The sound of the blender, along with the giggles of two girls, made for a cheerful atmosphere. Nadia turned it off and began scooping the contents into a glass bowl while karima looked on.

"Are you sure this will work?...on your face I mean."

She's confused because Ameena makes something like this, but problem is... she eats it.

"Of course it will. I saw it on Pinterest and you've got to see the results. My phone's in my room, I would have showed it to you." Nadia chirped.

Today is a special day because Arif's family are coming with kayan Use Use. She had tried waking Ameena so they would do the face mask together but she had screamed bloody murder and went right back to bed. So she got stuck with karima.

Karima is their age mate, maybe a little older or younger but no one knows because not even she knew her date of birth. She had married at a very young age and got divorced two years later because apparently, she took too long to conceive. Ameena's mom had brought her home during one of her home visits to Nafada. Ever since, she had been helping around for an agreed price which Ameena's mom saves for her.

"Karima, watch it while I go and get rose water." Nadia said as she scampers out through the back door.

A little while later, Nadia was still not back, so she decided to go do other things before she comes back.

After she left, Ameena walked in and opened the top cabinet. She took out a box of cereal, just when she was about to grab a bowl, something caught her eye.

"Guacamole" she gasped

Someone had decided to surprise her this morning, she thought with a smile. She returned the cereal back in cabinet, grabbed a small pack of TUC crackers along with the bowl and headed into the backyard.

Getting the bowl up the tree was tricky but she managed. She scooped a fair helping with the cracker and popped it in her mouth. Her eyes closed as she savoured the creamy, buttery taste, she had always loved avocados. Even though the maker had forgotten to add onions, it taste like heaven nonetheless.

Nadia came in and almost passed without noticing her but then the lilac colour of her maxi skirt caught her eye. She was about to say hi when she noticed her eating her mix.

"MEENU! get your monkey ass down here this minute! And if you take another dip out of my face mask, i swear, am so going to kill you!" Nadia shouted.

"What! Are you crazy? Who puts guacamole on their face?"

"Zakisan guacamole, I swear, don't let me come up."

"Ha, as if you can." Ameena scoffed.

Karima walks into the backyard and sees Ameena with the bowl. A gasp escaped her lips and she plastered both hands on her face.

After pulling Nadia's leg and making her beg, she wrapped her flowy skirt around her thigh, balanced the bowl on one hand, and began to climb down.

"You ate almost half of it. That's your face's worth. Now you get to see me glow. You are even lucky I am in a good mood today, so am cutting you some slack."

They sat under the tree. Ameena helped with the application of the face mask, all the while lamenting the lost of good food. They chatted while waiting for it to dry. Nadia suggested that since they would get married on the same day, they should have babies on the same day, they shouldn't hide anything from each other and lots of other crazy stuff.

The beep of a message sounded on her phone. It's from Arif, when she was done reading, she pulled Ameena up, put a hand on her shoulder and slide the other on the small of her back and began to sway and waltz to an Indian song she was singing at the top of her voice.

Ameena threw back her head, laughed and went with the flow missing some steps in the process but they didn't care. And Nadia kept singing as they danced.

Chaar kadam bas Chaar kadam...chal do na saath mere....
Rampa ya re..rampa ya re...ra ra re ri ra yaree...

The girls didn't notice when salman came in. He stood there watching them with a blank expression. They stopped to catch their breath and removed hair that has stuck on their sweaty faces. Nadia's had caught a lot due to the sticky green mask on her face.

It was then that they noticed him, they greet him and sat under the tree, they were too happy to care what he thinks. He said nothing and went into the house.

"I wish we will be this happy forever." Said Nadia

"Me too."

"Don't you notice things have been going perfectly these days? Even adda Ai's endless drama had ceased altogether, its almost four months now since she quarreled with her husband."

"I know, and its a nice feeling, but sometimes when such happiness envelopes me, there is this fear that creeps in...like it's going to be short lived." Ameena said

"Toh prophet of doom, ba wani, don't be such a pessimist. Nothing will happen, InshaAllah.

They chatted more before she decides to take off the mask. Although the visitors will be entertained at baba Alhaji's part, she still wouldn't stay at her mom's so they went to take her things, for she had decided to spend the day at Ameena's.

They walked in silence. On entering, they almost tripped on two large suitcases. On the carpet was adda Ai crying her eyes out, while her mother sat with her hands folded on her bosom. she was narrating how her husband disgraced her at a dinner party. On their arrival, she noticed she was wearing the same lace as his brothers wife. She had begged him to take her back home to change, besides, the venue was not far from her house, but Tahir turned on deaf ears. She's even sure his brother's wife heard her plead and is laughing behind her back.

The girls looked at each other and rolled their eyes. They went in and took Nadia's things.

"Do you think by talking out loud about our good fortunes, we jinxed it?" She asked on their way back.

"Nah...that's just superstition. Adda Ai was bound to come home sooner or later. I mean, did you hear her? I swear how Tahir tolerates her is beyond me." Nadia fumed.
______________________________________

Its been two weeks since the families of Arif and Muhsin (Maryam's fiancé) came for the formal greeting. Ahmad's family was the only one remaining. The wedding date has not been finalised because baba Alhaji wanted meet with all the families before a suitable date will be set. He adviced them however, to start preparation because the maximum time he could allow for the wedding will not exceed two months. Preferably less than that.

She sat in front of the vanity table and made up her face. She hesitated as she held two tubes of lipsticks which Nadia chose for her when they went shopping. She chose the plum colored one and glide it over her lips, she applied eye pencil, inwardly praying for her eyes not to water. She had always been make up shy, but now that she stared at her reflection, she knew it wasn't a bad idea after all.

She walked in wearing mustard yellow maxi dress which lighted up her complexion, a cream coloured veil rolled around her face and Zara tribal flats.

He couldn't take his eyes off her from the moment she walked in, to the time she took a seat. She said the salam and he took a while before he answered.

A tense silence followed. This is his last day in the north, his work was over and he is catching the evening flight back to Lagos. His short stay here had been the happiest she had ever been. She wanted to tell him this and more but she was tongue tied.

"You look beautiful."

"Uhm.." She mentally slapped herself, who says uhmn to a compliment?

"So I guess you will miss Kaduna." She said, finding nothing suitable to say.

"No, I won't. There's nothing to miss about sleeping in a trailer house in the middle of no where. What I will miss however, is right here with me."

She felt a rush of warmth spread to her face. Another time she found a reason to be thankful for being a colored girl.

He told her it might take a while before they see each other again. He was going to be busy with renovating the house they will live in. He told her his regret of how tight schedule won't allow him build a house from scratch. He wants to build something with her in his mind. An already built house to him, was like living in somebody else's idea of a home.

"It doesn't matter to me if the house is built from scratch or renovated. I just don't want you being all selfish and keeping the best room to yourself."

"Who said anything about having separate rooms?" He asked

"Of course we would, all couples do that."

"Well, we won't. The moment you and I are married, there wouldn't be yours and mine anymore...only ours." He said.

"Remind me how this talk about bedrooms came about?" She asked

"I don't know, you started it."

"Okay, end of discussion, let's talk about something less...depressing." She begged.

"You call this depressing? Seriously, you never cease to amaze me with your perspective on things."

They talked some more before he got up to leave. They walked out together to his car. He was so close, she could feel the warmth of his breath on her face. Neither of them said a word.

"Will you stop staring?"

"What else do I stare at, if not you, its not like I have a veil or henna on my fingernails to look at." He teased

"I don't do that."

"Damn right, you do."

She started laughing and her eye teared as well. She wiped them away with the back of her hands. He handed her his silk handkerchief.

"Thanks...something got in my eye." She sniffed.

"Yeah, I know," he said softly

When she continued to cry, he called her name and she looked up teary eyed.

"I will miss you...awful lot."

She didn't say a word, she wanted to tell him how she'd miss him but she just stood there and cried.

One thing she was always grateful to him about, is that, he never pressed her for any confession. He was contented with the little she said.

They said their good bye's and he left.
She watch his car drive out of the house and she stood there like a stature. Something didn't feel right but she brushed it off, blaming it on pessimism.
______________________________________

Lagos

Dinner had never tasted better, everything seemed more beautiful, things he had earlier ignored, became intriguing. Life was beautiful.

After dinner, he met his parents at the living room. They brushed up a bit about work with his dad and they congratulated him on the completion of the plant. An awkward silence followed before he cleared his throat.

"Actually, there is something I want to discuss with you."

They had been expecting this since his arrival yesterday night.

"Go ahead son." His dad urged nervously

"Its about the girl I want to marry. Her uncle wants our families to meet and formalize things, because he wants the wedding to be on the same day with her cousins."

"You know we've been through this already, why are you dragging it? Just allow things to be the way they are, it will save us a lot of headache." Said his mom.

"What things, mom?"

"You know what am talking about, I have already chosen your wife. That's all there is to it." She answered

All this while, his dad said nothing. Actually he was trying hard to avoid eye contact with his son.

"Dad?"

"Dad?"

"Yes son?"

"Won't you say something?"

"Listen to your mom son, she knows what's good for you."

"This is unbelievable! Please tell me its a joke...I expected this from mom but not you dad."

"What your dad meant is, we are not going to allow you to marry a Hausa girl..."

"Well, lucky for you she isn't. She's Fulani." He snapped.

"Doesn't matter, they are all the same to me. What will she know about our culture? Will she value our traditions? Our moral values? Will she bring up our grandkids according to our culture and traditions?"

"I don't know mom. What I do know is, she will bring up my children according to Islamic laws and traditions, and that's all that matters."

"Arguing about this is futile. Our decision is final. No one is going to ask for her hand on your behalf, get that into your head." She said.

She knows he will hate her for this but she also knows she's his mother so he will eventually forgive her.

"Alright then, if you won't, am talking to uncle Mohammed and uncle Femi."

"We've discussed this with them as well, its pointless for you to go there, but... you can give it a try." Alaja said callously

He was furious, his dad avoided eye contact and was staring at his wife instead. Seeing that his anger was taking him nowhere, he lowered his voice and pleaded to his dad pretending his mom was not in the room.

"Dad...please, just this once, do this for me. I promise not to ask anything of you again, don't take away the thing that matters most to me...please"

"Son what an elder sees, a youngster even at the height of a ladder will fail to see. Let the girl go, your heart will heal in time."

It killed his dad to see him in such pain and not be able to do anything about it. He glanced several times at his wife but she returned it with an icy stare.

"Lola is the one I chose and she's the one you will marry. Better start getting used to the idea." Alaja added.

"Lola...God! How many times do we have to go through this? I told you mom, I don't like her, now that she's becoming too much of a headache, am beginning to hate her...and I swear to God if you do this, she wouldn't be the only one I will hate..."

He said the last part and stormed out of the house. His car keys were upstairs so he walked out into the street trying to control his anger. He walked to the gym down the road.

He needed to punch something.

************************************
*sigh* I didn't enjoy writing this part myself, so am not gonna ask if you enjoyed it. But I did enjoy writing the girls part tho...didn't want it to be all gloomy and stuff.
In case u are wondering which song Nadia sang, its Chaar kadam from pk. I tried to upload it from YouTube but it did me mugu.

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