The Perks of Having a Nikah (A Muslim Love Story) *BACK 2023*

10.

❝"I do not let a brother of mine get angry with me twice, rather I look into what he dislikes and avoid it."
Ibn Abi Habeeb, Tathkiral Hufath 1/130. ❞

I wake up the next morning with a weird positioned Fadwah in front of me. "Get your big butt out of my face, Fadwah!"

"Nnnngggwahhhhh." She gets up and sits, looking around the room and then rubbing her eyes, her lips drooped.

"Get off my arm, would you?" I snatch my arm out from under her and grit my teeth. "Gosh, I forgot how annoying you are in the morning. Now I remember why I barely ever sleep over."

She finally lands her eyes on my face. "Oh I'm annoying? You're the definition of annoying."

"Please Fadwah, just go to the left."

She gets off the bed and heads to the bathroom. "Swerve." She puts her hand out at me.

"Who even says that anymore?"

"Please Yasmeen, don't make that face. You look even more like a demented zombie than you usually do when you do that."

"Really Fadwah? You're talking? Don't even start a battle you will lose, boo."

"Um, leave boo to call your husband, iight?" Her voice echoes off the bathroom walls.

"Did you just say iight? Fadwah and ghetto slang don't go together so stop while you're ahead, please."

"Stop hating on my swag, Yasmeen. It isn't healthy, iight."

I crinkle my nose and ignore her last sentence. My cell phone rings and I turn to the sound of it on the bed. I shake the sheets until I find it and press it to my face before it stops ringing.

"Hello?" I sit on the bed and cross my legs together.

"Assalamu alaykum, Yassy!"

"Wa alaykum salaam, Nes. Kayfahaaluk (How are you)?"

"Alhamdulillah. Wa anti (And you)?"

"Alhamdulillah. What's up?"

"Well, Allah is above His Throne and all.."

"Haha, funny Yassy, funny. I mean what's going on?"

"Nothing really. Fadwah's getting on my last nerves and is making me want to rip her hair out but you know, just the usual."

"Hey, I heard that!" Fadwah shouts from the bathroom.

"Lower down, would you? You could wake people across the world up with that horrible yell."

She mumbles a shut up and I laugh and go back to talking to Nesreen. "So what do I owe you with this wonderful call?"

"I was wondering if you both wanted to have a girls' day in. My parents went with my siblings to Washington and I'm stuck in this house bored out of my mind."

"We'd love to."

"We'd love to what?" Fadwah asks by the door.

"See you in an hour or two, Nes. Assalamu alaykum."

"In sha Allah, wa alaykum salam." We both hang up and I turn to Fadwah.

"Nesreen asked if we'd like to have a girls' day in at her house because she's all alone and I said yes."

"Without consulting me about it first?" She crosses her arms together and raises an eyebrow.

"I already knew your answer would be yes, Fad."

She throws her hands up in the air dramatically. "Oh! Because you think you just know me so well, don't you?"

"Um, duh." I say in a sarcastic way.