Better Late Than Never

24

The chilly air of the room brought a small smile to Ayman's face when he stepped out of the bathroom, tired in more ways than one. His hair which was still damp was in a loose single, short braid and his choice of sleepwear for that night was a pair of comfy sweatpants and a white round necked cotton shirt with elbow length sleeves.

He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge in the kitchenette, unplugged his phone from its charging spot, and then made himself comfortable in the sitting area. He brought the device to life after taking a few sips of the water and scrolled through the messages, emails, and notifications he had.

He answered some and left some for later. Once his notification panel was de-cluttered, he pulled up one his many chat boxes with Ayra and sent a quick message, wondering if she was free or if there were things that needed her attention at the Adeola home.

He hoped she was free and that she was resting as the lunch with Ibtihaj's grandparents had been more of a mini-reception with the live band that had been hired, the dance crew brought for "entertainment", and then the food and drinks that didn't want to finish. He didn't even want to get started on how energetic Ibtihaj's grandparents were despite their old age. It didn't take a genius to figure out where Ibtihaj got most of her behavioural patterns from.

His phone beeping pulled him out of his head. His heart flipped happily at Ayra's reply.

Ayra: Waalaykum Salam. Hi, Ayman. Yes, I am up. I'm hiding in the bathroom.

He was typing in no time and clicking on the send icon.

Ayman: That's the last thing I expected to hear from you. Why are you hiding in the bathroom?

Her reply was immediate and he made himself even more comfortable on the loveseat.

Ayra: There's actually a lot going on here and Ibty said we (me and her) don't have to do much but the hustle and bustle is a lot so...The bathroom's one of the quietest places right now so I'm just hanging in here for a little while. I'll be leaving soon though. I need to sleep and if I have to put on headphones, I will. Ibty said she's going to tell them to shut up when we're ready to sleep but I'll still keep the headphones in case they come in handy.

His happiness at her being awake and replying him gave way for a squeeze in his chest and worry. He stared at her reply for a minute before he typed out his, not thinking too much of it until he'd clicked on send and she immediately read it.

Ayman: If it's too much, do you want to come here? I can spend the night with Adil or send Amna to Adil's flat so I'll stay with Aabidah. It's quiet here so...

In one of the bathrooms at the Adeola home, Ayra sat on the edge of the bathtub. She read his reply and then read it again, her heart skipping a beat both times she did. Before she could even attempt to form a reply, another message came in from him.

Ayman: Before that sounds like the weirdest thing, I just need you to rest well. Today's been a long day, especially with how crazy the lunch earlier turned out to be. So if that place's not quiet enough for you to rest properly, then you can come here. I honestly wouldn't mind vacating my flat for you and I'm sure Ibty will understand. If you don't want me vacating my flat, I'm sure we can get one more free flat here so...

She read his messages again before she realised she was smiling and that there was a fluttery ball of emotions sitting quite nicely in her chest; a ball that had been growing since that afternoon or maybe even earlier. Still smiling while being wrapped by all she felt, she began typing.

Back at the serviced apartment, Ayman was so close to face-palming himself while praying and hoping that his messages didn't make him sound like the weirdest person on the face of the earth. When his phone beeped with a new reply from her, he took a moment to inhale and exhale. He then braced himself before he brought his line of sight to his phone screen.