Chapter 4 Bitterness II

"Halal a wife is supposed to be the problem solver in the family and not the problem. In our case, you're the problem Halal. You're a big problem!" Valentino spat venomously.

Halal stared at the ceiling blocking out the harsh words by humming a Tasha Cobb's song. "You're the problem Halal, the problem in my life Halal. If you like act like you can't hear me" Valentino hissed.

Halal shot out of the bed unable to hold back the hurt anymore. "If I'm such a problem to you Valentino, then why don't you divorce me?! What's holding you back Valentino, there's nothing tying you down here. Why haven't you left me, why do you keep coming back?" Halal shouted.

Valentino glared at her, chest heaving and eyes blazing with anger. "Why haven't you left me, Valentino, why are you still with me? I can't give you children, I don't have money, I have nothing, I'm not as beautiful as the women you hang around, why are you with me, why haven't you gotten another woman, why haven't you kicked me out? If you aren't satisfied with me, then leave and stop bugging me" Halal screamed kicking the fluffy indoor slippers by the bed.

"Shut up and don't you dare speak to me that way!" Valentino yelled back. "You're such a terrible wife you know, aren't you ashamed of yourself Halal?" Valentino asked throwing her a disgusted look.

Halal stared back angrily, she knew it would be wise of her to hold back and stop exchanging words with him but her anger wouldn't let her. Her anger fueled her, gave her the courage to reply to him. "Why should I be ashamed Valentino? I'm twenty eight years, it's not like I'm way past my menopause. And you call me a terrible wife, what kind of husband uses his wife's weakness against her especially when she's vulnerable?" Halal asked.

She held back a sob before turning away from him. "You never fail to throw it in my face that I can't give you children, how is it my fault Valentino?" she asked throwing her hands up in frustration.

Valentino narrowed his eyes at her "Trying to guilt me won't work Halal, you're the cause of our childless state. Something is wrong with you that's why you can't give me children" Valentino sneered.

"There is nothing wrong with me and you know that, I'm fine, medically, physically and even spiritually" Halal spat. "Maybe the fault is from your side, maybe you're the reason why we can't have children!" Halal said furiously.

"My fault, there's nothing wrong with me. You're the one who is abnormal, after all your own mother couldn't have children till she turned 40. Perhaps she passed down the trait to you that's why you're useless, but let me tell you something Halal. I'm not your father, I'm not going to wait around till you turn 40. In two years if there is no child in this house, I'm kicking you out. I'll give you the divorce you want!" Valentino said harshly.

Halal wrapped her arms around her waist. He'd brought her mother in to the conversation, she still couldn't believe he'd done that or why he'd done it. It was the lowest of all blows.

Halal stared at him in disbelief, it was as if her angelic husband had suddenly grown horns and a tail.

She sighed and went over to her wardrobe. Valentino stared at her, a menacing look on his face as She took out a batik caftan and her favourite vintage scarf.

"What are you doing?" He asked her his nose flaring slightly. Halal slipped the caftan over her underwear and wrapped the scarf around her head full of naturally curly hair.

"Halal" Valentino pinched the bridge of his nose trying to control his temper.

Halal sighed before turning to him. "I'm tired Valentino, and you know....I'm not sure I want to have a baby with you anymore. I don't know what kind of father you'll make to our children" Halal's voice broke at the last sentence.

She pulled the door knob and walked out of the room leaving Valentino in the room. He felt a tinge of guilt cloud his mind but his pride would not let him go after her to apologize for all he'd said.

Halal drove out of the compound at a blinding speed. She felt a kind of heaviness in her chest every time she recalled his statement.

'I'm not your father.....' Halal wiped away angry tears from her face.

How lovely, she'd wanted a man like her father, but she'd married a jerk instead. Truth was that He wasn't a jerk from the beginning, he was a lot like her father.

Handsome, romantic, attentive, wise and a whole other qualities women found desirable. Now the need for a child has turned him into a monster, he'd even threatened to throw her out of the house.

Halal pressed her hands to her face as she tried to control the storm of emotions swirling within her. "Be calm Halal, be calm" she kept muttering to herself. It was a habit she'd picked up from Aunt Patricia, when ever she was feeling emotional, she'd chant a mantra over and over till she got better.

When she finally calmed herself down and took her hands off her face, it was too late to control the messy situation in front of her.

Unable to stop the car in record time, She bumped the rear of the Toyota Camry in front of her and fell forward. "Oh my God!" she gasped in disbelief. Thank God her seat belt was intact. She looked out of the car in fear, and hoped no harm was done. Turning off the ignition, she looked at the steering wheel a little confused.

What just happened?

"Oh God what have I done?" she asked herself as a big framed woman got out of the other car.

"Come down from your car right now!" the woman yelled marching towards Halal's vehicle. Halal's eyes widened as she tried to gauge the kind of trouble she was in.

She quickly got the seat belt off her and got out of the car. "Madam I'm so sorry, I'm ready to pay for whatever damage I must have caused," she said quickly.

"Halal?" the woman said but it didn't register in Halal that the woman had just called her name.

"I'm sorry my eyes were off the road for a few seconds and....oh my God. I'm such an idiot. I should never have left the house like that" Halal muttered more to herself than the woman.

"Halal Abraham!" the woman looked excited now. Halal paused mid thought and stared at the woman more confused than ever. How did this woman know her name, more importantly by her father's name and not her husband's?

"Do I know you?" she asked.

"Oh God, have I grown so different that even my secondary school mother doesn't recognize me?" the lady was smiling.

"Secondary school....Daria? Halal's eyes stared in complete shock. Daria, when did skinny Daria grow so fat? Most importantly how? her Daria had always wanted to be a model.

"Yes, it's me, oh my God! I'm so happy to see you" Daria threw her arms around Halal in pure excitement.

"I'm happy to see you too Daria, oh my goodness. Look how grown you are, you're so much bigger now. Bigger than I am" Halal said.

"I know, I've grown so fat that even you that I spent a lot of time with could not recognize me" Daria smiled.

Halal pulled away, her eyes crinkling. "Oh, sweet heart you look lovely. Don't mind me, my mind wasn't exactly focused" Halal said. How could she forget the girl who was like a junior sister to her?

"And you look like you haven't aged a day, life must be good. You look so beautiful, then again you've always been beautiful" Daria said.

"You and your flattering skills" Halal shook her head a little amused. She knew she still looked the same, she'd inherited her father's smallish stature, her father's fair skin and his full, curly hair. The pink plump mouth was her mother's, the button nose and long eyelashes that framed her eyes. Her dark eyes were also her mother's.

"Where have you been? I heard you were married but there was no means of communication. You just cut me off" Daria frowned.

Halal sighed "I didn't cut you off Daria, he made it clear that I wasn't to contact you again. There was nothing I could do but respect his wishes" Halal said sadly.

"Oh... You know how he can be" Daria said a little uneasy. She made a mental note not to mention him again.

"I'm sorry for not trying harder, it's all in the past now Daria. Let's talk about the present, I'm so happy to see you" Halal said sincerely. She didn't have genuine friends, seeing Daria reminded her of how happy she used to be.

The duo tried to catch up after Halal phoned her auto repair man to come to get both cars. After inspecting the damages, he hailed a cab for both of them and told Halal he'd phone her once the cars were at his shop.

Halal and Daria proceeded to go to a coffee shop nearby since Halal wasn't occupied and Daria mentioned that she was coming back from a party.

"So what's new Daria, did you get your degree?" Halal asked sipping an iced coconut milk mocha macchiato.

Daria shook her head "No, you know I wasn't too crazy about school. I dropped out in my third year, married for love and now we have four children. I'm into cosmetics now" Daria said.

At the mention of children Halal's heart sank. "Oh.... I'm so happy for you" Halal said with a sad smile on her face.

"How about you? I heard you married one handsome, loaded dude" Daria winked.

Halal nodded "Yes" Valentino was really handsome. when he'd stated his feelings for her in the beginning, it had been hard for her to believe he was real.

He was rich, handsome and everything she'd wanted. And now, he was everything she hated.

"I'm sure you two have passed on your lovely genes to some mini you at home" Daria smiled taking another slice of pizza.

"Oh no..... I don't....." her voice broke a little but she willed herself to be strong.

"We're not ready," She said concealing the truth.

Daria looked genuinely surprised. It was Halal who put the idea of love, marriage and plenty of children in her head. What changed?

"We both have pressing matters to deal with" Halal continued.

Daria reached out for Halal's hand. "Whatever it is, I hope it works out for you. I can't wait to see you happy with as many kids as you want" Daria said.

Halal smiled feebly. "I hope so too," she said mildly.

Daria equally smiled. It was so obvious that Halal was unhappy but she didn't want to pressure her with questions today.

Perhaps some other time, Daria said to herself. She wanted to know exactly what was wrong and how to fix it.