Bound ✅

Salep

Jamal: How's She?

Summayah rolled her eyes and bit her lower lip as she studied a cheeky answer to give him.

Who? Mummy?

Jamal texted back almost immediately. Don't play with me Summayah. I talked to Mummy this morning, I mean Halima.

Summayah laughed and typed back quickly. Oh you mean your crush? She is fine.

Jamal shook his head and replied with an okay. Then he remembered something. He quickly typed it.

Congratulations on your new job by the way👏🏼👏🏼. But dad will blow a gasket when he hears.

Summayah rolled her eyes at her brother's words. So she replied;

Don't be absurd, he is recovering from a stroke. He won't like to exert himself. I timed it well.

Jamal replied, I'm just worried. About you.

Summayah looked around her chair to Halima who was putting Jariyah's hair in a bun. She replied to Jamal cunningly. Oh, worried that he won't accept Halima?

Jamal's reply was immediate. SUMMAYAH ABUBAKAR!!!Behave!

She chuckled out loud and turned off her data connection setting her phone on the coffee table. She felt smug shaking Jamal up.

Summayah got up and walked to Halima who was patting Jariyah's hair in completion. "Go get your backpack baby. Let's walk you and Lubna to school." Summayah watched Jariyah skip up the stairs to her room before leaning down to whisper.

"Halima?" Halima hummed in reply as she removed hair flints from her black jeans trousers. "When did Jariyah start putting her hair in a bun? Didn't she used to vehemently say no to putting hair in buns?"

Halima laughed hard at how Summayah's face was. Jariyah used to call hair in buns a 'bad idea' since her arch-enemy in school used to wear her hair that way.

"Well. Jariyah's aunt, one boy kept putting the end of our girl's pigtail in the back of her chair. So she walked up to me and said, I want my hair in a low bun from now on. And now here we are."

Summayah walked into the dining room and began pouring a glass of juice before saying in Hausa to their Cook.  "Cook, even Jariyah has admirers. Am I not doomed like this?" Cook laughed, having no idea what she had said about herself.

*****

"It's here. It's one of those Turkish shops tucked into those old buildings so we may not find it easily." Summayah walked two steps and stared at the map on her phone again before making an aha sound.

"Found it. Let's go in." Halima nodded and walked into the cozy deli with her. Asma and Zubaida were sitting at a window seat. They waved Halima over when they spotted her behind tall, willowy Summayah.

"Hi Halima. It's been so long." Halima nodded mutely and hugged both of them. Turning to make introductions, she saw Summayah's fear-filled face and laughed a little at her fear. She'd said she was afraid of female relationships.

"This is my employer's daughter Summayah. Summayah meet Asma and Zubaida." Summayah stuck out her hand to Asma and Zubaida, Zubaida pushed her hand off and pulled her into a hug instead.

"You're the Summayah we've heard so much about." Summayah sat down and crossed her arms.

"Well, you didn't follow me back on Instagram AND!!" She raised a finger up. "Halima's my best friend."