Together Forever

His Present.

Don't see it.

Don't see it.

Don't see it.

"Look, mummy!"

Damn it.

"It's the toy shop! Can we go in, please!?" Hafsa whined as she rooted her feet to the floor and pulled on my hand to stop me.

"No." I replied simply.

The only thing I hated about this world of chaos play centre was the ginormous toy shop that you had to walk past every time you left the building, and I'm sure it was the most hated part for all the parents too as it was the most expensive. The entry fee and the food prices were all reasonable however this toy shop was not. They had little miniature figurine toys that costed $30 each.

Once I had asked one of the workers if they were mad, trying to sell a piece of painted plastic for the price of my daily car petrol and she had told me that they were collectibles. Like that made it any better.

I never knew I'd be such a typical mother until the day I began turning my kids down for things they wanted. Mothers know best.

"Please!?" She whined.

"We won't buy anything, promise!" Hamza said and I looked at him.

"You too?" I scoffed, as Zaid chuckled beside me. After making them promise me not to want anything, I groaned and nodded as they ran ahead.

"You can't say no to them." Zaid observed beside me as we walked along towards the shop.

"I actually can. It's just that Hamza's been sick the past weeks and I'm a little lenient at the moment."

"So let them buy a couple of toys." He shrugged with a smile after he nodded in understanding.

"My bloody house looks like a toy shop. They don't even play with half the stuff I bought only a month ago." I mutter, pulling the backpack straps further up my shoulder.

"Let me carry one." He said.

Did I want to give him the bag? Wasn't that a step too ahead?

It was like I was accepting that he was now the father to my children and we were both equally responsible for them. But we weren't at that stage yet. He was still a stranger and for the sake of my children and their well-being, this process was going to be slow.

"It's fine." I said simply as I looked around for the kids in the store.

"Come, look." I said to Zaid as I walked ahead to the boys section at the back of the shop. "Do you see Hamza?" I said.

He was going through a basket filled with soccer balls of all colors.

"And look, there's Hafsa." I said, pointing to the other end of the boys section where she was looking at a bunch of remote controlled cars.

"Oh my god. SubhanAllah." Zaid whispered as his eyes glossed over. "You weren't lying..." He trailed off.

"No. I never even introduced her to it. In the car one day she just started pointing at red cars saying 'look, car' and then she started reading a kids book Justin had bought for Hamza with cars in it and it just grew naturally." I said as I breathed out.

He didn't say a word as he numbly began walking towards Hafsa and much to my own surprise, I let him. I let him go to her alone as I walked to Hamza. "Hey, baby." I said as I put a hand on his shoulder.

"Look, mummy! Look how cool they are!" He said as he pointed at the balls in the basket.

"They are very cool." I smiled.