Good For You (Al-Ameen Family #3)

Open Book

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After breakfast, Ali took me to the mosque and introduced me to the kids he volunteered with. It was an experience to say the least.

"Ali bhaijaan ki girlfriend ho aap? (Are you Ali's girlfriend?)," one little girl tugged at the hem of my dress. I crouched down to get to her level.

"Nahi beta-"

"Meri biwi hai (She's my wife)," Ali interjected. All the little girls cooed. That caught the boys' attention too and they all walked over.

"Ali bhaijaan ke saath apne shaadi kyun kari? (Why did you marry Ali bhaijaan?)," one of the older boys asked me. He must've been around 6 or 7.

I looked over at Ali, who was smirking down at me. I walked over to a chair and sat down. "Pata nahi. Bas ho gayi (I don't know, it just happened I guess)," I shrugged.

"Aise kaise ho gayi? Mere pyaar mein pagal ho gayo thi. Shaadi phir karna hi pari (What, it just happened? She fell madly in love with me so of course we had to get married)," I whacked him in the gut before he could go on. The kids giggled like crazy.

"Aisa kuch nahi. Mummy papa jab bole tab shaadi kar lene chahiye (It was nothing like that. When mom and dad say to get married, you should)," I told the kids, like a responsible adult.

"Chi. Main toh kabhi shaadi nahi karne wali (Ew. I'm never going to get married)," the first little girl crossed her arms over her chest.

"Pyaar ho gaya toh? (And if you fall in love?)," Ali asked her, picking her up in his arms.

"Phir bhi nahi. Ladke kitne ajeeb hote hai (Even then, I won't. Boys are so weird)," she wrapped one tiny little arm around Ali's neck. My heart was melting.

"Mujhse shaadi karogi? (Will you marry me?)," he asked her, playing with one of her cute little pigtails.

"Par Didi? (But what about her?)," she looked at me nervously.

"Didi ka kya? Tumhare liye Didi ko bye bye (What about her? For you, I'll say bye to Didi)," he grinned at me.

"Ali bhaijaan, aap bhi na," she giggled just as the bell rang for school and they all ran off to class, waving bye to me.

I turned to him with an eyebrow raised. "Bye bye huh? Ghar milo mujhe."

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After introducing me to some of the staff at the masjid and taking me on a tour of the place, we ate lunch with all the kids, bought them ice cream and then he took me to every one of the six villages he had implemented the water filtrations in. We had dinner with the family of one of the village leaders who Ali had gotten to know really well, before heading home.

My respect, love, admiration, and gratefulness for him had increased ten fold over the course of the day. He was a whole different person, yet still the same. Still the same mischievous, over-the-top, friendly guy I knew. But he was also extremely considerate, compassionate, and smart.

I was spent by the time we got home.

"Come on, I was going to take you out for pani puri," Ali whined.

I took my shoes off, took his hand in mine, and pulled him over to the couch.

"I'm tired babe. I just want to sit with you, we can go tomorrow." I sat down and opened my arms. He rolled his eyes laid down on the couch with me. I absentmindedly ran my fingers through his hair.