His Accidental Bride

Six

"Why did you go to the office today?

"Because my leave elapsed yesterday"

"with whose permission ", he enquired gritting his teeth.

"Do I need to? God! Why are we even talking about this".

"Because you need to start regarding me as your husband ", he loss patience and shouted on top of his lungs, the vein under his eye twitching.

"when you are not? " she spat and made her way to leave the scene, but the man was not done with her yet. He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her backwards towards him.

  But then  he regretted shouting at her almost immediately, he has promised himself to take one step at a time with her, he knows her pain because it's almost the same with his. But she's taking snail strides, her pace will take them eternity before they reach their destination.

   He's the man of the house, he needs to make her understand that, the earlier the better.

He stock to the Prophet (peace be upon him)'s sunnah, he sat down and dragged her with him making her fall next to him with her head on his shoulder.

    Scent of mint mixed with sandalwood hit her nostrils and made her release a sigh of relief. She felt surprisingly calm like it was not her and Jamaal that were trying to rip off each others throats some minutes ago.
   
    "We lost Kamal" he said in his calm and melodious voice she could hear for the rest of her life. Maybe it was part of what she gauged in making her decision to marry him. She could trade the world for this voice.
   
    "We love kamal, we all do but Allah took him when we didn't expect. He was not even sick Salma, we ate dinner together the night before he slept to barzakh (the life between this world and the day of resurrection)", Jamal recalled bitterly and she realized she was selfish.
   
    She was selfish for trying to use his late brother and confidant to spike him. She was selfish for not realizing he was hurt more than she is. It was a few months to their wedding when he died but their relationship was not more than 2 years old. Before their relationship they were never close but had a casual brother-sister relationship.
   
    Definitely he feels the pain deeper than hers. They were almost twins, 11months apart. They literally grew together and didn't have another sibling until 14 years later when their mother gave birth to Rukayya and the next two years Sumayya.
   
    She feels awful for the cold treatment she's been giving him. But,  it's not her fault.
   
    "It is not that I don't want to give us a chance ", she broke the silence after a while.  "I feel guilty every time I try to, I feel like a betrayer, a cheap whore trying to cheat on a lover with his brother ".

    The word 'lover' made him cringe. He wish he was the one she's referring to as the lover not the brother, if only wishes were horses.
   
    "I have moved on", she added when he didn't say anything. A lone tear escaped her eye and was followed subsequently by others.
   
    He drew her closer to him and wiped out the liquid washing down her face with the handkerchief he brought out of his pants-pocket . He brought her face to his broad chest and used his right hand to pat her back.
   
    "It's the Shaidan (devil). He's whispering into your heart to hinder you from accepting fate. Make du'a against him. May Allah continue to guide us against the whispers of the evil one".
   
    "Amin", she breathed.
   
She wish inwardly that life will continue steadily like this. But life is never void of hurdles.

.......
  Today being Saturday Salma felt the need to woman the house. We woke up early and starts some weekly cleaning. Jamaal will be branching to his parent's after his morning workout, that is his Saturday morning routine. It really helped her this Saturday because she busied herself with cleaning.

    She washed the bed covers with the washing machine in the master bedroom toilet and sun dried them on the railings outside after spinning. A common habit she adopted from her mother. She laid the two beds with a clean comfort-scented bed cover. She brushed all the rug carpets, dusted all the furniture, and wipe the windows and glass with a window cleaner.

    She took cereals for breakfast and wash it down with some orange juice. Jamaal normally have his Saturday breakfast at his parents so she gave the gateman tea and bread.
   
    Left with lunch to cook. She decided on making Masa (rice cake) with catfish pepper soup and ginger flavoured zobo (sorel). She set them nicely on the table. She was tired and famished by the time everything was in place except herself who is still dirty since the bath from the day before.
   
    She struggled with her weak muscles to stretch and go take a bath. Her subconscious mind convincing her that the feeling of hot water cascading down her body is what she needed the most. It was obviously true because by the time she was done bathing. Her tired bones were back to agility.
   
   
   
    Face padded with Mac pressed powder, brows brushed and filled with a filler, and highlighted with L.A. girl concealer, cheeks flushed slightly with bronzer, eyelids dusted with pale blue shade, black-brown mascara maximizing the length of her full lashes and lips dabbed with a burgundy tint. She dressed in a sea blue cropped top and baggy pants. Her loosed hair falling to her shoulders. A quick glance at the mirror she looks like an African Jasmin. Talking of which she forgot to burn incense. Salma hastily took the bottle of Victoria's Secret love spell body mist on her vanity table and press the diffuser setting it at her neck, then at the nook on her inner elbow, her wrist and her midriff flesh that is exposed under her top.

    She looks at the mirror again and contemplated on meeting her husband like this.
   
    That can wait for now. First, the incense.

She got a coal from the show-glass and on it on an electric burner before transferring it to a local one. She prefers the local burner because of its mobility. She sprinkled some incense on it and goes round the house with it.

   "Is this my wife", the familiar voice of her husband startled her.

"Inalillahi. You will be the death of me someday"

"not when you dress up like this", he says apprehending her appearance flirting. She became conscious of her clothing and raised the hand holding the burner to her chest with the burner closing some parts of her face while the other hand is dragging her top down.

  "Hey miss. Don't you dare burn my wife", he said moving closer and making her heart fall to the pit of her stomach. He collected the burner and keep it safely on the floor. Looking at her with his hooded eyes dangerously, he used his tonned muscular hand to raise her head up

"Ummm.... Burgundy", he breathed hot-minty air on her face calling the colour of her lip stain and lurch on it.