Jameel lay on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. He had just returned from work, exhausted and drained, the last thing he wanted was to be welcomed by a nagging wife. He had barely even had the chance to take off his coat before she started accusing him of things he knew absolutely nothing about. He was so confused yet he tried to reason with her but she was not ready to listen to him. It seemed like every little thing he did set her off. Since her younger sister left, she started complaining about every little thing, always finding fault with him. She even went as low as disrespecting his mother.

He heaved a sigh. He knew that his day was far from being over.

Jameel knew that he was not perfect. He had his flaws, just like anyone else. But he was doing the best he could. He was working long hours to provide for his family, just so he could be a good husband and father. Seemingly, nothing he did was ever good enough for Afrah. Ever since the incident which he regretted with every fiber of his being—hitting her—he felt like he had been walking on eggshells around her, always trying to avoid setting her off. Always went out of his way to do things to please her, but no matter what he did, she always found something to complain about. He was tired of it. He was fed up with her constant nagging and criticism.

Jameel shook his head. He couldn't keep living like this, always feeling like he was walking on thin ice. For the first time since he got married to Afrah, he felt he needed to make it known to Afrah that he was not a pushover and that it was not okay for her to speak to him the way she deemed fit. He realized it was time he manned up. His love for Afrah had not decreased in any form, but he couldn't take the constant pressure anymore. It was getting too much. He needed to put a stop to it.

As much as Jameel did not want to fight with Afrah, he needed to convey how he was feeling to her. He did not want to keep pretending that everything was alright when in fact she was making him feel low about himself. He had been trying his best to understand and be there for her whenever she needed him. He only wanted the same energy from her. Not constant nagging.

He was still engrossed in his thoughts when he saw Najah in front of him. He didn't even notice her entrance.

Wordlessly, she sat on the edge of the bed, watching him.

Jameel sat up.

Najah cleared her throat.

"What?" Jameel asked, uninterested.

"I heard you and Afrah."

Jameel resisted the urge to transfer his aggression to her. "Okay, and?"

"I know it's not in my place to ask, but I really want to know what's going on, and if there's something..
Anything I can do to help the situation."

"Please," Jameel beseeched. "Can you stay out of this? I don't want to talk about it. My head is hurting right now. Just leave me alone."

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

Jameel nodded. "Please just leave."

As Jameel expected, Najah stood up and left without making a fuss. Afrah would have burnt the room down with her mouth.

Why couldn't Afrah just be like Najah?

Thinking about the things Afrah had said to him, Jameel couldn't help but feel a tad guilty about Hajiya not visiting them. If he was being truthful to himself, he knew there was an atom of truth in what Afrah had said and in a way, her feelings were justified. If indeed it was Najah who had given birth, his mother would have rushed to the house to take care of her and the baby.

Picking up his phone, he dialed his mother's number.

"Assalamualaikum, Hajiya," he greeted as soon as she picked up the call.

"Wa alaikum salaam warahmatullah wabarakatuh, Jameel. How are you doing? How's Najah and everyone else?" Hajiya asked.

She hates us.

Jameel didn't fail to notice how she only mentioned Najah's name. Afrah and Fawaaz were 'Everyone else'?

"Najah, Afrah, and Fawaaz," he mentioned. "Are all doing fine, Alhamdulillah. The same goes for me. I hope you are feeling much better now?"

"Yes, I am. I feel a lot better now."

"That's good to hear. Masha Allah. Your grandson is longing to see you...so I was thinking of coming to you tomorrow and bringing you back here with me. This way, you will be cared for a lot better here. There's me, Najah, and Afrah too."

"I would have loved to come but I can't right now. If I leave, who will be able to take care of my livestock the way I do? When they are a bit grown, I promise to come. I also can't wait to hold him in my arms and shower my blessings on him."

Jameel hummed. He wasn't really convinced with her excuse but at the same time, he couldn't disagree with his mother. "Alright, Hajiya, in Sha Allah."

"My regards to them. Assalamualaikum."

"Wa alaikum salaam."

Immediately after the call ended, Jameel kept the phone aside and massaged his temples with his thumb and index fingers. Speaking to his mother, he realized Afrah was not entirely wrong to feel the way she felt but her manner of approach was wrong and provocative.

Zealous to resolve the issue between them, Jameel decided to call Afrah's mother and complain to her instead of keeping it bottled up and making it escalate. He needed a solution and she was the only person he could think of venting to.

"Assalamualaikum, mum. Good evening, ma." He greeted her when she answered the call.

"Wa Alaikum Salam, Jameel. How are you doing?"

"Mum, there's something I need to talk to you about...I don't know if I can do that right now."

"You sound..." Her voice trailed. "Is everything okay? Afrah?"

"Don't worry, she's fine. Fawaaz is fine too."

"Alright, go ahead and tell me. I'm listening."

"It's about Afrah...I didn't want to do this but she pushed me to the wall. I don't even have peace in my home anymore."

"Calm down and tell me what exactly happened."

Jameel heaved a sigh to calm himself. "I returned from work today very tired and went straight to Afrah's room to see her and the baby. Upon entering the room, she attacked me with accusations and even disrespectfully addressed my mother. I understand that the arrival of our child has been stressing her but that shouldn't be reason enough for her to go off at me at every given chance. She doesn't even speak to me like I'm her husband anymore. She talks to me the way she likes. I didn't use to mind but it's getting too much now. It's like she is beginning to take my calmness for granted. A little respect from her is all I ask. I give her respect to the maximum. If there's a problem, as adults, I expect her to come to me with it in a respectful manner and we can reasonably resolve it, not by nagging or throwing blame at my mother and accusing her of hating her and even her grandchild.

"This is not the first time she's insinuated this...I always let it go, but today she called my mother a tribalistic woman. She was going on and on, and I had to stop her otherwise she would have insulted her—"

"Haba!" Mrs. Amina interjected. "Afrah would never do that. Insult your mother? I didn't raise her that way."

"I'm trying my best to be the best husband and father there is," Jameel continued, ignoring Mrs. Amina's interjection. "She complains that I work too hard...I'm doing all these just for them. For my family. I love Afrah so much but I'm beginning to get fed up. The way she handles a problem is just not it. I have been patient. Allah knows that I have."

"Jameel," Mrs. Amina called.

Jameel didn't answer. He couldn't bring himself to as he was furious.

"You do know that there's something called postpartum depression, right? Have you sat down to think she's acting that way due to frustration? Afrah is new to motherhood. Everything may seem so strange to her, making her act that way. I'm not trying to justify her actions. I'm not even taking her side right now. I just want you to put in a little more effort in understanding her. I know you've been doing that, but I need you to do more. Instead of getting angry and frustrated, attempt to understand her struggles and help her in any way possible. Despite her temper, Afrah has a soft heart. If you decide to shout when she shouts, I'm afraid nothing will be solved. Do you get what I am saying? You two have been blessed with a child. This is the worst time to be fighting. Is that the kind of environment you want your child to grow up in?

"As you already know, we women are hard to understand. A woman is like a coconut. Hard on the outside but soft on the inside. Keep being patient with her and everything will be fine. Marriage is about understanding, patience, commitment, and love. Don't worry, I'm going to talk to Afrah. I promise she is going to change. Just continue doing your part. May Allah ease your affairs, and may He keep the shaytan far away from your marriage."

"Ameen. Thank you, mum. I didn't want to involve a third party, but I'm glad I spoke to you about this. It's been on my mind. I needed to let it all out."

"And I'm glad that you chose to speak about it to me rather than someone else. Remember the things I said, okay? I will speak to Afrah. I will make sure she apologizes to you. Everything will be the way it used to be. You still love her, don't you?"

Jameel nodded. "I can never stop loving Afrah despite everything." He muttered the last two words under his breath. Sometimes, he couldn't help but wonder how he still loved Afrah after all the stress she had put him through. He couldn't even stay mad at her for a long time. For a fact, he knew he would forget all about his anger the moment he would see her again.

"That's good. Give me a few minutes to speak to Afrah before meeting her."

"Alright, mum. Thanks again." Jameel ended the call and groaned. "Afrah!"

•

Jameel walked into the room; his hands clasped together in a gesture of humility.

Afrah was standing beside her bed, holding a seemingly sleeping Fawaaz against her chest. She saw him and irritatedly averted her gaze elsewhere.

The tension in the air was palpable.  Jameel could feel it. Afrah's anger had not diminished or lessened in any form. The anger was practically radiating off of her in waves. Jameel thought it might be the wrong time to speak to her. She did not look like she was ready to listen to him at all. He knew he wasn't entirely at fault—maybe only to a small extent but like Mrs. Amina told him, he knew it didn't matter if he wanted peace to reign in his family.

Jameel cleared his throat, then spoke softly; "Is he sleeping?"

Afrah didn't respond.

Jameel hummed. "I know this phase of yours is overwhelming and..." His voice trailed as he was trying to pick his words carefully. "You've been going through a lot of stress. I completely understand that. It was not my intention to raise my voice at you. You know I would never intentionally do anything to hurt you. I appreciate your efforts."

"Lies!" Afrah gently put Fawaaz back in his cradle and faced Jameel; her eyes shimmering with tears. "You don't understand anything. You don't! You just don't care about me. You care only for yourself. If you cared about me, you'd see that I have been suffering all by myself. I hardly even have time for myself anymore. Every night, I'm awake because the baby is awake but you sleep comfortably. Is that considerate? I just want you to ask yourself that question. Is that fair? Why do I have to be in this alone? You're supposed to help me! We are supposed to do this together, not you trying to push blame on my father."

Jameel swallowed. Afrah was still not accepting her mistake. He was trying so hard not to get defensive for it would only complicate the issue further. That was not why he returned.

With a deep breath, Jameel cautiously approached her. He hesitated for a few seconds before reaching out and gently touching her arm.

She flinched at his touch, but he didn't withdraw. Instead, he held his ground, determined to make things right. "I'm here to listen, to understand, and to support you, Afrah," he began. "I hate it when we're like this. I just want to make things right again. I strongly believe in us. We're a team remember? Help me understand what I have to do to make things right."

"What changed?" Afrah asked, surprised. "A while ago you were yelling at me. You didn't even want to listen to me. You invalidated my feelings!"

"I know," Jameel sighed in an attempt to keep his frustration at bay. He was trying his best to make peace and move forward, but she was busy trying to take them back. "It wasn't my intention. Never will I want to make you feel that way, my Afrah. I'm sorry."

At his apology, tears ran down Afrah's cheeks.  It was as if she hadn't expected him to approach her with such vulnerability.

Jameel took that as his cue to pull her into his embrace.

And he did.

"I'm exhausted, Jameel," she cried against his chest. "This is all too much for me to take. I also don't like being like this. I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you."

Jameel wrapped his arms around her tighter; his heart aching for her pain. "We can find a solution together. Let's start by talking, by understanding each other's perspective, and by being patient with each other. We are in this together. I don't want you to ever feel alone again. I'm going to take a few days off work."

As they stayed in each other's arms, Jameel felt a sense of relief wash over him. He knew that with Afrah, there would be more arguments and misunderstandings in the future, but he was determined to be her rock through it all. Her emotional support.

•

Jameel deserves Husband Of The Year award 🥰😙

Don't forget to vote, comment and share 😊

A new book soon? Can't wait to finish this one 😋

deey_jah
～♡♡