Life Without You✔️.

21: Bonding II

Bibi's POV
Abuja, Nigeria.

The morning sun spilled into the kitchen as I dusted flour off my apron, the house already smelling of cardamom and roasted chicken. I wiped my hands quickly when the doorbell rang.
Fatima stood at the door, a wide grin on her face, carrying a small cake box. "As promised, I'm early!" she said, giving me a tight hug.

"Gaskiya kam, early and bearing gifts," I laughed, pulling her inside. "Your house is so beautiful." She says plopping the box on the counter and peered around. "And it smells amazing! Are you sure you need my help, master chef?" She smiled
I grinned. "Master chef keh? Wallahi, I need all the help I can get."

We started working side by side, slicing vegetables, checking the oven.The kitchen was filled with the easy rhythm of new friendship talking over each other, laughing too much, taste-testing like kids sneaking snacks.

"So," Fatima said, licking a bit of sauce from her finger, "how's married life treating you?" I smirked, keeping it light. "Honestly? It's a lot of cooking and pretending I'm not always two seconds away from burning the rice."

She laughed. "Ya binti, that's every wife's reality. You're doing just fine!"I rolled my eyes playfully. "Meanwhile Ayman still finds a way to eat everything I make. Even when we're not exactly on speaking terms," I joked, nudging her.

Fatima gasped dramatically. "Scandalous! Silent dinners?" "More like symphonies of clinking forks," I said with a small laugh. "Romantic," she teased, winking. "At least the food's good!"

Just then, Ayman came downstairs, dressed neatly in a navy polo and jeans, looking every bit the 'happy husband' he needed to be today. He walked straight up to me, placed a casual kiss on my temple and said, "Smells amazing in here, habibti." "Thank you," I said, smiling up at him. This man is gutsy, and I applaud him for it.

"Ayman meet my sister Fatima." I said introducing them. "Nice to finally put a name to the face." He smiled turning to look at her. Fatima beamed at the scene."Same same and Ayman, you better know you're lucky, right? Because I haven't tasted her cooking yet but I'm already obsessed." she said, hands on her hips.

"Believe me, I'm reminded every day," he said smoothly, flashing a small smile at her. We all laughed, the moment light, easy, and perfectly fake. He made up an excuse of going out to get something and will be back soon.

After we finished cooking I dragged her upstairs to my room so we could pray dhuhr and rest a bit before the guys came. And just as we finished setting the table Marwan and Nabil came barging in like a pair of wild horses, hugging me fiercely.

"Ya Allah, you're tiny!" Marwan said, lifting me slightly off the ground. "Put her down, please," Nabil laughed, slapping his shoulder. We gathered around the table, plates steaming, laughter thick in the air.

Ayman sat beside me, his hand resting lightly on my knee under the table  a small performance for the sake of appearances."Okay," Marwan said, mouth full, "who actually cooked all this? I don't believe it's Bibi alone."
"Excuse me?" I said, feigning offense. "I slaved away!"

Fatima piped up, "She's being humble. I only helped a little. She did the heavy lifting." "Bibi's the new family chef," Nabil said, raising his glass of juice in a mock toast. "To our sister!"

I laughed, lifting mine too. "To family!"As we ate, the table buzzed with jokes, old stories, teasing about who was the worst cook well more of them telling me about their childhood.

"You better believe we're moving in," Marwan said, nudging Nabil. "We need this food daily, gaskiya. "Come,you're always welcome" I said, laughing. "I'll cook but you'll do the cleaning." "Deal," they both said at once. "Dama ai, they'll agree to help you, if it was me I will die before they actually agree to help out in the kitchen." Fatima pouted.

"That's because you don't agree to cook what we want so why bother helping?" Marwan shrugged and Nabil nodded in agreement. And we bursted out laughing.

Even Ayman joined in, his laughter so natural that for a second, even I believed the lie we were living. After dinner, we prayed Maghrib together Ayman leading, his recitation slow and steady. The peace that settled over the house felt real. He left us to ourselves and for the first time since he came back I could finally breathe.

I gave them the albums from the wedding to keep them busy while I got dessert ready. By the time they went through all the albums and the pot of tea it was time for i'sha  Ayman came down to pray with them while Fatima and I decided to go up this time and also so I could give her a gift too. I checked my closed of a gifted turaren wuta box that was still wrapped and gave it to her.

"My own gift as well. Thank you so much for coming I already love having a big sister." I said handing it over to her. "And I already love my baby sister even though it's just a one year gap." She teased and we both laughed.

After Isha, they prepared to leave. Fatima hugged me tight, whispering, "Thank you for today. You're such a blessing to have, Bibi."

"No," I said, my voice thick with emotion, "you all are the blessing. We'll do this another time but we'll go shopping insha'Allah." I suggested and she nodded in agreement.
They all hugged me one more time before they drove off into the night, leaving me standing at the door, the cool breeze brushing my skin.

Ayman passed by without a glance, heading upstairs. I stayed there a little longer, feeling for the first time like maybe, just maybe I finally had a place where I truly belonged.

I quietly climbed the stairs, the house eerily silent now that everyone was gone. I changed into my nightwear, brushing out my hair slowly in front of the mirror.

As I moved around the room, folding my scarf neatly, I caught my own reflection the small, tired smile that didn't quite reach my eyes.Was this what life would be now?Pretending in front of others, laughing, smiling like everything was perfect only to go back to ignoring each other's existence the moment the doors closed?

I sighed, switching off the lamp beside me. If this was my reality, then so be it. At least I had something worth fighting for a family, a village and maybe, someday, a little peace for myself too.

السلام عليكم
How sweet that they're bonding already 🥹 had to squeeze this in cuz why not😂 I love family reunions 😂. But this silence between our couple is so disheartening, I'll see what I can do about it though 😂 until then, don't forget to VOTE COMMENT AND SHARE XX❤️.