Dawud.

Chapter 46: Family Time - Pt.1

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Dawud's P.O.V

Without that event occurring, I don't think Jannah and I would be this close. Subhan'Allah, so much good had come from that unspeakable incident. Here I sat, with an arm around my wife, watching old family tapes accompanied by Abdullah and Mariam. Jannah appeared on the television screen with her beautiful wavy hair in pigtails. Halal pigtails, hahaha.

"What are you grinning about?" Jannah looked up and questioned me. I shook my head and smiled. "You crazy man." She teased.

But yes, she appeared on the screen and danced around her sister, who was annoyed that Jannah had eaten the last Swiss Roll. 'Cheer up, Mariam!' Jannah sang in a high-pitched voice. With a huff, Mariam slapped Jannah harshly against the shoulder. This resulted in my mother-in-law, young and full of energy, scolding Mariam.

Jannah laughed and shook her head now. "Mariam you were so aggressive." She told her. Abdallah laughed as Mariam rolled her eyes. "Are you still mad?" Jannah asked.

"No." Mariam responded quickly, provoking laughter from all of us. I found my hand cupping Jannah's thigh and drummed my fingers against her leg. I missed her despite her being right in front of me. Love was a strange thing.

Abdallah paused the film and stood up. "Who wants to eat out?" He asked. I looked at Jannah who gave him an excited nod. "Let's go, then."

While the ladies gathered their things, Abdallah pulled me aside and ruffled a hand through my hair. "It's getting long again." He observed. I shrugged, causing him to study me more. "How are things at home with Jannah?" He inquired innocently.

I gave him a small smile. "Alhamdullilah, she's healing through reminders and the Quran. I've never been happy for someone but sad for them at the same time you know? But, at the end of the day, I'm just proud. Yeah, let's leave it at that."

Abdallah nodded gently. "And how are you feeling?" He questioned.

I shook my head. "I only complain of my suffering to Allah. He is Sufficient enough for me."

Jannah appeared at my side and tickled my ribs, conscious that I wasn't ticklish at all. I moved away from her touch and raised my hands. "Don't make me." I warned as I waddled my fingers about. Jannah rolled her eyes and faced Abdullah.

"I'm not sure if you know this already," she told him, "But my husband is all talk."

I scoffed and chased after her. We ran down the hallway of their apartment and turned the corner. Obviously, I caught up with her in a matter of seconds. Jannah wasn't the best at sports or any physical activity. She wasn't even good at walking without tripping over the air. I loved that.

Jannah's P.O.V

Dawud caught up to me and pinned me against the wall before tickling me everywhere. Once his hands touched my flat belly, he froze. I looked up and saw his expression grow sad. He apologized quickly before removing his hands. "Hey." I seized his palms and placed them on my stomach. "Life happens."

Dawud pulled his hand away and wrapped both arms around me tightly. I embraced him as well and before we knew it, we both wept. Hard. I had soaked his shirt in my tears. Thankfully I wasn't wearing any mascara, because I would've looked like a panda. And him? He was apologizing repeatedly, kissing my head and asking for forgiveness. "I did that to you. It was my fault." He repeated. "I'm so sorry, Jannah."

I shook my head and burrowed my face into his chest. "It's not your fault. It's her's and Allah will deal with her justly. It's okay, Dawdie. Life happens." I said through tears.

Dawud pressed his forehead against mine as our eyes met. We stared at each other wordlessly, intensely and sealed the moment with a kiss. Due to the vacant hallway, it lasted longer than usual, and I didn't mind at all. This kiss spoke on behalf of the speechless nights, gloomy days, dark moments and hidden feelings. It was our way of saying all that needed to be said. These past few weeks have been hard. Incredibly hard. But we found a way to overcome it thanks to Allah's grace and mercy. Alhamdullilah. Alhamdullilah always.

Dawud pulled away and caressed my cheek. "I love you." He said breathlessly as if it had been stuck in his throat for longer than he could remember.

"And I love you."

*

Mariam and I went to the restaurant washroom to wash our hands. They wreaked onions. Standing in front of the hand dryer, I winced as the air whooshing between my fingers filled the room with an unbearable squeal. Mariam turned her head slightly and spoke. I asked her to repeat herself after removing my hands from the dryer machine. "What?"

"I said, I'm happy to see you happy."

I smiled. "Our Creator tests those he loves." Mariam nodded in agreement. I asked her how she and Abdullah were doing. She laughed.

"Good, good. It's... fun being married." She said and winked mischievously.

I gasped and scolded her. "You're so eib (inappropriate)!" We laughed and returned back to the boys.

The afternoon went by smoothly. We even found time to visit my mom.

All four of us knocked on my mother's door, commenting on the beautiful flowers blooming in the front yard. In a matter of seconds, she appeared before us, smiling radiantly.

Now, there are some things in life that are just unbelievable and watching my mother glowing under the light of the now setting sun was one of them. Her thin hair was let loose, draping past her shoulders. Her skin looked dewy and youthful as her light eyes widened with surprise. "Salamu'Alaykum! My children!" She squealed, pulling me in for a hug first. "Oh, my baby Jannah." She said against my shoulder. "And Dawud! So handsome, so handsome!" She added, pulling him in for a tight embrace. It lasted longer than mine and that didn't surprise me one bit. My mother adored Dawud. Far beyond normal. Up next was Abdullah, my mother's friend, and enemy. Those two could never agree on anything, but that only brought them closer. And lastly, my mother kissed Mariam on the head before pulling her close. They hugged the longest out of all of us.

We all sat on the floor as my mother brought light snacks into the living room. She bent down to join us on the floor but we filled the room with protests. With a slight jump out of surprise, my mother sat on the couch. Abdullah had told her about the videotapes we had watched earlier that day and Mariam had reminded her of the harsh scolding she gave her. Dawud talked about work and I stayed silent, watching my big old family with a huge smile. I had never seen this much happiness and love plastered on my mother's face. It rendered me speechless.

This house held so many memories and sadly, the majority of them were disappointing. Looking over at the foyer, the memory of Warsan and Muna shrugging snow from their jackets before we had the 'End of the Semester Get Together' party flashed before my eyes. And the dining room brought back the time when Mariam and I were kicked out of the house. I chuckled then, shaking my head. Imagine if I had listened to my mom and never spoke to Dawud again. I would've been cooped in my room, working in the day and wallowing in the night for sure.

"Can you all sleep over tonight? I just want to go to bed with all of you under my roof." My mother asked shyly. "And tomorrow morning," she added, "We can all eat a nice breakfast together."

I was the first to agree. I clapped my hands excitedly and squealed. "Yay! You can finally see my old room!" I told Dawud.

He laughed awkwardly and looked down. I could tell he was shy. "Abdullah and I can go back to our places and get toothbrushes and all that good stuff." He said.

Abdallah nodded in agreement. "Yeah, did you need anything in particular?" He asked my sister lovingly. She leaned over and whispered something in his ear. He winced in embarrassment before ducking past us. "C'mon bro, let's go." Abdallah whispered quickly.

After the two left, my mother and I asked Mariam what she had asked for. "Pads." She told us. The room was filled with laughter.