Being Mrs Dantata

21

It felt like a dream.

Being engaged to Zayd, the ring that weighed heavily on her finger, Amal's friends who earned more money than she would in years, the phone calls and messages she had been receiving; all of it felt like a dream.

Somehow Amal, Jameelah, Hussayna and Catherine found their way into the flat after causing a ruckus that made Hanan's neighbours come out of their flats to see what was happening. Hanan moved in a daze after that; getting them comfortable, the hearty introductions, getting into the bathroom and coming out clean, getting dressed and then leaving with them for brunch in town because they had all skipped breakfast.

It was when they approached the city gate that Hanan snapped out of it. She faced Amal who drove the Hyundai palisade that comfortably took all of them; a new gift from Zayd because she'd liked the ad she saw.

"Amal, I'm engaged!"

Amal glanced at her, an amused smile on her face. "Of course you are. You even have a ring on your finger to prove it."

Catherine snickered from the backseat. "It's probably just dawning on her."

Hanan turned in the her seat to look at the other women. A gasp escaped her lips. "Amal, I'm actually going out for brunch with all of you. Amal, this is real."

Jameelah chuckled. "God, this is adorable." She held up her phone. "I should definitely capture everything. This may come in handy later."

Hanan gasped more times than they could count throughout the ride as reality dawned on her. She was getting married. There was no turning back unless – God forbid – something huge happened that prevented them from doing so.

Her reactions made them laugh. Amal's mood dampened a bit when she thought about how Asma would have loved Hanan if she gave everything a chance. She drove them to The Cube Café in Wuse and as they got out of the car, Hanan's phone rang. Her ring shone as she accepted the call. She brought the phone to her ear while Amal locked the doors.

"Sa'ed Dantata."

Zayd chuckled over the line. "Hi, sweetheart. Can I use the nicknames now? I saw them on an old tweet of yours."

She tried not to smile and it was a battle she easily lost. "No, not yet." She had to prepare for it. Her heart could only take so much. "We'll get there In Shaa Allah."

"In Shaa Allah. Did you get the ring?"

They walked into the café and easily found a table. They sat and a waiter walked up to them with the café's menu.

"Yeah, I did. It's now I'm really wrapping my head around everything. Sa'ed, this is real."

"It is! Honestly, I'm so happy. Everything went so smoothly, Alhamdulillah. We had actually scheduled the event for 10am but your dad called last night to tell us that word got out so he wanted us to do it earlier than planned so your uncles and aunts won't bombard the entire event."

"No wonder." Hanan glanced at Amal who quietly asked if they could order for her. She nodded and refocused on Zayd. "I was trying to understand why I was waking up before 10am as an engaged woman."

Zayd was quiet for a moment. "Where are you, Hanan?"

"At The Cube Café!" She grinned. "I'm with Jameelah, Hussayna, Catherine and Amal. We're having brunch. They came over and they pulled me out." She giggled like a child before she half-whispered. "I'm trying to not add their surnames right now. They said I should drop all formalities and it's weird but it's nice."

The women were multitasking; skimming through the menu and shamelessly eavesdropping on Hanan's conversation with her fiancé. Zayd hummed over the line.