BFFs: Match Made in Heaven

24. Islamic Rulings

Afnan refused to sleep in the same room as Dr. Kwami. It wasn't like he wanted to consummate their marriage, even though he wouldn't mind doing that. But that wasn't his intention at all. All he wanted to do, was to hold her against him and sleep with her. Not in the sexual sense, but in the literal sense.

He wanted to be able to feel her heartbeat against his chest or hand or whatever. He wanted to be able to hear her soft breath as he sleeps. And he wanted to, for the first time, sleep beside a woman—his woman—and and wake up beside her.

But Afnan downright refused. She said she wouldn't do anything until their marriage was blessed by her father. So after Afnan was given Illi's room all to herself while Illi spent the night with her mum and dad, and Dr. Kwami was left to sleep in the only other room in the house, Dr. Kwami pulled out his laptop to book himself and Afnan the earliest flight to Abuja.

Unfortunately for him, there was no flight from Maradi to Abuja until 10pm the next day. But he knew that from Maradi to Katsina was less than two hours. And from the information Google provided him with, there was a 10am flight from Katsina to Abuja the next day.

So that night, while everyone else slept, Dr. Kwami rented himself and Afnan a car and a driver, and he also booked them flight tickets to Abuja. It was very expensive and he was starting to make a dent on his account with all the flights and expenses but he didn't want to waste anymore time. He was sure Abba was already going crazy looking for them anyways.

And the money didn't matter to him, he could always earn more. His salary was set to come in three days anyways. And he barely does anything with his salary, he gets food sent to him by the office from time to time. And his house was gifted to him by his uncle. His only expense that needed covering was electricity.

As early as 6am the next day, Dr. Kwami and Afnan bid Aksil, Lunja and Illi goodbye and headed off to Katsina.

And now, here they are, in the terminals wing of Umaru Musa Yar'adua Airport, Katsina, waiting for their flight to be called. There has been some sort of tension between them since in the car. And they know the reason for it. But they have refused to acknowledge it.

Afnan has already called her sister Fatima and her husband Aqsam. She has explained the situation to them and they said they arrived in Abuja the previous day and were planning on heading to the Abba Sulayman house anyway. And they have promised to help back her up.

Afnan watches as Dr. Kwami gets up and picks her hand luggage for her.

"An kiramu. Tashi muje {we've been called upon. Get up let's go}." Afnan stands up and they head to the gates.

An hour thirty minutes later, the Uber Dr. Kwami ordered parks in front of the Abba Sulayman house. Afnan sighs, feeling some sort of nostalgia wave over her. She left this same house less than six months ago as a single lady, and now she's returning to it as a married woman.

Afnan sighs again and knocks on the large gates. She hears the familiar sounds of the gate man's footsteps and then the gate opens.

"Ah ahn, Afnanu. Abbanku baice min zaki dawo yau bah. Yau kam full house, Fati da Amali ma duk sunzo {your Abba didn't tell your you're coming back today. It's a full house today, Fati and Amali are here too}." Afnan manages a smile despite her nervousness. She greets him and walks inside. The gate man watches with a slackened jaw as Dr. Kwami helps Afnan wheel her things inside.

Afnan leads the way till she reaches the parlor. She can hear her father shouting and she can also hear Fatima's slightly raised voice. She smiles a bit, happy that her sister kept to her promise.

Afnan says the salam quietly as she twists the door knob open.

"Abba Afnan is an adult for Allah's sake. So what if she got married elsewhere without your permission? Ai kai ka jawo {you caused it}." Abba narrows his eyes and opens his mouth to speak when his eyes catch a familiar face from the peripheral.

"Keh! Farida Abba Sulayman, zo nan {come here}." Afnan shakes as she walks towards her father. The first thing he doesn't doesn't really take her by surprise, she expected it. A tight slap lands on her left cheek making her head whip to the side.

"Abba!" Fatima shouts and rushes to pull Afnan away from him but Innayo stops her.

"Ki barshi {let him be}. He won't do more than that." Fatima doesn't seem convinced but she trusts her mother. She stops there, but still ever ready to jump to Afnan's rescue.

"Waton {so} Afnan you eloped! With this sorry excuse of a man! The same one who tried to rape you." Abba says, seething.

"Abba, he didn't try to rape me. I lied." Abba gasps, genuinely shocked that Afnan was able to pull off that sort of lie.

"Karya {lies} Afnan? Meye kika zama ne {what have you turned to}?" Afnan burst into tears and falls to her father's feet.

"Abba dan Allah kayi hakuri. Wallahi {for Allah's sake forgive me. I swear by Allah} I didn't know what to do ne. I really love him and I wanted to tell you but you wouldn't listen to me. You just wanted me to finish my degree. Ni ba son degree din nake bah ma {I don't even want the degree}. I just want to be married to him." Abba sighs.

No matter how stubborn he is, he has had enough. Arguing back and forth with Fatima for the past two hours while Aqsam throws in Ahaadith has been enough. He really just wants the best for his daughter.

"Fatima says you both are already married." Afnan nods and pulls out the marriage certificate. She stands up and gives him and after going through it, Abba sighs.

"Aqsam, kai tsakaninka da Allah yanzu auren nan ya dauru {between you and Allah, is this marriage legal}?" Aqsam smiles and nods.

"Akwai {there are} witnesses ai, kuma ya bada sadaki, koh {and he gave you dowry, right}?" Afnan nods. "Kuma akwai walliyai {and there were representatives}?" Afnan nods again.

"Ya dauru yallaboi {it's legal sir}." Abba sighs and drops the marriage certificate and leaves the parlor.

That alone is a sign that Abba has given up and their love has finally won.

A/N
I'm doing it! One more chapter. Excuse the errors. These aren't in the least bit edited.