NADIYA'S STRUGGLE

Chapter 49

Nadiya and Umar heard sounds of laughter and noises coming from outside their house, indicating that their people are here. There was smiles on their faces before they opened the door.

"Nadiya!" Zaliha was the first to enter, who rushed to hug her best friend, followed by Khadijah, who hugged her cousin with enthusiasm and finally was Hikmah, who also gave her a hug and complimented her outfit which Nadiya was thankful for and said the same to her.

Hikmah was adorned in an emerald green and black A-line dress that looked perfect in her chubby body. The sleeves were long with pleats that was made on them, which gave the fabric an elegant appearance. The head-tie was also tied in a pleated way and a veil wrapped around her back.

Umar and Abubakr hugged as well, then shook hands, followed by Umar's cousin Fawaz who he hugged also and then Prof. Ahmad, who Umar made a mischievous face upon seeing, but masked it away as soon as it appeared. He knew him as a lecturer in school and Nadiya also fed him the story of him and Khadijah. He shook hands with him and they exchanged pleasantries before ushering them all in.

"Welcome everyone, thank you..." Nadiya and her husband acknowledged each and everyone in the room.

"Hey Fawaz, when did you come?" Umar was surprised that Fawaz was in town, so he asked.

"I came just yesterday. Hikmah informed me of the get together and insisted I must come, you know how your sister is. I had to." Everyone laughed while Hikmah playfully rolled her eyes.

"Well good thing she made you come, it's been long since we met man." They began to talk amongst themselves, bringing this topic after the other while the ladies moved to the other side of the living room to talk amongst themselves too. The living room they moved to was the opposite of where the men were with a little distance and it was also decorated. They could also see each other from where they sat, but couldn't hear their chats clearly.

"You look beautiful Nadiya." Khadijah complimented and everyone agreed.

"Thank you Khadijah. You really look very pretty as well." Khadijah was dressed in a sky blue silky dress that flowed through her. There was a raw silk tied on her head perfectly with a veil around her shoulder. She'd worn a set of white round necklace, an earring and a bracelet of the same type.

Khadijah thanked her and the rest as well, who said she looked beautiful.

"Come on guys, let's serve refreshments." Nadiya announced and as she walked ahead, the ladies followed behind to the kitchen to get the refreshments. There were plenty of them. Most of the small chops you could think of like samosas, spring rolls, buns, cinnamon rolls, cupcakes, cookies, glazed donuts, you name them, were in a tray sealed with a clingfilm on the kitchen island. The liquid items were also more than enough, like the drinks, fruit juice, parfait, fruit salad, and lots more were in the refrigerator which by now must be cold enough and perfect to drink.

"Wow Nadiya, you were really prepared for this get together!" Khadijah exclaimed as she saw all of the edible things staring right back at her.

"To be honest! This could last us a lifetime no kidding!" Hikmah added and Nadiya laughed.

"That's our Nadiya. Always ready and prepared!" Zaliha added with a grin.

"Enough guys and yes, thank you for the compliment. Now let's take them to the men's side before they start to think this get together was to come and chat only, no refreshments." The ladies all laughed and proceeded to transfer the refreshments to the living room.

Zaliha and Nadiya were first to come out of the kitchen, which was close to the living area, as they left the besties to decide what to pick when their husbands—who were listening to Prof. Ahmad talking about school related topics—saw them and unintentionally stood at the same time to help them with the trays they were holding. Their wives smiled at them, slightly embarrassed with the gesture as people were looking and most importantly, they did it at the same time.