Chapter 03

As she promised herself, when Hassan entered their room, she didn't spare him a glance and kept working, tidying up the mess they made. He called her name but she was so adamant that she had to resist the urge of being embraced by those strong arms in that broad chest with the sweaty scent of him. She groaned internally.

"Singleton, won't you talk to your Twin?" He asked and wanted touching her hand when she backed away and looked up at him, presumptuously.

"Don't touch me please, how sure am I that you're Hassan and not Hussain? Go back to where you came from." She rolled her eyes at him and continued making the bed, not flashing him another glance.

Hassan chuckled, a deep husky chuckle that almost made Nadia turned and merged their lips together, to beg him to chuckle into her lips so she could feel how his voice would resonate within her body, but she stayed strong.

She felt as he brought her to his body and hugged her from behind, sniffling the scent that was coming from her neck. "Where do I come from? From my wife's heart, a place that holds nothing but the love she has for her husband and ice cream, of course. An ice cream date in the evening, deal?"

In her whole life, there is nothing she couldn't snub apart from ice cream. She could die of hunger but the first thing she would love to lick is ice cream, her Mama had long gave up about her getting infected with pneumonia because of the coldness that, she became the one stocking their fridge with it after her Baba died. Ice cream was like a symbol of her Baba's love to her, she smiled.

"I'd love that, Twin. Do you remember the first time we met in cold stone? That day I wore my favorite peach abaya and was so happy I could surprise my cousin with it and gift her an ice cream, but you bumped into me and crushed all my plans. Urgh!" It still hurt her to think about that, but what she would forever be grateful for was that she was gifted the love of her life on that day, and she would forever be indebted. But her peach abaya, oh her peace abaya. She made a sad face.

"I'm tired of hearing about this peach abaya, Singleton. You said you had forgiven me, right? What is there to complain about then? Is it your ice cream? We're going on its date later on, or the favorite, comfy and beautiful abaya I messed with? Tell me the brand and it'll knock on this door before I even get out from shower." He laughed so hard at the pained expression she made because he made mentioned of the things she would take forever to stop complaining about, wasn't she the one that started it?

"It's modanisa adorned with swarovski embroidery, I love it. Not peach, I'd love red this time." She said and smiled cheekily at him, this would be the fifth time he's getting her an abaya from modanisa with different colours, all in the name of compensation for her peach abaya. How she so much loved this man, wouldn't she trade the world for him? She will and forever will.

"Consider it done." He took his phone from his pocket and made the order from their branch, and smiled at her before he placed the phone down on their bed.

She squealed and hugged him so hard "I love you so much, Twin. Keep being the loving husband that you are. I'm one lucky fella, it comes up naturally." She began flipping her invisible hair from her shoulders, fluttering her eyes lashes at him, while smiling widely. How she so much loved Abayas, she wouldn't mind if the whole of her closet turned into them overnight, she would still wear.

"I'm more lucky to have you in my life, Singleton. And I'll be more than happy if this smile on your lips never wears down. Always put a smile on your lips, it makes me extremely happy than you could never imagine." He pecked her forehead and entered the bathroom, to take his shower because she had already taken hers as his punishment.

And as he said, before he came out of the bathroom, the maid from Hajia's side came in with a red modanisa abaya and said it was brought by a delivery man, and she wondered how he did it. Before he came out of the shower, she had already changed into the abaya and took some pictures.

She heard as the door knob turned and stood up, "I love it!!!" She whirled in the air, laughing so hard that she felt her lungs being filled with air. How lucky she was to have a husband as loving as Hassan?

"That looks beautiful, Singleton. You laugh just like how the angels do, when something good is about to happen to their sister that lives on the earth." He pinched her cheeks and smiled widely, seeing her happy like this make it worthy of all his efforts.

Her eyes widened and she laughed more, how love turned her to, as if she took in a laughing gas. "How do you know the sound of Angels laughter? Have you being there before? I mean,the heaven!" She pointed at the sky through their window and turned her attention back at him.

Hassan laughed as he sat on the vanity stool and stretched out his hands so she could apply the lotion on them, she walked towards him and started doing her job, staring intently at him as she awaited her answer.

He held her nose with his two fingers and pinched her playfully. "I haven't been there, but someday my soul would be taken there, and I'm sure when they laugh to welcome me in; I'll turn around and see your twin sister there. You know, you have a Twin as an angel, not just a normal human." If Hassan isn't the best husband in the world, she doubted who would be.

•

It was 5 in the evening, and she kept looking at the clock in Hajia's living room, not being able to spot her Twin, she was eager to go out on the ice cream date. Not that there wasn't a bunch of it in her fridge, but ice cream hits better when she was licking it outside, with the wind and the sun there to make her feel better.

"Nadia what are you waiting for? I noticed how you've been checking the time for almost an hour now," Hajia asked and sat down beside her, she had finished her work from her study table and wanted to get some rest.

Nadia smiled and ducked her head down, fiddling with her long sculptured fingers with a shy smile on her lips. "I'm waiting for no one, Hajia. It's just that if something gets boring I find myself anxious about the time, and this movie isn't interesting. Should we start making the dinner?" She asked and stood up, looking at the kitchen. But in her heart, she wanted to cry out, how would Hassan promise her something and fail to fulfil? He was never the type to do that.

"Singleton, let's leave already. Sorry, I am late," he apologized and walked into the living room, flashing her an apologetic smile together with a loving one.

Her heart suddenly lit up, and she smile back at him with even more love in it than his. She often wondered how she missed Hassan if she spent hours away from him, and whenever he went back to his work place; Abuja, she felt like dicing up her heart. Although he didn't spend more than a week there, she felt like dying. And she couldn't ditch Hajia to follow her husband there, wouldn't it look somehow? The Arewa girl in her always won.

Hajia chuckled softly and stood up as well, "Now, this speaks why you're bored. Go for your ice cream, I know nothing could make you that anxious unless it's an ice cream. I'll make dinner together with Nana, that's why she's here." Hajia patted her shoulder in a loving way Nadia never thought a mother in law would do, and she watched as they exchanged pleasantries with Hassan before they took off.

In Katsina, there wasn't Cold stone to go to, but she surely felt relieved when she heard Havillah opened a branch there. Every Friday if Hassan would come back home, he would branch in her home and collect ice cream for her from Mama and bring them to her. Stocked in plastic bucket with ice to keep them cool.

"Are we going to Havillah, Twin?" She asked and kept looking as he was professionally swerving the steering wheel.

He looked at her and smiled, "Yes Singleton, or do you want us to go to Abuja and branch in cold stone so you could get a proper picture of the day we met?" He laughed so hard at the face she made, and the next thing he felt was a soft punch on his arm.

"Twin I've told you before, that day was the best day of my life. Because I got to be gifted with the best man to ever live on earth." He only smiled at her and they made a halt in front of Havillah.

"Should we have it there or in the car?" He asked, knowing so well she would choose the car all over than inside. He loved ice cream even before he met her, but his love for ice cream increased tenfold when he met her, they had something the same in their blood.

"I'd love it in the car for sure, can we have a walk after that?" She asked, and he nodded his head before he hopped out of the car and went inside the building.

She waited until he was back and immediately took one, she licked the first spoon and awed. "This is mouthwatering, Twin. I love it!" She squealed and converted her attention more on her ice cream. They stood there in silence, no one was able to utter a word because they were so obsessed with their ice creams.

They finished their cups and stared at the third one seated on the dashboard, their hands made a swift move and they laughed at the same time. "It should be mine, Twin. You're the one that brought three instead of four, face the consequences." She was swift in taking the cup into her hands and started licking.

"Let's have it together, Singleton. Pleaseee," he drawled, and she couldn't snub this bunch of cuteness.

She placed down the cup between them and they ended up feeding each other. They had a lovely evening, and it was almost maghrib time that they went back home, the walk long forgotten because he ended up showing her some of the monumental places in Katsina State.

He parked the car and she hopped out and waited for him to do so, so they could go in together. Her eyes flicked back to Hussain's car which was identical to his own and felt a sinking feeling in her heart.

"Let's get in, Twin. We need to take our bath before they could proclaim the salah," she said and started walking towards their part.

"I have someone to meet by the gate, I'll be in soon," he answered and they parted ways.

Nadia's phone and handbag fell on the ground with a loud thud when she saw the exact figure of the husband she left by the gate seated on their couch; he looked tired. She turned around to see wether she was in the right room or not.

"Hey Singleton. I'm sorry I couldn't be there, so I asked Hussain to take you instead. It was urgent, I was called from Kano, Malam Aminu airport; something happened. And I don't want to make you feel sad by not fulfilling my promise. Hope you enjoyed the ice cream date with your Husband's Twin?"