[C]
He shook his head, “No, that’s not what I want to hear. What’s my name? Or is it that you can’t say my name out loud, Jalilah?” Dear heart, please don’t kill me this minute! She had to beg her heart to stop racing the way it did. And she had heard of the saying that when you heart or felt something good, the butterflies in your stomach rose and fluttered their wings. By Allah, she felt every inch of that, and when they rose, they painted an amazing blush on her cheeks.
“Please, say that again. Ya Allah, my name has never sounded this good!” She squealed after she had gotten a hold of herself because it was a whole battle when she heard the way her name sounded on his lips, she nearly drooled.
He chuckled and shook his head, “I’m not saying it again, I just called your name so you could know that I know what you're called. Now, what’s my name?”
She shook her head with a pout, “I assure you your name wouldn’t sound as good as my name sounds on your lips. Please say it again, I even want to record it for future reference, that way when I get back home, and I tell Mama that my name has never sounded so good until you say it, she wouldn’t say I'm just exaggerating.”
She pulled her phone out and got into the recorder, without doubt, she moved the phone closer to him and gave him her best puppy smile, “Please, say it again. Please?”
While battling to set his eyes on the road and her face, Yazeed looked at her for a brisk second before he turned back to the road. “I'll say it again, but only on one condition.”
“Yes, what’s the condition?” She asked desperately.
“What’s my name? Answer the question first and I promise I'll say your name again until you ask me to stop.”
“Oh come on, Yazeed. You know I can’t say your name out loud, right?” The moment she closed her lips, she didn’t realize what she had done until she heard the peal of laughter that escaped from his lips and that was when she recalled every word she had uttered and how she had called his name while implying she couldn’t say it out loud.
“That sounded like a nice word, Jalilah.”
“It’s not a nice word, it’s your name. And you said that I'll be saying my name until I ask you to stop.”
“Yes, Jalilah.” She laughed and placed the phone between them so she could record every word they had shared.
“I don’t know how she’s feeling, but she must have been the happiest woman right now. I'm so happy for her.”
“Who are you referring to? That friend of yours that always makes you scream on the phone?” He turned to look at her for a minute before he looked back on the road.
Until his words registered into her brain and she realized he was talking about Farha, she had never laughed this freely. She could imagine what Farha would say if she told her what he said about her. “Oh my god, Farha will kill you in her dreams today. Farha, that’s her name, and she’s one of the most amazing souls out there. She finds you so cool and amazing though, I know she won’t be angry at you for long. She might even be happy that you know her.”
“Say that again, how did she know I exist?” The moment those words slipped out of his lips, Jalilah palmed her lips and closed her eyes.
“I don’t know either, she just knows.” She answered him through gritted teeth and closed her eyes. She reached out for her phone while muttering, “I can’t have this conversation recorded.” He snatched the phone away before she reached it and placed it on his laps.
“You can’t record it, Jalilah. Just how does she know me? Wait, don’t tell me, who were you referring to on that day? Something about a whole freaking angel sitting beside you was it...” He let his words trailed off and enjoyed the look on her face, she still had her eyes clenched shut, desperate for him to end the conversation like she had never done before, “Me?”
“Oh my god! No, hell, how could it be you? Ya Rabb, will you please pretend I didn’t say all that? Wait, no, you weren't the one, she was telling me about her boyfriend.” The way she was rambling without taking her breath and she was thinking of the possibility of taking her phone if only he hadn't placed it on his laps.
He chuckled and handed her back the phone, “Calm down, don’t suffocate yourself, Jalilah.”
She collected the phone and looked away from him through the window. She hadn’t faced him until they arrived at the hospital and she got down, suddenly eager to see the baby. They walked side by side even though there were no words shared between them, but she loved it even when they said nothing. He guided them to the room Sulaiman had texted him and she stopped moving when they got there.
“I don’t think I should get in now, you should. I'll wait for you here.”
He turned to look at her, all the serious Yazeed was back, “What does that mean? We came here to see the baby, you have to enter.”
She pouted and her shoulders slumped. “What I’m trying to say here is, they didn’t know you’re coming with me. Her family and yours too, because Sulaiman’s family are yours, might be here already and I can’t walk inside together with you. They will raid questions on you and you know? Just get in, you were so excited to see the baby.”
He shook his head, “Our families and hers too are all in Kebbi, they aren’t here yet. Maybe one cousin or two, and Sulaiman knows we’re together, I'm sure Ilham knows too.”
It took him sometime before he was able to convince her and they walk inside together. He was the first one that entered the room and his eyes fell on Sulaiman that held the baby while Ilham tiredly rested her body on the bed head as they conversed with loving yet tired smiles on their faces. The moment Sulaiman saw him, he stood up and walked up to him, handing him the baby.
“I was waiting for you to say the Iqamah for him and name him; Yazeed Sulaiman Bunza. Congratulations, Yazeed.” He tentatively collected the baby and his eyes turned into an emotion he had never felt before, it felt like holding his child for the first time. And when Sulaiman congratulated him, he felt all jitter within.
“You’re even congratulating me, Sulaiman? I don’t even know what to say.” He chuckled amidst his choked up emotions and brought the baby’s forehead to his lips, giving him a forehead kiss.