“Mr. Shaykh! Mr. Shaykh!”

Hundreds of cameras flashed around him. Hordes of reporters yelled his name, all clamoring for his attention. His brow was sweaty, his hands were shaking. He could do this. He had to. This would be only the first of many interviews he would come to do. He had to get used to it. Suck it up and just answer their questions. It would be easy.

“Mr. Shaykh what is your thoughts on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?”

His body froze, his mind went blank. His first question of his career, and they were trying to throw him for a loop…

Houssam sat on the couch in the family room, the baby asleep on him. He was so small, and Houssam was so big that Kareem barely covered even half of Houssam’s broad chest. Hana was going to be there any moment to take over, which was good because he needed to get to Jumuah prayer. He had left the door unlocked because he didn’t want to disturb Kareem and as he heard the door opening, he turned off the television and sat up expectantly.

As she entered the room, he gave her a smile, but she just looked at him a weird expression on her face.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Don’t move.” She said reaching into her purse, and his eyes widened.

“What?! Oh my god is there a bug!?”

She laughed and pulled out her camera.

“Seriously don’t move. Stay just how you are.”

Before he could say anything, she had clicked on her camera, and was crouching slightly, aiming it at the two of them.

“Don’t look at me.” She whispered, and he turned his face down to look at the baby. She looked at him for a few seconds through the lens before taking the shot. She took two more from different angles, the last a close up. She slowly lowered the camera and the two of them stared at each other for a few seconds before Hana cleared her throat and began to put her camera away.

“So you’re afraid of bugs?” she asked with a teasing smile, and he scowled at her.

“No! Of course not! You really think I, a manly man, would be afraid of bugs?! Just the way you were acting made me think there was something!”

“Okay.” She said with a grin, and he glared at her.

“I’m serious!”

“Okay!”

“Don’t go spreading rumors that I’m scared of bugs! They are just creepy.”

“I won’t!”

“I have a reputation to uphold!”

“Calm down Houssam I won’t say anything.” She said with a laugh.

“You better not!” he shifted the baby onto his shoulder, before standing up. “So I should get going. He went down about forty five minutes ago so he probably has another half hour before he wakes up. I gave him a snack before he went to sleep so you can give him lunch when he wakes up. I also changed him about two hours ago so he might need to be changed. I think that is it!” he flashed her a toothy grin, and she smiled back. They had been doing this for two weeks now, and every time one of them came to switch off they gave a little report. It was funny and cute and it made Houssam more comfortable around her.

“Okay InshaAllah.”

Once he had passed her Kareem, he ran a hand through his long hair and she turned her face away. He frowned slightly, as she had been doing that a lot lately. Did she not enjoy his company? He liked being around her. She was funny and he honestly did think she was brilliant. But as the days went on, she started to act weirder. It was as if she didn’t like him. He was trying to be extra nice to her, Houssam was not one who people didn’t like and it was an odd unsettling feeling.

“So how is your article coming?” he asked as she followed him to the front door.

“Oh I haven’t started yet.”

“What are you going to do it on?” he asked as he sat down on the floor and began to tie his shoes.

She shifted uncomfortably, moving Kareem to her other shoulder.

“Um, I actually wanted to do it on you.” She mumbled quietly, and his hands stilled before he looked up at her.

“Me?”

“Yes. If that’s okay with you.”

He pushed the hair out of his eyes, and peered up at her, his brown eyes boring into hers.

“Aren’t you doing influential Muslims in history and today?”

“Yes.”

“Then why would you want to do it on me!?”

She took a step back in surprise.

“Because you have had such a great influence on this country!”

He stood up, towering over her.

“I’m not that great Hana.”

“You don’t see your value?” she asked quietly, and to her surprise, he flushed red.

“I think you give me too much credit.”

“Do you want me to start listing the impact you have had?”

 “Putting a ball through a hoop doesn’t make me important.”

There was a silence in the room as she regarded him for a few seconds.

“You are so much more than that.” She said softly, and a silence fell over them. They stood, the electricity buzzing around them. Houssam was desperately racking his brain, trying to figure out how to respond to such kind words. But he was drawing a blank. Luckily for him, her phone began to ring, and just in time too for the stillness around them was too weird. He didn’t do well in serious situations, and this was just a little too intense for him.

He quickly waved at Hana who had put Kareem on her shoulder and had her phone at her ear, and as she waved back at him, he left the house, jogging towards his car. He had fifteen minutes to make it for Jumuah, find a parking spot, and get inside before the vultures attacked. He knew for sure they would be there, with so many people there who knew him, they would be stupid not to! To his surprise as he pulled up to the Masjid, the security guard waved him through, even though it was already closed. He had expected to have to find parking on the street, but they had a spot reserved for him, and as he got out, he could see the police holding back the paparazzi. There was a blockade surrounding the Masjid, and anyone who wasn’t wearing a Hijab or didn’t have a beard, was being held back by the officers until they could prove they weren’t a member of the media.

.”Houssam! Salaam habibi!” the security guard Younus said as Houssam got out of his car and locked it from the key fob he held in his hand.

“Walaikumasalaam Amu. Barak Allahu Feek for keeping the parking spot for me. Have they been out here long?” he asked as he shook his hand.

Younus shook his head with a sigh.

“Ya Allah they started lining up at Fajr, we called the cops shortly afterwards, and they have been multiplying by the hour.”

As Houssam rounded the corner, the paparazzi began screaming his name, their cameras flashing, and the police rushed into action, trying to stop them from swarming forward.

“Mr. Shaykh! Mr. Shaykh!” they bellowed, and he lowered his head, trying to rush inside as they called after him. Once he stepped inside it wasn’t any better as he was mobbed by a storm of youth, and try as he might, he couldn’t make it past the entrance of the Masjid. To his relief, Sheikh Saad came out, scolding everyone saying that the Khutbah was about to begin, and they needed to go inside the Musalla.

While he tried to pay attention to the lecture, Houssam was finding himself experiencing a state of unease. He wasn’t sure what it was but there was a feeling in the pit of his stomach that he couldn’t shake off. His gut feeling was usually right, and he knew to listen to his instincts. But he wasn’t even sure what it was he was supposed to be following.

***

Hana stood on the edge of the Masjid basketball courts, taking pictures of the players. They were having a youth basketball tournament, and she was covering it for their newspaper. It was due out in two weeks, and she was trying to make sure she had enough things so it would be a legit paper. It was a family event, not just for the youth. The little children were playing on the playground, the fathers were sitting around the courts cheering on their kids, and the mothers were sitting together and chatting. They had two courts, one for the boys and one for the girls. Basma, Ilham’s sister was one of the referee’s for the girls, and another sister, Marwa was the other. Amir and Houssam were the referee’s for the boys, and as Hana raised her camera again, Houssam turned just at that minute, flashing her a smile, and she captured the shot, his adorably crooked grin frozen on her camera screen.

“Isn’t he just the most handsome thing you have ever seen in your life?!”

Hana rolled her eyes at Kalthoum, who laughed, and flickered her eyes back towards the court.

“I mean just look at him. If his muscles got any bigger his shirt would rip at the seams!”

“Lower your gaze Kalthoum.” Hana scolded, though it hadn’t escaped her notice either how incredibly buff Houssam was looking.

The two friends were silent as Hana snapped pictures of the girls, before she turned to capture a few shots of the children who were climbing on the jungle gym, and the parents who were seated around.

“So how are things going? I haven’t see you in a while. How goes the babysitting?” Kalthoum asked, and Hana lowered her camera, scrolling through the pictures she had taken.

“It’s good. Kareem is a cutie. Very curious and so smart MashaAllah. How are things with you? What’s new?”

“Well don’t tell anyone, but Ahmad is engaged.”

Hana looked at her friend in surprise.

“Really!? To who!?”

“Laila.”

“Laila!? My teaching partner!?” Hana exclaimed in astonishment and Kalthoum grinned.

“Yup.”

“MashaAllah! She didn’t say anything!”

“Yeah they only just made it official last night. They are doing the Nikkah next month InshaAllah.”

“Wow that’s fast!”

“Well you know when you find that person it’s hard to wait.” Kalthoum said with a shrug, and Hana resisted the urge to look at Houssam.

“Hey Kalthoum, smile!” she exclaimed, and her friend let out a toothy grin.

“Do you want some soda?” Kalthoum asked, and when Hana nodded she went over to the vending machine, and returned, handing one to Hana. They sat on the low wall that separated the courts from the rest of the playground, and after a few seconds, Kalthoum turned to her, nervously fingering her soda can.

“Hana can I ask you something?”

“Of course. What is it?”

“Is there something going on between you and Houssam?”

Hana froze, the can halfway to her lips, before turning towards Kalthoum in surprise.

“Of course not! Why!?”

“He keeps looking at you.”

Hana’s gaze flickered momentarily to the courts before she looked back down at her hands.

“He is not.”

“You know he is.”

And he had been.

“It’s nothing, he probably is looking at the playground.”

“Why would he be?” Kalthoum asked with a raised eyebrow.

“He brought his sister’s kids. He is probably keeping an eye on them.”

Kalthoum eyed her suspiciously.

“So there really isn’t anything going on between the two of you?”

“No Kalthoum.”

Unfortunately.

“Hmm, okay.”

They talked about trivial things for another twenty minutes before Kalthoum’s phone rang and as she stepped back inside the Masjid to talk where it was quieter, Hana looked back down at her camera, scrolling through the pictures, and lingering slightly on the picture of Houssam. As she heard footsteps approaching, she hurried to turn off the camera, her heart beating slightly as she realized it was Houssam coming towards her.

“Hey Hana!” he exclaimed and she smiled up at him, having to tilt her head way back to look up at his face.

“Hi Houssam.”

“How are things going? Got any good shots?”

“A few.” She said with a smile, and he grinned as well.

“Look this is weird but was that Ahmad’s sister you were talking to?”

Hana’s heart began to beat painfully.

“Um yes it was.”

“What’s her name?”

Silence.

“Kalthoum.” She whispered.

Houssam nodded, stroking a hand down his beard.

“She’s not married right?”