Chapter 6 (part two)

She rushed into the house as she kept calling her mother's name. She met her cousin, Amrah sweeping the compound. "Dalia?" She briskly engulfed her cousin in a tight hug. Amina came out of her room when she heard Dalia's voice.

"Mama!" She exclaimed before rushing to her. "I have great new... oh, good afternoon. Hope I met you in good health." She batted her lashes at amina to avoid getting scolded. Amina smiled a bit and shook her head. "How are you? How's Alhaji and the family?" Amina asked as they moved to where Amrah spread the weaved mat. "They're all fine, mama. How are you doing? Amrah I hope you're taking good care of her," dalia spoke teasingly and wiggled her brows at her. Amrah rolled her eyes. "She's also my mother if you have forgotten. Who brought you here?" Amrah asked and that's when she remembered what she had done.

"Oh, mama I came with that man daddy always comes with, let me go usher him in," she spoke as she quickly walked towards the door before she gets scold for leaving him outside. They came back together with the foodstuffs and other things they bought for them.

Amrah helped Dalia to take in the stuffs to her mother's room. "Hey wait," Amrah whispered pulling dalia back when she was about to step out of the room. "What is it Amrah," she inquired knowing how Amrah could sometimes be a talkative. "This guy, is he alhaji's son? He's so handsome. He must be Fulani definitely," she commented as she slightly shook dalia's arm in excitement.

Dalia laughed heartily. Only if she had met his wife, Amira. "You better stop daydreaming about this man, Amrah. He's married and his wife is not the kind of woman you'd want to joke with about her husband. And how did you even know he's Fulani? For how long have you been looking at him?"

Amrah hissed, placing her hands on her waist as she peeped through the door from where she was standing. "I just said he's handsome not that I like him. And what's there if he marries me as his second wife, I will deal with her if she tries me. And the curly hair and fair skin says it all. Now come let's go before Aunty starts suspecting us." She dragged dalia by the wrist.

"What took you so long? Please bring some refreshments for him right now," Amina instructed. Amrah quickly rushed to the kitchen to do it instead. Dalia settled down beside her mother as they conversed with Muhsin. She was so eager to tell her mother about her admission but would be awkward for her to speak about it in front of him.

After a while, he stood to leave. He looked at dalia with a straight face, "I will come pick you up tomorrow evening in sha Allah." He bade her mother goodbye before leaving. Dalia looked at his retreating back and shrugged. "Mama guess what," she spoke excitedly. Her mother looked at her, waiting to hear what she has to say. "I was offered an admission into Nile university. That is one of the best universities, mama and I have never in my life thought I'd be one of their students till daddy came back into our lives."

Amina smiled brightly and placed her arm around Dalia, "now you see why I wanted you to go there? I knew he wouldn't joke with your education and I knew he would take care of you there. Which course did they give you?" Her mother asked. Her shoulders slumped as she pouted, "they gave me Microbiology and you know I wanted medicine." Amina shook her head in disagreement. "May Allah choose what's best for you, Dalia. You should be happy with whatever they offered you, okay? Microbiology isn't a bad course after all, right?" Dalia smiled while she nodded, "you're right mama."

Later that day, after she had prayed Isha, they spread the weaved mat outside the compound and settled down to eat while her mother was inside. "So, tell me about this Abuja. I always wanted to go but you know baba will never allow me to, I mean, who do we even know there? Lucky you, you stay there now." Dalia gave her a disbelief look, who talks that much in less than a minute. "Well... I won't say because I really don't go anywhere except weekends."

"Where do you go during the weekends?" Amrah asked after she had swallowed her food. She stared at Dalia, waiting for a reply. "The man that brought me here, I go to his house and clean," she spoke nonchalantly as she continued to eat. "Why? You said he's married, what's his wife doing then? They don't have a maid? Or his wife is sick? Or..."

"Amrah..." She interrupted, brows furrowed. "That is none of our business. I do what I was asked to do not stick my nose into what doesn't concern me and you should start doing that too." She advised at the end. Even when Amrah asked again, Dalia changed the topic instead. "I want to go see baba jibril tomorrow and also go to bintos house, I haven't gone there ever since she gave birth." Amrah shrugged her shoulders and continued eating.

After they had finished eating, Amrah cleared the place and they did the dishes together as they spoke more about Dalia's stay in abuja.

The next day, Amrah accompanied Dalia to her parents house. "Dalia? Is that really you? You look incredible, abuja is really treating you well." Dalia smiled sheepishly as she thanked her uncle. Amrah’s mother scoffed silently and looked away. She had been bugging Amrah's father to also send her daughter to daddy's house since they knew he would never say no to his request but he disagreed.

"Baba can I also go to abuja during weekends please? Just the weekends and I will be back at aunty Amina's place."

"I would even prefer if you stayed there with her. Maybe he will also return you back to school," her mother spoke for the first time since they came. Amrah beheld her mother’s gaze and sighed. She knew if her father would consider allow her to go for the weekends, he would change his mind by what her mother stated.

Jibril looked at his wife, mouth open, wondering why she brought back the talk they had already buried months back. "Amrah is not going anywhere. If Allah wills, she will also continue with her studies not through Alhaji Mubarak...." He paused and looked at the girls. "I hope you don't have any problem there, dalia." She slowly shook her head as she suppressed a smile. Amrah's mother hissed as she rose from the couch and headed in to her room. They all stared at her retreating back till she closed the door loudly.

Dalia already knew Amrah's mother disliked her, this wasn't a new thing to her. "Baba, let me go cook lunch for us. Come dalia let's go," the word left her mouth. They both rise to their feet and left the living room.

"I am so sorry about inna's behaviours. I don't know why she keeps doing this," Amrah mouthed the moment they entered the kitchen. She sighed and looked around the kitchen. "Why are you apologising? You did nothing, inna didn't do anything. She also wants the best for you, right?" Amrah smiled and nodded. She loved how Dalia had a soft heart. She was certainly considerate.

"I wanted to ask you; have you thought of getting married while you're in school?" Amrah asked as she started piling the yam she brought out from their store. Dalia threw her head back laughing. "I am only eighteen please and I don't think I can leave mama now, no, no way--"

Amrah dropped the knife and beheld dalia's gaze. "You're turning nineteen in few moths aren't you? And speaking of leaving aunty amina, you've not been home for about 7, 8 months? So I think you can handle it," Amrah reasoned while she continued with her work. Dalia chuckled and shook her head. "You're not making any sense here, Amrah. I mean what even brought this up? Or mama told you she was tired of me?" She bombarded her cousin with questions. Amrah suppressed a smile and shook her head, "not at all. I was just wondering. Now that you're about to start going to school, what's next, marriage of course," she concluded as she moved to the sink to was he the yam she finished piling.

Dalia folded her arms around her chest, "uh, service, get a job if possible or start my own business, sounds convincing to me." Amrah turned her head and glared at her. "We both know Baba will not allow this and aunty amina won't allow it too... so, better change your plans on this missy."

Dalia ignored her statement because she knew it was the truth. Though her mother won't force her to get married early, she knew it would be taken as something negative in her family if she graduates from the university and moves further with her career instead of settling down. She sometimes wished her father's family weren't so cruel and selfish.

"May Allah choose what's best for all of us," she muttered instead. Amrah smiled, "ameen, that’s what you should've said moments ago. Now come help me open this garlic." Dalia smiled back and they cooked together as they chit chatted.