Endings

7

I always knew Khalil had a long time girlfriend. Her name was Sa'a, she was a pretty girl. No one could understand how Khalil ended up with her, she was way out of his league. Khalil had spent months toasting her (toasting: flirting) and I guess she finally agreed to date him. Yes she was gorgeous but her personality was as bland as wheat bread. He told me that they were having problems concerning how abrasive she tended to be and she wasn't comfortable with how friendly he was with other girls. It was all so confusing and I honestly had no interest in their relationship whatsoever. Three months ago Khalil had told me that he had broken up with her and that they ended things on a good note. Though she was quick to tell all her friends that Khalil and her broke up because he couldn't handle the fact that "celebrities" were interested in her. I mean saying a celebrity is into you is okay but celebrities, now that's a bit far fetched Sa'a. She was known for bragging about how much she was wanted and admired. All she truly cared about were her social media numbers.

I didn't know if I was meant to confront Khalil. At last most of my problems looked to be withering away which had me ecstatic but new issues just kept popping up, my family couldn't just seem to catch a break. Yes I still had Funke who was trying to solicit $3,000 from me and my cancer and I weren't on the best of terms but things were looking up and I was going to soak in every bit of serenity that I could. Nothing was going to ruin my sudden placidity.

"Can we talk Ali?"

Jamila looked like she had something serious on her mind. There goes my peace and quiet.

"Sure but if it's about baby stuff then I'm not your guy."

The baby talk was getting too much for me to handle.

"No, not baby stuff, It's Khalil. He hasn't called to check up on me since yesterday and I'm worried. He was acting funny a couple of days ago but I didn't pay any attention to that because I thought it was nothing. Just a phase I told myself but now I feel like there's more to it."

Khalil, Khalil, Khalil. That boy was a case. After seeing him with Sa'a and gazing at their impromptu kiss I didn't know what to think about him anymore. He was just some guy that my sister was having a baby with. That's all he was to me.

"So how do I come in?" I asked

"Have you noticed anything ? Anything I should know about? I'm not going to be happy having a baby with a guy that's hiding something."

"Infidelity? Is that what this is about?"

"Sa'a and I were friends Ali and she lost it when she found out that her then boyfriend had been texting me, she was furious. Maybe she's up to something."

So she even knew about Sa'a, I wasn't expecting that.

"How do you know Sa'a?" I asked

"It's girl 101. You get close to the girlfriend of the guy you want so you can find out what he likes, it's basic really."

Jamila before all this happened never seemed like the type of girl that'll try and steal someone's boyfriend from you. Jamila was quirky and odd, she had absolutely no desire to fit in. She was quiet and unapproachable, though she spoke her mind when she needed to. She would always get gassed up when people would talk about her sexual orientation because someone had made a rumor that she was into females and that just threw off the deep end. She became mute and distant for quite a while but when she finally got over it all she became someone that no one could recognize. She had different friends, different clothes, different everything actually. It wasn't like Jamila to just reinvent herself just because of some silly rumor but she did anyways. She had changed.

"Nothings going on with Khalil. He's fine, I promise."

All I could do was lie. I wasn't about to tell her anything that could emotionally throw her off so I just did what I thought was best. I was being cautious.

* * *
Dad had told me and Jamila to come over to his new apartment. Having a mistress didn't come cheap so he decided to spring for an apartment well over his budget, not to even mention my mum's budget as well since they had a joint account. The divorce was getting drawn out for too long because both my mum and dad wanted full custody of both me and Jamila. Anyways, my dad apparently had some big news that he needed to tell us urgently so avoiding him was inevitable at this point. He had called 6 times already asking if we were on our way which was bordering on the psychopathic because he lived literally 12 minutes away. Funke's juju must have been working.

We were at his house and let me tell you something, it was enormous. My dad must have spent most of his life savings on this place, it was just wild.

"Baba! I've missed you so much!! This house is, is amazing" Jamila says

She ran straight towards him and wrapped her lengthy hands around him. Jamila wasn't as disgusted with him as I was.

"My baby Jamila, you look so beautiful. Just look at you and look at your tummy. My baby is having a baby, wow! I'm so happy for you."

*rolls eyes*

"Ali, you don't look so happy , what's wrong son?" He asks

What's wrong? He must be kidding me. This whole thing was wrong.

"Oh nothing dad, don't mind me I'm just tired from you know, the cancer and what not." I said with a wide grin on my face

"Have a seat, sit down please. Both of you."

"So I have some big news. Sorry for the distance I've been keeping but you guys need to know that it's hard. Your mum and I have been together for 18 years now so seperating from someone you've been with for that long is never easy and I need you both to understand that I love and appreciate your mum and you guys. You should know that my love for all of you will never change. You can call me whenever and talk to me about whatever. I love you guys."

I couldn't help but believe him. I was happy that he opened up to us like that and said he truly did care about us. It was genuine and in that moment I realized that he was honestly sorry. It was good to know.

"So what's the news dad?" I asked

(long pause)

"Dad? What's the news? Are you okay?" I asked

"Funke you can come out now"

She comes out from the kitchen and she had this huge smile on her face. She was such a fake person. I'm here thinking to myself that she's about to apologize and then she says...

"We're engaged!"