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In the second week of September, Aslam and Amna volunteered with some of Aslam's siblings for Baba Shettima's charity foundation and traveled all the way to Maiduguri to help with the distribution of palliatives to the less privileged and vulnerable in neighborhoods and IDP camps.
Alhaji Abdulsamad also awarded Aslam the contract of building children's classrooms for an IDP camp as well, as part of his company's corporate social responsibility. It turned out to be good for their relationship because Aslam updated his father about their progress often- which was unnecessary because he could have done that with any of his father's assistants but didn't. He liked the idea of relating on a professional basis with his father. It reaffirmed to him that his father was now proud of him as an architect.
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As October rolled in, Covid 19 protocols had eased out, life was getting better, back to normalcy yet people had masks covering their faces and still distanced from each other in public.
Aslam resumed work in full force, he was occupied with a lot of projects and he frequented Maiduguri while Junaid oversaw the operations in Abuja.
Meanwhile, Khalthum joined their team as an intern to while away time and gain some work experience because she was tired of staying at home and there was a delay with NYSC because of the pandemic. She worked closely with Daniel- the chief engineer. She loved the job yet always complained to Amna about how tiring site inspections were. Both Aslam and Amna always teased her, calling her Injiniya.
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Khalthum's relationship with Fuad was thriving. Fuad was an Assistant Manager at the Central Bank, he'd leave work at lunch time every day, Mondays to Thursdays- she worked 4 days a week, and went to Khalthum's site with takeouts to share a meal which always turned into moments of laughter and deep conversation.
Khalthum would always say they'd always be sneaking away for lunch dates in the middle of a busy day for as long as they worked because she loved the moments.
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On a particular rainy Wednesday, they had a weekly team briefing in the boardroom at the their office on 7th floor of the high rise building in Wuse 2. Normally held on Mondays, the week's meeting was postponed because Aslam, Junaid, and Daniel were all in Maiduguri.
Khalthum presented the progress on the Guzape site, her confidence and dedication shining through.
Daniel, the chief engineer, took over to provide further details, while both Aslam and Junaid praised Khalthum's hard work.
When the meeting concluded at past 5pm, Khalthum stepped out of the boardroom. She was surprised to see Khalifa standing by the kitchenette, pouring hot water into a teacup.
"Yau Khalifa ne a office dinmu? -Is this Khalifa at our office today?" Khalthum asked, a grin spreading across her face as she approached him.
Khalifa's eyes held hers for a brief second before he smiled, a hint of something unspoken lingering in his gaze. "Yes, Engineer Khalthum! Ya dai?" he replied, his tone light but carrying an undertone of something deeper.
"Lafiya fah, how are you doing?" she asked.
"Not so great but you know, life comes at one fast," Khalifa said with a wry smile.
