Twice Upon Them

Chapter 10 | Maymunah | It's a Very Complicated Thing

PLEASE DON'T KILL ME.

So, the reason why I failed to update again is due to the fact that I'm working on writing articles for a website (www.abodeofknowledge.weebly.com), and I've been busy with an assignment for school that is due within a few days (and I've mastered the art of procrastination for the first two months of my summer vacation). So, updates will be more slow now that school is coming back to stress me out again. It hurts my heart to type that. :'(

By the way, the website was all put together by @laughingwiththemoon so please check it out! The layout is amazing and the content on it is very beneficial in terms of Islam. Please leave any feedback or comments on the website!!

Lastly, I want to give you gives a big thank you for sticking with me since OUAM. I feel so awful for not being my best this year in terms of my update schedule. I'd expect to lose so many readers, but I'm glad that you guys have been here since the beginning. :)

Before this gets any cheesier, enjoy!

***

"So, how many kids are you guys having?" Harun's brother, Ali, asks us he enters the living room. I momentarily choke on the water I was drinking as Harun sends him daggers. Ali shrugs nonchalantly before he sits next to a giggling Hafsa. Her husband is sitting with her right now, and Sharifah enters the room, utterly confused as to why her sister-in-law, Hafsa, is dying of laughter.

I find myself blushing awkwardly as four pairs of eyes stare at Harun and I. Harun clears his throat as he glances at Sharifah just walking in. "I ask the same question whenever you're flirting with Sharifah," he responds coolly. I assume that he's just trying to piss his brother off, and it seems that he's achieved his goal.

"Fuck you," Ali hisses before he looks at an embarrassed Sharifah. The atmosphere suddenly becomes silent and quite awkward for everyone except for Hafsa and Luqman, who are watching the four of us in amusement. I notice that Hafsa seems to be more cheerier than ever today. She does have a usually upbeat personality, but ever since my wedding, she has been over the moon. I asked her about it earlier, but the only thing I got in response was a cheeky grin.

My mother-in-law, Ruwayda, enters the room with a tray of sweets and drinks. She looks around the room but is not surprised by everybody's body language, especially due to the fact that Ali gets teased so much about Sharifah and Harun and I are always asked embarrassing questions since our wedding. "I guess Hafsa hasn't told you guys the news yet," she comments as she sets the tray down on the table.

"What news?" Harun questions with an interrogative tone, even though it's pretty evident he knows what she's talking about.

"I'm six weeks pregnant!" she says proudly while looking at Luqman in an affectionate way. "We finally decided that we're ready to have children."

A lot of things happen in the room all at once. Sharifah runs over to Hafsa, embraces her in a big bear hug, then starts showering her with duas; Harun dons an expression of disbelief and shock; Ali doesn't really react, especially with how angry Harun made him; I start fangirling inside at the news; and lastly, my mother-in-law shakes her head at everything. I decide not to congratulate Hafsa but only until later, since I'm still a bit shy around her husband, Luqman, although he's very kind.

As Harun leaves me to interrogate Hafsa for keeping the information from him for over a month, I start to think about how it would feel like telling my own family members I'm pregnant with a child. But then, I realize that it'll be a long time before Harun and I graduate and start working at our professional jobs in the future; me a lawyer while Harun a businessman. I sometimes worry about how we're going to properly raise a family with the careers we are both pursuing. I also don't want to start a family during college, since balancing my studies and raising a child is not particularly what I've dreamed of. I'm still nineteen, and despite the many Muslim girls out there starting a family around my age, I don't want to follow those footsteps.