43: She Asks A lot

She was moving around in the kitchen when she heard the roaring sound of his car as he parked. She peaked through the window, happy that he was finally back, she had missed him. She raced to the front door and waited until he was closer to her before she ran to him and hugged him, "Yazeed, you're finally back!" She exclaimed and broke their hug with a happy grin on her face.

Yazeed had never felt this calm before. It was such a good feeling coming home to her. He had known of the homecoming feeling but had never experienced it until today. "Did you miss me so much?" He questioned, and Jalilah nodded her head.

She entwined their hands and they walked into the house together while she spoke. "I don't know how I was able to live in this house alone whenever you went to work. But I think I'll be able to do that now too, maybe if I adapt or something."

She pulled him to the kitchen and made him sat on the island, "What would you like to eat? I know you're hungry. And I'm not yet done with dinner, should I make something fast for you? Maybe custard or oat? Anything, just say it out."

He chuckled and shook his head, "I want you, that will suffice." She screamed softly and closed her face.

"Come on, I'm serious, Yazeed. What will you like to eat?" She asked again while stirring her food in the pot.

Yazeed stared at the way she made herself at home, he wondered if she hadn't remembered something whenever she walked around the house or did something. "Maybe the custard, but, unless you insist, I can wait until you're done."

She ignored his last sentence and went to work, "I'll make it so fast. How was work?" She turned to him from where she stood, and he sighed. Was this how it felt to come back home and have a wife? A wife as calming as Jalilah was? Okay, maybe she wasn't his wife yet, he knew that deep within his heart no matter how good she might treat him or the fact that she knew he was her husband now. Nonetheless, it was a good feeling that it would be a waste if he didn't praise it.

"Work was...it was fine, I guess. Stressful though, too many meetings and I was so tired. But I think seeing you at home makes it all better." He smiled at her and before she turned to reply to him, he looked around the kitchen and questioned, "Did Wafiyya stay for long?"

She turned, as she waited for the kettle to boil. She rested her body on the counter while staring at him, her head moving sideways. "She didn't stay longer than thirty minutes, I think. She showed me everything in the house, where I could get things and excused herself because she had so much work to deal with at the office."

"And you stayed alone? Weren't you bored or maybe, afraid?" He questioned, and Jalilah pouted her lips before she nodded her head.

Turning her back to him, she began to talk again. "I was bored at first. After I've walked everywhere but didn't have something to do. It turns out I've changed my MacBook's password and I can't remember it now. I'm sure Farha might know it but I didn't call her because she is probably at work. For some time, I was just bored then I think I heard a sound, or it was merely an illusion. I was afraid and to calm myself down, I came down to cook."

"You should've called me," he said, staring at the way she smiled at her handwork and moved to him with his bowl of custard and some raspberries adorned in it. She placed the bowl in front of him and shook her head.

"I didn't have your number, and the ones I have their number, I'm sure they're all busy. But I'm fine now, I'll just have to find something to do, so I won't commit suicide during excess boredom." She chuckled and motioned for him to eat his food when he wanted to speak.

"What would you like to do?" He asked amidst his custard and she turned from the cooking gas.

"I don't know yet. We've spoken with Mrs. Rosey and she's on break. And for the prize I won in Russia, I don't think this is the right time to go there, plus I have a husband now. So, likely, it's painting left. Do you have any idea?"

He placed down the spoon he was holding and thought a bit. Why didn't she leave to Russia? But that will be after she had regained back her memories. Because it looked safer that way. And he was sure after she had gotten her memories back, she would like to be away from anyone and anything she had known and just delve herself into what she loved doing. The sole reason for her intense grief.

"Why don't you leave Russia? I mean after you've recovered?" He questioned, but it was more like a suggestion than a question. From the way he asked, she would know that he had thought about it and probably thought it would be the best for her.

She tilted her head as if she was considering his words, "Do you mean it? Will you allow me to go while you work in Nigeria? Or you'll secure a job there?" She asked, smiling softly while the ruminative look was still plastered on her face.

Sad. Pain. Ache. These were the emotions revolving through his heart. She thought of him, they were talking about her future after she had regained back her memories but Jalilah was still thinking of him. If only she would think this way when she got the memories back, it would have been the happiest he would be.

"Would you go and leave me here?" He questioned with a soft smile and shook her head.

"No, I won't. I don't know if the old me could do that, but you said I've loved you so much. I know the way I love, so I can't do that. It's either we leave together or stay together. There are amazing Ballet schools in Nigeria, I can get into one."

He shook his head, "But that's a great opportunity, Jalilah. You can't miss that. We'll think of away when the time comes." He smiled at her and she smiled, even though he knew, through her eyes that this wouldn't be the end of the conversation for her.

She was putting their dinner into the warmers when she briskly turned as if she had remembered something she could argue with him about. "What if I have a child by then? I can easily abandon that scholarship, you know?" She grinned mischievously.

He shook his head, "Sadly, the scholarship doesn't dictate time, you can go for it in the next ten years. We can always wait until the child comes to age and take him or her to Mama, perfect. You can live while I stay here in Abuja and whenever I miss you, I'll go to Adamawa to see our baby."

"This won't work. We will have to talk about it some other time as you suggested." She turned back to her work and he smiled while just staring at her.

He liked it, no. He loved it whenever he watched her worked in this kitchen, she moved as though she had stayed there for all the years she had lived on earth. It felt like a therapy staring at her, moving, murmuring some incoherent words to herself, turning and whenever their eyes met, she would smile at him. After she was done, they went up together to take their baths, they first stood in front of his room, and she looked up again with an inquisitive look in her eyes.

"I've been wanting to ask you, Yazeed. How comes our rooms are far away from each other?" Please, not now, Jalilah. He wished he could beg her outwardly, but she had pinned those do-like orbs at him waiting for an answer.

He chuckled to look natural and for the lie to smoothen her ears, "You chose that room when you came here, I don't know your reason but something about it being cozy, welcoming and warm." He hoped this would do, she would believe whatever he had said to her.

She was silent for a while before she nodded her head, "Fine, I'll take my bathe then. Get me when you're back from the mosque, okay?" She waited until he nodded his head before she left to her room and Yazeed stared her retreating back.

She closed the door to her room and smiled softly. She was loving it with each second she had spent with Yazeed. She remembered about Farha, her MacBook's password. She dialed her number and put the phone on speaker while she began stripping off her clothes.

"Farha! How are you?" She asked the moment Farha picked up her phone.

"Jalilah! I'm so tired, I don't want to work with Baba anymore." She drawled tiredly and Jalilah laughed. She had just started working in her Father's company last week, but she was already complaining.

"You'll be fine, or maybe ask Baba to help you figure some things out, I'm sure he would."

"He wouldn't, I've been begging him to show me the ways, but this man said he wants to me to learn everything on my own. What is it? I'm sure you won't call me just to chat plus I'm too tired that talking drains me out."

Jalilah chuckled while she wrapped her towel around her frame and stared at her phone as if Farha would come out of it. "Sorry, you need some rest. I called to ask you, what's my Macbook's password? I'm sure you either know or I've told you."

Farha hissed softly, "You changed it from 'Farha is an idiot' to 'Ballerina'. I don't know why, maybe because I've stopped being an idiot. But whatever you can't remember the password for, you told me all your appliances have the same password, 'Ballerina.' I don't know your reasons though."

"Okay, thank you, girl! Go and rest!" She yelled and quickly scrambled to where her system was, and as Farha said, the password was indeed Ballerina. But this didn't feel like a first-timer. It felt as if something triggered her emotions so hard that she had to make this her password, whatever it was, she was glad she could finally start watching her Korean dramas. Her lovely oppas.

{}

She heard the knock on her door, and she walked to open it. She didn't have a veil on her head, at first, she was skeptical to open the door until she covered her hair. But then she remembered, it was her husband, he might have seen time countless times.

She opened the door while trying to tie it into a ponytail which she had always rolled into a bun. "Jalilah! Cover your hair first!" Yazeed had never thought he could feel his heart ricocheting the way it did today. He quickly turned away. He hadn't seen her hair fully, but just the edges, and he wasn't blind to know she didn't have a veil on her head.

He didn't know why he felt as if he couldn't see her hair now. She thought he was her husband, and he might've seen it before, but there was no way he could take advantage of her this way. He knew how careful she was of her hair. He would wait, if she wanted to be his wife after she had gotten her memories back, he could stare at it as long as he wanted. But if she didn't want to be one, at least she had something he hadn't crushed or taken away from her.

She laughed and wondered what was wrong with him, "Yazeed! Why?" She asked and pulled him into the room. He shuddered softly, no matter what she would do, he wouldn't stare at her hair today. Not in months to come, until she fully became his lawful Mrs.

From the way he clutched his eyes shut, Jalilah couldn't stop herself from laughing so loud. "Yazeed, Oh my god! Wait, have you never seen my hair?" She asked and could feel something on his hand. No, it wasn't something, she had placed the edges of her hair on his hand, he quickly jerked off and walked to her bed, there, he saw her veil laying on it.

He took it and with his eyes closed, moved to where she was and quickly wrapped the veil on her. It wasn't until he was sure that her hair was fully covered did, he opened his eyes and gave her a relieved smile. "There, you look like your old self."

She was still laughing, amazed and surprised at the way he acted. He placed his hand on her shoulders and smiled, "What did you just do, Yazeed? Have you never seen my hair?"

He innocently nodded his head, "I've never seen it, not even the edges. And we promised I couldn't see it." He didn't know what he would tell her if she asked further.

"Why? And what's the promise about? I mean, tell me everything, you know I cannot remember it, right?" She asked and he smiled nervously.

"Okay, here it is. We argued before we got married. I was always complaining why not even the edge of your hair is showing and you told me it's because your hair is so beautiful that it makes people drool, even females. So, I was saying it wasn't beautiful enough and we agreed that even if we get married, I wouldn't be able to see your hair until you give birth to our first child. You've forgotten the agreement, but I still respect it."

Oh, that was it. "But, deep within, do you want to see it?" She questioned, and Yazeed was reluctant at first before he nodded his head. He wanted to see her hair, but then his respect for her outweighed everything.

"When should we have our first child, then?" She asked out of the blue moon that Yazeed didn't know when he began to cough. Yes, he knew she was straightforward with everything, but by Allah, he hated himself now that he told her he could only see her hair after they had their first child.

She quickly went up to the water dispenser and got some for him. He gulped it down in a go and sat down on the sofa in her room. Maybe this was the second time coming into her room? First was in Lagos, the second was when she was sick. Yes, this was the first time, and it was a lot different than all those times he had seen her. No, he was confused. Had he entered her room in Lagos? He couldn't remember. And right now, he wanted to be out.

She sat beside him while asking if he was okay, "Yes, I'm fine it's just a cough. Can we go for dinner?" He questioned while standing up and she nodded her head.

They went down together, and she served them while staring at him. Something was off with this man as if he was holding something in his heart that was beyond him. Something he had no control over but at the same time he wanted to either let go or forget about.

She sat back and watched as he began nibbling on his food. "Are you fine, Yazeed? Did I say something wrong? Was it about the baby?" She couldn't help but ask him. He seemed off, caught off guard even.

He quickly shook his head while smiling at her. "Oh no, come on. We're a married couple, Jalilah. If we don't talk about our future children what then are we going to talk about?"

She smiled softly and shook her head, maybe this was the right time. "You had me thinking, maybe you don't want a child? Or we had another agreement about babies? Or simply, we've never done it before, you know? The thing."

He coughed again, so hard until she laughed and brought water for him. He gulped it down and stared at her with a stupefied expression. "Oh my god, Jalilah?! Ya Allah!" He palmed his face. One, she was crazy. Second, she was straightforward. Third, he knew she thought of herself as his wife but wasn't she shy? As in, he couldn't even bring himself to how she could think about this. Even he as a man couldn't think of that.

"Did I ask something wrong again? I'm sorry, but you know I'm straightforward and always say what's in my mind. It's a simple question, did we do it?" She asked again, and Yazeed knew he had to answer her now. If he didn't, she wouldn't stop asking him no matter how long it would take.

He sighed and softly shook his head, "No, we didn't." It took a toll in him before the words came out.

She mused softly and there was a sly smile on her lips. "But why? Weren't we close? Or we talked about it or something?" From the way, he was staring at her with an unbelievable expression. As if he couldn't believe she could think of this or even had the effrontery to talk to him about it, she whined and pouted her lips. "Come on, Yazeed! I just want to know."

"You said you weren't ready, and I respected that." Again, he made it related to her. And he knew this time, he had doomed himself because from what he was seeing, she wasn't going to relent just soon. He couldn't believe they were having this conversation with Jalilah, of all people.

"Oh, I said that? Maybe I was afraid of something. Wait, let's not talk about it again. Let's eat and talk about something else. What you love doing or just anything." And now, she was shy. Finally, she had that crimson red paint on her cheeks, and he found that amusing.

"What? You're shy now? I thought you wanted to talk about it?" He chuckled and she palmed her face when he winked at her while she whined outwardly.

"Yazeed! Will you stop this?" He laughed and fed her with his spoon. She fluttered her eyelashes and smiled thankfully at him. She didn't know why yet, but she was glad she married this man.