Mrs Ahmed Shehu

37

SURAIYA

By the middle of January, the house in Sunrise Hills is completely empty and our new home is a mess. There are furniture pieces in the wrong places and there are so many things that need to be drilled, hammered, or pinned. While it is a sore sight, I'm excited to get my hands dirty and busy. And that's exactly what I do. The (now) former house gets sold and the family that buys it pays the original price that Ahmed purchased the house for because they love the renovation we did; it was exactly what they wanted.

Ahmed, the little devil, had more than fifty per cent of the money sent to my account and the numbers of zeros kept me stunned to silence for hours. Did he keep laughing? Yes, he did. And no, he didn't take any part of the money back. He said it's mine and whatever's left is his and that it's already in his account. Yes, I cried. I kissed him senseless too.

Between taking care of the kids, hanging out with the squad, antenatal appointments and checks, and dealing with one change or the other, Ahmed and I get the house together. We hire a team to help and we get a help too (just like Zara'u). I don't mind taking care of things around the house but I know it's only a matter of time before I'll need all the help I can get.

In the first week of February, shortly after Aleem finally gets engaged, Ahmed and I finally decide to find out the baby's gender. Dr Ibtihaj is the embodiment of an overly excited person as she reveals we'll be having a girl. While I picture a girl that looks like Ahmed (automatically sharing resemblance with Teslimah and Adeelah), the man I love prays reverently that we get a mini-me. He doesn't say it in words but he wants to cheat on me. He laughs when I call him out and he tells me I'm overreacting.

Nurudeen doesn't take the news happily. He wanted it to be a boy and I don't blame him for wanting a playmate he could relate with. That night, I stay longer with him once he's ready for bed and I kiss his head. "We'll get a boy next In Shaa Allah."

Bright, excited eyes meet mine and his smile is so wide. "Really?"

I nod, smiling back. "If that's what's best for us. You know we plan and Allah plans, right?" My smile widens when he nods. "So if Allah says we'll have a boy next, we'll have one."

"And I'll get to name him?"

I nod again. "I don't see why not. In the meantime, let's love your little sister, okay? I'm sure she can't wait to see you."

"I can't wait to see her too." He moves closer to snuggle against my bump that's smaller than the usual start-of-last-trimester bump should be. "I love you, little sister. You're still Deen's Little Orange."

I laugh. "She's bigger now, Deen."

"She'll always be my little orange, Ummi."

I lean in to kiss his head again. "And you'll always be my little sweetheart."

"Even when I grow?"

"Yes, sweetheart." As if I'll ever stop loving him. "Even when you grow."

He falls asleep shortly after and I turn on his new mood lamp before I leave. Ahmed's right aside the door and he gives me a mischievous smile. "Someone's cheating on me tonight."

I roll my eyes. "And someone's planning to cheat on me in the future."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Of course you have no idea...You wanted to check in on him?"

He nods. "Yeah, but he's asleep now. The girls are coming up with baby names and I promised we'll go through their lists once they're done. I just don't know how long it'll take."