. Meanwhile, I was seated with Lola ( I am sure my mom has something to do with it ), together with my cousin Abdul Kareem with his girlfriend sharifat.

I have been attempting to talk to her since morning, before the wedding fatiha but I couldn't. I know she's leaving by the early morning flight tomorrow so it's has to be today.

Halfway through the reception, an idea came to me and I sent a text message to my sister asking her to give the phone to Ameena. She swerved in her chair and cast me a confused glance, then she shrugged and handed the phone to her which also made her equally confused. The other guy at her table said something and she smiled. My heart constricted and I felt the urge to punch the guy straight in the face because by all indications he is flirting with her.

"Excuse me I need to make a call."

Okay baby, make it short." Said Lola

I went out to the parking lot and made the call asking her to meet me there. The sun is beginning to set and a little later I begin to wonder if she is coming, just then I saw her approaching looking so calm and graceful and suddenly all the words I have planned on saying vanished into thin air. I was speechless.

"Salam alaikum"

Wa alaikumussalam" I replied

She remained silent, waiting for me to say something and at that very moment I felt like a total idiot. I just said what came to my head.

"It looks like it's going to rain soon....you know, the weather here is so unpredictable.....it rains all year round.

The weather? Really?

I shifted uncomfortably the way in which she stared at the sky and said 'hmm'. This was going no where I have to do something fast.

"That was quite an Impressive dress you made."

"Thank you" she said.

Come on, I said to myself, I can't be this bad at expressing myself. So with the most sober voice I could come up with, I asked her,

"Have you ever felt as if you have known someone for a long time, when in reality, you just met?...that, that person is indeed whom you've been searching for all along?"

"Like some sort of de javu?" She asked.

Right. It's exactly how I feel after I met you..."

"Stop! Please...I need to go back inside."

As she turned around, I panicked and without thinking, I blurted out the words.

"I am not your father!"

"How dare you?" She swerved.

Even though it's almost dark, I can see her eyes ablaze like hot embers as she glared at me.

"I talked to demi yesterday night." I said softly as if it will lighten up what I just said.

I watched with horror as she walked back holding the helm of her crimson gown. I rushed and over took her, it was then that I saw the tears streaming down from her eyes. Her kohl was running down along with the tears. I handed her my handkerchief which she rejected and continued towards the hall.

"You can't go back in there with that face, you look like a meerkat!"

I saw what appears to be a smile, flash through her face amid the tears. my joke seem lighten the atmosphere. So I handed it to her the second time and she accepted. She sat down by a fountain and dab her face with the handkerchief. I sat by her side, We remained in a blissful silence for a couple of minutes before I heard her speak. She was looking at the water from the fountain and her voice sounded distant.

"I have no memories of him. He left when I was four, the only one who could remember him is my sister deejah because when he left she was almost eight.

All I know is that he went for a course in Louisiana. There he met an American woman and they fell in love and he left mama and us. He never came back.

When I was a child, I use to fantasize that he came back and apologized for what he did and me, mama and deejah forgave him and we were one happy family again. I used to imagine how I will show him off to my friends and cousins and say I did have a Dad too.

And growing up in a large family house did not help matters either.

Mama's family urged her to move back home and get married years later, but she refused. Even baba alhaji, my oldest uncle proposed that she married him but she declined. This proposal has always been a source of friction between mama and his wife hajiya Adda. Uptill now she hates mom and she made sure the rest of my uncles wives did the same. It also didn't help that I was a troublesome child.
I was always getting into a fight at school, islamiyya and amongst my cousins.
My cousin fadila started a rumour at our islamiyya that mama did Asiri (dark magic) in other to marry my dad and after the spell broke he ran away from her. When I heard, I was furious and confronted her. A fight broke and I started throwing punches and clawing at her face. It took two mu'allims to yank me off. I always got into fights when someone says something about my mom or me not having a dad.

Mama took up a job at a school nearby but baba alhaji still sees to our needs. He made sure we never want for anything, but like every child I was more focus on what was missing rather than what I have. I missed having a dad.

I used to think mama got over dad but one day, I woke up in the middle of the night feeling thirsty, I passed by her room and I heard a muffled sound. The door was ajar and the room was dimly lit, I could make out her outline sitting by the bed side holding a little framed picture and crying. She still loved him.

I didn't go in, I knew she wouldn't want me to.

I didn't get the water either, I just went back to bed and pulled the blanket around me as tight as I could and I cried myself to sleep.

The next morning I made a promise to
myself never to get married. I will stay with mama all my life, I am never going to leave her."

She sniffed and dab her eyes with the hanky. I didn't know what to say. I felt the urge to hold her and promise never to leave her, but I did no such thing.

This is the other side of the girl I met a few days ago.
This fragile, vulnerable and broken girl whose father has murdered her trust in relationships, commitments and marriage. It's another side of the art enthusiast, the one who didn't care to walk out with a face mask on her face. The one who braves a smile even when her hand was sprained.

And I love her more.

"We better get back in." she said while standing up and trying to smooth the creases on her dress.

At the moment it sounded like a good idea.
Some things can wait.

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-Ameena-

On our way back from the reception, the bride and groom sat at the back, while I sat at the front seat and Ahmad was driving. The new couples were all over each other which didn't make things easier.

Time after time they ask my opinion on something they were discussing, which I was not paying attention to.

I picked my phone and sent a message to demi.

Me: I am so going to kill you!

Demi: aww....so sweet

Me: that was not meant to be a joke. You know what am talking about

Demi: I am so sorry, I thought if I told him he will stay away. You guys talked?

Me: that's beside the point. You owe me big time!

Demi: when exactly are you planning on telling me about that day at the spa

Me: when Lothor runs out of kelzacks and aliens.

Demi: who the hell is that? Anyway forget it. You are one crazy girl, I swear.

In the middle of our bickering I heard Kareem throw a question at Ahmad.

"Dude how will you feel when you are sidelined by your bride on the day of your wedding?... Oh, let me rephrase that. What do you think of a wife who chats on her phone and ignore her husband?"

"I will say your wife is cheating on you with her best friend." He said, and we all burst out laughing.

Something inside me was not right. There has been a sort of nervousness in me that springs out whenever he is around and am not liking it one bit. Agreed he is charming, easy going and has a way to make me laugh when I am sad.

The feeling I get when he narrowed his eyes making them slits like with his long lashes almost covering them up, it feels like he could see right through my soul.

The only consolation is that I am going home tomorrow and I 'll never see him again. But even thinking about that made my heart sink. Did I really want that? Besides they say out of sight is out of mind. Hopefully this will be so in this case.

The bride was taken to her new home which was a beautiful five bedroom detached duplex at banana island in Ikoyi.

We came back home late at night. I was so tired the only thing on my mind is going to bed. It felt awkward now that demi is not here.

I just got out of the shower and rummaged through my bag for my jammies and was ready to hop on the bed when I heard a knock on the door.
Wait it's almost 1a.m, who could it be?
I walked slowly toward the door and ask who it was. That was when I heard Alima's voice asking me to open up.

"Alaja wants to see you."

"What? In the middle of the night? Can't it wait till morning?" I tried to stifle a yawn.

I think both mother and son are hell bent on giving me a hard time.

Alima just shrugged and yawned obviously she is sleepy too. I mean who wouldn't be at this hour?

I picked up my night cap and she led the way. She pointed to a door and told me that's the room and she went back to the room she shares with saudah.

I took a deep breath and knocked.

" Come in."

"Assalamu alaikum"

"Wa alaikum assalam"

The room I walked into was a luxury suite of some sort. Triple arches bisect the master bedroom segregating the sleeping and relaxation area. The combination of cream, brown and pale gold added a warm feel to the room.

Sitting on the sofa was one of the most beautiful middle aged woman I have ever seen. Everything about her from the upturned chin, the posture with which she sat, the single diamond and ruby ring on her finger, to her silk two-piece emerald night dress with gold detail, bespoke elegance.

From what demi told me, she is the daughter of the Alafin of Oyo. She is half Yoruba and half Dutch by birth but she is a total Yoruba woman in her ways as her father made sure of that.

After scrutinizing me for a good minute. She asked me to take a sit.

"I see you have caught the attention of my son?"
It was more of a statement than a question, so I remained quiet. Whatever was going down tonight I am clearly not prepared for it.

"Lets put it this way, Ahmed is the heir to Zirconia international. I 've worked so hard for him to be where he is today. I don't want him to go chasing after some random girl he barely knows," she paused and checked her nails as if they hold some mystical powers.

"I know girls nowadays are all about finding the perfect man, young, rich and handsome. But you see my dear I have made plans for him and that doesn't include you in it."

I don't like where this is going. Her tone reeked of mockery and condescension.

"So correct me if I am wrong. You love him too, yes?"

"Yes." I replied almost in a whisper

"What?"

Maybe she didn't hear my response or maybe she did and expected me to retract what I just said. But the truth is that, the reply was for me rather than an answer to her question.

Its like the flood gates of my emotions have been opened. A torrent of vivid emotions came to me. The way I feel when he looked at me, the warm sensation that arose from the pit of my stomach when he is close, the tiny volts of electricity that spread across my body when his fingers brushed mine ever so slightly while he knotted my wrapper...the list kept going on and on and they all add up to one thing...

"The answer is yes, I have fallen in love with your son which has absolutely nothing to do with what you just mentioned.
I can't answer why? when? And how?
Because I really don't know. But the one thing I do know is that I will not marry him in a million years to come."

"Hmm...interesting

I see where that came from

"The truth is we don't get to choose whom our heart falls in love with, but what we decide to do about it is totally up to us. In this case, be rest assured that this is the last you will hear of me."

"This has turned out rather nicely, well...I guess we have an understanding." She said dismissively and stood up.

That was my cue to leave.

Even after Ameena left , something tells Alaja this is definitely not the last she will hear of this girl. Something about the girl made her uneasy.

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