AYAD

Chapter 19

After their nuptials, they spent a whole six weeks enjoying each other's company, each other's body and the beautiful decision they made together. It was finally time to reveal their marriage to the Ayad family. They had planned to have dinner with Mr. Ayad, Mrs. Ayad and Sarai.

Granted, Mr. Ayad already knew. Dabir met with him early in the week to let him know about the marriage, because Dabir wanted to mitigate any unnecessary drama that may unfold in front of the family. Mr. Ayad was at first confused, but it quickly began to make sense. By the end of the meeting, all he felt was heartbreak that he did not get to be there to witness the union.

Gracie and Dabir had just gotten out of the steamy shower together and Gracie walked into the bedroom to pick out the cream sweater dress that she wanted to wear for the night. She felt horribly queasy and took a seat on the edge of the bed. The nausea was on and off for a few days, but she couldn't figure out why.

After the wave of nausea passed, Grace got the dress and slid it over her freshly lotioned body, she noticed the buzzing of Dabir's phone in the background. "Baby! Someone's calling you."

"Who is it?" He asked from the bathroom, with a towel loosely wrapped around his waist, he steadily lined up his beard with trimmers.

Gracie walked over to the nightstand where his phone charged. She reached for the phone and then froze, a sinking feeling in her stomach.

The caller ID was as clear as day: BABA

Her heart beat sped up, her mind immediately going to the fact that Dabir's family still didn't know of their marriage. Gracie picked up and quickly walked it over to the bathroom.

Dabir was still focused on his beard, "Who is it?"

"It's–um, it's your dad, babe."

Dabir turned the trimmers off with a swift click. He was looking at himself in the mirror, letting out a sigh.

Just then the call ended. Almost instantly his dad was calling back. Dabir took the phone out of Gracie's hands and accepted the call. Right before Gracie's eyes, she saw the serious and stoic side of Dabir return as he held the phone up and said "Baba, ajb ealaa alhatif."

The phone was not on speaker phone but from where Gracie stood, she could hear the screaming and the crying. Dabir's face was straight, as he listened to his fathers panicked talking and the desperate crying of his step mom in the background.

Gracie felt anxiety course through her, she stood frozen in place, fearfully waiting for the call to end and to find out what happened.

Minutes went by before Dabir placed the phone down and used his both hands to grip the counter top. He tilted his head down and closed his eyes, a slew of different emotions making their way through his heart and mind. Gracie put one hand on his forearm and the other on his back. "Baby what is it? What happened?"

Dabir's took deep, staggered breaths. He wanted to open his mouth to talk but couldn't bring the words to his mouth. Painful tears rose to his eyes and he fought like hell to suppress them back down.

"Please, you're scaring me. What happened? Is everything okay?"

"I–" Dabir cleared his voice to prevent it from cracking. "It's Saheed. He's–."

Gracie took a step back in shock, she held onto the counter to brace herself. It was extremely uncomfortable for Gracie to talk about Saheed to Dabir. "What happened to him?"

"Don't worry. I will go handle it."

"Are we still going to dinner tonight?"

"I'm sorry, Habibti. Tonight is no longer a good night for that." Dabir smoothed her hair out her face and kissed her. "Come, I will drop you off with your mother before I go."