Better Late Than Never

48

On Wednesday July 6th, dinner was hosted in Ibtihaj's honour in one of the restaurants at The Crescendo Hotel. In attendance were the Bellos, the Adeolas, the Abdulazizs, and the Azaizas.

Ibtihaj, who had been pissed at how everyone 'forgot' that it was her birthday throughout the hours of daylight, cried when she entered the restaurant and confetti rained down on her with excited screams of 'surprise!'.

When she was teased about her tears, she punched Adil's arm and then told everyone else that it was because of the baby. She blamed her hormones too. They told her they believed her while holding back laughs and hiding snickers, and she couldn't even bring herself to be dramatic about everything.

The meals were cooked to perfection and her cake was shaped like a baby, decorated with all the facial features and wrapped in a beige fondant blanket. Ibtihaj melted and cooed dramatically and it was a sight that had them laughing; Adil enjoying the scene the most as he took picture after picture and recorded short videos he would come back to over and over again.

She got gifts from everyone and her favourites came from Adil (a yearlong membership for a luxurious spa that offered pre and post-partum services in Downtown Aomi that she'd been going on about) and Ayra (a set of Mummy and matching baby shoes and a voucher for a baby crib from Hayd's; a furniture and interior company in Abuja owned by Zayd and Hanan Dantata).

She promised to use them well and they believed her. The rest of the dinner went well and they enjoyed the layered cake when Ibtihaj finally let them cut it. Just as he prayed for, Ayman drove Ayra home although her parents had driven to the hotel. He walked her to the front door and watched her step into the foyer before turning around to face him.

Her smile, like always, had him falling in love all over again. She lazily leaned against the open door. "I'll see you tomorrow, Hakeem?"

He nodded, smiling back. "Our Eid break starts tomorrow but since Aneesa and Mahmoud want us to have a meeting concerning the wedding, you'll see me tomorrow In Shaa Allah."

"Yay!" She then yawned. "I'm tired. The dinner was fun but I'm drained."

He reluctantly took it as his cue to leave. "You should get some sleep."

"I should."

None of them made a move to leave the other person and they laughed about it. Ayman spoke before she could. "Goodnight, Asķim."

She blushed and it was an arrow to his heart. "Goodnight."

"And I love you."

Her blush deepened. "I love you too."

♠

On the 7th and 8th, plans for Aneesa and Mahmoud's wedding went hand in hand with plans for Eid.

On the evening of Friday the 8th, all the families – including Mahmoud's – came together to break the Yaumul Arafah fast and welcome in Eid. As Ayra had loved the mixed berry infused yoghurt he made during the Iftar he hosted, Ayman made sure to make her a big sized bottle and nearly slapped Ibtihaj's hand when she reached for the bottle to take a sip.

Ayra, who'd been well aware of what he was going to do, chuckled. "Asķim, behave."

Ayman eyed Ibtihaj who eyed him right back. "I'm trying. I promise, I'm trying."

Eid-el-Adha turned out to be even more beautiful that Eid-el-Fitr was and as usual, Ayra's outfit – through her stories – caught the attention of many. Unlike the previous Eid, she didn't tag Ayneese's official account as Ayman had made it crystal clear he wasn't making any more of such outfits for anyone, no matter what the market said.