Muslimah in love

23. The weekend

I banged the snooze button on the roaring alarm clock. 10 more minutes  I told myself. It felt like 10 seconds and the alarm clock went off again. I groaned and with great strength I hauled myself up. I shook Zaid who mumbled something and I blindly walked towards the en suite. It had been a month since we returned from the holiday which had been the best few days of my life. I somehow felt the whole thing had been a dream and hadn't actually happened. However on the downside it still felt as if my jet lag  hadn't disappeared. 

Going back to reality, to work felt almost cruel and as i watched the kids talking and pretending to do their work, I couldn't help but anticipate the next time i could go away.I couldn't wait until work was over. This was the weekend that we were finally going to go and see Zaid's parents.

The week went slowly. It usually happened like that; when you want time to pass, it drags on and when you want it to fly then it slows down- completely. Despite my overwhelming excitement, it had cast a shadow over Zaid. Jeez, i never knew that men had such tremendous mood swings. So, i avoided mentioning it however, i wasn't going to back out. I think he thought that by acting up I was going to change my mind but I wasn't and now the time had come.

My bags were packed and it was time for the road trip. I checked Zaid's bags and surprise surprise, it was empty. His reluctance was peculiar. So, i started packing it for him. By the time he was back, both our weekend bags were sitting near the front door ready for the next morning.

After i had placed a plate of steaming rice and meat curry on the table, I folded my arms as he came in the kitchen. I  didn't say anything and just let him eat and relax. It was important that he got his space. I usually gave him at least ten minutes to cool down and i realized that after having a few bites of food, he seemed to return back to normalcy. I sat down and watched him. I liked watching him, only for a little bit otherwise he'd probably deem me weird.

'So, how was your day?'

'Normal. Yours?'

'Yes, good. normal.' After a bit more of small talk, i jumped to the topic at hand.' Ready for tomorrow?'

'Yes. The bags are packed. I was going to do them when i got back but I see you got there first.' He said sheepishly and i didn't believe him. I raised my eyebrow questioningly. He seemed blank and i felt bad for pushing him, but this needed to be done. Whatever was wrong in his fragmented family needed to be fixed or attempted to anyway.

'Ok, i wasn't. I was waiting for you to do it for me ' he admitted. I smacked him on his shoulder which he rubbed, smirking. The lazy bugger. The first thing he wouldv'e done after eating was jump on the sofa and watch some of the football highlights, and considering it was the World Cup, he wouldn't get up until he caught up with the matches. I only joined him for the England games and considering they were disappointingly knocked out, i probably wouldn't be joining him until the final match.

'Well, luckily i did it for you. Now, i'm going to go and crash. Don't stay up too late. Early start tomorrow.' I said as i stifled a yawn.  'Night.' I got up and kissed the top of his head. 'Don't forget to watch the dish.' I said as I quickly walked away.

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As we drew up in front of the double front black gates, i couldn't help but admire the double fronted house that stood behind it. The house was white with two pillars at the front which led to the double black front doors. Outside was a three tier marble fountain which had water sprouting out of top and running down the middle.  I had lived there for a while during the first few weeks of my marriage and it was amazing.