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Jasmina

It was midday, and the family was landing in approximately eight hours.

I was in the worst mood of my entire existence. I was suffering from back pain that made me want to lie in bed all day. It had been over twenty-four hours since Fawad had left for work, and Hania seemed to be in a bad mood as well because she kept screaming and throwing tantrums over the smallest of things. 

Groaning, I realised that I had to get up and get some work done, as everyone was coming tonight. Tears filled my eyes due to sudden fatigue and the pain in my back. I walked into Hania's nursery, and it seemed like my little miss had just woken up from her nap, still in an awful mood. She had thrown out everything from her cot onto the floor, including her Hani doll and her blankie. 

"Hania, for the love of Allah..." I shook my head as she held out her arms, an angry pout on her face. I pulled her out so that I could tidy up her cot, and set her down on the floor. I got down to pick her stuff up, wanting to cry as a sudden sharp jolt of pain ran up my back. 

Meanwhile, Hania was picking up her fallen toys and was angrily throwing them all over the room.

"Hania, stop it!" I told her off in a calm tone. 

But she didn't listen. Instead, she threw her Hani doll at me, furiously. 

I took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. She was only two and wasn't aware of what she was doing.

And then she picked up her bottle and threw it right at me, hitting my stomach.

"Hania, stop it!" I yelled, losing my patience.

She visibly jumped, startled, and her eyes filled up almost immediately and her lower lip began to tremble.

The moment the words slipped out of my mouth, I instantly regretted them- or at least my tone.

She ran out of the room, crying. Naturally, I followed, terrified that she would head towards the stairs.

"Hania, Mama's sorry." I wanted to cry and run to my mother myself, but right now I had to set aside my personal feelings and take care of my Hani.

Luckily, she didn't go towards the stairs. She headed towards our bedroom, calling out, "Hani Papa!" She searched around the room, as if he was playing hide and seek with her, and when she didn't find him, she started crying harder. 

"Hania, come here." I sat down on the bed and held out my arms towards her.

She pouted for a while, but then walked up to me, burying her face in my lap.

"Maa dantati bhi hai, aur jab aulaad roti hai dant se to chup bhi wohi karwati hai." Papa used to tease Ammi whenever such incidents used to occur when we were kids.

*"A mother tells you off, and she is also the one to console her child if they cry because of the scolding."

"I'm sorry, Mama ki jaan. I shouldn't have yelled at you." I ran my hand over her head repeatedly. "But don't worry, you Nana Jaan and Nano will tell me off for the next few days if that happens again." 

The thought of everyone being around for the next few days made me feel selfishly relieved. The thought of my mother being around, especially, made me tear up again. These days, I often wanted my mother. It hadn't been this bad when I was pregnant with Hania, but then again, I was in Lahore during my pregnancy with her. I had everyone around me, including my in-laws and my own family, and even when Fawad was at work, there was always someone else around to take care of me. It was damn difficult to manage a pregnancy with a toddler, on my own, especially with Fawad's working hours. I know that I wasn't the first or only woman to do it, but right now I was too overwhelmed to care.

I put aside my issues and looked at Hania. "Are you hungry, baby? Come on, Mama will make you a sandwich, okay?" 

We bought jars of fruit flavoured jams from a Pakistani store. These jars were imported from Pakistan, and even I used to spread these on sandwiches as a child. Hania loved them just as much as I used to. I made her sandwiches, cutting off the crusts, and sat the plate on her high chair. It was impossible to get her to eat anywhere else. Pouring juice into her sippy cup, I set it beside the plate. 

Hania ate quietly, and I was worried that my yelling had deeply shocked her. On the iPad, I played Cocomelon songs for her, something that she was obsessed with, but she barely paid attention. 

I deserved to be yelled at by my parents for this.

"Hania..." I stood beside her, running a hand over her head. Allah! I hope I haven't seriously traumatised my child. I will never forgive myself for that!

But then she offered me a bite of her sandwich and I smiled, relieved. "That's okay, meri jaan, you eat it." 

I guess Hania was just missing her Papa, that was all.

****

As the time began to pass, I began to panic.

Not only had Iman became more active, adding to my discomfort, but Fawad wasn't home, and I was panicking that we wouldn't be able to go to the airport to greet our family.

I was a cocktail of emotions: frustrated, irritated, miserable, sad, upset, angry, and every negative emotion that I can think of. I was worried that by the time my husband came back home, Hania would be terrified of me.

Fawad returned home at almost three, when Hania was getting ready for another nap. I was watching TV and she was lying on the sofa beside me with her head on my lap, her eyes drifiting close slowly.

"Assalam Alaikum!" I almost sagged with relief as he entered.

"Walaikum Assalam." He looked beyond exhausted. 

"Papa!" Hania immediately sat up, all sleep forgotten. 

"Papa needs to clean up before huggie time, Papa ki jaan." He told her, softly, even as she pouted.

"Khana gharam karti hoon. Aap fresh hoke aajayein." I said.

*"I'll heat up lunch. You go and freshen up and come."

"Nahin, yaar, bhook nahin hai. Thakawat bohat hai. Thodi dair so jaaon, phir airport bhi jaana hai." He yawned.

*"No, I'm not hunry. I'm too tired. I'm going to sleep for a bit, then we have to go to the airport as well."

"If you're that tired, I can take a cab and go alone." I told him, even though I wanted him to come along. "You have been away for almost twenty seven hours. Go and get proper rest." 

"Acha nahin lagta ke saare itni dour se aarahe hain, aur main na jaaon laine." He shook his head.

*"It doesn't look good that everyone's coming from so far away, and I don't go to greet them."

"Main houngi na, aapki representative ek sense main." I smiled.

*"I'll be there, a representative of yours in a sense." 

"It's okay. Two or three hours should be enough." He yawned, before heading out of the room.

"Papa!" Hania jumped off the sofa before I could stop her and ran after him.

"Hania!" I stood up, stifling a groan as my back felt like an elephant had sat on it- okay, that was an exaggeration, but I've made my point.

"Hani Papa!" She called out again, holding out her arms as he stopped to look at her. 

"No, meri jaan. I can't right now." He looked like he was in a dilemma, but I knew for a fact that the husband of mine would never touch either of us until he was showered and changed after coming home from the hospital. He was too doctorly to do that.

"You go, I'll handle her." I said, even though I just wanted to give up on everything.

He frowned, his gaze running over my face. "You don't look okay, Mina." 

"It's nothing. Fawad, go and get some sleep!" I looked down at Hania. "Come on, baby. It's nap time anyway." 

And so, my husband and daughter slept while I came downstairs for at least an hour of resting. I lay on the sofa and started watching Suno Chanda*, my current binge-watch whenever I could.

*I'm currently binging on it, now on Season 2. Why hadn't I watched this before?!

I guess I fell asleep there, exhausted from everything.

Ammi, jaldi aajayein please. Mujhe aapki bohat zaroorat hai. That was the last thing I remember thinking before I fell into deep sleep.

*"Ammi, come soon please. I need you a lot."

****

Fariha

The airport scene was almost hilarious, as all of us disembarked from the aircraft. The first issue occurred when there was a long wait for Zaid's and Ibrahim's prams by the aircraft door, during which the other kids got frustrated.

Then there was a long walk till Immigration, during which Ismael starting whining until Arhaan Bhai lifted him up onto his shoulders.

When we got to immigration, there was a huge queue. Since the parents, Arhaan Bhai and Sadia Bhabi were Business passengers, they went through the fast track lane because of Ismael and Ibrahim. Ammi asked me to come with them, because of Zaid, but I decided to stick around with my family, Zoya and Ahad. We were in the queue for at least forty-five minutes, because it seemed that quiet a few flights had arrived at approximately the same time.

Saad was so irritated by the time we cleared Immigration that he raced out as soon as are passports were checked, heading towards the large baggage reclaim area.

"Saad!" I called out, frustrated.

"I'll get him." Zafar looked equally exhausted, but he jogged after Saad. 

"Where are the passports?" Meanwhile, Ammi, who was already waiting for us, began to panic, rummaging through her bag.

"I have them, Fatima. Calm down." Papa shook his head.

Although Zoya was a British citizen and didn't need to wait for any of us and could have gone through the e-gates, she chose to stay with us all, and was the only one looking fresh and happy. She happily took Zaid's pram from me, asking me to just relax.

And then came the luggage part, where everyone scrambled to get their own luggage. The poor guys did all the heavy lifting, including for the bags of the parents. At this point, Saad had already attempted to climb up onto the baggage conveyor belt (stopped by Zafar),  and Ismael was crying because he wanted to do the same. Omar, tired, was sitting on an empty trolley, looking like was about to fall asleep any minute. Zaid and Ibrahim were sleeping peacefully, without a care in the world.

"I feel like our baggage took up most of the space in the aircraft hold." Zoya grinned, cheerfully. She had spotted her bag and had lifted it off the belt herself, not wanting Ahad to burden himself further. He got a little annoyed at her for not letting him lift it, but she rolled her eyes and told him to, "Stop being a macho man!"

"Mamma, I'm tired." Omar looked at me, yawning. 

"We're almost done, beta." I told him, giving him a small sympathetic smile. "You'll get to see your Mamu soon! Aren't you excited!" 

"And Hani!" He grinned. He absolutely adored Hania like a little sister. Truth be told, he wanted a little sister, as he had innocently expressed to me once. I just told him, 'If Allah wills', which was true. Even though I wanted no more kids, if Allah had planned more for me, I wouldn't complain about it either. 

"With those biceps, you could lift me up, Ahad jaani." I overheard Zoya compliment her husband, and I bit back a smile.

Ma Sha Allah, they are an amazing couple.

Finally, finally, finally, we were all done. We all checked and counted all the bags and then made our way to the exit with our countless luggage trolleys, prams and exhausted kids.

When we came out into the arrivals area, we couldn't find Bhai or Bhabi, even though it wasn't very crowded out here. 

"Where are Fawad and Jasmina?" Ammi looked puzzled.

"Maybe they forgot? Or maybe they changed their minds." Ahad looked amused. "I'm sure they've even changed addresses so that we don't arrive at their place by ourselves." 

"Mamu!" Omar yelled out suddenly, and we turned to see a tired looking Bhai walking towards us, carrying Hania.

"Where's Jasmina?" Afreen Aunty wondered out loud.

For the next ten minutes, we all greeted each other, with Hania being transferred from one person's arms to another, like we were all playing 'Pass The Parcel' with her. My sons had wrapped their arms around their beloved Mamu, excited to see him, and in Bhai's arms was Zaid. 

"Jasmina couldn't come, she was absolutely exhausted." Bhai explained. "I tried waking her up, but she asked me to come here without her as she wanted to carry on sleeping." 

As a mother of three, I could totally relate to my Bhabi.

"You've been staying out of legal trouble, right?" Zafar teased my brother, who laughed.

"I try my best, Zafar. It's hard." Bhai shrugged, before handing Zaid over to him. He then turned to hug his best friend, Arhaan Bhai. "I'm glad you come, Bhai. It wouldn't have been the same if you hadn't come." 

"Thanks for inviting me." Arhaan Bhai said, simply.

"Tenu invite di zaroorat hai sade kar?" Fawad Bhai grinned. "Apni pehan da kar samajh."

*"Do you need an invitation to come to our house?"
"Consider it your sister's house."

We all laughed at that.

Ammi, Papa and Afreen Aunty went with Fawad Bhai, but they couldn't have anymore people because of Hania's car seat. And if there wasn't a law against it here, the kids would have gone along with them. 

The rest of us took cabs. 

Saad and Omar fell asleep along the way, and even I began to doze off, but I kept myself awake because Zafar was up front, so I had to hold Zaid, as he couldn't hold him on the front passenger seat. Imagine a police officer being stopped and questioned by another police officer for breaking the law.

After what seemed like forever, we arrived outside my brother's beautiful home (Ma Sha Allah). Bhabi was standing at the door, smiling happily as she watched us all arrive, one by one.

I got out of the cab, yawning. "Ya Allah! I'm so tired." 

"I can take the first shift with Zaid tonight." Zafar offered as he took out the luggage from the boot of the cab. "You didn't sleep a wink the entire way." 

"You really don't have to..." I began to protest. 

"I want to, Fari." He gave me a heart-stopping smile, and despite my tiredness, I suddenly began to feel well-rested, if that makes any sense.

"Fariha!" Bhabi greeted me with a warm hug as we approached her. "Assalam Alaikum!"

Because Ahad and Zoya had relatively less luggage, Ahad instantly came over to help Zafar with ours. Even Omar was dragging a smaller trolley. 

"Walaikum Assalam!" I hugged my sister-in-law. "How are you and our little Iman?" 

"Abhi se hi shairarti lagti hai, Ma Sha Allah." She replied with a smile. 

*"She already seems mischievous, Ma Sha Allah." 

"Aww, Ma Sha Allah!" I said. 

"Lagta hai apne Ahad Mamu pe jayegi." Zoya said as she came forward to greet Bhabi.

*"Seems like she'll take after her Ahad Mamu." 

"Absolutely correct, Zoya!" Afreen Aunty nodded.

"It's so good to have everyone here!" Bhabi looked around. "Fawad will show you to your rooms and..." As she began to describe the room arrangements, she was interrupted by both of the mothers. 

"Absolutely not! You both are not giving up your room!" Afreen Aunty said, firmly.

"Aunty, it's not an issue." Bhai began.

"No." His mother-in-law shook her head. "Absolutely not." 

"Okay, well, let's all actually go inside before we decide that." Bhai said. 

There was going to be a long discussion before everybody finally agreed with the rooms.

****

1. Bhai and Bhabi were going to keep their room, and Hania would be with them.

2. One room was for Ammi and Papa.

3. One room was for Asad Uncle and Afreen Aunty.

4. One room was for Arhaan Bhai and his family (Bhai and Bhabi had already sorted out the travelling cots).

5. The fifth room, Hania's nursery, was for me, Zafar and Zaid.

Ahad and Zoya volunteered to sleep on the sofa bed downstairs, even though Bhai and Bhabi were strictly against it. However, they let Omar and Saad take the sofa bed, while they themselves slept on mattresses in the study. However, the boys ended up getting scared alone, so Bhai ended up going downstairs to sleep on the other sofa, even though Zafar had volunteered to go. Telling us that we must be exhausted after the flight, Bhai went downstairs.  

Bhabi called her mother to join her in her room, so Afreen Aunty ended up with her and Hania. 

Ahad couldn't sleep because he wasn't used to sleeping in a new place, and Zafar couldn't sleep because Zaid couldn't sleep because of being in a new place, so Zafar went downstairs with the baby boy, and Zoya came upstairs to my room, and this is how we slept the rest of the night.

I have to say, it was a very hilarious situation.

It turned out that the three guys: Zafar, Bhai and Ahad ended up awake most of the night because of various reasons. Zafar because of our son, Ahad because of the new place and Bhai because he was not used to sleeping on the sofa and was not comfortable after an apparently exhausting shift. 

But the awesome thing was that nobody complained. Not a word.

Everyone was happy in this very desi environment.

****

I was the first one up the next morning, and I came downstairs as quietly as possible, before heading to the kitchen. 

I was just setting the kettle full of water, when I felt a hand on my hips, startling me.

"Shh!" A hand covered my mouth before I could scream, and I turned to see Zafar standing there, looking sleepy.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" I whispered, lightly punching him on the chest.

"Look, Fari, you and I can sleep in the study tonight, with Zaid, and the boys can be in the living room. Ahad and Zoya Bhabi can be upstairs." 

"Bhai would never agree to this." 

"He will if the Damad of the family demands it." He said, cheekily.

"Astaghfirullah! Are you going to use your position as his behnoyi to convince him?" I couldn't help smiling.

"It's for their own sake." He pointed out. 

Bhai walked into the kitchen then, looking terribly sleepy himself. "Oh, sorry!" He immediately turned away when he saw us.

"That's fine, Bhai!" I was embarrassed. "You're up early!"

"I was thinking of going to get some breakfast before everyone was up." He yawned. "But I can't. My wallet and keys are up there and Afreen Aunty is in there with Mina." 

Zafar burst out laughing, and I turned to look at him like he had grown horns. "I'm sorry. The whole situation is just funny. But I didn't mean to laugh."

A slow smile appeared on Bhai's face. "We're desis, it's normal. But I'll try to come up of a better arrangement for tonight. This for poor planning on my part." 

I still found it sweet how he never blamed Bhabi for anything, even though, if we look at things technically, this would have been a joint plan, and not just his.

"Come on, Bhai. You invited us all over to your home. This is perfect enough." Zafar smiled. "And, we came up with something. Our whole family will be downstairs, and Ahad and Zoya Bhabi can take Hania's room." 

"No frickin' way in hell." As expected, Bhai shook his head. "Mina and I will come downstairs before we let you both sleep here." 

"Bhai, trust me. Neither of us have an issue with that." I reassured him. "We'll be fine. In fact, with the boys in the living room, it just makes more sense for me and Zafar to be down here." 

My elder brother was looking away, thoughtfully.

"Are you regretting inviting us all?" I half-joked.

"Don't be silly." He immediately replied. "We'll think of something. Don't worry, okay? Nobody should feel unwelcome here. In fact, if there's anything that makes you uncomfortable, let me or Mina know." 

Afreen Aunty came downstairs then, and apologised to Bhai for taking over his room.

"Aunty, please don't. It's fine." He smiled. "Mina has been missing you for the last few days anyway, so this worked out very well." 

"We can find a hotel, Fawad." She said.

"Well, you can, but at the risk of offending me." Bhai told her.

"And, if you don't listen to me and Fari, you'll offend me." Zafar immediately took the opportunity and spoke up. "Stick to our plan, it works out well." 

Bhai looked at him, hands on his hips. "Well played, officer. Very well played." 

We all laughed at that, and despite the lack of sleep from the guys, everyone was in a pretty relaxed mood. 

No drama so far, and hopefully none to come.

****

Ahad

I dragged myself up the stairs, searching for Zoya. 

Fariha Bhabi and Zafar were both downstairs, so my wife must be up there alone.

As I got upstairs, Arhaan Bhai was coming down the hallway. "Oh, hello. You look familiar, man. Do I know you?" 

He chuckled. "I'm sure a good kick in the backside will help you remember." 

"I dare you. I'm not that stupid kid that you can bully anymore." I flexed my biceps. "I work out, bro." 

Zoya chose that moment to come out of the room, and she burst out laughing immediately. "Good one, Ahad. Keep reassuring yourself." She patted my arm and began to walk past me as Bhai laughed as well.

Why are wives such traitors...with really good backsides? I checked her out as she walked towards the stairs.

Bhai cleared his throat. "Thoda lehaz vaday pra da kar leya kar, khotay."

*"Have some consideration for your older brother, you donkey."

I then realised that Zoya had gone downstairs, whereas I had come up here only for her.

Usually our family involved drama. This was quickly becoming a bad comedy.

"One large happy family." I muttered, as I followed her downstairs, realising that I probably wouldn't get some romantic time with her with literally the whole house full of family and extended family.

Maybe a hotel nearby has a Honeymoon Suite available? I thought, a small smile appearing on my face.

****

Somehow, that afternoon, the original family ended up together in the living room: our parents, Bhai, me and Jazzy.

Fawad Bhai had taken his parents out while running some errands, and car-loving Hania had gone with them. Fariha Bhabi and Zoya had taken the Omar and Saad, as well as Zaid to a nearby park, while Zafar was taking a nap in the study room, after an exhausting night. Sadia Bhabi was also resting with her sons in their room.

"Jasmina, beta, you look like you've been overworking yourself." Ammi told my sister. "You looked much healthier when you were expecting Hania." 

My sister just smiled, leaning her head on Ammi's shoulder. "It's nothing like that, Ammi. I'm getting to the stage where everything becomes exhausting. It's normal." 

"Do you do all the housework yourself, or is there a maid to help you?" Ammi suddenly looked worried. "Jasmina, Ma Sha Allah, it's a huge place. You can't possibly manage this by yourself!" 

"No, Ammi, a couple of maids come over regularly to clean up. With Hania, it's a difficult job for me to do this myself, without even taking Iman into consideration." Jazzy replied.

"With Fawad's work schedule..." Ammi began to say, but stopped. 

"He takes great care of me, Ammi. I promise." Jazzy reassured her. "But you realise that he's a doctor and his work schedule is not always guaranteed. But you don't worry about me, because I'm very happy. Alhumdulillah." 

"You don't look happy." Ammi shook her head.

"Afreen, stop reading too much into things." Papa told her. "Please don't say things like that, okay?" 

I know what he was implying. These were potentially drama-causing wordings. 

And if Fatima Aunty overheard this, may Allah help us all.

Maybe it's a terrible idea for us all to stay here together.

****

Jasmina

My back pain had increased intensely, and I was thinking of taking an appointment with my GP to find out whether this was related to my pregnancy, or was it something else.

It wasn't like I was less bigger during my pregnancy with Hania. I was basically the same size, so I didn't understand why I was in so much pain.

"Mina, I'm going to sleep." Fawad said, the moment he returned from his trip with his parents and Hania.

"Did you go anywhere apart from the supermarket?" I asked, curiously.

"Do get a blow-up double mattress." He replied. "If Fariha and Zafar will be sleeping downstairs, they'll at least have to be comfortable." 

I nodded. "I still don't feel right about it, but yeah. If they insist, then they should at least be comfortable." I searched through the bags of shopping. "Fawad, did you bring it?" 

"What?" He looked at me before realisation dawned on him. "Oh, crap. No. I'm sorry, it slipped my mind." 

I'd asked him to get me some raspberry ripple ice cream, because I'd been weirdly craving it since breakfast, and the craving had just rapidly increased now that I didn't see it. "I just asked for one thing!" I snapped.

"I'm sorry, Mina. I'm severely sleep deprived. I forgot." He looked as irritated as I felt.

"Yet, that's the only thing you forgot!" I taunted him. Ya Allah. I'm going to hell. "You know what? I'm not even going to bother asking you for anything the next time. You have no consideration for me!" I burst into tears and walked towards the kitchen door, but stopped.

My mother-in-law was standing in the doorway, looking very unhappy.

****

Maybe it is a bad idea for the two families to stay together.

Mina's exhausted and in pain, and she's snapping at everyone that she would never even think of snapping at in normal circumstances. But would the cause problems for her?

Would this supposedly 'fun' trip end up a complete disaster?

Thoughts and comments?

Thank you for reading and don't forget to vote!

**Sorry if the chapter is disappointing and boring. I think I'm going through a bad phase..**

I'm such a hard worker. It's 03:06 in the morning here as I'm about to publish this. I'm obsessed with this story.