Too Little, Too Late

09

On the first Saturday of October, the female members of the Fahad family arrived Haven Estate as early as 8:30AM and they went straight to the Abdulaziz home.

Salama, who was clearly not expecting them, was the one to open the door and she barely had time to step away as Ibrahim's aunts and older cousins forced their way in, talking and acting as though they owned the house. Disoriented, Salama turned to the woman closing the entourage.

Fareeda smiled brightly. "Good morning, Salama."

"G-good morning. Fareeda, we weren't expecting you today. You said you were going to reach out with the final date, time, and venue for the first meeting."

Fareeda did not stop smiling as she reached out to pat Salama's shoulders. "The ladies said they wanted it this morning and there's only so much you can say to deter them." She walked in, past Salama. "Impromptu meetings are also fun, Salama, so we'll be fine. Where's my darling Ayra? She should come down so I can introduce her to everyone."

Not okay with how the morning was turning out, Salama closed the front door, left the women to get comfortable in the main living room, and headed back up. Muhsin rolled over on their shared bed when she opened the door. He blinked sleepily. "Who was it?"

She walked to the nightstand and picked up her phone. "The Fahads. Apparently, they want to have the meeting here and now."

He sat up. "What?"

She scrolled through her contacts. "I'm quite surprised too. Fareeda said impromptu meetings are also fun and I don't why but it all feels off." She dialled her close friend's line and brought the phone to her ear. "Can you wake Leilani up? Please."

He nodded, already leaving the bed. "Sure."

As he left the room, the call connected and Salama exhaled in relief. "Falilat, good morning. We have an issue."

In the other room, Ayra flinched in bed when the lights were switched on. Frowning, she raised her head and turned towards the doorway where Muhsin stood. She sat up. "Baba?"

"Hey, sweetheart. You may want to wake up now."

Her frown deepened while a soft throb began in her temple. "Why?"

He walked over to the bed. "Your future family members are here and they want to have the first meeting concerning the meeting this morning. It's very impromptu and it's weird but we can't really send them back now so..."

She was out of the bed the very next moment and Muhsin waited until she was inside the bathroom before he sighed and left the room. As he made his way back to where to his and Salama's room, he heard the women downstairs laughing and talking, and he knew he had to freshen up and head down to say hi to them and welcome them despite not knowing why they were there so early.

He walked in on Salama getting changed, her face having water droplets that were drying off.

"I called Falilat." She told him as she adjusted the sleeve of the boubou she now wore. "She said she'll be here as soon as possible with Ibty. I don't think any of our siblings would get here quickly but we should let them know what's happening. Is Ayra up?"

"Yeah, she's in the bathroom...This is very weird. It's way unlike them to just pull up a spontaneous meeting when they were the same ones who said they'd get back to us regarding the venue, date, and time."

She managed to smile at him, grabbing her veil and phone. "Well, let's just pray it doesn't get worse. Please freshen up and come say hi downstairs."

"Sure."

She pecked his lips. "I love you."

"I love you too."

In the other room, Ayra was this close to panicking. She had never taken a bath that quickly before and she had her teeth brushed in record time. As she applied oil to her skin, her phone rang and she accepted the call immediately, putting it in speaker mode.