Dedicated to heemranh_ she always makes me laugh with her comments.

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Lara Akinwummi was a grey haired, smallish woman with a pleasant face.

"Hello you're right on time." She said coming down the stairs. They lived in an upper class neighborhood that had left Amirah almost speechless with how magnificent most of the buildings looked.

Amirah was dressed in a teal colored abaya with a matching veil, her face was bare of makeup but...

"You're so beautiful wow." Mrs Lara said pulling Amirah up for a hug and Amirah towered over her considering she was average height and still on heels.

"Muhammad, my boy." Doctor Akinwummi said patting Muhammad on his back.

"How're you doing sir?"

"I'm fine." Then he fake-whispered, "does your wife has equally beautiful sisters?"

Lara turned to him with a glare and he bursted out laughing raising his hand in a surrending manner.

"I'm asking for a friend." He defended.

"What friend? The dead ones or widowed and old?"

"Lara!" He chided and she shook her head at him.

Amirah loved how they interacted, playfully. Unconsciously, her gaze went to Muhammad and he winked at her, if closing both eyes could be considered a wink. She shook her head at him and gave him a perfect wink.

"Show off." He mouthed.

"Loser." She mouthed back.

She noticed both their hosts were looking at them amusingly.

"Young love." Lara said stretching to pat Muhammad softly on his cheeks, the woman was so short, it was cute.

They all sat down and were served drinks. While Muhammad talked to Doctor Akinwummi about a critical patient, Lara moved closer to Amirah.

"So tell me how'd you both meet? How was your wedding? Do you wish to go back to that day?" Lara asked dreamily and Amirah shuddered, she'd never wish to go back to her wedding period... Never.

"The wedding was nice and well, I wouldn't wish to go back I mean we have to live in the present now you know."

"True, true. So how'd you meet?"

Unfortunately Muhammad heard and decided to chip in.

"Oh you see I had to pick up my cousin from the Federal ministry of works and just as I was standing there calling his number, I felt a tap behind me so I turned and saw this beautiful girl dressed in her NYSC uniform smiling at me weirdly. I asked her what she wanted and in the most unsexiest voice I've ever heard, she said she wanted my number."

Everyone bursted into laughter except Amirah who was looking at him appalled.

"That's not how it happened." She protested.

"Really? You didn't smile weirdly or your voice wasn't unsexy?" He had a wicked smile on his face.

"You walked up to me and asked me for my number and when I didn't give, you were following me around like a puppy and totally forgot about your cousin until he found you pleading for with me for my number, he then joined and when I gave you because of him, you happily hugged him and kissed his bald head."

This time Muhammad didn't join the laughter, he had a slight frown on his face.

"But that's not how it happened."

"That is exactly how it happened."

"No, you got it wrong, I also kissed Idris on the cheeks and that was when he pushed me off and I fell landing on my butt."

They had dinner and decided to play a game of cards. Doctor Akinwummi and Muhammad both lost leaving Amirah and Lara to play but they both shook hands and said it was girl power and they wouldn't play against each other because they were both winners.

"Who run the world?" Lara asked.

"Girls!" Amirah said in a high pitched voice.

"Who run the world?"

"Girls, girls."

"Oh before I forget, I have some designs I wanted to show you. Come with me upstairs." Lara said standing up excitedly, Muhammad smiled at Amirah as she went with Lara.

"That's the trick she uses to get the ladies alone so they can talk about absolutely everything." Doctor Akinwummi said switching the channel to one showing football highlights.

The room Lara took her was large and had a king sized bed, two plush couch were arranged opposite each other with a small center table between them.

Lara opened her wardrobe and brought out almost ten new wrappers and laces.

"Akin is always buying me things I don't need." She complained dumping the materials on the bed.

"Sit, sit." She gestured towards the bed and Amirah sat down sinking in.

"You both are so cute and happy together, it's almost enviable." Amirah said with a small smile.

"We've been married for thirty three years so what do you expect? Akin is my best friend. He was just twenty seven when we got married, I was twenty and pregnant."

"Oh, you were pregnant?" Amirah asked interested.

"We lost our baby and I thought it was because we didn't want the child from the start, we moved on with our lives immediately and both thought, a child will come at the right time, when we're both ready, I guess we'll never be."

Her voice was sad and Amirah was left feeling awkward. Before they'd left the house, Muhammad had told her that they were childless and when they'd stepped into the huge house, she imagined how it was living here alone with your husband and the domestic staffs.

"But things haven't always been rosy actually. I got to realize I and Akin, we're two different people and neither of us were ready for the situation we found ourselves in. How long have you been married dear?"

"Uhmm, five months."

"Young marriage, this time is usually the sweetest, this time and when you're old like us." She said laughing. Amirah joined her too knowing that there had been nothing sweetest about their marriage these past months.

"Marriage has never been easy and it'd never be, you can never know it all when it comes to being married dear. Some days you'd wake up tired of it all, tired of seeing your husband's face, even the littlest of things he does irritates and pisses you off, that doesn't mean you don't love him, it just means you're human and that you aren't perfect."

Amirah nodded, letting her words sink in.

"There's three guides to being married, understand, communicate, connect. You'll not be able to have a happy marriage without these three things."

"Connect how?"

"Emotionally, physically, spiritually. Connect on all levels with him dear."

"Thank you."

"So take your pick." She said gesturing to the materials on the bed.

•••• •••• •••• ••••

Monday came quickly. Amirah sat in the passenger seat, sifting through her documents. Ruqayya and Zulaihat were at the backseat talking about finally meeting some Dayo Rowland, a bestseller writer who was also amaziiingly hot.

"I mean it's hard enough to find a male writer but a handsome one, now that's gold." Ruqayya said with a giggle.

"I'm probably going to drop you off before we get to where you are both going to if I hear another word about this Dayo Rowland again." Muhammad complained.

"Spoilsport." Ruqayya said pouting.

"He's just jealous he isn't talented or handsome." Zulaihat chipped in.

"Now one of that is a lie, right Amirah?"

"Mmmh yeah, definitely." She answered absentmindedly as she read the document on her thighs.

Ruqayya groaned, "Yaya is so unromantic, he doesn't even have a pet name for his wife."

Muhammad scrunched his brows, "she isn't complaining, right Amirah?"

"Yeah, yeah." She flipped the pages.

"She is, call her something sweet like Baby, honey, cuddly, Hon'bun, sunshine, wifey, pookie, snook..."

"Wait! Stop! Eeew, let's forget about all the rest of the cringy names, what is cuddly? What's pookie?" Zulaihat asked.

"Cute names to call one's spouse durrh. Okay Yaya, what'd you use to save her number?"

"Hayati."

Ruqayya frowned, "now that's waaay too common, come up with something else."

"Her other number is saved as Habibty."

Ruqayya squealed and clapped excitedly, "yes, yes, better."

"What's going on?" Amirah asked looking behind her confusingly.

"Nothing Habibty, absolutely nothing." Muhammad said giving her his awkward wink. Ruqayya squealed again and put her hand on her chest dramatically, Zulaihat shook her head at her friend and Amirah turned back to her documents.

"Goodluck Habibty." Muhammad said as she got down from the car.

Ruqayya sighed contentedly, "I'd never get used to this."

Amirah stared taking on the beauty of the huge building before taking a deep breath and heading in.

A/N:

My two favorite characters? Lara and Ruqayya.

Who are yours?

Long time, no Hajiya. Let's check up on her in the next chapter shall we?

Also who else can't wink perfectly or in a not-awkward-looking manner? Please let me not be the only one on this ship.

Thanks so much for reading, I appreciate.

Don't forget to click on that tiny little star there and also please leave a comment, I love comments more.