Completing half of my deen [a Muslim love story]

𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝟼 - S𝚞𝚛𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚜

♡

I put the salad bowl on the table and took a seat next to Adanan. We were having chicken wraps and sweet potato fries for lunch. I tossed some salad on my plate and smiled as I picked out all of the olives and feta from the bowl. I loved olives and feta.

"This looks good" Adanan says. "Thanks my love"

"Eat up" I say. "You've been busy all day"

"I've been planning something actually..." he says turning to face me.

I take a bite from my chicken mayo wrap. Delicious.

Adanan places his smart tablet on the dining table.

"I was thinking.." He begins.

"Before work gets too much and things get really busy, that the two of us take a little break. I know we cannot have our honeymoon right away, but we can something else instead"

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"I mean that we can have a pre-honeymoon trip. Just the two of us. How does this weekend sound? We can go to any neighbouring country you want. Oman?"

I smile. "Are you sure?"

"I can take three days off work. Friday, Saturday and Sunday for now. You know how work goes. Business, no pleasure. What do you say?"

I take another bite of my wrap. Adanan looks at me in anticipation.

"Yes!" I say.

He jumps up and hugs me. "We have two days to pack!"

I could tell that he was excited.

We sit back down and start to talk about all the things that we will do in Oman. Adanan gobbles a few fries down. I laugh at him. He was like a child when he got excited.

I felt happy except for a feeling of apprehension in my belly. I felt unsettled for some reason. I pushed the thought aside as I watched him enjoy his meal. I poured us a glass of lemonade and took a sip. My mind was full of thoughts.

2 days before we leave.

What could go wrong?

♡

I got out of the shower and dried my hair with a towel. Tomorrow we are scheduled to leave for Oman. My suitcase was downstairs, packed and ready. Adanan was on the phone with someone and I could hear him from upstairs. I threw a robe on and walked to the bedroom to dry my hair.

I forgot how tedious it was doing my hair. It took me at least two hours to get my hair straight enough. I had curly hair and it was such an effort to maintain. Before I would wash my hair, allow it to air dry and bun it up for a week - shamelessly. Now that I was married I wanted to look after it better. If not for my sake, at least for Adanan. I looked in the mirror as I brushed my locks and thought about cutting it. Maybe even dying it again. It was currently brunette and curly. Really curly. I sighed as I turned on the hairdryer and proceeded to blow my hair out.

"Hey Asma" I hear Adanan coming up the stairs.

"Yes"

" I just came off from the phone with someone"

I turn off the hairdryer.

"Is everything okay?" I ask.

"Yes, yes." He calmly says. "We might not be able to stay as long"

"Okay" I say.

"And.." he hesitates.

I look at him with a curious expression.

"You know Yusuf, my friend from work?"

"Uh - The tall one, yes.."

"Yes. His wife is in labour and they might need me on duty. I told my boss about the holiday a few days ago but I guess it is how it is. The work environment does not care about your personal matters. They want to make money, that's really their only goal."

"So how long will we stay for?"

"A day"

I raise my eyebrow a bit. "That wouldn't really make sense. I mean, there's only so much you can do in a day. Or not do"

Adanan rubs his head. "I can tell them that I cannot fill in for Yusuf and that I have scheduled and paid for plans. It's just that I have no sick or leave days for at least a few months. Thereafter I might get a promotion."

"Look" I get up. "We can stay. We don't have to leave abruptly. I want to spend time with you without worrying about a birth, or an emergency or someone desperately needing you. I want to enjoy time with you. Not just be around you."

"I understand. And I want that too" He says. "If it were up to me I would have a two-month-long honeymoon. I would spend every moment with you."

I smile.

Adanan kisses me.

"Let's go" He stands up confidently. "We don't have anything to lose. We leave tomorrow at 10"

I smile. "I can't wait"

"I'm going to double-check our flight details. I'll be with you shortly. Also, do you wanna order something for dinner?"

"Are you hungry?" I ask.

"A bit" He says.

"Pizza would be nice"

"You read my mind. I'll phone just now"

I watch Adanan walk out and hear his footsteps as he walks down the stairs. I look at myself in the mirror and sighed. Why was I feeling apprehensive about this trip?

I once again pushed the thought aside and continued to dry my hair.

♡