IT ENDS WITH HIM (Completed)

10. Ramification

On a Friday morning, Hafsa woke up not feeling very well. She decided it'd be best to take the day off. It was time like these that she really missed being in the comfort of her parents home where her mother would make her a bowl of warm mouthwatering soup to make her feel better. Now that she was a grown woman, she knew she had to make her own soup so she made her bed, and went into the kitchen to see if she had all the ingredients. To her dismay, she was missing carrots and celery. She quickly packed Kahlid's lunch, called in sick to let her supervisor know she wasn't coming in today and did some chores before heading out to the Real Canadian Superstore, her local grocery store. She grabbed a shopping cart and started filling it up with groceries. As she shopped, she checked her price match app to see if there was another grocery store that was selling it for cheaper. The young couple wasn't tight with money but being an adult she knew she had to be wise with their finances. Besides, what's the point of buying the exact same produce but for more?

***

Hafsa washed all her ingredients and started cutting the vegetables. As she was chopping the carrots, her phone started to ring. It was her mother.

"Assalamualeykum mom, is everything alright?" Asked a worried Hafsa.

Her mother knew better to never call her during work hours except if there was an urgency.

"Hafsa, Khalid just spoke to me. He started yelling at me! Are you at work? Can we talk?"

"Khalid called? But he's at work. Yes it's okay we can talk; I took a sick day today. Nothing to worry about, just feeling a bit under the weather." Hafsa told her mother. As she spoke she placed down the knife and took a seat at the kitchen table.

"Oh okay. Well I don't know what's wrong with him but he started yelling at me saying I didn't raise you well and that you don't know how to save money. All you do is splurge. He's very upset that you bought me a new iPhone for my birthday, Hafsa. I didn't know you two were struggling financially. Now I feel bad. I can mail it back to you and you can return it. It's no big deal. Do you still have the receipt?"

This broke the young woman's heart. She had worked hard for years to save the money she had in her bank account today and not a penny came out of her husband's pocket when she had gifted her mother a new phone. It was the least she could do to make her mother happy, especially now that they were miles apart. What right did Khalid have for being angry at her? What she chose to buy with her money was her business solely.

"No ma, there's no need to feel guilty. I bought that with my money, not his. Maybe he's confused or stressed. I don't know. But what else did he say?"

"He said you always complain about the apartment being so small and that you make him feel like he's not providing for you."

As Hafsa's mother spoke, a frown appeared on Hafsa's forehead. What was Khalid going on about? She never complained to him about their financial situation. She never even asked him for money. She willingly bought groceries and other things for their home with her own cash and Khalid never brought up that conversation. I'm fact, sometimes he would even tell her to buy so and so without telling her to take his wallet. So the young wife knew that he was okay with letting her contribute financially. This wasn't making any sense.

"Don't worry about him mom, I'll talk to him. I'm sure this will all resolve itself." With that they needed their conversation and she finished cooking her soup.

By the time Kahlid was home, Hafsa had pondered about all the possibilities of why he had said the things he said to her mother. Was he angry at her and taking it out on her poor mother? Did she accidentally make him feel financially incapable? She couldn't come up with anything. So she decided the best way was to be upfront and ask.