Please, prepare to be adequately tensioned.

"Mummy."

Jamal breathed out as he sunk into the seat opposite his mother in her office. "I want to ask Halima to marry me."

His mother stopped writing, she dropped the pen and clasped her shaking hands. Her nearly three year old dream was coming true. Instead she calmly asked him.

"Do you think she's ready?" Jamal exhaled loudly and sat back into the chair.

"I don't know. Especially knowing." He gestured at his mother and she nodded. Understanding immediately. " I don't want to be a trigger to anything. In trying to be a source of happiness, I don't want to make her unhappy."

His mother nodded and exhaled too, leaning back in her black leather chair. "I'm meeting her mother on the twentieth." She flipped the calendar on her table to the month of March. "It falls on a Thursday. I'll do my findings, I'll subtly ask her." Jamal nodded and sighed.

"Are you really up for this?" Jamal cleared his throat and ran his left hand through his hair.

"I've never been surer about anything in my entire life. I want her for the rest of my life." His mother smiled in reply and picked up her pen. Then she dropped it again.

"How about Zeeya?" Jamal rolled his eyes. "Malu, you know your father. Have you talked to him?" Jamal sat back and hooked his toned left shoulder around the second chair.

"Father and I had a very important discussion. That's why I came to you. I told him point blank, he arranged my marriage-" His mother cut in. "I arranged it Malu." He arched a full brow at his mother.

"Alright, your father influenced it." Jamal nodded and continued talking. "I cannot marry someone I don't like, that my children don't even like. Jariyah is very sensitive, I cannot be exposing her to different shades of bad people." His mother's mouth dropped open and she threw her stress ball at his chest.

"Be nice! What bad person? She's just not a good fit for you." Jamal rolled his eyes and muttered. " More like a bad fit for everyone."

"And Zeeya is a child. I don't do children half my age." He uttered as he got up from the chair. His mother screamed at him instead.

"Jamal Abubakar!"

Jamal walked out of the room laughing, taking his phone out of his pocket as he moved. After two taps, the phone began to ring.

"Hi Halima." A smile lifted his cheeks when he heard her voice. "Walaikum Salam." He replied to her greeting.

"I wanted to ask you to go with me to a dinner. There i can tell you all about Jariyah. She has outgrown her teachers again. Yes. Okay. Today at six? Tulip Bistro? No. Cactus place  is fine. I'll drop you off at home afterwards, no need to get Uber. Alright." He cut the call and looked around before pumping his fist in the air in excitement.

His plans were set in motion.

******

Halima stopped out of the cab a few blocks away from the high-rise building that housed The Cactus Place. She had never been there but from what she had heard, it was a beautiful place.

She adjusted her abaya as she paid the impatient driver, stepped away from the curb and walked to a closed shop with a mirrored door. She stretched out her feet and adjusted the black heeled sandals she was wearing. Summayah had bought he a brand name as a gift and she Intended to wear it well.

Then she began to walk to the building. At the door, the doorman, tipped his cap at her as he greeted her.

"Welcome Ma." She sent him a smile as she said her thanks, widening her red lipstick lined lips.

"What floor is The Cactus Place on?" She asked the man. He smiled, and then pointed at the elevator shyly.

"It's on the twentieth floor." She smiled again and walked off in the direction of the busy elevator. The man stared at her till she disappeared between the doors before saying.

"Ah Ma Sha Allah. God dey create Sha. See person wife as she fine." His partner nodded, still lost in deep thought. Halima had unknowingly evoked that reaction.

When the doors of the elevator opened into the twentieth floor, it took all of Halima's energy not to gawk. The place was beautiful. Excessively so.

A Chandelier hung from the ceiling smack in the middle of the foyer. Illuminating the reception and the host.

Halima walked gingerly to the host and marveled when she was greeted first. "Good evening Ma'am, welcome to The Cactus Place. How may we help you?" Halima's mouth dried but she quickly answered in a voice that didn't seem like hers.

"I'm here on a dinner for two. Reserved under Abubakar." The lady smiled wider, if anything at all and called a young lady standing by.

"Please take the Mrs to Mr Abubakar. He's seated at table four, outside." The lady smiled again ans welcomed Halima. Halima frowned. This thing was getting out of hand.

Halima then followed the person she was asked to follow. Wow was an understatement for the beautiful of the interior. The ambience hit you at the door, the warmth, the soft lighting and the soft music from the violinist playing in a corner.

When she reached Jamal, he was already on his feet. He thanked the lady who brought her and sat Halima by himself.

"This place is so beautiful." Jamal smiled as he sat.

"It sure is. The ambience was what i was looking for." Halima shook her head ruefully and picked at the fish fork in front of her.

"Thank God I had the sense to call Summayah for the dress code, I'd have worn just anything and probably embarrassed you." He frowned and took another sip of the juice a waiter had left in front of them together with their menus.

"I'm wearing a Kaftan. There's nothing that screams casual more than that." Halima laughed. A Kaftan on him screamed elegance. It made other men want to put it on. It was a completely different story for him.

"Well, I'm glad you like the place. I just hope you like the food." Halima nodded ans wondered how to ask him to question that had bothered her since she received his call in the morning.

"Jamal." He looked up from his menu with a smile.

"Is this a meeting or a date?" Jamal who was leaning his elbows on the table before leaned into his chair and smiled again.

"Would you leave if I said it was a date?" Halima rolled her eyes at his expert evasion and shook her head.

"Well, there you have it. It's a date." Halima tucked her lower lip into her mouth and chewed on it in thought.

"Why me?" She asked him when she found how to say it.

"Why not you? You're beautiful, smart, kind, elegant. I want to get to know you better." She stared at him till she shook her head to clear it.

"Well, I better make proper use of such a beautiful place ans food then." Jamal sighed as she spoke. He had been worried she'd leave.

"What did Jariyah's teacher say?" He leaned back and sighed again.

"That we need to move her to basic four." Halima's mouth dropped open. "Why? From Basic two? Isn't that a bit too much?" Jamal shook his head.

"Apparently, she solved all basic three exam questions. For all three terms. They feel that we don't need to waste her walking her through classes when she could be doing other special things." Halima nodded. Understanding.

"Well, we'll always choose the best for her." Jamal's said yes and Halima gasped as she thought of what she said. 'we' as though she was Jariyah's mother.

"Let's order." They summoned the waiter and ordered a few things they liked off the menu.

"You don't like shrimps?" Halima shook her head laughing. "I can't take the shell out without feeling one way so I try not to eat it." Jamal nodded and pointed at her food with his fork.

"So, you like to keep it simple and all. Because you could have had seafood rice instead of the old boring Jollof rice." He stated.

"Well, It was the cheapest on the menu." Jamal frowned and called the waiter standing by the door.

"Did you give the lady a menu with the prices?" The young man nodded. Jamal rolled his eyes at him.

"Thank you." The waiter bowed slightly and left.

"Sorry about that. You should have had what you liked regardless of the price." Halima looked up from the meat she was meticulously cutting.

"Well. I like this one just fine." He nodded.

"What was it like loosing your husband?" Jamal asked as they cleared the second course plates.

Halima sadly smiled and said. "I think it didn't hurt as much as I expected it to. Knowing a few circumstances surrounding his death and how it could have been avoidable. But, it still rankled how he died and the events that followed it. Mainly, those things taught me not to totally trust people." Jamal nodded.

"You?" He sighed and waited till the waiter who brought coffee cake had left.

"Well. Nadia's own shook me. For a few weeks I couldn't think straight, you know then I began forgetting my kids at work, at your shop." Halima laughed at the memory, it seemed like yesterday.

Jamal's eyes brightened up all of a sudden as he spoke. "Hello."

Shadows fell over the table, darkening the area around the table.

"Jamal and his Mrs. Good evening Madam." Halima's heart skipped a beat when she saw who was greeting her.

"Hello. Good evening." Jamal signaled the waiter to quickly bring chairs for Adeel and Nabeela Hassan.

She nearly could not breathe, her role model was here. What date could trump this?

*****

Hi y'all 👏🏽

Good evening.

☺️😁😁There you have it, our babies went out on a date. Ikrrr. 😩😩😩

This chapter is for Azeeyza, thank you sweetie for all that you do. I see you♥️😘😘

See y'all soon.

TheOmoope