Standing in front of the mirror, Nawal tied the hijab with precision. She stared at her reflection in the mirror and concluded she was still very pale. She then uncapped the light pink lip gloss and applied on her lips. She was reassuring herself as she applied another coat of lip gloss on her bottom lip that she wasn't getting ready to impress Salman. Rather she was applying it for herself to bring some colour on her face. But who was she kidding? She may be furious at him and simmering like a hot tea kettle, she wanted to look her best, well if not the best then presentable when her husband arrives. Any minute now, Salman would be at her parent's place to pick her up. She whirled around from the mirror and hurriedly packed her overnight bag. Salman had suggested she stayed for a day instead she ended up staying for two days. Probably because it was after like forever that she was at her parents place and partly because Salman didn't object every time she texted saying she was staying longer.

She stuffed Rania's soiled clothes in the bag and threw her toiletries on top of Rania's belongings. Just as she was about to rush to the kitchen to make Rania's bottle, she nearly collided into Ghazala.

Ghazala mutely handed her Rania's bottle and the box of formula milk. Nawal beamed in response seeing how mother knew about her needs. Nawal unrelentingly packed her belongings as Ghazala lingered in the room.

After fidgeting for a couple of seconds, Ghazala cleared her throat, "Nawal?"

Absentmindedly, Nawal glanced at her mother, "Jee?"

"I didn't see you speak much of Salman. Is he taking care of you?"

Nawal froze in the act of zipping the bag. She then slowly proceeded in zipping the bag. "Yeah he is fine."

"You didn't answer my question Nawal." Ghazala pressed.

Nawal straightened and faced her mother. One striking similarity between them was that they were both tall. At eye level, Nawal answered honestly, "There are still issues between us. I don't think he trusts me. And when there is no trust there is no strong relationship."

Ghazala's shoulders drooped in defeat, "Nawal I know I am not in the position to give you advice when I had myself pushed you into marrying someone who you never wanted to. But I know Salman and if you give him a chance he will do everything in his power to make you happy."

Nawal gritted her teeth. This was typical of her mother, always taking her nephew's side. She slid the shoulder strap of the bag on her left shoulder. She was about to leave and it was better not to argue with her mother. But Ghazala's next words changed her mind.

"No man is ideal Nawal. We are all human beings. When we can make mistakes expect the same from others. I know I shouldn't be saying this when I always had high expectations from you. But for your happiness in this marriage, it's a small advice. Learn to be flexible beti and most of all, forgive and forget."

Nawal took a deep breath and silently prayed ya Allah give me patience. She was not here to argue with her mother. She nodded curtly and the ringing of the doorbell spared her the argument. Salman was here and it was time to go home.

****

Salman strapped the sleeping baby in the car seat at the back seat of his car. Nawal was sauntering to the car as he closed the back door of the car.

"Why don't you drive?" he threw the car keys at her.

Being the only sister of her brothers, playing excessive sports with them, she easily caught the car keys but hesitantly asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yah," he nonchalantly replied as he opened the front passenger car door.

She had not been driving since her accident. At first, the doctors had advised her not to. However, in the last two weeks, the doctors had concluded that Nawal was fit to do her normal daily life chores including driving. Nawal had been sceptical of her driving skills and hadn't attempted to drive. She had never thought Salman would give his car to drive. She was accustomed to driving her small hatchback never had she driven Salman's SUV. Although, when she was single she had driven her father's SUV that was a long time ago.

Nawal slid behind the steering wheel. Reciting bismillah under her breath she inserted the car keys in the ignition. The engine came to life and her heart skipped a beat. Her hands sweated as her fingers gripped the steering wheel tightly. She mustered all her courage and remained calm, not giving Salman any inclining that she was nervous.

But Salman was shrewd and smart. He could read Nawal's body language even if she didn't utter a single word. She didn't need to voice her thoughts. He could easily understand her despite all their differences.

"I am here. Don't worry." He whispered reassuringly.

Nawal put the car in first gear, "I am not worried" and then without a second thought drove off.

Salman chuckled but restrained from commenting.

"What are you laughing about?" Nawal asked as she accelerated.

"That my wife is a wonderful woman and I love her."

Nawal kicked the brakes joltingly. The brakes screeched and the car came to a sudden halt in the middle of the small lane a few streets away from her parent's home. She glared at him, "Will you stop this? I need to concentrate while I am driving."

His index finger lightly tapped Nawal's nose, "Ok! I will behave but on one condition."

"What?" she exhaled in frustration.

"Once we go home we are going to sit and talk this out like adults."

Nawal bit her lip, her anger slipping away. "Yeah over the ice creams." She spoke as she put the car in first gear again.

He knew the secret to his wife's heart. And it was ...

Ice creams!

****

In the dark hall, Nawal stepped out of her bedroom. She carefully closed the bedroom door ensuring that Rania would not be disturbed in her sleep. The plush hand woven Oriental rug in the hall muffled her footsteps. There was an eerie silence in the room, as she crossed through the darkened rooms to the back of the house where Salman had asked her to join him. She gasped as she entered the conservatory. The sunroom was one of Salman's favourite rooms. He would spend many hours reading or studying files in the room. The wall facing the backyard was made of glass, the ceiling also was partly glass which made the room airy and bright when the sun was shining on the Irish skies. However, on this autumn night, the curtains were partly drawn, the dried leaves were swirling on the grass field and bare trees shadows hovered from the glass panes of the room giving a mystical atmosphere. What caught Nawal's attention was the light remained closed in the room, instead, Salman had lit numerous gigantic apple and cinnamon scented candles around the wooden ethnic swing that was handcrafted with floral design. There was an array of colour Bohemian design cushions on the swing. And in the middle of the swing was a huge bowl of ice cream where there were four different flavours of scoops.

"I know you don't like to share. But I thought with four scoops you will be able to share one scoop with me?" Salman huskily whispered standing behind her, holding two dessert spoons.

Holding his gaze, Nawal took one of the spoons and whispered back, "I am not selfish."

"I never said you were." He promptly replied.

Nawal gingerly sat crossed legged on the swing with the ice cream bowl on her lap. Salman sat beside her and lazily rocked the swing with his leg. His arm was stretched behind her on the cushions and the backrest of the swing as they quietly shared the ice cream for many minutes.

"It's so peaceful here," she said in a hushed tone.

"Yah, I like spending time here," he leaned forward to scoop some of the pistachio ice cream in his spoon.

She intently looked into the ice cream bowl and then finally spoke her thoughts out loud, "I am sorry I shouldn't have been this angry when you were trying to tell me the truth. It's just..." she wasn't able to complete the sentence.

"Just?" Salman eyes followed every feature of Nawal's face.

"It hurt. After the accident, I started believing that we had no past and ill feelings. We could go on without ever looking back at our past. But you were right to speak it out. It was a shock to know you didn't trust me at all." She shrugged, " I don't blame you though. I guess I am not trustworthy."

"Don't" Salman said sternly.

Startled, Nawal glanced at him, for the first time looking at him since they started eating ice cream.

"I don't want you to self-loathe yourself or blame yourself. Whatever has happened has happened. We cannot change the past but we can learn from our past mistakes. We need to be honest with ourselves even if the truth is bitter."

"I had a lot of time to think about what you said the other day and you are right we do need to be honest and that is why I apologized for being angry. But I want you to promise me..."

She let the words hang in the air.

"Yeah?" Salman slowly said unsure what it was that Nawal wanted to promise.

"You will never hide anything from me and I will do the same. And when we do share something whether it's good or bad we would try to understand the other's viewpoint and reasoning."

His lips curled slowly into a smile, "When did my wife become so smart?"

She narrowed her eyes, "I am serious."

He sobered, "I promise you Nawal. I want this relationship to work and I would do anything in my reach to keep you happy."

He had been trying. Since her accident, she had seen a new side of Salman that she had failed to acknowledge earlier. And even before that, when she was pregnant when he distanced himself from her, he was still looking after her in his own way.

She had been ungrateful and had realized too late. Yes, they had a bumpy start where they had fought, argued and he had even treated her harshly but so had she. That didn't mean that she couldn't give this relationship another chance especially when Allah had given her a new life.

She dug the spoon in the butterscotch ice cream scoop, "At the start of our marriage, I had come to the conclusion that I would make this marriage go on for the sake of family's honour. Then, when things did get better between us I thought you were not as bad I thought."

Salman just shook his head in disbelief.

"But over the last few months, I have realized you changed my feelings not only towards this marriage but also towards you."

Salman held his breath. His gaze was fixed on her. He whispered, "And?"

She scrunched her nose, "You can be unbearable sometimes Salman Siddique. No correction most of the times. But even with your countless flaws and faults..."

Salman lifted the bowl from Nawal's lap and placed it on the coffee table beside the swing and then he turned to Nawal. His hands lightly caught her waist, fingers dancing on her sides, he mischievously said, "Now what were you saying?"

Nawal's eyes grew large, "Don't you dare," she pushed back and wiggled to get free. But his fingers were already tickling her. She giggled and made an effort to shove him away. But he was much stronger. After few seconds of hilarious torment, Salman stopped knowing well tickling could turn to pain if exceeded.

She took deep breaths, her forehead resting on his chest. He rubbed her back soothingly, she looked up at him. Their eyes met and heartbeats doubled. The candle's wax had melted leaving behind a dim glow in the room. The full moon shone from the window behind the swing. Nawal's eyes roamed at each facial feature of the man who was her life partner. His black radiant eyes, his proud nose, his pale lips and his bearded jaw.

Her trembling hand cradled the side of his face. Her palm grazed the roughness of his trimmed beard. Her fingers digging in his thick dark locks behind his ear. Her thumb lightly traced his jaw bone. Their eyes were speaking even before she spoke.

On that autumn night as the moon glowed its full brightness and the leaves swayed to the tune of the wind, she said the words that Salman had waited for as long as he could remember to hear.

"I love you. I love you, Salman."

His arms tightened around her. His head lowered, he groaned, "oh Nawal, my love." In the darkness, his lips found hers. He kissed her with all the pent-up passion he wasn't able to express with mere words. And his heart soared with delight when she kissed him back with same fervour.

After a prolonged moment, he tore his mouth from hers and hoarsely expressed, "I don't think I will be able to express what I feel for you." With that, he lifted her in his arms. She screeched in surprise and clutched the collar of his t-shirt.

He stood up and carried her to their bedroom. Stepping into their bedroom, he lightly kicked the door closed behind them. Carefully, he laid her on the bed and hovered over her, his lips touching her eyes, cheeks, and neck.

"Be mine, Nawal. Only mine."

Her hands framed his face, bringing his lips near hers.

"I am yours. Only yours Salman. Today and forever."

That night she proved him that it was a new beginning ...

A promise of a lifetime.

****

The early morning sunlight was brightly shining through the blinds. Susan switched on the electric kettle as she rolled her hair in a messy bun. She slid brown bread slices in the toaster and pressed the lever to switch it on. The eggs were frying on the frying pan and she flipped them to fry evenly on both sides.

A soft smile touched her lips, her eyes with a faraway look. Daud was finally hers. They weren't married only in name but beyond that. The smile faded slowly and her forehead creased. She knew well he had feelings for her but he hadn't vocalized his feelings. A lingering doubt remained in the corner of her heart. She shook her head as if to physically get rid of the negative thoughts and doubts.

She opened the top kitchen cabinet and huffed in annoyance. Why had Daud kept the plates on the top shelf? It was challenging to reach for them. She would need to make some changes so she didn't have a hard time to reach out for the plates. She tiptoed but still wasn't able to reach for the plates. She leaned forward against the kitchen counter and stretched her arm to the plates.

Just then, a warm hand touched her hip. Daud easily pulled out three plates from the top shelf and placed them on the kitchen counter. His lips touched her earlobe, "I didn't know my wife is this short."

Susan whirled around and raised her chin in defiance, "I am average height."

"Is that so?" He bent forward and touched the tip of his nose to hers, "I need to bend over to kiss you." he teased.

She turned her face and his lips landed on her cheek, "Then don't."

"But you know what average height is good for?" his eyes glinted with mischief.

She side glanced at him.

He pulled her up to the counter and sat on the edge of it, "I can easily lift you and I like that."

She draped her arms around his neck, "Is that so?"

"Now how about that kiss I was looking for?" he closed the distance between them and stepped between her legs.

"What will Yousef say?" she glanced behind Daud's head. Her eyes searching their son.

"He is distracted. I put him cartoons to watch."

Daud would never change. She was smiling as he kissed her.

****

"Rise and shine Mrs," Salman called out as he pulled back the curtains.

Nawal rolled over her back and covered the duvet over her head, "Salman not now," she mumbled.

"Nawal its 11 am!!"

"Not my fault," she mumbled back from under the duvet. "You kept me awake most of the night."

He smirked, "I know but it's nearly afternoon now."

After few seconds, Nawal reluctantly lowered the duvet from her face. The duvet slipped further down her naked shoulders when Nawal flustered and pulled up the duvet.

Salman chuckled and threw his t-shirt at her, "C'mon sleepy head. I even got you breakfast."

She pulled the t-shirt down her head and sat up, "Where is Rania?" she pulled the t-shirt her chest and waist, and clumsily finger combed through her curly hair. Her eyes fully opened when she found a full breakfast spread on a bed tray.

"With ammi," he perched on the bed beside her.

"You made all this?" she blinked. Sleep vanishing away.

He rubbed the back of his neck, "No not all. Ammi helped."

A lazy smile touched her lips, "I am impressed."

"I am glad," he pecked her cheek, "Hurry now get up."

She wrapped her arms around him and snuggled, "I rather stay in bed."

"Not a bad idea." He winked.

Her face turned red, "I meant to be lazy."

"Ohhh right," he feigned not to understand.

She snuggled against him and closed her eyes, "hmmm..."

"Why don't you get ready? I have an offer for you and then you can go back to bed."

"Offer?" she straightened.

He nodded slowly, "How does working for Irish Halal Food Centre sounds to you?"

Her eyes widened, "Really????"

"Yes but first get dressed and eat Madam before we can discuss anything about your career."

She sprang out of the bed with renewed energy.

He smiled at her determination.

It was indeed a new beginning for them,

But was this enough to move on to the future...