Stand by me

32. The best time together.

"Mummy!" Joseph squealed and ran in to hug her. Safiyya forgot her surprise and hugged him back. She raised her head and looked at Old Xav inquisitively who scratched his bald head.
"Joseph insisted on coming to see you and won't stop shouting, so I had to," he explained.

Safiyya glanced at Joseph who was holding her tightly and turned back to Old Xav. "What about sir Alfred?", she asked.

"Alfred left for work today. It seems he has a lot to do. So, Joseph can stay here until his father gets back," Old Xav said. "You two can spend some time together,"

Safiyya smiled and nodded. Old Xav waved them goodbye and left. Safiyya closed the door and pulled Joseph inside. They sat on the couch and she stared at him intently while he fiddled with his fingers shyly.

Safiyya chuckled and pulled his cheek.
"So my baby can pull tantrums,"

"It brought me to you, mummy," Joseph also laughed and hugged her again. Safiyya smiled brightly and rubbed his hair, enjoying the warm hug. This just made her morning.

She pulled back and reached out for his backpack. "Let's get this off,"

"Okay," he nodded excitedly as they took it off.

Meanwhile, Jessy was standing there agape pointing at the duo. Safiyya just raised her head and her gaze met with Jessy's confused one.

"What's with that look?" Safiyya asked.

"You..." Jessy was speechless and pranced to the kitchen. Safiyya was confused at the reaction but smiled at Joseph.

"Do you want mango juice or orange juice?" she asked him.

"Mango," he answered and she laughed at his giddiness. She rubbed his cheek and went over to the kitchen. Jessy pulled her hair and whisper-yelled at her friend.
"What the hell Sofiyya? Are you sure that that boy is not your son? You look freaking alike!"

"What do you mean Jessy? It's just our eyes that are similar. Don't overreact," Safiyya scoffed and opened the refrigerator.

"Seriously bestie. You know you can tell me the truth right?" Jessy came close to her and spoke again and stole a glance at Yousef who waved back at her.

Safiyya held the juice box in her hand and rolled her eyes at Jessy.
"Quit it, Jessy. Don't suspect me of something like that okay? We have been together all these years, so you must know about my character." she said with a frown.

"Sorry. It's just confusing. Your situation of course," Jessy quickly apologized. Judging by the time, Safiyya was barely sixteen then.

"Accepted. Now say hi to my son," Safiyya said enthusiastically and rushed back to Joseph.

"Here you go," she sat down and handed the juice box to him.

"Thanks, mummy," he grinned and took it from her. He sipped the juice while looking at her shyly and Safiyya wondered why. She absolutely adores it though.

"Hey little champ," Jessy waved her hand at him, bending her back a little. Joseph turned his gaze to her and blinked, then back to his mother.

"This is my best friend Jessica. Say hi," Safiyya told him.

"Hi, Aunt Jessica!" Joseph greeted with his smile.

Jessy forced as smiled and returned,
"Nice to meet you, Yousef. I've heard a lot about you from your mummy. And...just call me Jessy,"

"Okay Aunt Jessy," Joseph nodded seriously.

Jessy froze at the word aunt and Safiyya couldn't help but giggle by the side. Jessy could only stand straight and left them to have their fun.

"So, tell me what you want to do first," Safiyya turned to her son and asked.

Joseph blushed and clutched his stomach.
"I am hungry, " he pouted and her eyes widened. "You haven't had breakfast yet?" she inquired.

He nodded and mumbled, "When I woke up yesterday, you weren't there but my daddy. I did as you said and stayed obedient but then, I couldn't sleep properly. So when Old Xav came in the morning, I...I pressured him to bring me here." he held his ears and gave her puppy eyes. "I'm sorry for throwing a tantrum,"

Safiyya kept his hands down and rubbed his cheeks fondly. "You should stop apologizing to me because you have done nothing wrong. Now let's get your tummy filled up first okay?"

"Okay," he grinned and she helped him up and they walked to the kitchen area. Safiyya decided to make him a sandwich before she cooked something and Joseph suggested making one himself. She naturally agreed and helped him wash his hands before leading him to make the sandwich which they are together.

"Alhamdulillah," Safiyya whispered as she cleaned her hands.

"Al_ham_du_" Joseph mimicked her.

"Lillah," she completed it for him.

"Lillah," he smiled and asked, "Mummy, what those that mean?"

Safiyya held his hand and replied, "It means all thanks to God, for providing food to us,"

"Oh," he nodded and asked again, "Why do we say that?"

"Well, he made food available to us, so we have to thank him because there are several people out there who struggle to eat," she answered.

Joseph frowned at this. "Can't we share our food with them?"

Safiyya smiled and nodded. "Of course we can. Through charity works and gifts. If you ask your father, he can take you there because he is very rich,"

"Very rich?" Joseph gasped.

"Uhuh. Very rich," she nodded, laughing inwardly. "Just don't tell him I said that."

"Promise," he said. "I am not hungry any more mummy. Let's just cook later. I wanna play,"

"Alright. What are we going to play?" Safiyya asked as they went back to the living room. Joseph picked up his bag and opened it, bringing out two action figures.

"These," he waved it at Safiyya and sat on the carpet. "That's interesting son," she hummed and took off her kimono and veil. She wore a printed palazzo and pink shirt, her hair still held back in a ponytail with a cap. She sat down before Joseph and checked out the action figures he held which she recognized as Batman and Robin.

"I will be Robin and you will be Batman, " he said and handed it to her.

"Alright. What do we do with them? Fight?" She asked, earning a giggle from Joseph.

"We can't. Robin is Batman's sidekick, so we can't fight. That's why we have a villain," he explained and brought out Joker.
He looked at her mischievously and whispered, "I suddenly wished Dad was here so that he could be the Joker and we beat him up,"

"He really needs it," Safiyya was amused and they laughed before they started playing.