A tale of love, loss, and new beginnings.
Hareem wants to start over, Momin is stuck in the past. Can a newly wedded couple learn to love and accept one another while also dealing with an uncertain future and a haunting past?
Trigger warning: ptsd...
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Chapter Eleven
Momin groaned as he rolled over in bed and picked up his cell phone. His eyes stared at the blurred numbers for a couple of seconds before finally zooming in and realizing that it was well past nine a.m.
Shooting out of bed without a seconds wait, he stumbled to his wardrobe and grabbed the first dress shirt that came in sight. Completing it with a kaki pair of dress pants, he dashed to the restroom to change.
It was a Sunday morning and Momin had been invited for brunch by the Shoukats. The brunch hours in the country club started at ten a.m. sharp, and he had promised to arrive by ten fifteen max.
Realizing that he wouldn't reach the country club before the promised time if he hung around a moment longer, Momin forced his feet into his shoes before picking up his wallet, and car keys and exiting the house. He shoved the wallet in his back pocket as he cantered down the unending stairs. He could smell his own sweat when he slipped into the driver's seat of his car, but didn't reach for his emergency stash of cologne from the glovebox until he reached a red light.
They're going to think I have no sense of cleanliness, he thought, generously spraying on the cologne.
He was late, he realized, as he exited his car and found Hareem standing near a patch of flowers, repeatedly looking over the parking area. Momin power-walked towards her.
"Assalamu Allykum," he said breathlessly, "I'm sorry I'm late," His eyes ran over Hareem's white and pink kameez shalwar. "You look nice." Hareem instantly blushed.
"Wa'Allykum Salaam, thank you." She glanced down at her feet. "You aren't late, we came early."
"Ah, well, Alhumdulillah then." He ran a hand through his hair, messing them up from the combed stage they had been. He stood with her in silence for a few seconds, looking around. "This is my first time here."
"Really?" She shyly asked, looking away.
"Yeah, the last time I went to a country club was the one back home." He stared at the artificial lake behind her. "Do you remember the annual Eid galas we had there?"
Hareem smiled, knowing exactly what he was referring to. They had lived in the same small town their entire lives, always being heavily involved in the community there. The Eid galas were the most popular event of the year when several vendors set up shop, recreational crews used to set up carnival style rides, and families shared food with each other.
There were many memories she could look back on and feel thrilled by, but the mention alone of their previous lives filled her with an ache that she felt in her bones.
"Hareem?"
"Y-yes?" She exclaimed, returning back to reality.
