After The Honeymoon

2. Like Family

The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life. - Richard Bach

Omar

"Of course, you can come over. I'll let the guard downstairs know to you let you up," I spoke into the phone before hanging up.

"Who was that?" Madi asked in a sleepy voice, her head still resting on my chest as she tightened her bare arm around my torso.

"Salman," I replied, slipping out from under my scantily dressed wife which made her stretch and sit up in our bed.

"Salman? It is after 1 in the morning." A worried look came over her face, "Is he ok? Is Noor ok?"

"I don't know about Noor. He didn't say anything in particular, just really sounded disturbed," I bent down and kissed Madi on the cheek, appreciating how breathtaking and desirable she looked even in the dim moonlight streaming in from between the closed window blinds. "You can go back to sleep, love. I am going to take a shower before he gets here."

"I'll join you." She got off the bed and slid her arms around me, batting those thick, long eyelashes which always turned me into pulp inside, losing any ability to say no to her.

"Don't you think he'll guess what we were up to if both of us open the door with freshly washed hair at 1 am."

"He is married, I think he already knows what married people do," she winked and pulled me in to the bathroom after her.

As much as I wanted to stay in the warm shower with my beautiful, sexy wife, I got out in ten minutes and was blow dried my hair so it wasn't obvious that I had just had another incredible night of making love to my wife. Madi was moving to St Louis in less that three months and we were hell bent on making as many memories before then. Sure, we would still see each other every weekend, but that almost felt like we were scheduling our intimate moments. So for now, in the privacy of our home, we enjoyed each other whenever we wanted to.  

Before I could think too much about that, though, the doorbell rang and and I opened the door to Salman, who was standing in the hallway looking more haggard and disheveled than ever before. He was a wearing an N95 as usual, but his eyes had a strange glazed look in them. 

A look that I, unfortunately, recognized instantly. 

"What the hell happened to you?" I asked as I ushered him towards the balcony that opened up into our living room. 

I had known about his anxiety around COVID, and I knew he would not want to unmask indoors. March was still a pretty cold month in Chicago, but we had recently bought space heaters which made it reasonably comfortable to sit outside. 

"I don't know..." he shook his head slowly as he sat down on one of the chairs and mumbled, "I think I need to let go of Noor."

Shocked and caught off guard, my voice came out a lot louder than I intended, "Let go of her, as in divorce her? What the hell is wrong with you Salman?"

He didn't look at me, just gazed out of the balcony into the dark night, "Everything - every fucking thing is wrong with me. I should never have married her in the first place."

"What are you talking about? You two are perfect for each other," I tried to interject whatever horrid thoughts were coming to his mind. 

"No, she is perfect for me," he redirected his gaze towards me. "I am horrible for her. All I do is hurt her. She could have been leading a happy, stable married life. Instead, she has to deal with me and my issues day in, day out." His voice became barely audible. "The worst part is, she knew I would destroy her life, that's why she chose you first."