The Art Of Halaal Love

3 | A new bride-to-be

The day had arrived. We were on our way to meet the family of Ali's potential wife. I don't know why but I was super nervous. I wondered how Ali felt. He looked very tired, as if he had not slept the entire night. He was dressed smart, with a navy shirt and black trousers. He had no smart shoes so he wore some fully black trainers. His hair didn't look messy as it usually does and he was wearing some cologne which smelt really good. He actually looked handsome.
I was wearing a purple wide fit abaya with a black chiffon hijab. My dad was wearing a suit and my mum had a navy abaya with a white hijab, wrapped Turkish style. My sisters were both wearing a pink dress with a beautiful flower headband, and their long hair was let out.
After being stuck in traffic for about half an hour we had arrived. My dad parked in a parking lot, payed for the parking and now we were walking past houses to try and find their house number. I was holding Amina's hand and mum was holding Alina's.
"See if you can spot number 55." I challenged Amina. I was hoping she could identify numbers like she had learnt at her school.
"There it is!" She pointed at a house which said '55' on the side of the door. The houses were massive here. My mum said well done to her and we all crossed the road and went up to their door. My dad rung the doorbell. While we waited, I turned to face Ali who was beside me. Damn did he look nervous.
"You got this!" I whispered and playfully punched his arm. He smiled and looked up at the man who had just opened the door. He was a man, much older looking than my dad, with a fist-length beard which was turning white. He also had a suit on. My dad and him exhanged greetings, shook hands and he welcomed us all into the house. We all went into the living room and I was amazed to see how beautiful their house was. There was frames of Quranic ayaat all over the walls, ornaments lined up across the cupboards and their sofa was a huge, cornered leather sofa with a glass table in the middle. I saw Ali greeting the man with a handshake and a hug and they sat down with my dad on one side of the sofa.
My mum was now greeting a woman who looked about the same age as the man. Im pressuming they are the parents. She was wearing an abaya and a very long hijab, all black in colour. I looked around but saw no other woman. My mum introduced me and the woman was smiling lovingly at me.
"As Salamu Alaikum! How are you?" She came up to me and she shook my hand and pulled me in for a hug, a very tight hug which nearly took my breath away. I smiled back and greeted her back.
"Wa Alaikum Salam, Alhamdulillah I am well. How are you?" I politely asked her back.
"Iam so happy you are all here. Come please sit down!" She took my hand and sat me down beside her.
"And who are these two princesses sitting here?" She playfully asked my sisters.
"Iam Amina!"
"And I am Alina!"
"What do you say to Auntie?" My mum asked both of them.
"As Salamu Alaikum!" They both said together causing us all to laugh. I looked over to my dad and he was beaming proudly at my sisters.
"This is my eldest daughter, Leila. She's 23." My mum smiled while introducing me.
"Ma Shaa Allah, she looks older than that!" The woman commented. Wow thanks. Much appreciated(!)
"I have to say she is beautiful Ma Shaa Allah." She said, causing me to blush. Oh God, I hated being the centre of attention.
"Is she married?" She asked. I suddenly felt sick.
"No, not yet." My mum laughed.
"No no, my daughter won't ever get married! I need her in my life, she is too useful to loose!" My dad commented making everyone laugh. I put on a fake laugh, because I was uncomfortable now. Thanks dad(!)
"And this is Ali, my step-son who is looking to get married to your daughter." My mum introduced Ali formally to everyone. I exhaled in relief to finally be away from the spot light.
"Where is she?" The man asked the woman.
"She is in her room. I will go and get her. By the way she is very nervous so don't mind her." The woman got up and we heard her go up the stairs. After a while we heard her coming down the stairs and following her was the sound of other footsteps coming down the stairs. My hands suddenly felt so sweaty. The woman came in first.
"This is our daughter Aisha." As she said that, a lady came in. I stared at her in awe. She was a niqabi! She came and sat in between my mum and I. As she sat beside me, I could almost feel her aura enveloping me. She was dressed almost like her mum, but her Abaya had a few rhimestones on her slevees. I looked at her eyes and smiled at her. I could tell by her eyes that she smiled back. She had gorgeous eyes which were a mix of hazel and green.
" As Salamu Alaikum." She greeted my dad and he greeted her back. She also greeted my mum and she returned the greeting. I observed my mum's face and I could tell she was pleased. I was , however, curious about what my dad thought. I don't think my dad was a big fan of niqabis. But in this circumstance, I dont think he cared. I looked over to my sisters and they both looked at her with confused faces. I stifled a laugh and reminded myself to talk to them about niqabis later on. I looked over to Ali and I noticed they both made eye contact. Ali quickly dropped his gaze from her and I noticed her starting to fidget with her hands. I found that so cute.
"Does she work?" My mum asked.
"Yes, she does private teaching. She teaches Quranic and Islamic studies." The woman said while looking at Aisha proudly. I couldn't help but be absolutely mesmerised at her.
"Aah, Ma Shaa Allah. Perfect." My mum said and smiled to her. Yep my mum really likes her.
" Ma shaa Allah, very good." I heard my dad say. I looked at him in shock.
"Sorry to be nosy, but can we see your face, jaan?" My mum asked Aisha.
"Yes of course you can." The woman answered for her. Aisha untied her niqab and as she reveiled her face, I noticed Ali's head perk up to look at her. They both made eye contact again. Was I the only one noticing this? Aisha lowered her head out of shyness but Ali kept his gaze on her. I don't blame him. She really was beautiful. Her cheeks were blushing and I noticed a little smile forming on her thin lips. I noticed that she had a nose stud, just like me, on the left side of her nose.
"Ma Shaa Allah." I heard my mum say.
"How old were you when you started wearing Niqab?" My mum asked.
"20." She replied. My mum smiled and looked towards my dad. And he seemed pleased.
"Aisha go and serve some tea for them." Her mum told her.
"Yes of course." Aisha smiled. She got up and as she walked away, I saw Ali looking towards her. I think he likes her. I don't see why that wouldn't be the case.
After a while she came back with a tray of cups of traditional Turkish black tea. She first offered it to my dad and he took a cup and smiled lovingly at her. She then gave her dad one and she turned towards Ali and she lowered the tray for him, avoiding eye contact. Ali took a cup and observed her face while saying thank you. He even flashed a smile at her.
She turned towards us and offered tea to my mum ,her mum and me. I took a cup off the tray and said thank you, noticing her red cheeks. She placed a bowl of sugar cubes on the table. She went back into the kitchen and came back with two cups of juice for the twins and another cup of tea for herself. She sat down and everyone was occupied in conversation about our recent trip to Turkey. I noticed how Aisha would glance over at Ali in between sips of her tea and how Ali would do the same. Although it was my brother, I didn't find it cringy, rather really cute.
After a while, Aisha's mum said " I think Ali and Aisha should have some time by themselves so they can ask each other important questions." I looked over to Ali and grinned at him.
"Yes, they could sit right there, in the garden." Aisha's dad pointed to the garden where there was a table with chairs, just like in our garden.Ali nodded and got up.
"Just turn the key and it will open." He instructed and Ali opened the door. Aisha looked at her mum nervously. Her mum encouraged her to get up. She got up and followed Ali into the garden. I couldn't help but notice how Ali's tall body complimented Aisha's rather short stature. They both disappeared into the garden, and I got the urge of wanting to go with them.