More To It

Chapter 18- Unexpected Arrival

Aayan

“You’re 25, am sure you know what this conversation is about”,baba looks at Basha who hums in response.

“Before we begin, do you have ANYONE in mind? Anyone you want in particular?“,he asks her.

“Uh”,she clears her throat and shakes her head.

“Just say it, no point marrying someone you don’t like”,Khalid tells her.

“Is it Ibrahim?“,mama asks her. Basha’s cheeks instantly get a bright shade of pinkisheddish then she looks down and just plays with her fingers.

Ibrahim? Really?

Mama just chuckles at her then ruffles her hair.

“We’ll talk to his parents then, but if not him. Then, anyone else?“,baba asks.

“No”,she whispers.

“So you don’t mins if we look for you then?“.

She hums and dad nods dismissing her. She stands up quickly and just as she was about to walk into the kitchen, Zaynab waddles in taking off her earphones.

She greets mama and baba who reply with a smile then she hugs both me and Khalid and then Basha.

“Why you look so embarrassed? Girl watchu do?“,Zaynab asks Basha who shakes her head then drags her into her room.

“So when’s the nikkah Khalid?“,baba asks.

“Uh, soon. We’re just signing the documents, that’s it. No party, no nothing”,Khalid tells them.

“No party at all?“,mama gasps.

“Mama, this ain’t my first wedding. I don’t want nothing. Just signing, get married, and that’s that. We can have a family dinner like we always do but other than that, NOTHING ELSE!“.

“Oh. Okay then”,mama frowns then let’s out an annoyed groan.

“Basha should be married by next month or so”,baba whispers to mama who hums.

“Yeah? Hopefully Ibrahim accepts. He’s a good kid and he’s obedient. I know he’ll take care of her”,mama whispers.

“Yeah...but he seems more like Zaynab. I think he wants to marry someone from his own ethnic background”,Khalid adds.

“That’s only because of the food”,Zaynab says as she walks into the room.

“What?“.

“That boy loves his food. He’ll marry any girl that can cook African dishes. We can teach Basha. They had their lil moment before, so I think he might agree. He’ll do whatever mommy says, he listens to EVERYTHING she says. Like literally EVERYTHING”,she explains then takes a seat beside mama.

“Yeah? Well in that case, we should talk to Jumoke before her and Abdullah start to look for more proposals”,mama tells baba who nods.

“I’ll speak to Abdullah today, you can talk to Jumoke”.

“Or just talk to Abdullah. He’ll discuss it with her”.

“Yeah? Okay then”,baba stands up and walks into his and mama’s room.

“Why are you here? Where’s Yousif?“,I ask Zaynab who kicks off her shoes then lays her back on the couch.

“He’s with his dad. They’re getting presents for Salma. Which reminds me, how’s the decorations going for the party?“.

“Aamanee is going all out. Apparently her and Abiodun have planned everything out. He got all the decorations and dropped them this morning. He helped her decorate the living room after I dropped Salma to school. Seems like a bog thing”,I tell her.

“Salma’s happy. Abiodun is spending a lot of time with her. I think he’s formed a strong bond with her. He calls her his babygirl now. It’s so cute, even when they speak on the phone, he calls her his little princess and she loves it. It’s nice”,she smiles.

“Yeah, she’s been too happy”,I mumble.

“You jealous?“,Khalid chuckles.

“Yeah actually. I know he’s her father. But, she just stopped spending time with me and it sucks. But I can’t complain also, she’s been wanting her father’s love and I guess, its good to see that Abiodun finally started making sense”.

“Yeah.....I don’t like the guy still. I don’t think I ever will”,Khalid shakes his head.

“Oh, we know”,both Zaynab and I laugh.

“I was thinking that we should do the nikkah earlier. Just the signing, no party, no nothing”,Zaynab says.

“That’s what Khalid said too”,I chuckle.

“Yeah? The effort. We’re just gonna sign the documents with our two witnesses and get out. Am not even dressing up either. Just a simple loose dress and then we go home. I can’t be bothered”,Zaynab groans.

“Yeah”,Khalid hums.

Zaynab

“When are you due?“.

“In a few weeks, roughly? I think. So I wanna do the nikkah before that so when am back from the hospital, he can move in and help out ya’know. Its okay if it was one baby. But two? Please, abeg. I can’t take the stress like that”.

“That sounds nice actually”,aunty smiles.

“Yeah?“.

“Ow”,I gasp loudly as I suddenly feel pain in my lower abdomen.

“You okay?“,aunty asks me as I sit up slowly. I feel my sides and let out a low groan before feeling my pants start to get wet. Oh my God. What the f**k, did I just wet myself?

“I ne-“.

My pants start to get wetter then as I stand up, I feel it get even wetter.

“Are you wetting yourself?“,Aayan raises an eyebrow at me.

I look down at my feet to find a small pool of water at my feet.

“Uh, I think your water just broke”,Basha says.

“My w-. Oh my God, its too early”,I gasp loudly as I feel another set of pain, this ones much worse than the first.

“Get my car, I’ll drive”,Khalid tells Aayan who quickly runs out of the house.

“Basha, call your father”,aunt puts on her slippers and starts to rub my stomach gently.

“Breath in and out three times. It’ll help”,she tells me so I do as told but it just worsens. By now I was actually crying.

“Get her into the car”,she tells Khalid who rushes over to me and holds my shoulder and hand.

“I CAN’T. OH MY GOD”,I let out a scream and throw my head back while squeezing Khalid’s hands tightly.

“Try to breath in and out. Zaynab, how exactly do you feel? Maybe it’s just a scare labor”,Aunt asks me.

I quickly shake my head and squeeze Khalid’s hand tighter.

“I feel like someone is reaching inside me, grabbing hold of whatever internal organs they could and trying to tug them out”, I reply breathlessly.

I feel as if my insides are being squeezed and pulled. Like my abdomen was trying to squeeze out all of its contents. It felt like menstrual cramps times a million. I don’t think I’ve ever felt anything like this.

“I think it’s coming”,I look at aunty who looks panicked.

“Now?“.

“I FEEL LIKE I NEED TO PUSH. DO SOMETHING”,I let out another set of groans before letting out a loud scream.

“Okay, okay. Close all the windows, turn up the heater. I guess this will be a home delivery. Khalid, call the paramedics”,aunt orders then everyone starts obeying while Basha stays beside me putting pressure on my abdomen which actually seemed to be helping me bear the pain.

“Why all the screams?“,Abiodun walks in through the door with a laughing Yousif and Aamanee behind him.

“She’s in labor”,aunt tells him. All the bags that they were holdng instantly drops to the floor as I let out another scream then bend over.

“IT’S COMING. I CAN, I CAN FEEL IT”,I scream.

“Okay, um, just lay on your back. Yousif go to the playroom”,Abiodun says. Yousif runs off instantly then Abiodun pulls me to the floor slowly.

“We should take her to the hospital”,Khalid says but Abiodun shakes his head.

“The baby is coming. If she’s screaming like this, she’s having an early birth. Born Before Arrival (BBA). We can’t wait”,Abiodun says then he lifts both my legs up.

“Get me a tableclothnor bin liners, clean towels, blanket and a large bowl”,he orders.

“Are you s-

“JUST GET THE THINGS”,Abiodun raises his voice cutting Khalid off.

“Get the things”,uncle Aman tells them then they all disperse leaving me, Abiodun and uncle in the room but uncle soon walks away leaving us two.

“You’ll be fine. Nothing will happen to you”,Abiodun assures me.

“It hurts”,I cry while shaking my head.

“Here”,he puts pressure on my abdomen then starts rubbing my stomach from top to bottom.

“Now take large breaths if you feel the urge to push”,he tells me as the rest come back with all the required items.

I just nod my head to everything he said and focus on my breathing while he sets up the items.

“Okay, now, push”,he tells me.

“Relax your body and thighs for me, focus only on pushing, nothing else. Just the pushing. Take a few breaths while the contraction is gearing up then push and give it all you’ve got. Now give me a big push, tuck in your chin if you have to”,he tells me.

I shut my eyes and scream loudly as I tuck my chin into my chest and give a hard push.

“Another one, you’re getting there. Give me another push”,he repeats.

I drop onto my back while breathing rapidly and shake my head.

“I-i can’t”,I cry as the pain increases.

“Hey, hold my hand. You’re nearly there”,Khalid holds my right hand then Aayan holds the left.

“Now push”.

***

“Good morning”,I hear a voice close to me say.

“Mo-morning?“,I whisper as I open my eyes slowly but everything was all blurred so I reclose it and blink a few times before fully reopening them.

“How are you feeling?“,Dr Smith asks with a smile.

“Tired....sore. I feel pain”,I let out then notice my voice came out lower and broken than expected.

“Yeah, that’s expected after most births. You delievered at home this morning”,she says.

“Yeah”.

“Yeah, the father, I was told, delivered the two babies before the paramedics got there. You fell asleep straight after we cleaned you up and ran some tests. You’re okay”,she smiles.

“But?“I ask her.

“Yeah, um. We discovered that, one of your twins has what we call meconium aspirations. But it’s not as severe, it’s controllable. So basically your baby’s air passages are blocked and lungs became inflamed. This infants with this condition usually have difficulty breathing and some require extra oxygen and ventilation. We started the antibiotics to prevent him from getting infected and pnemonia. Fortunately, the condition subsides in two to four days. He may have episodes of rapid breathing for a few extra days. But most newborn babies recover fully from this condition, and there usually is no lung damage. So I think it’s safe to say, he’s okay for now”,she explains.

“Other than that, everything else is okay? and the other one? Is he okay?“,I ask her.

“Healthy. Do you want to meet them now? Your family are outside waiting to come in. Should I call them?“.

“Sure”.

She smiles then walks out of the room. A few seconds later, my parents and mommy Adelola walk in with smiles on their faces.

“Hey, you did good”.

I smile weakly and nod as she kisses my head.

“Tired? Eniola and Basha are gone to make you some ogi for you to drink so you can be able to feed your twins. Do you think you can eat?“,she asks me.

“I don’t know. I just feel pain all over”,I sigh.

“Eya. You’ll be fine, we’ll let you feed your kids”,daddy stands up along with the rest then they walk out just as Aaleyah and Aamanee walk in with a wrapped up baby in each their arms.

“That’s them?“,I whisper and start to sit up but I just ended up falling back down.

“Hey, relax, don’t stress”,Aaleyah stands beside me then she takes a seat and leans over so I can get a glimpse of my son.

“MashAllah, they’re very handsome”,Aamanee comments as she gives the one she’s holding a kiss.

“Which one has difficulty breathing?“.

“This one”,she nods towards the baby in Aaleyah’s arms.

“Oh you poor thing”,I rub his cheeks then give him a kiss.

“How are you going to feed them?“,Aamanee chuckles.

“Can I not put them on both my lap? Or do I have to do it one by one?“.

“Let’s try it out”,Aaleyah nods then she stands up and places the baby on the bed. She walks over to me and helps me up then fluffs my pillow and places it behind me.

“Thanks”,I whisper as she places the baby on my lap.

“Hey you”,I smile. He’s just staring at me with no emotions whatsoever.

“Just hungry huh”.

I lift down my gown and put his lips on my breast. He instantly starts sucking on it with his eyes now closed.

“Now let’s try with this one”,Aamanee stands up and places the other on my left lap.

“Okay, uh imma need help”,I chuckle.

She pulls down my gown and helps him put his lips around my other breast before sitting back down.

“Where’s Abiodun?“.

“He went to go complete some work. He didn’t say exactly what, but he’s been gone for quite a while”,Aaleyah replies.

“Ah, ah. Did you call him?“.

“Well no. Do you want me to c-“.

The door opens revealing him himself.

“Well, he surely isn’t a bastard”,Aaleyah chuckles then her and Aamanee both get up. They walk out leaving Abiodun and I. He shuts the door then walks over to me.

“You delivered your own sons, how does it feel?“,I ask him as if am interviewing him whib just made him laugh.

“You play too much...even in this condition”.

“Yeah. Where’d you go?“,I ask him as he sits beside me and rests against the headboard.

“Something cane up”,he whispers.

“Abiodun”.

“It’s just past work that I went to clean up. You can’t just quit, I had to drop it completely. Was at a “meeting” told them I was off. I don’t wanna make money off things like that anymore. I wanna make decent money to take care of my kids....and you. And it’s too dangerous, I can’t put that risk on y’all. So I dropped it completely”,he explains.

“Wow....I wasn’t expecting that. That’s amazing”,I whisper then look up at him.

“Am proud of you, each and every day”,I whisper.

“Yeah?“.

I nod then he stares at me for a few seconds before his eyes land on my lips then back at me. He licks his lips then looks away.

“Just a few more days”,I chuckle at his struggle.

“Better. I can’t hold myself much longer like”.

“Mr exaggeration”,I push him playfully then let out giggles as he kisses my neck repeatedly.

“Okay stoooop. Do you want your sons to starve like”,I push him away then we both look down st our beautiful creation staring up at us.

“As much as I want them to be a daddy’s boy. I don’t want them to be ANYTHING like me”,Abiodun says as he plays with their fingers.

“Well, they can have your looks because you are one smoking hot piece of suyaaaa (spicy meat skewer popular in Africa)“.

“Am I now?“,he smirks.

“I kinda want suya now. What the f**k”,we both whisper at the same time.

“I’ll make us some. But unfortunately you can’t eat it”.

“What?“,I frown.

“It’s spicy, you won’t be able to eat it, not when you’re breastfeeding”.

“Then make one that’s not spicy for me”.

“Okaaa. But if you complain later, don’t think I won’t smack yo head”.

“You love me too much to do that”,I smile all innocently which just made him laugh.

“Not ever again”,he whispers then he kisses both my hands which made me smile.

“Doc said you should be able to go home by Wednesday. You’re still too weak so they need to monitor you properly which means you’re staying for about 2 to 3 days”,he tells me and leans back against the wall.

“Yeah? This one has breathing problems”.

“Yeah, she explained to me. I think he’s going to be asthmatic but considering that his condition isn’t that bad, it won’t be as bad”,he shrugs.

“That was my first time actually witnessing what giving birth was like”,he whispers.

I look at him and notice he had his eyes closed as of reminiscing on the recent event.

“Yeah?“.

“You looked so much in pain. Like you were being electrocuted. Like my mother and sister looked like when they were begging for their lives....the screams felt the exact same way”.

“Oh....am sorry, I didn’t mean to get you thinking about somet-“.

“No. No. It’s not a bad thing. I just realized what a fool my dad and I were. Regardless of the gender, a child is a child, the same way you give birth to a boy, is the same way you give birth to a girl. None of them should be given special importance. It just made me realize what a big mistak- sin, I had committed. I killed the mothers who went through that much pain to deliver my daughters, I didn’t even stop there. I killed my daughter also. She wasn’t even 5 yet. She was just little. You’re wrong. Am EXACTLY like my father. He didn’t care of the age, when he didn’t like something, he just killed it. I did the same. All because she wasn’t a boy. And all because SHE fought back. Do you know how many people I’ve killed?“,he turns to me abruptly and holds my shoulders.

“Abiodun. You’re scaring me”,I whisper.

His eyes stare into mine then they drop at the boys then back at me. His hands drop then he turns away.

“They have a murderer as a father”,he whispers.

“Hey, Abiodun. I know what you did was d-“.

“Someone else’s life. How can I be here trying to better myself and be happy when I’ve taken someone else’s daughter, sister, brothers, parents, mother, father. Am a monster. You don’t get it. I don’t deserve all this. I don’t deserve YOU. No matter what you or the rest say, I labelled myself as what I am. And I know you know am right”,he whispers.

He holds my hand and stares into my eyes.

“I love you. I know you’ll be a great wife and mother. But being here right now feels like a wrong thing. Wrong feeling. I didn’t even pay for what I did. They just let me off for what? mental issues?“.

“Abiodun, wh-what are you saying?“,I stutter.

“Am going to turn myself in. I should’ve done that earlier”,he whispers.

“What?“,my eyes widens and my hand instantly leave his.

“Zaynab I c-“.

“No. If you really love me you’ll stay. I just gave birth. I can’t do this alone. I need you here. I need you to be here for not just them but for me. I need you. They need you. Yousif needs you. Salma needs you. You can’t just make that decision randomly. We’re just starting something good, something better”,I tell him.

“I know. And I want to be here. But I can’t. It won’t make anything better....not for me”.

“Well don’t think about yourself. Think about Us. We need you abiodun. I need you”,I whisper the last bit with tears sliding down my cheeks as soon as the words leave my lips.

“Zaynab”,he sighs and pulls me into a hug

“Going to jail won’t help you. It won’t bring back the dead and it won’t make you feel better. You need to repent. If you want, go to Hajj. Purify yourself, devote yourself to Islam, to Allah. Not to jail. It won’t benefit you or us”,I tell him.

“Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. He will forgive you, so long as you believe. Repent sincerely, perform ghusl bath and pour your heart out to him. You’ll see how that will change you not only physically but mentally”.

“I lied to you”,he whispers.

“About?“.

“I can pray. My mom always made me pray with her whenever she came to visit me in the basement. We prayed together with my sister. I can pray and read the Qur’an. I learned it all from her. The Qur’an was the only thing that helped me in the basement. But.......He didn’t save them. He let them die. He let him kill them. He gave him a better chance of torturing me”,he whispers then he covers his face and his right leg starts shaking vigorously.

“Hey”,I rub his back and lay my head on his shoulder..

“I nearly died in a fire. I could’ve died. I actually died for like a day. After that I started having problems breathing. It took a while before I could control it. It was through prayer. My secret? Do you want to know?“,I whisper.

He doesn’t reply but I tell him anyways.

“Life is a test. Maybe all that happened to you and me so we could meet each other. Maybe we’re destined for each other....who knows. But I don’t let my dark past affect the way I think or feel or act. Because, I may have had an awful past but am also blessed with many things that others are praying every day and night for. Family, love, faith, Islam, shelter, I can see, speak, hear, walk etc. Sometimes our past is what shapes us to be a better version of ourselves. We ALL have to undergo different tests. If Allah made you Muslim from the beginning, if he keeps on showing you the right path admist all the chaos. He loves you and wants you to be successful on The Day of Judgment. Sometimes it doesn’t matter what you’ve done, what matters is what you’ve done to correct yourself. So Abiodun, you can go to any jail in this world but none of them will give you the so called peace or punishment you’re looking for. What you need is a better relationship with Allah. Remember Him, and He will Remember you. All He wants is for you to call on Him. Do you know what the beautiful thing about Him is?“.

Abiodun shakes his head.

“Whenever you want to tell him something or ask for something, He already knows what you’re about to talk to Him about and yet He listens. You wanted a son, and you got three. Wasn’t that right after you started changing? The doctors told me I had a low chance of conceiving, but I prayed every single day and night and look what he blessed me with. Not just one, but THREE beautiful sons. It doesn’t matter what your dad was or what you was before, all that matters is what you make yourself be now”.

He looks up at me so I reach over to him. He holds my hand then he moves away and leans in towards my face. His lips brushes against my chin then my nose. A low groan of anticipation instantly escapes my lips as he finally leans over towards my lips. He brushes it for a second or two making my eyes automatically close themselves awaiting the big moment but that never came. All I felt was a pair of soft lips on my cheek. I open my eyes to find him smirking to himself.

“Aren’t you such a haram ting”,he comments which made me gasp loudly and smack his arm.

“Am sorry, I was caught up in the moment”,I whisper before whispering to myself three times.

“Astagfirullah”.

“When you get home, we’ll get married the next day so I can finally move in. I hate living alone”,he grunts and stands up stretching.

“Yeah? Me too. So what’s happening now? You’re going home? Is everyone gone?“.

“Yeah, they all left. Said they’d come tomorrow to check on you and your sister is bringing you some ogi soon”,he replies and pats his chest.

“Are you going home now?“.

“Yeah, unless you want me to stay. I don’t mind, Yousif can stay with the rest”,he shrugs.

“Ohhhh, what happened to Salma’s party?“.

“The rest went on with it. I went before coming here, gave her her presents and said I’d talk to her later on tonight”.

“Ah, that’s nice. Her and the twins birthday are on the same day now”,I smile which made him chuckle.

“May month babies”,I kiss the boys repeatedly

“Wait Abiodun, when’s YOUR birthday?“.

“May. The 5th”.

“OH MY GOD. Stop! You’re lying?“.

“Haha nah”.

“Well we don’t celebrate birthdays anyways but Aww happy early birthday babe”,I smile and hug him tightly.

“Mmm”.

“And go to sleep. Come see me tomorrow morning, first thing. Yeah?“,I tell him.

“Sure. Take care. I’ll call you”,he kisses the boys then kisses my cheek.