Ya Amar (My Moon)

Fourteen

The sky was dyed red as the sun settled down behind the soft clouds. Splendour rays of light shimmered through the clouds igniting the evening with its beautiful colour. My face was warm with the last rays of light the sun produced. Wind drifted slowly through the lush green lawn and the smell of freshly plucked flowers soaked the clean air. I ran my finger tip through the soft petals of the white roses, yellow buttercup and purple bellflower that sat inside water in a transparent flower vase on the coffee table in between Mahira and me. Their petals were thin and glided smoothly like a fabric against my palm. The pop of yellow from the buttercup made the bouquet I had created bright. Inclining forward with the soft flesh of my lips quivering up to inhale the scent of the flowers, my hand moved down the stem of the roses. The roses reminded me of who I was. I could be soft and kind-hearted but at the same time, dangerous and cruel. That was me. I loved white roses because they stood for purity and innocence.

"You have been smiling at those flowers for a long time now" Mahira ended the comfortable silence.

"They are beautiful" I said, my voice smooth like silk.

"I don't like flowers" she said.

I gasped, my head whizzed up at her words. Who does not like flowers? Mahira was seated on the banana yellow sofa opposite me, her legs crossed with her pen in her mouth as she stared at what was on her MacBook.

"You are kidding me right?" I gasped.

"No" she sighed uncrossing her feet as she lifted the laptop off her lap to place it on the coffee table. "They don't last. After they bloom and show off their brilliant colours, they wither away" she said dropping her pen beside her laptop.

"Oh?"

"So you said you will like to change the colour theme of the master bedroom"

"Yes" I replied, my hand halted on the bellflower. "I though your client might prefer white and gold with a touch of red instead of chestnut brown and gold. Red will pop the room up"

"That's good" she nodded her head. "But choosing something from the 80s for the bedroom, everything will be antique and that's expensive"

"Does your client have any problem with that?"

"No, he is rich so he does not" she shrugged.

"So when....."

"Noorie" a very familiar voice that I will never mistake anywhere shouted. I turned to my side where the voice had come from.

"Mi Jin" I called getting up.

Mi Jin walked towards us radiating with a smile, her light gold silky hair that stopped a little bit below her slim shoulders swayed as she moved. She wore a black straight skirt that stopped a little bit above her knees with a sleeveless chiffon baby blue top that stopped mid tight with a pair of black ankle stripe heels and a black clutch purse. Her lips were smeared with a light pink lipstick and her eyes were lined with mascara splattered on her eyelashes. Her heels clanked with the hardwood floor of the opened porch at the backyard as she strides towards us.

"You made it" I hugged her.

"Of course, I will never miss a dinner with your family" she laughed hugging me. "It is my chance to meet them"

"Come and meet my friend" I led her towards Mahira. "Mahira, this is Mi Jin. I have told you a lot about her" I said.

"It is finally good to meet the bubbly Mi Jin I have heard a lot about" Mahira shook Mi Jin's hand.

"Where is Elizabeth?" I asked sitting.

"She is on her way" Mi Jin sat on the long seat on my right.

"You changed your hair colour" I touched her hair.

"Yes, I wanted something new" she picked a magazine on the coffee table. "Are you an interior designer?" She caught her breath looking at Mahira with wide eyes.

"Yes" Mahira answered.

"Oh my God" she grabbed Mahira's arm. "I have always wanted one"

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes, I did not know you have one as a friend. My mother wants to renovate our home" she screeched clapping.

"Wow, that's good" Mahira said excited. "What does she want?"

"You will have to come to my home. How about a dinner with my family this Sunday?"

"That's just perfect" Mahira caught her hands, eyes shining with excitement. "What do you think Noor?"

"I say yes" I answered. They screamed clapping their hands.

"I will just have to tell mom" she shuffled her purse for her phone. Her manicured fingers tapped her phone swiftly then she placed the phone on her ear pushing back her hair. "Umma" she said into the phone, grinning.

The glass door opened and Ihsaan came out.

"Bhabi, everyone requests for you inside" she called out.

"Okay" I got up.

"We will be there in a jiffy princess" Mahira said getting up to pack her things with my help.

The babble on of everyone received us into the living room. I waited for Mi Jin to pull off her sandals in the foyer and slip into one of the white oversized slippers worn around the house.

"Your husband's maternal family is large" Mi Jin whispered at the sight of everyone.

It was one of the amazing nights at the Shaheen's manor. Shaheen was the family name of Amir's mother's family. We were having a family dinner which comprises of everyone including friends. Aunt Sabr, Uncle Raees and their children were present including Aunt Naimah and her sons. I strode into the living room bare feet after pulling off my flats along with Mahira and Mi Jin.

"Noor jaan" Aunt Naimah called getting up to meet me.

"Aunt" I called wrapping my arms around her.

"When did you arrive?"

"Just now" she answered kissing my forehead.

"Aunt Sabr" I called after pulling away from her sister to hug her.

"Bless you" she said kissing my cheeks.

"Bhabi" Hoor and Zafreen shouted swallowing me up into a hug. After that, I introduced Mi Jin to everyone. Mi Jin being herself had won everyone's heard except Shazia and her mother. Why do they have to always be the odd ones out?

***

Chairs made scraping sounds with the polished marble floor as everyone settled down. We all kept talking and laughing as we turned over the white ceramic on the table. The heavy scent of food perfumed the happy atmosphere.

"Noor" Nani called over the noisy table. "Call your husband again. He is getting late for dinner" she said.

I glanced at the empty seat beside me which belonged to him before getting up with a smile, my hands turning sweaty over the phone I held. I walked out of the noisy dining room closing the long door behind me into the quiet living room.

The phone rang on my ear as I bit my lip, my heart racing at the thought of him. I expected his soft masculine voice to follow after the beep.

"Assalamu alaikum hayati albi" His voice rang through my ear soft like a wind.

My heart skipped once, twice and sprinted at a high speed the third time. I felt hot immediately. My ears became sweaty. Smiling so hard that the muscles of my cheeks hurt, I giggled.

"Amir, where are you?" I asked.

"I am almost home"

"Okay, we are all waiting for you" I tottered into the foyer almost stumbling. His voice did not just make my legs fumble?

"I will be there soon In Sha Allah" he said as I caught the door frame to steady myself.

"I will be waiting. Bye" I ended the call before letting out a tiny happy squeak holding the phone to my chest.

In the morning, before he left for work, I had informed him about the dinner begging him to come because it will mean a lot to me and everyone. Amir had promised to be at the dinner. My veins pumped with joy knowing he had kept his promise.

Stars pecked the dark sky like gems stones on a fabric. The marbled water fountains on both side of the opened porch were carved into a flower that had bloomed. Water erupted from their middle spreading out and falling gently into the crystal blue pool underneath them. The water that sang softly into the night mirrored the mighty manor that stood high in the sky overpowering me.

I clasped my phone harder into my wet palms. My eyes wandered down the tarred road expecting his car to pull over. Street light lined the road like soldiers during a parade. I stretched wanting to see ahead of the bend but failed. Grunting, I hopped gently on my feet.

"It seems as if your husband has no intention of coming home early tonight" Shazia voice boomed softly through the porch. She appeared beside me. Smiling, she turned to look at me dipping her hands into the pocket of the short dress she wore. The wind was still and gentle.

"I have no time for you tonight Shazia" I answered staring ahead.

"Of course you won't. I will advise you not to wait for him" I turned to look at her. "Because he won't come early just like every night" I rolled my eyes and turned back. "You will just waste your time and energy standing there. It bothers me a lot that I wonder if he married his work or you"

"You are wasting your saliva Shazia"

"I am sure your ugly face annoys him that's why he has decided to marry his work. I saw him last night in a restaurant with a woman. She was beautiful you know and they seemed to have known each other for a very long time" I grasped my phone tighter trying to ease the heavy turmoil growing in me. "I am talking to you" She snapped whirling me around energetically to look at her. The way her hand curled around my slim arm was hard that her stiletto finger nails chomped into my skin.

"Shazia" I shouted snatching my arm from her grip. Her black eyes that looked at me burned with fury. "Are you crazy? So sure pe iwo baby yi gbadun sha" I resorted to Yoruba. "Se ori e pe sha? Wetin dey worry you? I say make you leave me alone you come dey do giri giri" I resorted again to broken English "You should be careful. Next time, I will claw that pretty face of yours" I demonstrated with my hands how I will claw her face with my fingers. "She goat"

Shazia was taken aback by the way I flared up. She looked at me obvious that she does not understand what I had said in Yoruba and English. My black eyes stared back at hers which were blazed with rage. The sound of car pulling to halt made us tear our gaze from each other. Tubassum came out of her car dressed in a green hospital scrub, her hair pulled into a pony tail.

"Girlfriend" Shazia uttered after few seconds. She walked down the staircase to hug her friend.

"What are you doing outside with her?" Tubassum questioned with a grimy gaze when they got to me.

"Nothing, I just came out to wait for you and met her here" Shazia threw a scornful look at me and walked past me.

Just in time, a wine Roll Royce stopped behind Tubassum's car. The passenger's seat at the back opened and Amir stepped out. He has arrived. My heart tumbled in my chest.

"Amir" I shouted thrilled before hurrying down the steps.

My hands flew around his neck embracing him hard. I laughed into his neck then kissed his cheeks.

"You made it" I said dropping on my feet.

"I promised habibati" he said, his hands on my waist as he pressed his lips to the crown of my head.

"I am so happy" I screeched hopping in his light grip.

"I know"

"Kanna (Sister in law)" Fawaz called. I stepped to my husband's side to drop my hand on his waist.

"Fawaz" I called.

"Assalamu alaikum" he greeted, a smile tugging on his lips.

"Oh, where are my manners?" I gushed. "Walaikum salam, how have you been?"

"Alhamdulillah" he answered. "How have you been enjoying our city?"

"Everything is just perfect" I stood on my toes before dropping again, my body wiggling with cheerfulness.

"Ma Sha Allah, I will just go inside" he said then turned around.

"Ya Allah, you came?" I squealed again squeezing Amir again.

"I rounded my work early" he stepped away pulling me with him afterwards he opened the door of the Roll Royce.

On the cream deluxe seat of the car, there was a bouquet of bird of paradise mixed with white carnations, red roses and golden asters in a vase. The petals of the flowers were vibrant as if they had just being plucked. Their scent vanquished the air of the car. Amir bent into the car and took out the bouquet.

"For my princess" he gave it to me.

I collected them, my jaw dropped as I stared at them.

"They are pretty" I ran my hand through their beautiful petals. "Amir" his name came out tiny because what he had done had warmed my heart.

"Come on, let's go inside. Everyone will be waiting" he pulled me closer to him after transferring his messenger bag and suit to his other hand. Grinning and enjoying the moment, I followed him.