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We had lots of fun and went shopping like we are shipping the whole of a mart to Nigeria , everyone got a present and I bought a wedding gift for Jiddah, ,she was super angry at me for not been there on her big day but Simran managed to make her see to reason and we are cool now .I spotted Taseer rummaging through baby clothes and he looked so cute ." Who are you buying baby clothes for ?" I asked and he gave me the are you kidding me look .

" For our upcoming baby of course " He stated not even looking at my direction.

" I am not pregnant Taseer"

" yeah you're not ,but you'll soon be , besides we aren't coming back here in the nearest future ,so let's make use of this chance before its too late, what do you think about this dress ?" He asked raising a cute princess like dress and I couldn't help but smile even though my mind is in shambles .

" yeah it's cute" with that I joined him in picking out cute unisex baby wears and it filled my heart with so much happiness and a gutt wrenching sadness deep within. This gesture shows how much Taseer wants to have kids but as we all tell each other , we should be patient and pray for the best .After buying lots of baby clothes and other things like some cute flower vases,Taseer is trying to keep his promise on that one and some kitchen utensils plus cute wallpapers and many other things , we left the mall hand in hand ,with no care in the world just enjoying each other's company and looking forward to going home .

"Yahsalam ,Taseer let's go back , we forgot about an important person ,we didn't buy anything for modibbo " I said urging him to turn around .

" You forgot dai ,but I bought a lot of things for my poor old man " he said smiling .

" That's not fair hun , I have to buy something for him too, what will he think of me when you we get there and I will be looking at him , smiling like a Cheshire cat not giving him a single thing? " I whined .

"Calm down tigress, I bought something for him on your behalf if that's what you're making a fuss about , besides what's mine is yours and am not going to meet him and be like " modibbo this Is from me , my wife did not get anything for you " take a chill pill love " I burst out laughing at his dramatic gesture and he smiled at me .

" Sometimes you amaze me Manal, one moment you're all river Niger on me , another moment you will look like you're trying to murder anything that comes close to you and another one you're all happy and everything is honky dory " I gave him a playful glare and squeezed my face like I am going to cry.

" I take God beg you Pumpkin don't cry" he begged and I winked at him .

" So you care about my tears huh ?" I asked and he gave me the you're not even serious look .

" So it was an act to see how much I care about those crocodile tears of yours huh ?I will punish you Hayatee just wait till we get home " with that we kept talking and making fun of each other till we reached home. Taseer insisted that I should cook for us ,saying he is also tired of all those weird looking and tasting dishes, I laughed at that saying that he seem to love the dishes. " It's an act , I don't wanna be rude to our generous hosts " he scrunched his nose and I ruffled his hair saying it's alright he is going to put some Nigerian food into his belly tonight .

I took out all the ingredients and went to work ,the servants offered to help but I dismissed them ,saying I'll like to be alone and do my thing , besides I need some privacy in the huge kitchen which is ten times the size of our kitchen at home . I made a liver sauce with cous cous , fried macaroni with cheese and pineapple and guava drink .I made a raisin and strawberry cake , admiring my handwork and smiling to myself ,I pouted wishing I can find hibiscus leaves to make zobo drink , I've missed it and I took my phone and texted Simran telling her to make sure she comes to the airport with loads of mama's specially made zobo drink , the reply came in instantly like she's clinging to her phone ,waiting for me to text her .'Zobo drink in exchange for a good news ,you know what I mean ' I scoffed at that ,and continue arranging the dishes , I called one of the maids and headed to my room ,to take a shower and wait for Taseer's arrival, he went out with Muhammad to only God knows where and Aminah left for the office since morning, its a bit chilly so I wore warm clothes with a beige colored Cardigan to match the clothes and lay down to rest for a while, going through my pictures and smiling at how cute we look together. I was awakened with a soft kiss to my forehead, at first it felt like a dream but I slowly opened my eyes to be met with the most beautiful black orbs. I yawned and stretch saying lailaha illallahu mahummadu rasulullah sallal lahu alaihi wasalam.

"sorry noory I did not know when you came back ,lemme freshen up a bit so that we can have dinner " I said scatching my eyes trying to clear the haze .

" You must be tired babe, I was welcomed with a sweet aroma of Nigerian food all thanks to you , hurry up let's pray first it's already time for maghrib".I came out to see that he had already spread the mats for us and he was reading the adhkar book.We prayed the salah and recited suratul Najm before heading to the table. Aminah and Muhammad couldn't stop complimenting the food and the oga at the top was just chewing his food quitely, when I gave him a look asking whether the food is okay, he just gave me a thumbs up and blew me a kiss, Taseer is so shameless sometimes I used to wonder whether he has a double personality.

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The next few days passed in a blur and it's finally time for us to go back home, I remembered the almost heart attack Taseer gave us the day we came and it's more than six months now, I am grateful to have met wonderful people like Aminah and Muhammad, to be the cause of someone's conversion to islam is a great achievement and something worth cherishing forever, I felt like crying even tho I can't wait to go home and see my parents. I have never been away from them for this long and I can't imagine how much they have missed me even though they married me off already.

We said our goodbyes with a heavy heart, Aminah gave us a heavy package for Hajia and we almost laughed at how childish she looked saying that she wish she can follow us and see Hajia giving us many warm wishes for Abby and Ammy

"expect us in Nigeria soon" said Muhammad waiving at us.

"In shaa Allah, we can't wait to have VVIP guests in our country " I said waiving back at him with a heavy heart.

The moment we landed, the air changed and i smiled to myself ,thanking Allah for a hitch free flight and inhaling the warm air. As we were ascending the stairs the first person I spotted was Ammy and I didn't know when I let go of Taseer's hands and ran off to Ammy like a teenager who just came back from a hellish boarding school, I gave Ammy a bone crushing hug till she urged me to let her go saying she can't breath. Hajia was next then Abby," you're still the immature princess I know " Abby teased and I shyly released him, her majesty, the queen of no mans land was seated crossed leg, looking at me with a poker expression, I ran to her knowing she's angry at me. I decided to tease her more so instead of hugging her, I sat beside her.

" Assalamu Alaikum ma, hope you're in good health. Gosh, haven't you been eating? You look thin " I greeted and earned a glare in response. Then she hugged me tightly with tears in her eyes. " I have missed you manalie " she choked out and I can't control the hot tears that cascade down my cheeks.

" shh don't cry hun, I have missed you more and cry no more, besty is here and all will be well IN shaa Allah " and just like that she wiped her tears and wiped mine too. We walked to the waiting car hand in hand and she handed me a chilled zobo drink, I squealed in glee and attacked the bottle at once, Taseer turned from the front seat and gave me a look that says keep my share, I stuck my tongue out at him shaking my head, we talked telepathically for a moment before simran pinched me.

" I bought pregnancy test in my bag, so the moment we get to your house, you are going in to check" she whispered and it took every sense of control that I have not to shout out in frustration ,our new home is beautiful right from the outer part and I mentally salute Hajia and Ammy for a job well-done, the interior decor is to my taste and I will have done the exact same thing they did. After our luggages had been brought inside, the elders left, saying we should rest and come home for dinner. When Taseer finally went out to the mosque ,Simran compelled me into taking the pregnancy test and the result brought tears to my eyes, I slid down on the floor shaking with tears trailing down my cheeks. Simran got tired of waiting and came into the bathroom, the state she met me in scared her " manal what happened?" I don't have the strength to answer her fearing I might speak a foreign language. I moved my hands towards the test and she yelled in happiness dancing some steps saying Alhamdulillah repeatedly before she spanked me.

"kefa banza ce manal, you almost gave me a heart attack, I thought it's negative ,oya get up wipe those stupid tears and get ready to tell Taseer, congratulations habibty, lemme pack my legs and go home, I will meet you at Ammy 's" she gave me a brief hug with so much happiness in her eyes, I should be happy right? But I felt numb. She helped me wash my face and applied kohl on my pale looking eyes before bringing out a tee with an inscription " Soon to be the awesomest dad " on it, I gaped at her, she was serious about wanting me to have a baby, she is the bestest and she gave me the best home coming gift I will never forget. I started crying again and she gave me a warning look " enough with the tears already, you're now a big girl start acting like one " the door bell rang indicating Taseer is back she packed her bag whispered something into my ears and left, I heard their faint voices from the door before I plastered a smile on my face and went to the living room where I met Taseer sprawled on the carpet.

" Taseer" I called out in a voice I find hard to recognize as mine.

" yes love " he turned around just to be stupified for some seconds, it was like time stopped moving for a moment, he walked slowly to me and held me with his eyes boring into mine searching for an answer to his question. I nodded in approval and he took me by surprise when he burst into tears and bowed down in sujud al shukr. He whirled me around and then carried me bridal style uttering things I didn't comprehend. He didn't say anything to me, he took me to our room, brought out an abayah and before I know what's going on he dressed me and drove out of the compound, I thought he has lost his mind until he parked in front of a private clinic.

" just wanted to be sure before I start sharing the good news " he gave me a toothy grin and I had to protest before he let me walk by myself saying am sick and he don't want anything to happen to his baby. The tests were carried out immediately and we waited for the results ,I am two weeks pregnant and Taseer kept thanking the Dr for the information as if he is the one that gave us the child.

" thank you hayatee this is the best gift ever and I love you, let's go home I wanna say hi to my baby" he said helping me to get up and the moment we reached home, Taseer removed my abayah and bent down to my stomach level he put his ears right on it and then started talking.

" Assalamu alaikum little sultan or sultanah, It's your Abbu here, just want you to know that I love you so much and can't wait for the day I will hold you in my arms. Be good to maama, don't stress her out okay? " I laughed out loud at him but my heart beats doubled over at the sight in front of me. Alhamdulillah for everything ,indeed Allah is great and the best of planners and He gave us the best gift.

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