Chapter 49

We had been preparing for Maryam's nikkah (wedding). I was very happy for my friend. She was like a sister I never had. I should make it a memorable day for her. Whenever I teased her being a wife to be, she always shies away. It was rare to see a bossy lady like her shy away, but it was fun, watching her. She was becoming herself again.

She had hidden herself in pain and hurt. When someone is greatly hurt, he or she either becomes rude or silent. Maryam had a bitchy, bossy behavior, but I knew it was her past that made her that way. She was protecting herself from being hurt again. Don't judge people by their attitude, it was their past experience that changed them.

I was dragging her to the mall, I needed to change her closet.

"But it doesn't mean," she whined while I turned a deaf ear.

"See, I'm gonna transform you. Even when brother Royhan sees you, he would be gawking at you," I smirked.

We went to the nightgown section, I smiled knowingly at my thoughts, but I didn't let her suspect.

"What are we doing here?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

"What does it look like?" I replied sarcastically.

"Buuut" She stuttered. I mean, Maryam freaking stuttered. I made her flustered. She was embarrassed.

"I'm buying you a killer gown that when you put it on, Royhan will never know what he is doing again," I winked while laughing.

"Stop it, joor," she mumbled, smiling softly at me.

I took a white lacy gown, which was strapless, and it would reach her midthigh. It had a V-neck structure. I took another black lingerie and a smoky red piece. The clothes were beautiful.

"What is this?" she shrieked, covering her eyes.

"What?" I replied mockingly.

"These gowns are..." She gulped and turned away in embarrassment.

"There is nothing wrong with these. Firstly, this white dress you are going to wear on your wedding day to show your innocence. I mean, purity, peace, calm blah blah blah," I waved my hand in a dismissive way. "Secondly, this red lingerie," my eyes twinkled with mischief, "Is for inner seduction. It shows love, passion, desire. Whenever he sees you in this, he won't be able to say no to you. This is for calling him to eat. We have two foods: one in the room and the other in the room," I chimed in.

"What two foods, and what?" She banged her head softly on the wall. "You are confusing me," she blurted.

"Let me explain," I sighed, "you know this quote, 'the way to a man's heart is food,' right?" she nodded her head in confirmation.

"Before you get to a man's heart, you must know how to cook food. One is dinner food, and the other is bed food," I explained while realizing what was shown on her face.

"You know, cooking is like sex, everyone can do it, but only some make it delicious," I giggled mischievously at her while she screamed like a banshee and blocked her ears.

"Sophia, when did you become this corrupt?" her eyes widened comically.

"It is not corrupt, dear," I said slyly, "I'm a married woman, sugar, and I must know what my husband likes," I winked. "And there's nothing corrupt about being married," I shrugged, "You go down and dirty with your husband. If you understand, you understand. If you don't, then don't."

"What's the meaning of going down and dirty with my husband?" she furrowed her brows in confusion, but I changed the topic.

"As I was saying before you decided to interrupt, the black gown is for when you want to be in control," I smirked. I took another set of blue underwear while she was eyeing me.

"This blue one is just normal. I mean, when your husband is not around," I shrugged my shoulders.

After we were done packing, we went to the jewelry store. Abdulrahman called us earlier to ask us where we were.

"I thought that when someone is pregnant, she is tired, not hyper, but this friend of mine is high," she muttered tiredly.

I took out the lollipop from my mouth, which made a pop sound, "not every pregnancy makes someone tired, joor," I rubbed my bump happily, "it makes me energetic." I laughed.

I was looking around the store when my eyes caught a small ruby moon crescent earrings. I dragged Maryam there while shouting at me to stop dragging her.

"See," I pointed at the earrings.

"Woah," she gawked at it while I used my hand to cover her opened mouth. "It's beautiful," she mumbled.

"Yeah, we are buying it," I exclaimed.

I saw a two Gucci wristwatch beside the earrings and brought it along with it for my kings, Abdulrahman and Abdullahi.

I brought some baby dresses also for Fatimah, my unborn child. I couldn't wait for her to arrive. We hoped the baby would be a girl, but whichever one that Allah gives us was the best.

We went to the nearest junk store to buy a menu. Who doesn't like junk food?

I brought candies, bars of chocolate, cheesecakes, biscuits. I knew when I got home, all would be long forgotten.

When we got home, Maryam was physically, mentally tired because of my lectures. Abdulrahman hugged me and carried all the bags inside before he came to carry me bridal style also. He put me on the couch, went to the kitchen, and got me a chilled smoothie. I drank it greedily, resting my head at his shoulder. He took my hands and massaged it softly while sighed comfortably.

What was bad in what I said?

Nothing.

You must do anything to keep your husband. Even though it was his destiny to marry more than one, that doesn't mean you shouldn't dress well. Dress so well that whenever he went outside, he would reply, 'my wife is at home. My wife is better than this. My wife. This my wife that my wife.' I thought.

~**~

Maryam dressed in a pink floral gown. Her white wedge complimented her dress. Her face was covered with a white linen veil, which her minimal makeup face was underneath. She looked like a princess.

"Who wears a pink dress on her wedding day?" I snorted playfully.

"Stop nagging like an old woman about my dress," she proclaimed.

"You know you look like a girl."

"What do you look like in a blue dress?" she asked rhetorically.

"Blue is the best. You know blue represents nature. The ocean is blue, the sky is blue, the.." I stopped when I didn't know what to say while she laughed out loud.

"Nothing to say?" she stuck out her tongue.

"You know..." my mom cut me off.

"Both of you stop bickering. You are adults, not babies anymore," she cautioned us dramatically. We looked at her and each other, we rolled our eyes and guffawed at her. This was crazy. She tsked and shook her head before smiling at us.

The nikkah (wedding) was a small wedding, a parlor wedding. The wife and husband were in a separate chair. The husband was looking at the floor like it was the best thing in the worst while I snickered. Every eye turned to me while I mumbled sorry.

Abdulrahman was Maryam's guardian since the death of their parents. The ustadz asked my husband to confirm whether he accepted or not. Brother Royhan glanced up, looking at my husband expectantly whether he would change his mind, but when he heard him say yes. He sighed in relief.

The ustadz turned to the husband and said, "See my dear brother, pray to Allah to grant you Hikmah (wisdom), Sabr (patience), and 'Ilm (knowledge) because you'll need it. Females are complicated, you can never understand them. They change like the weather. Treat them with care. Give them a house, they will give you home. Give them food, they will give you a meal. Give them attention, they will give you all. Women are gentle and kind in nature, but treat her badly, she becomes cruel and hard. Treat them with care, love, understanding. Sometimes you will have to work from 7:00 am to around 9:00 pm at night. You will be tired. All you will want to do is to relax, then she will be telling you about what happened, blabbing and rambling about everything without asking her. When you give her respect, she'll be submissive to you naturally. May Allah grant you marriage without divorce. Children without illness," he lectured.

After the ustadz was through, we served the menu to our guests.

And that was how we concluded Maryam's wedding, everyone was happy, and everything was going smoothly.

But it was the calm before the storm.