Being Mrs Dantata

50

Niamey, Niger

"Wait until you meet all of them, Suraiya. You'll be glad we picked them for you."

It had not been up to four hours since she landed and Suraiya was already tired of the marriage talks. The house was full with members of the extended family and she hated it so much. There were so many judgmental stares and whispers. Although she tried to shake them off, they got through her weak defences and messed with her mental space.

"Wait until my introduction has been concluded, Aunt." The about to be groom, Hamoud Boukar Shehu, said as he occupied the opposite chair. "Besides, Suraiya must be exhausted. It's been a long flight and I'm sure she has worked a lot for Ahmed Shehu."

Suraiya raised her head to look at her brother. "What do you mean by that?"

Hamoud shrugged. "Nothing." He cocked his head. "Or should it mean something? The rumours aren't true, right, Suraiya?"

She scoffed. "For someone who calls himself my brother, you sure have so little faith in me." She stood. "I'll be in my room."

"Suraiya, wait."

She did not. She walked through the small groups of family members that laughed and gossiped, heading straight up to her room which was situated at the far end of the left corridor. She was barely perched on the loveseat when the door went open to reveal her oldest sister, Tafeeda.

Suraiya tried to not sound rude. "What do you want?"

"Dad asked me to get you. There's a man here for you."

"I don't think I'm expecting –"

"His name is Ahmed Shehu and he seems quite desperate."

Suraiya ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She ran past her aunts who loved to gossip more than anything and forced her way through the small crowd in the corner of the living room that gave a good view of the house foyer. Her father stood with his hands behind his back and Suraiya came to a stop. She took in the man who stood right in front of him. Ahmed turned his head and his eyes met hers. She saw the relief on his face and she could not imagine how he got there.

Her mother joined them. "Tafeeda just told me Ahmed Shehu is..." Her eyes fell on Ahmed and she slowly gave him a look over, adjusting her veil as she did. "Certainly not what I expected."

"I apologize for my appearance." Ahmed said calmly. "It was a spontaneous decision and I didn't really have time to get changed. I'm here for Suraiya."

Her father raised a brow. "You can't just show up in my house and tell me you're here for my daughter. She's been living with you for more than a year now. Believe me, I am beyond ashamed."

"I understand you may have imagined the worst of scenarios but I want to assure you that nothing transpired between us. We kept our relationship as Islamic as possible, Mr Boukar. She focused mainly on my kids and that was it. I apologize if rumours spread. Suraiya did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong too."

"What do you want, Ahmed?" Her mother asked, wanting to cut the chase. "Why did you rush all the way here?"

Ahmed briefly looked at Suraiya who had tears in her eyes. Swallowing, he turned back to her parents. "I came for ask for your permission to marry Suraiya."

There were gasps and eyes widened. Blood drained from Suraiya's face and Ahmed kept his eyes on her parents. Her father cleared his throat as he regained composure. "What did you say?"

"I came to ask for your permission to marry Suraiya." He easily switched to French. "And if I get it, I'd like us to get married as soon as possible."

Suraiya stepped forward. "Ahmed."