S.K. Ali

The Eid Gift

fc ♡

I turned to Bertha’s upturned face. “I can’t believe Z worked on her fear. You’re going to love her. But never ever as much as I love my Z.” 

Zayneb cuddled into me, and, seriously, I was the happiest person on earth. 

HE REALLY WAS. And Bertha Fatima bint Muhammad Al-Fihriya Al-Qurashiya and I were too

I wanted to bring Fatima bint Muhammad Al-Fihriya Al-Qurashiya home to us. (Yep, I’d named my gray cat at the shelter after the woman who’d founded the first university in the world. And, yep, I couldn’t wait to use her full name when she did something naughty.)

"WHERE’S BERTHA?” SHE ASKED ME, lying on my chest, tracing my shoulder with her finger. 

“Are you surprised? That she’s not here?” I tilted her chin up and looked at her before kissing the little space beside her right eye, where there was a small scar she’d told me about a long time ago. 

I tucked in a hair for her, lingering on the way it curled, something I’d wanted to do forever. “Z, it feels like I’ve been waiting forever.” 

“But I don’t want our first make-out session to be beside a dumpster,” she said, leaning up on her tiptoes to kiss the edge of my mouth before leading me down the alley toward the parking lot.

I stopped her, and we kissed some more before I agreed to leave

When I came out into the hallway at the back of the restaurant, she was there. Zayneb. She put a finger to her lips and pointed at the fire door that had huge red writing announcing DO NOT OPEN EXCEPT IN AN EMERGENCY OR ALARM WILL SOUND. 

“I accidentally checked it. It doesn’t have an alarm,” she whispered, before grabbing my hand and opening the door with panache. 

She kicked it shut behind her and pulled me to the brick wall in the back alley of the restaurant. “I’m sorry it’s beside a dumpster, but anywhere I’m with you is the best place in the world for me,” she said, lifting her hands up to wrap them around my neck, her eyes bright with joy. 

I bent down, and when our lips met for the first time, the world disappeared. 

My hands went around her waist, and I held her like I never wanted to let go

I could see that Adam had turned to me, a big smile on his face, his head shaking in disbelief. On his way back to his seat, he came by and said, “Really? You got me a huge slab of olive wood?”

 I nodded, beaming. It was my wedding gift for him: olive wood for an art piece he kept telling me that he wanted to make one day. 

Right before he sat down, before he turned to our audience of well-wishers, he mouthed I love you so only I saw.

 I said it back, but I didn’t care if everyone—in the prayer hall, in the entire world—saw. I was so happy, I couldn’t stop smiling.

Until I cried when he put his mom’s ring—his mom’s ring—on my finger, our hands touching on purpose for the first time in the almost four years since we first met.

That’s when we walked into the prayer hall together, and Adam, wearing the most amazing dark gray suit, which fit him perfectly, turned around from where he was standing with the imam. Everyone in the hall, sitting on the floor, saw our eyes light up upon spotting each other, saw our instant smiles

"I’d like you to give Zayneb Mom’s ring.” 

I looked at Dad before looking at the ring, tiny diamonds lining a big central rock, then lining the band all the way around. Tearing up, I hugged Dad.

 “One of the reasons I had to come, Adam,” Dad said. “I wanted Mom here too.”

I literally couldn’t take my eyes off Zayneb. She was going to be my partner for life in just two short hours. And she was beautiful.

I was getting the best Eid gift in the world: Adam

“You’re supposed to observe your partner and come to a conclusion about their languages.” He took a sip from his refillable coffee mug and raised his eyebrows at me. (One of our mutual love languages was eyebrow movements—we communicated a lot with our brows.) “You’re not supposed to ask outright, Z.”

“Easy. First one: quality time. Second: acts of service. That’s what you love to do and get.” 

“Wow, you’re good.” I lifted and lowered my eyebrows in a series of you-are-the-best-I’m-impressed communications. “Okay, so now let me assess your love languages.” I tilted my head and thought hard about Adam. “Words of affirmation. That’s one for sure. And quality time. Because you love being around me!”

“That’s true, but… hm… maybe the words-of-affirmation one is not the strongest.” He lowered his mug. And lowered his gaze into it. 

His eyes were still down as he took the lid off his mug, something he always did when he neared the last bits of coffee.

 OMG, was he turning slightly red? “Oh,” I said. “Got it. It’s the fifth love language.” 

He looked at me right then and said it plainly. “Yeah. Physical touch. That’s big for me.”

“But what about special? Don’t you want special?”

 “I got special,” she said, sipping tea from her giant refillable mug. She raised her eyebrows high and looked at me. “He’s sitting right across from me.”

 “I’m gonna make dua you always think that.” I leaned back and raised my own eyebrows at her. “Because one day you might not think so.”

 “On that day, please find me the best therapy. Please.”

hello the girl who has my entire heart in her hands

Sarah 

Amira 

fatru tamzil

Nikki

it was a cute novella. i mean reallyyyy cute. i can’t wait for the second book, after reading Adam and Zayneb’s story here. 
Rating: 4/5 stars 
Started and Finished: 30th March 2022

The Eid Gift

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