Patience- صبر

Chapter Seventeen- lunch meet with the in laws.

A/N:
Because MaseehaPatel asked so sweetly. Enjoy woman
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Hanan's POV.

Saturday's picnic turned out to be the best one of my life. The man of my dreams had proposed to me and in public! It had been quite embarrassing, but it was romantic and sweet at the same time. Plus, it was all kosher because Tariq was right there.

I had lain awake all night just going over that moment in my head again and again. My eyes kept straying towards the delicate charm bracelet on my wrist. Most girls got rings when the were proposed to. I had gotten a gorgeous white gold bracelet and I loved it. Rings were old news anyway.

After Zaynab had left and we had returned home, I headed straight up to my room to escape Tariq's teasing and daydream in peace. As I was getting changed, my eyes fell on the parcel that my parents had given me on the day that I left Syria.

I held it in my hands and stroked the wrapping tenderly with tears in my eyes. Oh mama, how I wish you were here with me, I thought. I gently unwrapped the package and found a state of the art iPhone 6s inside its box. My mouth fell open in shock. I had a hundred questions. Back home, we could barely afford the basic necessities let alone the latest iPhone. Beneath the decide, there was a nearly folded letter.

Hanan.

Your mother and I have been planning to send you away from this war zone ever since our Tariq left. We couldn't bear to know that our only daughter's life is constantly in danger.

We didn't tell you because we knew you wouldn't want to go away and leave us. You've always been such a selfless child. Please don't be angry at us for sending you so far away. Your mother and I just want our children to be safe and comfortable. You mother and I are old, now. We don't have much to live for now, just the two of you. We want you and Tariq to be safe and happy.

If Allah wills, we will join you. Remember, it won't be easy so if we don't end up joining you, remember that we love you. We will meet in Paradise, inshaAllah.

You must be wondering about the cellphone. Your mother and I have had some savings hidden for dire times. We decided to buy you one last gift while we could afford it.

Enjoy.
We love you always.
Your loving Baba and Mama.

By the end of the letter, I was sobbing openly. I clutched the box and the letter to my chest and cried profusely.
I heard a soft knock on the door and Tariq came in moments later.
"What's wrong, Hanani?", he asked softly, using his childhood name for me. Wordlessly, I handed him the letter and as he read it, his own eyes welled up too. He gathered me into his arms and whispered soothingly to me.

"Don't worry, Princess. You've got Sumi and me and the kids here. Mama and Baba will join us. I'll make sure of it". I smiled sadly at him.

"You're the best brother in existence", I said.

"You're not too bad yourself", he chuckled, kissing my forehead.

I pretended to be offended and pulled a pout.

"Fix your face, woman and go pray fajr. You'd better make some special du'aa today", he said mysteriously.

"Why? Are you taking a second wife?", I joked.

He smirked at me,"Don't tell Sumi yet".

When he saw my expression, he laughed. "I'm kidding. You're meeting your in laws today".
With that he ruffled my hair and flounced out of my room, leaving me there with my jaw on the floor.

Shock was replaced with fear and jumped off my bed to pray fajr.

After spending nearly an hour making the 'special du'aa', the rest of the morning was spent with Sumayyah and me deciding what to wear and making dessert to take with and gifts for the 'in laws'.

During the course of the day, I'd gotten Tariq to download some software for me and the first contact I loaded onto my new phone was Zaynab's. When I had called her, she insisted I download an application called Snapchat. As soon as I had done so, she sent me a picture of Tameem asleep on his mother's lap captionedf: "your hubby to be is a such a big baby".

Well, to say the least, meeting the in laws would be interesting.

Tameem's POV.

The morning went by in a blur. My father had whisked my brother and me off to the barber shop early in the morning while my mother and Zaynab started withe cleaning up the house and cooking.

My father boasted to every customer in the shop that his son was bringing his future wife for supper. All I could so was sit and smile.

The baber had given my father, brother and me identical haircuts and he shaped my father's and my beard to perfection. To be honest, I thought I looked pretty suave. I hope Hanan would approve.

By the time we had gotten home, it was after eleven and everything was set. My mother and sister hurried off to get ready whilst the men went off to shower and dress.

By 12:30, I was in front of my mirror dabbing my favourite itr onto my neck and wrists.

"You can do this Tameem!", I said sternly to my reflection. I went downstairs into the prayer room where everyone was waiting to pray dhuhr before the Abdullahs arrived.

My father to the position of imam and I relaxed as I heard his deep string voice reciting from the Qur'an, soothing my nerves and giving a burst of confidence. After we prayed, he made a quick du'aa to request goodness and success from Allah.

By the time we were done, it was 13:15pm and Hanan and her family were due at any moment.

My mother fussed around the table. I fussed over my turban. Zaynab claimed that we were all crazy and went into the lounge to sit and wait for he friend to arrive.

A minute later, the doorbell rang...