After Agony...

|Thirty|

The past week has been stressful for the couple,but thankfully they were able to pull it off. The week had gradually come to yet another end,and being a Saturday came with its own stress. After almost four months into their marriage,Imam had finally invited his friend over for a late lunch. When he had informed his wife about it,she was more than ecstatic to say.She thought he was ashamed of her as she knew none of his friends apart from Bello,being that he once came to the house apart from the day she saw him on their wedding. She got a bit worried,but never confronted him about it. The information had her trying to pull up her absolute best in order to impress their guest. As early as seven a.m she woke up silently,careful not to wake the father and daughter duo before stepping out to do the necessary chores which included sweeping and cleaning every nook and cranny of the house which is a four bedroom duplex with two living rooms,a kitchen,dinning area attached to a huge hallway leading to the rest of the house.Before she sets out to the kitchen,she burned a coal sprinkling every bakhoor she had on it,keeping it on the center table so that the air con could blast it. Immediately stepping into the kitchen,Huda thought of a delicacy she would cook,for their guest.

Meanwhile Imam was sleeping peacefully under the soft duvet in the air conditioned room relieving himself the stress of the week that had passed. From work to family issues,all he had wanted was to have a nice sleep and be energized for the week ahead only to be woken up by a wailing Maya. Thinking his wife was there to his rescue when the wailed had subsided,he went back to sleep only for him to hear her wailings yet again,and this time it came with much intensity. This time around,before he could sit up Maya had already crawled to his side with her chubby cute hands aiming for his beard which needed a shave.

"Baba!"

The girl had so many names for him,from Papi to Abba to Baba and the list goes on.

"Sweet,would you please let your father sleep" he mumbled.

The cute girl was obviously having none of it when she attacked him this time.

"Baba!"it was much louder this time.

Having given no other option,he sat up and got a hold of her. Sleep was clearly evident in his eyes as they were bloodshed.

"Why are you being so naughty today?"

Satisfied that her attempt to wake up her father was successful,she had a full blown toothless grin followed by a drool.

"Now where is Mammy?" He kept her in between the pillows so she doesn't fall as he disappeared into the bathroom before reappearing after four minutes later. Picking Maya up,the duo made way outside the room in search of Huda. As they descended down the stairs,the heavenly scent of bakhoor and ac which was on blast hit their nostrils and skin. At that moment,Imam har an idea of what she might be up to. With a grin on his handsome face,he strode into the kitchen with little Maya on his arm.

The aroma that bombarded his nostrils when he stepped into the kitchen was sensational.

"Mammy!" Maya yelled enthusiastically when she sighted her mother.

She quickly turned only to be met with the two people who always melt her heart with love and joy. She couldn't help but stare at her husband. He was simply dressed in his Chevrolet jersey which was a bit loose,but you could easy tell that there is a well built body underneath the shirt. A black sweatpants completed the look. All in all,he looked devilishly handsome with his slightly shade of dark skin. Honestly,she never imagined him to be this handsome,or maybe it was because she never took her time in accessing the man.

"My pwences!"she replied back with the same level of enthusiasm as she went closer to peck the adorable girl in her cute pink pajamas with her curly hair ponytail. She couldn't stop grinning as her mother made funny faces at her,oblivious about the man present in the room.

"Erm hello? I'm here you know" Imam announced as he jokingly rolled his eyes.

"Morning"

Huda turned her gaze to him as she pecked his beard covered cheeks.

"You're such a baby,you also need a shave" she added.

He stared at her in admiration and eyes full of nothing but utter love. He couldn't wish for anything more than a wife like her. Maybe one day,Sophie would also be like her...

"Not just any baby,your baby" he reciprocated her peck.

"And about the shave..."he trailed off as he swept his hand across his full beard.

"How about you give me one"he rose a brow at her whilst winking.

She could only laugh as she turned her attention back to the sumptuous meal she was putting together. Meanwhile the father and daughter duo took a sit as Imam poured in cereal for them.

He kept feeding them,until the bowl became empty. After that,none of them spoke a word as he and his daughter's attention were on his phone watching Teletubbies on YouTube. Clearly,Maya is a Daddy's girl no doubt. She kept giggling at the screen albeit having no idea what was happening. On the other hand,Imam was clearly uninterested in the cartoon,but he had to watch as she was literally forcing him to. Every now and then,she would look up at him to make sure his attention was on the screen,and if otherwise,she would yell "Elitubbies Baba!"pointing at the screen before her.

Huda simply laughed at the duo as she stirred the soup making sure not to burn it.

"You said we were having guest later..." she started.

"Uhmm" was his reply.

"You never told me who they were"