Suraya

4

ZAYYAD
'Where are you hair ribbons and accessories? Bring them so I can put them on for you' I told Ummul Khulthum.
She nodded and headed for her room. We were on our way to meet one of the girls my mom suggested, she suggested three girls for me but at the moment, I won't just choose anyone.
I'll have to go have a 'chat' with her, more like a three way conversation with the girl and her brother, I think.
Cause I really want to know who I would get married to, just so I know if she's up for the challenge of taking care of my daughter.
That's why we're are dressing up, or more like me wearing a grey shirt with any favourite black jacket and a pair of blue jeans.
And Ummul wearing her favourite dress also, with was pink and white. All I had to do was to accessorise her hair in clips and bows and were off.
'Here' she said giving me the bag of hair accessories. I picked out all the white and pink ones just so it would match and look nice
And because I know that girls love matching stuff, so it would be no use in telling her black and blue would go with this at the moment.
'Are you excited?' I asked her looking at her through the mirror
'Yes, I am excited. If I do get a mother today Abba will we get something to celebrate? I want some cake' she said clapping her hands
'Well we can get some cake, ice cream cake for the matter of fact, but you'll have to keep your head still so we can go there early' I say putting the last bows.
'But I'm tired of wearing bows!' She whined pouting.
'Okay then, I'll just remove all these hair clips and give everything out to charity, alright' I said putting my hands up in surrender
'Oh no! Please don't give them out' she begged
'Okay I won't' I wasn't even planning on giving them out, these were one of the things me Ameena bought when we were expecting and I am not ready to give them out yet.
'Let's go' Ummul Khulthum shouted from the hallway which I didn't even know she was out yet.
'Okay Okay, hold your horses, I'm coming' I said chuckling offing the lights of my room.
'You ready?' I asked her buckling my seat belt and started the ignition.
'Yep!' She said and we were off.

*****
'Asalam' a man said coming up to us 'I'm Abdul and I believe your Mr Muhammad and Ummul Khulthum?' He asked
'Walaykum Mus Salam' I greeted back extending my hand 'yes that's us. I thought you were supposed to be with your sister? I believe who is Maryam?' I asked
'Yes I am, she's actually in the car, I just wanted to check in here to see if you guys are actually here' he said
'Oh okay, we actually came a little bit earlier than we talked about so we won't end up being late' I said
'Okay then, I'll go call Maryam out' he said and I nodded my head and looked at Ummul Khulthum who was clearly not interested cause she has not looked up from the iPad ever since we arrived.
'Assalam mu Alaykum' a lady said and I looked up.
'Wa'Alaykumus Salam' I greeted back looking at her.
She was average heighten, maybe 5'5 or 5'6, she looked younger than the supposed age, maybe twenty three? Oh well
And she had a bright smile too, but I don't like the fact that she hasn't acknowledged Ummul Khulthum yet.
'I am Maryam just as my brother told you, and I guess your Zaid?' She said just before her brother arrived.
'Zayyad actually, Good to me meet you in person Maryam. This is my daughter Ummul Khulthum' I said gesturing towards Ummu who's head was up and definitely analysing her.
'Hello cutie pie' she said squeezing her cheeks which Ummul Khulthum definitely didnt like.
Ummul Khulthum didn't say anything, she kept quite and endured the pain, from the look of her poker face, she didn't like this lady and was trying to keep her mouth shut.
'So Maryam? Just tell them a little about yourself so we can get this show going' Abdul said
'As you know my names Maryam, I'm twenty seven and I'm single, I work as a high school teacher, I don't really like noise and scary movies, I like surprises and cats. And I would be happy to be your wife and be the mother of our children and Ummul's new brothers and sisters' she said with a smile.
'Well, I'm not here for me nor I'm I planing on getting more children, Sorry if i came off rude but it's the truth, I'm here for Ummul Khulthum, cause she needs more than one parent' I say bluntly.
'Okay why don't we order some food' Abdul says after some silence.
'Abba? I'm not hungry. Can we just go home?' Ummul Khulthum asks tugging my jacket sleeve.
'Sure thing cupcake. Let's say goodbye to them first' I say looking at Abdul and his Sister
'It was nice meeting you but unfortunately I don't think we can go ahead to what's next. I'm sorry but i don't seem to know if you'll be good for my daughter according to what I have seen. Hope you get the man that Allah says is the best Ameen. Ma'aslam' I said standing up
They both nodded and Abdul walked me to the restaurant door.
With a last nod I And Ummul Khulthum left the restaurant.
'You didn't like her did you?' I asked her when we got to the car.
'Nope. Not one bit, I just wanted to get out of there' she said buckling her own seat belt.
'I say let's go to the beach? So we won't waste up all the dress up' I suggest looking at her through the rear mirror.
He face lit up at this. 'Yes let's go! I'm in the mood of seeing sand and the water!' She exclaimed
'To the beach then' I say smiling at her.
'Do you want ice cream or a slushy drink?'
'Slushy drink please' she says turning her attention to me briefly before turning back to the window
I nod and look for a place to park. I found a spot close to the shops and hope down.
'And up we go' I say lifting Ummul Khulthum up and caring her in my arms.
'Why are you caring me? I can walk properly you know' she says getting more comfortable in my arms
'If that's the cause then I'll drop you?' I ask her chuckling at how ironic she is right now.
'I was just saying, I didn't mean anything. I said it for saying sake' she mumbled into my neck.
'Okay then' I say as I walk into the shop to get the drinks 'lime and strawberry or coconut and pineapple?'
'The pink one please' she said pointing at the lime and strawberries flavour.
I nodded and went to the counter. 'One medium cup of lime and strawberry and one iced tea please' I ordered.
'Five minutes sir' the lady said and told someone to get our order.
'Cash or credit card?' She asked not looking up from the computer.
I brought out my wallet to check for my credit card.
'Here current account please' I told her as she inserted the card into the POS
I inserted my pin and gave her back the POS, just then our order came and we collected the receipt, thanked them and left.
'Let's sit there!' She said pointing at the beachchairs and I headed there.
We sat down there in silence, sipping our drinks and listening to the waves crash together with the shore.
'You can go feel the water with your legs you know, jyst remove your shoes and be back when i call you' I told her
She nodded and removed her shoes and handed them to me and ran off to the water.
I watched her jump and slash water everywhere, not a single hint of sadness in her face, just pure joy.
I wanted that everyday, I wanted her to be happy everyday. I hated seeing her all sad and worked up on some reason.
I wish I could just find the perfect mother for her, I know no ones perfect but someone that would understand how her mind works.
Just then I see two familiar faces with three other people I don't recognise.
I look closely and see that it's Imran and Suraya, with a boy that looks like he older version of Imran and possibly their parents.
They spot Ummul Khulthum and Imran runs to her, at first she looks at him in shock and does nothing
Then she warms up, smiles and they continue playing with each other. It's nice to see that she has someone here to play with.
She's not been talking about having friends before but I believe she has cause any time I come to pick her up she's surrounded by kids laughing and talking about what kids their age think about.
I look at the time and see that it's almost time for my evening shift. I shake my head and go to Ummul Khulthum with her shoes in my hand.
'Cupcake? I hate to break this to you but we have to leave. I have to get to work in the next few minutes' I say looking down at her.
'But why?! Can't I stay here with Imran and his family? I don't want to leave' she said almost in tears.
I sighed and kneeled down on the grass to 'Cupcake we can always come back, it's just that I need to get to work before it's late and also get you to grandma Farha and your uncles' I reasoned with her but that only made the tears come down.
Oh God I mumbled to myself and pulled her into my embrace.
'I'm sorry Okay? But we need to go' I explain softly.
'Mr Zayyad? Why is she crying? I swear I didn't do anything this time' Imran said putting his hands up in surrender.
I chuckled at his acted before saying no. 'It's not your fault, it's mine, it's time to go but she doesn't want to go'
'Oh' he said looking sad too which made me feel like a monster 'but she can stay with us can't she? We can take her home since we know where she lives. Aunt Suraya is even here. Auntie!?' He said running back to his family not waiting for my reply.
'No wait!' I say but it's too late, he is already pulling her arm.
I walk up to meet them at their side. A quiet Ummul Khulthum still in my arms her head on my shoulder.
'Assalam muAlaykum, Imran's Family, Miss AbdulMalik' I say when I approach them.
'Wa'alaykum mus salaam' they say in unison 'Mr Muhammad' Suraya starts 'meet my brother Suhail, Imrans father and Muhibah his mother and Ahmad his elder brother' she says
'And everyone meet Mr Muhammad, Ummul Khulthum, the girl who got punched by Imran,father' she says
'Good to finally meet you, we are very sorry for what happened between them' Suhail says.
'No worries, they've apologised and forgiven each other. That's bygones now' I said waving a hand.
'Yeah so, mummy can we take Ummul Khulthum home? Please, she doesn't want to leave nor do I want her to leave but her dad says so' he whined pulling his moms hand
'And I'm here to stop you, sorry for that but we need to go, I have a shift to get to and she needs to go to her grandmas. I'm sorry guys but no' I say shaking my head.
'Oh that won't be a problem. We would take her to her grandma's. Imran's already a problem, I'm sure we can handle her too' Muhibah says.
'That's very nice of you but I still don't think it's appropriate' I say still standing on my grounds
'It's okay, just send the address to us and that would be it' Suhail says.
'And I'll call you immediately when I arrive at grandmas' Ummul Khulthum says her head bobbling up and down my shoulder.
'We would get her there as soon as we leave, trust us' Suraya says.
I take a deep breath and think. I had ten minutes to go before my shift and I rarely go late and I don't want that to be a habit just because I didn't want to leave my daughter.
'Okay then, call me when you get there and here are her shoes, her emergency bag is in my car I'll go get it for you, and if you guys need to buy anything there's money in the bag also' I tell them
'Ahmad, follow him' Muhibah tells her son, collecting the Harry Potter : Cursed child Novel from him.
'I thought you read this book last month? We bought new ones on Monday' Suhail asks him confused.
The kid shrugs 'I finished those on Wednesday, so I decided to choose a random book and cursed child was what my hands choose' he explained.
'Bookworm!' Imran and Ummul Khulthum shout at the same time giggling, it was nice to see that her frown has been turned upside down.
He rolls his eyes at them 'Twerps' Ahmad mumbles and follows me.
'You live books?' I ask him as we head towards the parking lot.
'Loves an understatement' he says bluntly 'I'm sorry if I'm rude but I don't really enjoy talking to people much' he explained
'No no, you don't need to explain that to me. I used to be that, but I wasn't a book lover. My wife was a book lover and parents. You can come by and borrow them if you want' I offer
'Seriously?'his eyes widened, I nod and he continued 'I'll come by tomorrow to collect some books. And I promise you that I won't destroy the books or make the dirty'
'Good, cause the last thing I want is my OCD'd wife coming to haunt me for giving out her books to a reckless person' I say with a laugh.
'And we don't want that too' he says cracking a smile that revealed his dimples.
'Here. Everything you need is right here. Call if there's an emergency' I say giving them her backpack.
'Noted. Farewell oh kind sir. Till we meet once again' he said in his funny British accent
'Let me guess I'm a very lucky guy to find out you have a great sense of humour?' I ask laughing with him.
'The one and only' he said still smiling before giving me a two fingered salute and walked off.
I smiled shaking my head before entering the car, to go home, pray, change then go for work.

Like the book?
Vote
Comment
And
Share
😁