After I do's

Chapter 4

The morning after I woke up fresh, the exhaustion from the wedding was somewhat lingering, but I was ready for the day. I was slightly woken up by the coldness of the dusk seeping through my skin, so I wrapped the blanket around myself and curled into a sushi roll before going to sleep again when something touched my forehead and I heard a faint, 'I am leaving.' Whatever was leaving could come back again. I woke up again sometime later when the whole room was blazing with sunlight from the french window across the room. Out of habit, I flung the blankets to get up and stepped on the rug when the cool air hit my naked skin. Shuddering, I wrapped my arm around my bare arms, when the realization came to me. 

I looked back to Hamzah's side of the bed to find it empty, I looked over the wall clock to see it was 10 am. He must've gone to the office. I went to the wall closet to find a clean pair of airy lawn shalwar kameez right under another suit. Was he blind along?

Picking up a warm aubergine suit paired with a block printed shawl, I changed into it. I two big strands from each part and fixed it with a catcher letting rest of my hair fall behind. I applied very little makeup and instead of a dark lipstick I opted for a matte plum mauve lipstick. I was ready and a bit nervous to face his family alone. Pushing my worries aside, I went down to find the dining table empty. 

Maybe they were the type of families that have breakfast together before everyone leaves to their business. The thought that it was only me and Hamzah's mother alone in the house made me anxious again. I looked for the kitchen admiring the design of the house on my way. When I found it, I found the other tenant as well.

His mother.

I looked for an empty stove. And there surprisingly was. I looked for the kettle to set the tea for brewing while I was searching, his mother's eyes found me and looked at me with distaste. Rolling my eyes, I continued searching the cabinets and drawers.

'You know when a kettle is used, it is placed in a dish rack to let it dry before keeping it in a cabinet.'

My eyes searched the whole room for a dish rack and I found one. I took out the kettle, rinsed it and put in the ingredients which I took out when I found them in search of the kettle and set it on the stove. I took out the half empty bread from fridge. Since they were rich, I figured they must've a toaster, I know my not as rich family has one. I searched the marble counter for a toaster to find..

'What are you looking for now?'

'Toaster..?'

'Toaster? Roast them on a pan.'

Pan? I remembered when I visited one of my cousin and had to stay overnight because of the city disturbance, they made toasts on a pan. It tasted amazing crunchy on the outside while soft on the inside whereas toasters make the bread so crunchy that I had cut on the side of my mouth.

I got the pan which I remembered where it was when I was looking for the kettle. I roasted the toasts, by the time the tea was ready too. I seeped it and added milk and sugar to my taste. Then I went towards the dining area with my tray in the hand. Eating took me 5 minutes. I was disappointed, that I had to go through so much for it to finish in 5 minutes. I took the tray back to the kitchen where it was hustling. The sounds of pans hissing and splashing were heard. Must be preparing for lunch. I put the tray near the sink and washed it's contents along with the utensils and kitchenware I used before placing them on the dish rack.

I cleaned up the dining table for any crumbles that I may have left and decided to get to know my mother-in-law more. 

'So... Does Hanya give you a hard time? Considering she is younger than her siblings.'

'I know what you are trying to insinuate. How many kids I have and when I have is none of your business'

'That came out wrong. I'm just trying to make a small talk here. I don't know what mother-in-laws and daughter-in-laws talk about.'