HUSNA

Chapter52

It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. -Aristotle

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"I pray the rest of my exams are easy!" she voiced out, smiling at Hameed, who had just called her. Her father is  at work, while her mother and Fati had gone to a naming ceremony. Her brother isn't  back from school yet.

She had returned from her exams around 11:00 and was now telling Hameed all about them. "Insha Allah, babe, it's going to be easy on you. You will make it and make us proud," he said reassuringly. "Also, love that little pink number you're wearing," he added, winking at her.

She smoothed her hands over the pink shirt she wore, stepping back from the phone so he could see all of her on FaceTime. Propped against the mantle so that he could see what she is  doing.

"So, how's Cyprus treating you?" she asked, pulling out two plates.

"Well, it has its ups and downs," he replied. "Ups, I don't have to listen to you snoring. Downs, I can't stay up all night listening to you snoring."

She snorted at that, placing the two plates on the mats. "I said Cyprus, Mr., not Lagos. And you just lied right now. It was me staying awake listening to you snore."

He laughed, Okay, Husna," So, what's that delicious smell coming from the oven?"

"How did you guess the oven was on?" she asked, picking up the phone and walking into the kitchen to check on the cake she was baking.

"Well, because you looked stressed, and whenever you're stressed, we end up eating chicken with that...mmmm...I can practically taste it from here...that BBQ sauce that isn't quite BBQ sauce, but I can't tell the difference," he said, licking his lips.

She burst out laughing. "You barely taste my food, Captain."

"But I did, twice," he replied. "Remember that night when Mom wasn't around and the twins were asleep, so you decided to go to the kitchen yourself? You looked stressed out, thinking about what to cook for your handsome husband."

"I looked stressed?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

She propped the phone onto the counter, but it slipped on the marble. "Shit," she swore, fumbling for the phone with her oven mitts on. It took her several tries to pick the phone up until she got the bright idea to take the damn mitts off.

Hameed is  laughing hysterically the entire time. Finally, with a huff, she  picked the phone up and propped it carefully onto the counter.

He  doubled over, still laughing. She  shot him a mock glare. What's so funny?" she asked, trying to keep a straight face.

"You, clumsy girl," he replied, still chuckling. "I've never seen anyone struggle so much to pick up a phone."

She  rolled her eyes, laughing. "Shut up, Captain. It's not my fault the marble is slippery."

But seriously, do I look stressed?" she asked him again. It took a few seconds for the question to register, as he is  still laughing. She grabbed her mitts and pulled the cake out of the oven. The smell made her momentarily pause and inhale the goodness.