Bound ✅

Fair Meeting

"The Boss is calling you."

Halima took off the plastic gloves she was wearing and washed her hands at the basin. While she washed her hands, she thought briefly of what she'd want to talk about.

"Shey you'll not do fast like this, she's waiting fa?" Halima scrubbed harder and used her elbow to turn off the tap just as they were taught.

She took some rolls of toilet paper and dried her hands, scrunching it into a dustbin near her boss's office upstairs.

"Good afternoon ma." Her boss waved her in and she sat when asked and waited for her boss to finish the call she was making.

"Yes! I'll do something about it immediately." Halima's heart skipped a beat. A loud thump came from her chest and she quelled her raging thoughts with a dua.

"Lima. I hope you're alright?" She raised her head abruptly, having shut it tightly to pray for a moment. She'd found that saying duas just reduced the emotion you felt about a particular situation. Be it anger, fear, hate, even over excitement.

"I am ma." Her boss nodded and clasped her hands.

"You've been here as an employee for a long time and honestly, at first I didn't think to ask you how you'd been faring here." Halima nodded. She didn't show an expression.

"I just wanted to say thank you for taking your job so professionally. I've never heard a bad word about you from any customer and even your co-workers have only nice comments about you." Her boss reached under and brought out a slightly fat envelope. Then another one.

"This is for you. Thank you so much Lima." She nodded again and collected it with a smile. Her boss smiled back and took the second envelope.

"Here's a ticket to rising females fair for artisans." Halima quickly scanned their name in her head but can up with nothing.

"I know you don't know them. But they're a new non-government organization that wants to bring women together. You know that sort of thing. But it's happening on a Saturday and I cannot be there." She gestured downstairs at the shop. "Too much work on Saturday mornings."

Halima herself thought of the money she'd be loosing on Saturday and instead of getting angry she smiled. She'd be gaining knowledge instead.

"I'll go ma. Thank you." Her boss nodded in reply and dismissed her. Immediately Halima locked the door behind her, she tore open the envelope. It contained ten thousand naira or more she estimated. If there was one habit she hoped to break it was her lack of patience. She just couldn't wait so long for something without tapping her feet in displeasure.

She wrapped both envelope inside an inner pocket of her jilbab. She was sure her boss didn't want the others  notified about her windfall.

"What happened there?" She shook her head, assuming a morose face in reply. "She shout for you?" Halima didn't confirm or deny it.

"But why na." Hamdiyah skipped over to her and held her hand, making Halima feel guilty about not talking.

"It's fine. I'll be fine. Thank you."

*****

"This is a roller that helps you roll hair and keeps it intact. Infact you can carry this hair throughout the day. Just roll it before you begin your chores and by the time work time is here, you can take it off and have gorgeous rolled hair for the day. Just spray and shake." Halima looked dubiously at the seller who was screaming about his product.

"I doubt the authenticity of that roller." Halima turned abruptly, nearly spilling her Zobo on her self. She was sipping from one of those tall sippy cups and infinity straws.