Chapter 9: Chapter 9

ABUJA, NIGERIA.

And now, Amani is going to see her mother as it is Sunday. She's missed her mother, father and brothers a lot so she got up early and finished the last touches of some aso ebi that will be collected the next day. She knew she is going to spend all her day there and so will her husband with her brothers. She's missed her banters with her brothers a lot and can't wait to go and disturb their peace. They never are too playful but with her, it's on another whole level.

She finished sewing and meandered to her kitchen to make something quick for the three of them. Deciding on making simple pancakes and soak it up with their favorite Burberry syrup, she made chocolate mousse and placed them on the table. She made her way to the bathroom to take bath when Mika'il joined in with a mischievous grin etched on his lips. She only shook her head with a smile and scold him before they took the bath together.

She got dressed into another set of ankara with admiral plus patterns and white canvas. She sew it into two step flying peplum and matching blue belt she made with silk around her midriff and the hand is layered then the neck bateau. The skirt is fished in a mermaid like way that has her hips flaring and the back is longer with some inches sweeping the ground gracefully. She left the room not tying the head tie and letting her full blown Fulani hair resting behind her in curls.

"I'll drop you and spend some time with your brothers then go to Zara." Mika'il said from the closet coming out in metal slacks and v-neck sand dollar dress shirt with short sleeves.

"Okay then. You can come and pick me up when you're done." She replied and kissed his cheek then made her way to Anaan's room.

She met her playing around the edges of her bed as she claps and stand on it. That is not the first time she is standing with the support of furniture but it doesn't stop Amani's heart from fluttering seeing her like that. She took her in her arms and played with her then made her way to her bathroom and gave her a quick bath while playing with her in the water. She wouldn't leave the bubbling suds and kept playing around then raise her hands up when she was tired.

Dressing her into an azure Victorian neckline baby shirt that has glitters all around it, she grinned. For the skirt, she removed Aegean wrap skirt that stopped a little above her knees and she encased her legs in the white Zara baby shoes Kulthum brought her some days back. She took white headband and tie it gently on her head. She admired her baby by taking too many pictures like always then they took many selfies with filters as Anaan kept grinning with each filter that comes up.

"I hope I'm allowed to join." Mika'il walked in with a simple grin and together they made it a photography day.

After their breakfast, Amani made her way back to their room and removed her Aegean slippers, matching purse and white veil. She tied her head tie in a side fan and made good pleating like an expert before they left the house to her parent's. It is a thirty minutes drive from her own home which they make memorable with their endless chatter and like of music that kept changing in the car.

"Assalamu Alaikum mutanen gidan nan, the people of this house." She yelled out loudly walking into the house Anaan in her arms while Mika'il holds her purse and Anaan's baby bag with him.

"Waalaikum assalam bakin gidan nan, guests of this house." She heard her mother replied from the stairs as she slowly descended in her poise enigmatic steps which Amani always tried copying when she was young but couldn't.

"Mami na." She ran to her mother like she was still a kid when her daughter is still in her arms and the skirt is not helping the matters but that didn't stop her from settling in her mother's arms as she landed on the last step of the stairs.

"My daughter. How's your health and your baby?" Her mother gently asked as she guide them together to the living room where Mika'il is sitting silently on one of the couches.

Both mother in-law and son in-law exchange hearty pleasantries since they are used to each other. He's been her children's friend since she can't remember and she was there for his naming ceremony so there wasn't any awkwardness between them. It is just her naïve daughter that was so into wanting to learn how to sew to ever noticed the guy prowling around their home almost all the time before her brothers disappear for their passion.

"Are you trying to be slim again?" Her mother narrowed her eyes at her after Mika'il left to go and wake up his friends. They never were morning people right from the beginning.

"No, Dr. Mariya. I was just not into eating too much flours now and that's all. Please don't go lecturing me about this doctor stuff. It messes my brain." She begged in a beseeching way making her mother sigh and took her granddaughter in her arms.

Dr. Mariya Ishaq is a woman from Maiduguri who has been passionate about helping people and saving lives. When she got married to Bushra Amani's father an equally passionate and hardworking man, she got to fulfill her dreams. She wasn't allowed to go to university as hands are pointing at any woman who goes to university unmarried so she prayed to Allah to give her an equally determined husband who will let her continue going as some of her friends didn't get to because of their husbands.

She is a slender woman with tender touches and kind words. She is very strict when it comes to discipline so she will proudly show everyone that her children are different from any others. Even with busy tight schedule of the hospital, she gives time for family no matter what. They mean the world to her and without them, she wouldn't be able to breath. She loves her husband and children like loving breath and showed them love that they won't ever have to go searching for another outside their home.

She is a great doctor who is working alongside the renowned doctors in the country. She is almost amongst the high earned paid doctors in the country.

"He is getting married to Zara huh? And everything is your fault. Wallahi I'm not going to tell you what to do and what not to do. I've already told you what needs to be told before the marriage and now, you are not getting married but your husband so, do what you think is right and make sure your marriage is saved. Mika'il is a great man and you know that better than anyone else. See me here, I'm old but your father never mentioned liking another woman to me talk less of marrying her but you, just a year into marriage, you are already facing co-wife problems." Her mother concluded, delicately sipping her tea albeit shaking her head.

"I know, Mami. Everything is now good between us but I won't stop him from marrying her since everything is already starting." Amani tentatively sipped her coffee and gave her daughter a feeder so she can sip her sterilized milk.

"Chumki!" She heard one of her brothers calling from the door to the living room where they are sitting at with her mother and daughter.

"Bambino!" She grinned widely and stood up to go and hug him tightly to her body. He is her big brother and also the biggest teddy bear out there.

"She only has one Bambino now, I know that since." His twin brother rolled his eyes upwards when he saw that she isn't ready to leave her older brothers arms. They've always been inseparable right from day one.

"C'mon, Bambin." She laughed when he grimaced at the name but she hugged him nevertheless and kissed his gruffy cheek. She removed the o from Bambino since he is younger, that is how she did for her other brother too.

"And she hates me since I am her immediate brother. She will never forgive me for break her maminina." She heard her immediate brother saying to her husband but she didn't bother telling him she's forgiven him when she's said that more times than she could count.

Maminina is a baby doll that she has since when she was a baby and he broke it four years back with his car. It fell from her hand when she went to welcome him but he mistakenly matched it resulting to it breaking. He went out that day before even dropping his legs home and started looking for another maminina but he didn't find anything like that instead bought her a big cuddling bear for her which till date, she has it in her room.

"I won't forgive you, Bambi." She move to him and flung herself in his arms like a koala. Everyone knows how she hugs and if you are not strong, you both will fall off.

"I thought so too." He grinned and held her in his strong arms then released her after sometime.

She moved back and stared at the four strong tall men that will intimidate any crowd of goons or henchmen while the sight will make every girl's knees weak, checking their makeups in mirror all the while hoping one of them approach her and just ask her for directions. They are just too good to stay together with that dark golden rich skin of theirs that is always glistening with melanin. They have that trait in their family, oily skin runs in the blood and so does her husband's family.

And not to talk about their bulky arms and the long width of their shoulders that went on fro forever. They are always exercising as if the hell is about to catch up with them but that is what comes with their work. Her husband hardly works out though they force him sometimes so he is not as bulky as they are, much leaner and taller.

"You look so small again." Her first brother, Mujaddad scolded in his usual gruff tone that he uses whenever he feels like she did something wrong. Though all her brothers are possessive, his is on another level.

"That's what I've been wanting to talk about earlier when I saw her photograph. I thought it was only my eyes or the photo." Mujahid, Mujaddad's younger identical twin gruffed out too. Their tones are identical so if you don't know them too well, you can't differentiate them.

"I second that or is it third that? Mikhail, do you feed my baby sister well?" Murad raised a brow at their friend who rise both his hands in surrender and nodded.

"I will like to know whether he feeds my daughter too or not. How can you be so small in between your brothers and husband? I couldn't even see you and thought they were talking to you over the phone." She saw her father walking into the room in his slate set of kaftan and babban riga featuring a Zannah Bukar cap and his wired glasses are perched on his thin Fulani nose.

"Dada am!" She ran to him with roaring energy and hugged him extra tightly like the daddy's girl she is.

"Baddo am." He patted her head which has no head tie, she flew it away after settling down with her mother. She's always hated having the thing around her head which is why they always scare her with genie just so she could put it on around the house.

"I missed you so much, Dada am. You don't even call me everyday now and don't even ask about your mother." She pouted at him to which he laughed at and pulled her cheeks, their usual banter.

"You know I've been busy with my firm. There is a case I'm trying to solve and Alhamdulillah, it is done. Now you have your father's attention whole." He beamed and guide them all back to the living room giving his wife a small hug since there are more people around them.

The living room is gigantic. There are white couches that are adorned with black throw pillows. A center table stood huge in the middle of the plush expensive Victorian white couches and has a long candle on it used only for decoration. A black lush Ishfahan rug sat calmly on the floor encasing every inch of the frost expensive tiles. There is a stairs that winged up by the right, it is decorated with golden baluster taking everyone's attention as soon as you settle you feet in the room.

Pleasantries were exchanged yet again before calm and fluent conversations started going on in the room. Everyone is heartily eating as some tea were served which no one could turn down. The housemaid is known for so long and her tea is always out if the world especially when biscuit is added.

"I miss having you around the house. Now I feel like I just build bricks without human, those three are too cold. I am beginning to regret sending them to military, honestly." He glared at his sons hauntingly.

"C'mon, Dad. We are not that boring." Majahid wiggled his brows and the others agreed instantly. Anything to defend military.

Instead of them to look a little different, they look very alike. Some might think they are triplets.

Barrister Abubakar Sadiq Danbazau, a renowned lawyer and judge who recently opened his own law firm. A man from Adamawa state where no one believed in him, even his parents didn't believe in him when he needed them the most. He only has his wife to support him and push him to be who he wants to be. He became who he is only because of his wife passion, support and determination.

And now after he is successful, his parents are now eating from what they forbid him to. Everyone around the country talk about him, be it threats, compliments or bad words but there is always some things said about him time and time again which helped Amani's business. His support was something she will forever appreciate. He is her role model and he never folds her hands, not once.

He asked her to sew him a set of kaftan and she told him she is not an expert when it comes to that, males. He brought a tailor that can sew men's clothes and he helped her sew that. When he wore it, he went to the media and told them his daughter sew his clothes for him but she is only into woman's clothes so they should ask their wives to send their clothes for her to sew and her mother did the same thing. From then, Amani got too busy sewing clothes to even think about any other thing.

Her family, her world.

Even her brothers told their friends to bring their sisters and wives and they did. Is there any other thing better than those type of family members? There are no one like them!

"I have a plan for you, baby sis." Murad grinned mischievously at her and she clapped his hand in high five.

Having three brothers as soldiers and a renowned barrister as a father, a talented doctor as a mother, she could slap even the president and run away with it, not even his daughter. And with a pilot as husband, she will leave the country silently.