"As a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them. Verily, I, the servants, the helpers and my followers defend them because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah, I hold out anything that displeases them. No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it or carry anything from it to a Muslim's house. No one is to force them to travel or to oblique them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them. If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, she is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray. Their churches are to be respected." - Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) on Christians. 

Dedicated to @melekbayraktar. I sense a strong heart in you and a nature of true goodness. Thank you for your support and I hope you live your dream of helping those in need around the world. ❤

Chapter 16 - The Meeting. 

"That's it. You're dead." Salma looked liked she was about to launch herself at me.

"I can't believe it," Shaymah added, looking dumbfounded. 

I groaned. "Can't you guys be at least a little supportive?" 

"NO!" They yelled at me simultaneously, both with frustrated looks on their faces. I turned to another one of our close friends, Miriam, who was laughing at us silently. 

"Miriam! Tell them!" I huffed.

We met Miriam at the beginning of this year when we had all started university. Although she was a devout Christian, that small fact didn't disturb our sisterly relationship a tad. She had a heart of gold which was apparent through her soft facial features and were forever shaped with a smile. Her face was framed with a short brown bob cut that brought out her grey eyes and mirrored her tan skin. She's also what modern society would define as 'overweight' but it certainly didn't detract from her beauty. 

We met her on the very first day of orientation week; two guys were not so discreetly talking about her weight, making her look like she wanted to disappear into a black hole. I remember it all too clearly:

"It's so hot!" It was the first day of uni and of course, the weather was perfect the last few days with average temperatures, and then all of a sudden, today it felt like we were standing on the tip of a volvano.

All three of us were standing on the balls of our feet, excited and nervous at the same time. We each had ice blocks in our hand, a lame attempt at trying to cool us down. I had just finished the last bite and was staring at the popsicle stick sadly, before I was nudged in the side by Shaymah. 

"Hmm?" She nodded her head towards two guys who were sitting on the edge of a fountain. At first, I was lost as to why she she was singling them out - they were cute but we weren't the type of girls to fret over boys. However, looking at them closely, I realised they were snickering every time they made a loud mouth comment about a short, stump girl standing near the ice-cream vendour we had just been at. 

"Yalatif," one of them said. "Shouldn't she be cutting down on the sugar?" 

"People have no self-restraint these days," the other replied tauntingly, twisting his snapback backwards in an attempt to look cool. I scoffed, before turning to look at the girl. Having heard them, she had hung her head low, causing her long brown hair to fall forward, as a result curtaining her face and covering her burning red cheeks. My heart broke in two for this poor girl, and since she clearly wasn't going to say anything in self-defence, I decided I would do it for her.

Salma, Shaymah and I exchanged determined looks before walking up to the two idiots. 

Without even a salams, I stood right infront of them and crossed my arms. "If I throw a stick, will you leave?" I asked. I almost wanted to smile at their confused faces.

"What?" One of them asked, not too intelligently. 

"Oh, I'm just asking because both of you are acting like animals right now." I said nonchalantly. They had shocked looks on their faces, clearly not expecting my attack. 

"Instead of wasting your breathe on that kind of rubbish talk, go repent to Allah," Shaymah said, speaking more civilly than me. I couldn't help it though; after seeing the girls face my blood began to boil. No one deserved that kind of treatment. 

"Damn," one of them muttered, before they both clambered to their feet and walked off. 

"I think, that if Yasmine is happy with this decision, then she should go for it." Miriam looked over at me and smiled, breaking my daydream.

"Thank you!" I said, throwing my hands up in the air. It has been a week since the proposal. Despite the fact that only nine days ago I was locked up in between four walls and Gaza was being bombed, life went on. Work, university and school all resumed today and people continued to go on with their lives. That was the amazing thing about us Gazans - we take every moment to live life to the fullest and if our occupiers, namely Israel, believed they could ever diminish our will to live freely and with dignity; well they'd be truly mistaken. 

And since university started again, all us four girls were sitting on our favourite lawn eating lunch before we all headed to our separate classes. I took the opportunity to tell them the news of me accepting Abdullah's propsal, since I preferred to tell them face-to-face rather than over the phone. 

"This is absurd. I mean, not really that he asked for you, but the fact that you accepted!" Shaymah said, voicing her thoughts. It wasn't uncommon for girls our age to get large amounts of proposals but most would decline due to education or familial needs. 

"Poor Zach," Salma said, looking distraught. 

"Don't even go there Salma! Please!" I begged. I felt Zach wasn't too happy with my decision since everyday he was acting less warmly towards me but he was still supporting my decision nonetheless. He had warned me that marriage was no joke and to seriously think about it but I knew all this. I wasn't reckless and I knew what I was doing. I think...

"Plus," I said, "it's not like I'm going to marry the guy tomorrow. It's just a getting to know each other period. Jeez, guys," I finished defensively.  

"Exactly. Now you girls better plaster a smile on your faces or I'll do it for you!" Miriam joked whilst eyeing Salma and Shaymah pointedly.

"Fine, fine," Salma said, managing a small smile. She sighed before asking, "so they're coming over tonight?"

"Yep," I said, popping the 'p'. I took a bite into my sandwich and stretched my legs out, making sure to fix my skirt and cover my legs.

"How are you so relaxed? Aren't you nervous?" Shaymah asked, crunching on her m&m's. 

I shrugged my shoulders. "Not really. You guys know me, I don't freak out much. Although I most likely will get a little nervous when they first come." 

"Plus you've seen him around uni, so it's not like you're complete strangers," Miriam added positively. 

"True," I said, nodding my head. He graduated last year but he was constantly at our uni, most likely meeting up with old friends or saying hello to our educators. Teachers here had the highest level of respect, so it wasn't unusual for students to come and greet their teachers or even go for a coffee with them. 

"What are you going to wear?" Shaymah asked.  

"Mmm," I hummed, shrugging my shoulders once again. "Haven't really thought about it." They all raised their eyebrows at me quizically, as if not doing so was the worst crime a girl could commit in this case.

"I'll just wear a potato sack with a nice brown scarf to match. If he doesn't like me at my worst how can he ever truly love me?" I quipped. They all burst out laughing and I chuckled along with them at my own sarcasm. 

"Darling, he'll be out the door in a nanosecond," Salma said, a wave of laughter seizing us again.

"Oh well," Miriam sighed. "I hope it goes well and make sure you text us as soon as the meeting is over!" Although the way our marriage process escalated was very different to how Miriam was used to, she was extremely aware of our religious and cultural traditions, as were most Christians, living side by side with us. 

"I will, Insh'Allah," I said. I looked at my watch, realising there was only five minutes before my next class. "Well," I said, getting up and dusting the few pieces of grass off my skirt. "I gotta jet. I'll message you guys tonight!" 

"Goodluck!" They all screamed out and I smiled as I walked to my tutorial. 

****

I practically ran home after class, since my teacher decided he wanted to spend an extra half an hour on 'how to regulate your motivation,' and 'how to resist temptation.' I wanted to tell him I was resisting the temptation of yelling out 'WE ALREADY KNOW THIS' and bolting out the door but of course that was rude. So I waited patiently for him to finish and made it home, with an hour and a half to spare before Abdullah's family came.

"Asalamu alaikum," I said, walking into the kitchen where everyone was eating. Since it was nearly six in the evening everyone was home. 

"Wa alaikum asalam," everyone greeted in return. 

"How was uni today?" My dad asked, whilst scooping some of his mlokhia with a piece of bread. 

"Alhamdulillah, it was good yabba." I plopped down on one of the seats and within seconds there was a plate and piece of bread in front of me. I smiled at my mum thankfully, before uttering a 'bismillah' and ripping a piece of bread off to eat. 

It only took me a few seconds to realise that something was off...

It was too quiet. Other than Adam's random babbling about dinosaurs and the clattering of cups here and there, everyone was silent. I looked up at everyone questioningly to see that they were all trying not to stare at me. 

"What's going on guys?" I asked. 

"Nothing," mum, dad and Noah replied simultaneously. I knew my family well enough to have realised they were talking about me before I came home. 

"Spit it out, come on," I urged. "I'm a big girl, I can handle it," I joked. 

"We just...how do you feel? I mean, are you ready for tonight?" Mum asked, looking at me closely. 

"If he doesn't match my list of criteria, he's out the door," Noah said, randomly. My parents just looked at him blankly and the twins rolled their eyes at him. 

"One day, those eyes of yours are going to fall back into your head," he said to them. 

I laughed before speaking up, "I'm surrounded by overdramatic people. Relax everyone, it's only their first visit. You'd think it was the wedding or something," I said, before finishing my plate and putting it in the sink. 

"Well I'm glad you're taking this really well," my dad said, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. I kissed him on the side of the head before walking out. 

"I'm going to go shower and get dressed then."

So dramatic, I thought.

****

"OK they should be here any minute now," my dad said walking into the living room where we were all seated.

"Deana and Adam I expect you to be on your best behaviour. Make sure you say salams to the guests and then you can go watch T.V. OK?" He told them sternly.

They nodded obligingly. "Who are they yabba?" Adam asked innocently.

"They're monsters. And they're gonna come to take Yasmine away," Noah said, with an evil laugh.

"Why?" Adam asked, his lower lip now quivering and his eyes filling up with tears.

"Noah!" My mum scolded him. "We don't need a crying child right now!" she said, becoming increasingly flustered. Feeling bad for adding extra stress to my mother, he picked Adam up and consoled him with a lolly from our jar.

"Let me see Yasmine, get up," she said. I did so and immediately she spun me around to assess my attire. I had chosen a nice navy abaya, Zach's mum had sewn for me a few years ago. Since I hadn't really grown much it still fit me well. It was a stunning colour and was perfect for the occassion; not too formal yet not casual either. 

Mum analysed me, from my black wedges, up to my abaya and then inspected my green and blue scarf to match. She gave me a satisfactory nod. "Beautiful Mash'Allah," she smiled, before moving to fix the pillows and make sure everything was in place. 

"Mum, will you calm down please?" I said, laughing. 

"I am calm, Yasmine. Anjad, - " before she could finish, there was strong knock on our door. Mums eyes widnened before she grabbed me and positioned me infront of the couch properly so I was in plain sight. She then grabbed the twins by their arms and made them stand next to me. 

"Ow Mum," Rida said, rubbing her hand arm repeatedly. 

"She's more nervous than me," I said to the twins and they had a, 'you're telling me' look on their faces. My dad and Noah went to open the door and soon after I heard a strong manly voice, followed by a soft one, as greetings were exchanged. There were two more voices that were muddled with everyone elses, until finally everyone was in plain sight.

"This is my wife Muna, my daughters Yasmine, Rida, Nadia, Deana and the little one over there is Adam," my dad said introducing us all. My eyes flickered to who I assumed, was the father first and I smiled sweetly at him. 

We all uttered our salams. "Mash'Allah, what lovely children you have," he said to my parents. "This is my wife, Amina." Khalto came forward and kissed us all three times on the cheek, as per the custom and I couldn't help but realise how her eyes lingered on me a little longer. Well of course, I thought. You could be her future daugther-in-law.

The parents stepped to the side and a young girl probably around the twins age came forward and said hello. "This is Rayan, my daughter," the father said. I asked her how she was, to which she replied brightly and I was thankful for that.

"And my son, Abdullah," he finished off, proudly. I allowed my eyes to fall upon the young man who had walked forward and stopped in front of me. In the few seconds that I had before it got too awkward I took him in. He was tall with an average build, dressed in formal pants and a button down top. Seeing him up closer, I realised he was wearing glasses, behind which shone chocolate brown eyes. His hair was gelled up in all the right places. His countenance was soft and inviting. 

"Asalamu alaikum, Yasmine," he said, his voice low and smooth. He put his hand on his chest and tilted his head forward a little in acknowledgement, since ofcourse, he couldn't shake my hand. 

"Wa alaikum asalam," I replied, my voice unwavering, for which I was proud of. We smiled at each other politlely, if not a little awkwardly and then my dad urged us all to take a seat.

My family was seated on a couch directly across from Abdullah's family,  the exception being Rayan, Abdullah and Noah, who were sitting on the couch that joined the two. There was a long, simple table in front of us which would most likely be filled with food in twenty minutes or so. 

"So Aiman," 'amu started, addressing my father. "Have you all been well? It's been years since we've seen you despite us living only half an hour from each other!" He gave a small, rumbling laugh. 'Amu was quite cute with his beard and round belly, tenderness and joy radiating off of him. 

"Alhamdulillah, as you can see, we are all well," my father replied, smiling. "And yourselves? Tell us what is new with you?" Everyone listened politely to the small talk that occurred between the fathers. After a while Khalto spoke up and it took me a second to realise she was addressing me, especially since her voice was small and soft, the complete opposite of her husbands. "You look beautiful mash'Allah! Where did you get your dress from?!" She asked me, politely.

I could feel a light blush coming on before I thanked her and told her a friends mother made it for me. 

"Ooh. That must have been expensive! Nonetheless such a wonderful dress," she complimented again. 

I thanked her again before we all turned back to the conversation at hand. The men were now talking politics and I could feel myself get bored already. Could men not withold from talking about politics even for a few minutes?! 

I could see Noah talking with Abdullah but I couldn't quite catch their conversation. Turning to Rayan who was on my left side, I decided to spark up a conversation with her.

"So, how old are you?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"16...but many people say I look older." She frowned at that and I laughed, because depending on how you interpreted that, it could be an insult.

"I think you look just your age," I said, comforting her.

"I heard Abdullah mention you're at uni. What do you study?" At the mention of his name, Abdullah turned his head towards us. He caught my eye and gave me a small smile, before turning back to Noah.

"Psychology and History. A double degree," I said. Her eyes widened in what looked like awe before she grabbed my hand dramatically.

"I've always wanted to study psychology! Tell me, is it hard?" I couldn't help but realise how her brown eyes mirrored her brothers ones.

I gave a small laugh again and told her not to worry. "It's only hard if you make it hard." I felt a tap on my shoulder and knew instantly it was to go help mum bring the food out. 

"Excuse me," I said to her, before following mum out of the living room. 

I immediately grabbed the bag of mixed nuts, seeds and some chips before putting it in our nicest plates. "So what do you think? There nice huh?" My mum said, seemingly a bit more relaxed.

"Yeah they are. And Rayan's quite bubbly too," I said, stealing a chip and popping it in my mouth. 

"Abdullah's handsome," my mother said, wiggling her eyebrows up and down. 

"Mum!" I whisper-yelled. "That's disturbing, don't do that." She laughed and rolled up the sleeves of her own baggy abaya so as not to get them dirty.

"OK, I'm going to take the plates out, you serve the drinks," she said. Before I could protest she stopped me. "Don't even think of getting out of this one Yasmine," she said, raising one eyebrow at me. I sighed defeatedly. It was another tradition for the girl to serve the drinks - meaning I would have to serve Abdullah which in turn, meant an awkward encounter. I was dreading it because all eyes would be on me and I never knew what to do with myself. I also had a deep paranoia of tripping over someones foot or something.

I sighed again and grabbed the heavy tray that was filled with eleven cups. "Damn," I mumbled and walked slowly out into the living room. Out of respect, I served my father first then 'amu, followed by my mother and khalto. It was kind of awkward cause I had to keep going to and fro but alas, it must be. 

'Don't make a fool of yourself, don't make a fool of yourself,' I told myself. This would probably be the only time I'd get nervous. I stopped in front of Abdullah and lowered the tray so he could pick his own drink out of the variety. 'He is handsome,' I thought, stealing a glance as he took his cup. His eyes flickered up to mine and I quickly looked away. I could feel him analysing my face and I felt a blush creeping on once again.

"JazakAllahu khair," he said, a shy smile on his face. I smiled back and then turned to serve his sister, who was right next to him and then lastly, Noah. 

He was smirking and I knew he was enjoying watching me squirm under everyone's gaze. I left my glare for later, put my cup on the table and went into the kitchen to pack the tray away. 

I walked back in and sat back down, with an awkward silence directly ensuing. 'Oh no, please no,'. The atmosphere was a bit stiff until finally after a minute 'amu cleared his throat and began to speak.

"So," he started, and I immediately knew this was the moment where it would get more awkward for me and Abdullah. "As you all know, we're here today because my son Abdullah expressed an interest in your daughter. By Allah's will, we have been reunited with a great family and I commend my son on his choice. However, we respect that this is just the first meeting and ofcourse everything is naseeb...know that if things move forward then we will be overjoyed and if they don't...well we have only lost having a stronger connection with you and your family," 'amu said, finishing off his mini-speech whilst looking at my father. 

"JazakAllahu khair brother, you are too kind. Allah knows that we also have nothing but utter respect for you and your family. Me and my wife have no objections and if Abdullah and Yasmine are happy to continue with this then we will be very happy. However, like you said, we shall not hold any grudges if things don't work out." My dad turned to me and gave me a small encouraging smile, to which I returned.

"Well Abdullah here was quite keen on your daughter, so we were very happy you accepted our proposal," 'amu stated, completely oblivious to the embarrasment he had just caused to his son. My own eyes widened slightly and I looked at Abdullah. He was blushing furiously, his eyes downcast and I could see Noah next to him, stifling a laugh. 

I smiled and looked down. That's kinda sweet. 

Now that 'amu had declared why he was here and the most formal part of the evening was over, the conversation took a normal turn again. His parents were asking me about my studies and whatnot and my parents did the same. The twins shifted seats and kept Rayan company, for which I was grateful - I didn't want her getting bored.

Later on, I got up and made some cinnamon tea and put some sweets out on the table. I placed eleven cups again on the tray again and took a steady breath before I went out. Round two.

I followed the same route as before thankfully not spilling anything, especially with my wedges.

"Well that was embarrasing," Abdullah said to me, when I bent down slightly to serve him his tea, referring to his father's comment.

I laughed. "Don't sweat it." He gave me a small smile, one side of his lips higher than the other. As I turned back around I caught khalto watching us, a speculative look on her face. 

The atmosphere was light and airy, the conversations flowing well. It was about nine-thirty at night, two hours later when they got up to leave. The men shook hands with each other and all us ladies gave another round of kisses to the mother and daughter. 

"We'll see you soon insh'Allah," 'amu said, a hopeful look in his eyes. 

"Insh'Allah," my father said, slapping him on the back. We walked them to the door and they all walked to their car. My eyes were on Abdullah, eyeing his movements; they say you can tell a lot about a guy just from watching him. Unexpectedly, he turned around and smiled at me giving me another miniature bow before jumping into the car. 

If he can do a full bow, like Mr Darcy, then things might just move forward.

A/N

SOO...what are you guys thinking about this Abdullah guy huh? ;)

Comment and vote!

Booohh ❤

Definitions: 

 Alhamdulillah: 'All praise is to Allah'

Insh'Allah: 'If Allah wills'

JazakAllah khair: 'May Allah reward you'

Anjad: Seriously/really

Yabba: 'Father' - purely Palestinian

Yalatif: Sort of like 'ouft'

Mlokhia: Dish comprised of chopped up vine leaves

Khalto: 'Aunty'

'Amu: 'Uncle'

Abaya: Long dress that covers the arms and reaches the ankles.