I pushed open my closet door to reveal a not so tidy pile of clothes. I sighed as I shook my head slowly, ' guess I have a lot of work to do....' I thought to myself before I began digging through my clothes.
Yesterday, Kareem told me he'd thought of a few plans to celebrate my birthday. At first I was shocked by his request. Why would he want to celebrate my birthday? Like, wasn't even happy enough to flash a genuine smile during his sister's birthday and now he planned a whole surprise for me?
I didn't know how to react, like, I didn't know him well enough to tell if he genuinely wanted to celebrate my birthday with me or just wanted to keep up the act with this fake marriage thing. It was hard to tell with someone as reserved as him.
I sighed once I came across an old pair of jeans that I hadn't worn in a few months. I threw it back into the pile before continuing my search.Kareem really cared enough to do this for me, then I'll have to dress to impress.
After searching through my closet for what seemed like forever, I finally decided on wearing my favourite purple dress. I set it down on my bed with my heels and hijab, wondering what Kareem has in store for me.
I smiled to myself as I made my way to the bathroom.
...
I slipped on my dress and heels before proceeding to tying my hijab . I watched my reflection in the mirror as I tied the hijab around my head, multiple thoughts running through my head at once.
Fortunately, I'd already Layan about Kareem's surprise earlier so she wouldn't have to change her plans last minute. Surprisingly, she wasn't against the idea of Kareem's surprise but instead urged me to accept it, saying that this might diminish the idea of him being some serial killers or something like that.
Once I was done tying my hijab, I took a deep breath before making my way out of the room, all the whole trying to calm my racing heart and dry my sweaty Palms. 'Why do I feel so nervous...' I asked myself the question, but after a long thorough search, I couldn't find any. Like I mean, there was really no really no reason for me to be nervous right? It was just a regular outing...right?
I took another long, deep breath once I reached the top of the staircase, my anxiety reaching heights. I tried calming my racing heart with more deep breaths but it didn't change anything. I closed my eyes and breathed a long sigh. I didn't know what that feeling was. Was it nervousness? Probably, but from what I knew, it definitely wasn't excitement.
I opened my eyes and began taking slow steps down the stairs, my heels clicking in the process. I couldn't deny the fact, that with each step I took, my heartbeat grew faster. I maintained my calm expression and stiff posture, trying hard not to reveal the discomfort I felt.
The closer I got to the bottom of the stairs, the more I got to see the living room, and soon enough, a pair of green eyes I'd grown very fond of.
I'd soon arrived downstairs and made my way towards the couch where he sat. I could feel the temperature of the room rise. At this point, I wasn't sure whether it was the me or the heater. The atmosphere of the room grew warmer and his heated gaze on me didn't help matters.
He abruptly turned away, probably realising he'd been staring too long before standing up, still not facing me. A small smile played across my lips as I took a few steps towards the dining table where I'd left my handbag and phone. 'Why did I suddenly feel... excited...?' My smile grew wider as I dragged my feet once more.
"You look nice". I heard him say before I spun my head around to see him. He was staring back at me in what seemed like a blank expression. I felt my cheeks burn and shyly looked away. Why did my heart suddenly start racing?
I closed my eyes and calmy exhaled. There was nothing special about him saying 'I look nice'. But then why did I feel a sudden rush of excitement run through me?
I snapped back to reality, realising that I was still standing on the same spot. I rushed towards the dining table and grabbed my phone and handbag before making my way towards the front door. Upon seeing Kareem making his way towards the front door as well. I tensed up. It'd probably be a good idea to thank him, instead of making the silence anymore awkward.
"Thank you". I said suddenly. I stole a slight glance at him, wondering what he must be thinking.
He just flashed a small smile at me before reaching out to the door handle but stopping abruptly and turning to face me. "Don't you need like a jacket or something?"
"No, the material is thick enough". I said, pulling at the soft material of my sleeve. He noticed this and nodded before pushing open the door.
...
The drive wasn't as far as I expected, considering the fact that Kareem refused to tell where we were going.
I stayed put, watching the view from the window, the urge to steal a glance at what he was doing growing stronger with each passing building, when suddenly, the car came to a halt. I snapped out of my daze and began noticing my surroundings. Kareem stepped out and I followed suit, only to come across a building I recognised too well.
A small smile spread across my face when I noticed my grandma's house standing right in front of me. The snow covered trees and rounded structure brought back nostalgic memories from my childhood.
"Laila..." I heard a voice say whilst tapping my shoulder. I turned around to see Kareem. "Let's go". Was all he said before walking towards the front door. I followed suit and without hesitating, knocked on the door.
"Who's at the door?" I recognized my grandma's voice instantly. She got discharged a few weeks ago but I didn't have the chance to visit her until now.
" Don't worry, I'll get it". I heard Layan's voice, and soon, footsteps. I could tell Kareem was tense just by the way he anxiously observed his surroundings. This would be the first time he's meeting my grandma.
Hopefully, it goes well.
I heard clicking from the other end, and soon enough, I saw Layan poke her head out a little to see who was outside. I watched expression slowly changed.
"Excuse me". She said before sliding back inside. I could only imagine how awkward it was for her to see him here of all places.
It didn't take long for her to open the door again, inviting us in. The warm atmosphere of the house, totally contrasting with the cold temperatures outside.
She looked a bit nervous being around Kareem while we walked to the living room, so she quickly dragged me there. " Come on, grandma's been wanting to see you". She said as she increased her pace.
We reached the living room, only for me to spot grandma sitting on her rocking chair with her thick glasses at the bridge of her nose while reading a newspaper. She had her hair tied in a bun and a long shawl over her shoulders.
"Grandma, look who came to see you". Layan said, just as grandma's eyes slowly diverted from the newspaper to me.
I couldn't help the small smile that formed on my lips as I rushed to hug her. My hands flew over her shoulders as I knelt down to meet her height.
"Oh dear". Grandma said as she chuckled, her head slowly moving up. "And who is this gentleman?" I heard her say. I looked behind me to see who she was looking at only to spot Kareem standing just a few feet behind me.
Oh, that's Kareem ". Layan said as she slowly took a seat on the couch next to grandma's rocking chair. I watched as grandma looked at him skepticaly, probably trying to remember what Layan was talking about. A couple days ago, Layan told she'd managed to successfully convince grandma that I was happily married. "The man Laila's married too". Layan completed.
I slowly stood from my kneeling position and stood next to Kareem. I could tell from his stiff posture and by the way he tapped his foot on the carpet, that he was nervous. Very nervous.
"Ah, sit! Sit! Make yourselves at home". She said cheerfully just as Kareem slowly made his way towards the free chair opposite grandma's rocking chair.
"Uhm, excuse us". Layan suddenly said as she got up from her spot on the couch and slowly started making her way towards me.
"Where do the two of you think you're going?" Grandma asked as she turned to look at us.
"No, it's nothing, just some...stuff". Layan said before quickly dragging me to our old bedroom before we moved out. I noticed all the hung up photos on the walls and decorations.
"Did you move in here?" I asked once she was seated.
She looked up at me. "Yeah, just a few days ago..." She said whilst looking around the room. "Anyways, tell me everything that happened ". She said once I was seated. I wondered what she meant by 'everything ', but then I realised that she meant every single thing that happened over the past month.
"Well, he took me to his father's house to meet him", I looked up at her but her expression was blank. "And he also gave me a-"
"No! That's not what I meant by 'everything '. I meant, anything odd". At this point she looked really desperate to lace him as a red flag.
"Nothing odd or suspicious has happened this past month"
She gave me a ' are you sure?' look and I just nodded. It made me happy to know that Layan still had doubts about this marriage.
"Okay, fine. If you say so". She finally said after a few minutes of silence.
I threw my hands over her shoulders. "Thank you". I said as the smile on my face grew wider.
"For what". She said, almost laughing.
"For trusting me enough to let me live with him for eleven more months". I said hugging her tighter.
"Laila! It's time to go!" I heard grandma shouting from the living room.
I slowly pulled away from the hug. "I guess it's time for me to get going to my next destination". I said before standing up.
Layan stood up as well. "Wait, so this isn't the only place that he's taking you to?"
" Yeah, I guess so".
"Wow, he really did do a big surprise for your birthday".
"And yet for some reason you keep doubting him". I said with a little smirk.
"It's called protecting your sister, now go. Don't forget to call!" She yelled once I'd reached the door frame.
"I won't!" I yelled back in reply before walking out of the building with Kareem by my side...