Aidah

"Nadia, where are you headed?" Mairam asked as Nadia grabbed her handbag and sunglasses.

"To Yakaka's house," Nadia replied in her thick British accent as she made her way to the main door. In my house, we mostly speak Hausa and English—Kanuri, not so much. "I promised her I'd visit today."

One day, Mairam and I were out when we met a woman who asked if we were from the north. We said yes, and she seemed surprised, saying she thought we didn't know how to speak Hausa. I replied, "Who are you kidding? We grew up in Maiduguri!" But the saddest yet funny part is that we can't speak Kanuri fluently.

I went to the living room and turned on the TV to E!, my current favorite channel—after Food Network, of course. I was watching KUWTK when Maryam called. "Hey girl!" she said on the other end.

"Maryam, how are you?" I asked, lowering the volume.

''I am fine, you? are you at home?''

"I'm good too! So, are you coming over?" I asked, and Maryam said yes—she'd be here in 30 minutes or less. Apparently, she's taking me out on a date!

Sayyid and I are doing well; Mairam and Nadia know about us, as do his sisters. He always expresses his love for me, which is really sweet—he cares a lot. He's currently in Florida for some projects, but we video and voice call every day. I just wish I could see him in person. Samad always teases me about being his best friend's girl.

I finished the episode I was watching and went up to my room to take a shower. I took off my clothes, wrapped myself in a fluffy towel, and stepped into the bathroom. After a relaxing shower, I came out, applied my Victoria's Secret body lotion, and pulled out a gold satin dress with a matching veil for my date with Maryam. I put on a hijab and prayed Maghrib since it was already time.

I sat on the stool at the vanity mirror and lightly touched my face. I applied a maroon lipstick—which I rarely do—along with eye pencil and mascara, then spritzed on some Baccarat Rouge perfume. I wore my Cartier love bracelet on my right wrist and a maroon VCA vintage Alhambra on my left, along with matching earrings and a 20 motif necklace in the same color. I also had a Chanel brooch on. After picking up my phone and lipstick, I tucked the lipstick into my maroon Mini Kelly, slipped on my maroon Jimmy Choo heels, and snapped a mirror selfie.

I went downstairs to the living room and saw Khalifa, Mahmoud, and Mairam arguing about something. "Why are you guys always arguing?" I asked, rolling my eyes playfully at them.

"Where are you going all dressed up like this?" Mahmoud asked, completely ignoring my question.

"Ooh sis, you look stunning," Khalifa said with a wink.

"Thank you, Khalifa! I'm going on a date with my best friend."

Just then, Maryam walked into the living room with her black scarf draped over her right arm. She was wearing a beautiful purple dress, and her makeup was flawlessly done—she's really talented when it comes to makeup!

"Hey, bestie!" I said as I gave her a hug.

Maryam hugged me back. "Please help me tie this thing," she said, referring to her scarf, and I gladly did. Then I quickly headed to Ammi's room to let her know that we were heading out.

"Toh, se kun dawo, Allah naya barazu," Ammi said in Kanuri, pecking my forehead. I replied with "Ameen" and then left the room.

We headed to the parking lot, hopped into Maryam's Honda, and zoomed off to a classy restaurant in the central business district.

We arrived shortly and got out of the car, entering the restaurant. It was a really beautiful place with great food. We headed to a corner table that Maryam had reserved for us. The waiter came to take our orders; Maryam ordered French onion soup with spicy shrimp and a cocktail, while I opted for a Caesar salad, spaghetti Bolognese, and a Chapman.

"So, how's Sayyid?" Maryam asked, casually sipping her drink.

"He's fine," I replied, rummaging through my bag for hand sanitizer.

"When is he coming back?" she asked, and I responded.

Our food was brought, and we began to dig in. After the main course, we indulged in desserts—I ordered sachertorte while Maryam chose semifreddo. We enjoyed our treats while chatting about everything and nothing. Once we finished, we headed home, and Maryam dropped me off before heading back herself. As we arrived, I noticed an unfamiliar car parked outside.

"Probably one of Baba's visitors," I thought.

"Assalamu alaikum," I said as I entered the house. Hearing voices, I decided to go greet them. I walked into the living room and saw Baba talking with a man around his age.

"Ina wuni," I said, squatting down to greet the man.

It turned out the man was my boyfriend's father—yup, Sayyid's dad. I stood up and headed to my room. The house felt unusually quiet, aside from the sounds coming from Baba's living room.

As soon as I entered my room, I took off my scarf and tossed it on the couch. I slipped out of the dress, removed my jewelry, and put it back in its box. After wiping off my makeup and going through my night routine, I changed into my pajamas and lay down on my bed. Just as I was about to call Sayyid, his FaceTime video call came in. I smiled and answered.

"Hey you," he said in his drop-dead sexy voice.

"Hey there, Noi?" I asked in Fulfulde. In case you've forgotten, my Ammi hails from Adamawa, so she's Fulani.

"Jam. How are you, my Halimatu?" he asked in a husky voice.

"I'm good, Alhamdulillah," I replied. "How are you and how's work?" I added.

"I'm fine, Alhamdulillah, and work is hectic as usual... Sweetheart, you really shouldn't have chosen architecture," he said with a sigh. He looked genuinely tired.

"Ayyah, I'm sorry! I really feel you. Stop making me second-guess my choice in architecture; besides, it's too late to change now," I said, pouting.

"How's Florida? I miss that place," I said.

"You should! The place is really beautiful. Maybe when we get married, we can live there," he winked.

Oh, Sayyid, you don't know how that made me feel, I thought to myself.

He suddenly burst into laughter. I raised an eyebrow and asked, "What? Why are you laughing?"

"You should have seen your face when I mentioned marriage," he said, chuckling. Just then, I noticed what he was wearing—a gray sweatshirt with 'Harvard University' written on it. I have a similar one that says 'Lynn University' on the front and 'Class of 2017' on the back.

We talked for a long time, and I told him about my date with Maryam. He made me promise that we would go on a date when I got back from Spain. It was 12:30 AM in Nigeria, and time for Maghrib in Florida.

"Goodnight, Aidah. Make sure you dream of me," he said with his sexy smile.

I gave him a huge grin. "Goodnight, Sayyid." With that, I ended the call, recited my adhkar, and drifted off to sleep.

🤍
"Come on, Aidah, what's taking you so long, ne wai?" asked an annoyed Ya Ummi. Everyone is downstairs waiting for me to head to the airport.

Ya Ummi, Ya Bebi, and the rest of my siblings were all downstairs, ready for the trip. Eighteen of us were traveling today, including my nieces and nephews with their nannies, but excluding Baba, Ayman, and Abdallah. The jet is an Airbus with 20 seats, so it can accommodate all of us comfortably—it's quite spacious.

I came downstairs, receiving death glares from my sisters. "I'm sorry!" I smiled at them, and they just shook their heads.

After all the luggage was loaded into the car trunk, Nadia, Khalifa, Ya Ummi, her husband, her two kids, and their nanny climbed into the SUV, while everyone else got into their respective cars heading to the airport.

We arrived at the airport after a forty-minute drive. We hopped out of the car and made our way to the private jet hangar.

We went through security checks and then settled at the gate for a while, taking a moment to relax before boarding the plane.

Once we finished organizing everything with the kids, we walked past the gate and boarded the plane. Khalifa, Nadia, Mahmoud, and I sat together in a two-by-two arrangement, while Ya Ummi and Ya Bebi settled in with their husbands. Yassine, Mairam, Ya Mamma, and Aicha sat together, and Ammi and her co-wives found their seats. Everyone fastened their seatbelts after the pilot made his usual announcements.

We chatted for a while with my siblings, brothers-in-law, nieces, and nephews, and we were really having a great time. Oh, how much Ammi, Ya Niimah, and the rest are missing out!

I stood up and went to check on my mothers before returning to my seat.

It was already dark as we flew through the sky, so I decided to take a nap since everyone else was doing the same after dinner. I had been sketching for a while, and I was feeling really tired. I closed my eyes and pulled my coverlet over me, ready to drift off to sleep.

•

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Malaga Airport, Spain," came the pilot's voice. Unfortunately, there's no airport in Marbella, so we landed at Malaga Airport, which is just 55 km from central Marbella.

We unfastened our seatbelts, and everyone started chatting again. After organizing ourselves, we prepared to disembark from the plane.

We went through all the necessary steps: immigration, collecting our luggage, and checking out. Once outside, we spotted a man in his early fifties holding a cardboard sign that said "Deribes." We approached him and exchanged pleasantries. Thankfully, he spoke English. He led us to a large Costa bus, where we all settled in for the ride to the house. Baba has a villa here in Spain since he spends a lot of time here.

I hopped off the bus and entered the house, leaving the rest outside doing God knows what. Once inside the living room, I saw Ya Hammad, Ayman, Abdallah, Kami, Ammi, Ya Niimah, and Ya Musty. They probably had no idea we had arrived already.

"Kamiii!" I squealed, drawing their attention to me. I greeted everyone with Salam and stepped further into the room, hugging her first.

"Oh my God, you guys are here!" both Kamilla and Amma exclaimed, giving me a really tight hug.

The rest of the family came in, and the house quickly filled up with Baba's children, in-laws, and fifteen grandchildren. I really love it when we're all together; it makes me so happy.

Everyone went off to find their rooms. Mairam and I chose a room to share, as did the other unmarried ones, while the married couples took a room each along with the children and their nannies.

We freshened up and went outside to have lunch in the backyard, where there was a long dining table set with a variety of dishes. We enjoyed our meal while catching up and having fun. All twenty of us were there, along with the four mothers. How great is this?

We finished lunch, and while everyone else was off doing their own thing, I stayed in my room talking with my boyfriend.

"I miss you so much," he said for the third time.

"I miss you too, Sayyid," I replied, and we continued chatting until I started to feel tired from the jet lag. I then bid him goodnight.

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