Collision of hearts

Chapter 15

I woke up around 10:30. I turned in my bedroom; it is very spacious and elegant. The closet, the bathroom—everything is perfect. I showered and wore a pink Ankara gown. I went downstairs to see Zaid eating fried potatoes and eggs. I greeted him with a "Salaam" and asked, "Lafiya lau, how was your night?" He replied, "Alhamdulillah. Did you cook?" I asked, and he shook his head. "No, Zarah brought it earlier when you were sleeping, so she left. But she will be back later, and someone brought a few things for you." I nodded.

I served myself quietly. The entire breakfast was silent but not awkward, until I decided to break the silence. "I am sorry about what happened in Katsina." "I-I know I should have listened to you and we should have talked our problems out, but I was angry and upset. I felt hurt when I found out that you agreed to marry me while you were still in love with another woman," I blabbed out.

He nodded. "I get it, but Anisa was not my girlfriend at that time. We broke up a long time ago, even before our marriage was discussed. What happened the other day was that I was called, and we hurried to the office. Anisa needed me, and I had to be there for her—" I cut him off, saying, "It's okay, seriously. You don't have to explain yourself." He nodded.

"Well, I thought about it. Yesterday you said you can take care of the house by yourself. How about this: you clean your room, I clean mine, and the maids can take care of the rest?" he suggested. I replied with, "Okay."

"For food, I already told the chef to leave. You can cook on weekdays, and we can cook together on weekends since I'm not working. When you're too tired to cook, we can go out or just order. What do you think?" he asked. I replied, smiling, "Nice, thank you." We finished eating and washed the dishes together.

There was a knock at the door. I opened it to find Labiba, Laura, and Zarah. I squealed excitedly and hugged them. "Amarya, Amarya, I can't believe it. Wai, Nadia is a married woman now!" Labiba said. "Where's Ya Zaid?" Zarah asked. "He's in his office," I said. They brought me some of my stuff and a few things from Mami. I heard we are going to stay here for the time being but will relocate somewhere.

Zaid came out saying he was going to the mosque and would be back after Asr. The girls left after Asr. Zaid returned with three poly bags. He dropped them at the dining table and excused himself to freshen up.

I checked the bags and saw jollof rice and fried rice in one bag, and peppered chicken in another. I set the table and opted for the jollof rice. I had already started eating when Zaid came back to the dining area. He sat next to me and started eating the fried rice. It looked delicious. I kept looking at him. "Do you want some?" he asked, and I nodded. "You can have some of mine," he said. We exchanged the food. The jollof rice tasted better, and now he wasn't giving it back, and I was too shy to ask. "Can I have my food back?" I muttered. He shook his head. "No, I want it." "But it is mine," I said. "You can't let me have the jollof?" he said, pretending to be hurt. "Let's share, dark prince," I said as I moved my chair closer to his. He nodded.

"I am so tired, Can you feed me?" Zaid said, and I felt my heart pounding. I shook my head. "No." "Come on, I can't eat by myself. My hand is hurting," he said. I pouted as I started feeding him. He took the other spoon and brought it to my mouth. I stared at him, dumbfounded. "Open up, little tigress," he said. I shyly opened my mouth as he fed me.

After eating, we decided to watch something. I suggested we watch The Princess and the Frog. "Noo, that's a children's cartoon. I'm not watching that. Let's watch NatGeo Wild," Zaid said. "Nooo, I want The Princess and the Frog," I said, pouting. He refused. After a while, he gave in, and we turned on The Princess and the Frog. Halfway through the movie, I turned to look at Zaid, and he seemed to be enjoying the movie more than I was. I smiled and turned my attention back to the movie.

We finished the movie, and Zaid went to the mosque to pray Maghrib. I went to my room. After praying, I lay down on my prayer mat, waiting for Isha'a. I prayed and went to bed when I heard a knock at the door. Zaid came in. "I am going out. Do you want to come with me?" he asked. I jumped excitedly. "Yessss, yesss, yesss!" Zaid smiled at my childishness.

I got ready, and we went out. As we neared my Baba's house, I almost started crying. I think Zaid noticed when we turned and made our way to my Baba's house. They opened the gate for us, and I ran into the house immediately.

"Mamiiiii!" I saw her massaging Ya Muhammad's curls. I ran to hug her as I started tearing up. "What are you doing here? Where is Zaid?" Mami said anxiously. "He's outside," I said, just as he salaamed. "Ina yini?" he greeted Mami. After they exchanged greetings, Mami asked, "What are you doing here?" no one in particular. "We were passing by, and then I remembered I wanted to talk to Muhammad, so we stopped by," Zaid answered. Ya Muhammad looked confused and asked, "Mee?" After a few seconds, he pretended to remember something. "Ohhh, I remember. Let's go. Nadia, let's talk when I get back," he said, winking at me. I nodded.

Thirty minutes later, Zaid, Ya Muhammad, and Baba came in. We continued talking for another 20 minutes, then Baba said, "It is getting late. You guys should get going." That's when I started tearing up again. Mami escorted me to the car, and we left. The ride was completely silent except for my silent cries.

"Why are you crying?" Zaid asked out of nowhere. "I miss my mom," I replied. "But you can go see her anytime you want," he said. "Now stop crying. I don't like it when someone cries, and especially if that someone is you."

We got groceries and chocolates. We returned home at 11:00. I cut some fruits for Zaid and took them to him while he was watching NatGeo Wild. "Thank you," he said. I sat for a while before I left, saying goodnight.