Chapter 24

"How was her first day?" Amaka asked, stopping by my office. I looked up from my work and smiled.

"Awesome. She was so happy and she made friends too!!!" I gushed. "She was so excited to go to school today too."

"That's great." She replied happily. "So no more worry wart Abubakar?" She teased laughing. I couldn't help but chuckle along with her. I had been very dramatic the yesterday.

"Anyway, I'll see you later." She said walking away.

*******************

Hajiya's driver picked Yasmin up from school because I was running late. By the time I came back home, it was evening and I was exhausted. Taking a quick shower to rejuvenate myself, I headed to the main house.

Hajiya and Yasmin were seated on the dining table, huddled over a book.

"Salaam Alaykum" I greeted.

"Wa Alaykum Salaam" Hajiya replied smiling at me as I walked towards them.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Homework" Yasmin piped up grinning at me before going back to the book. Leaning over, I noticed it was Numeracy.

"Why don't I take over Hajiya?" I offered.

"Thank you Abba but I need you to take a package to Najma" she explained gesturing to the brown paper bag on the table.

I nodded grabbing it.

"Okay. Anything else?" I asked.

"No. That's just it." She replied. I walked back to the chalet and grabbed my car keys.

The drive to her house was short, I parked near Khalifa's car and got out, ringing the bell.

Najma opened the door smiling immediately.

"Hey Abba, come in, how are you?" She asked walking into the house. I closed the door behind me and followed her.

"Fine, Alhamdulillah. How are you?" I asked.

"Good good. You're just in time, we're about to have dinner." She said heading to the kitchen.

"Khalifa can you get us one more plate please. Abba's here."

"Sure thing." He replied coming out with an extra plate.

"What's up? Where is Yasmin?" He asked setting the plate on the dining table.

"At home with Hajiya doing homework" I answered. "That reminds me, Hajiya said to give you this." I handed the bag to Najma who peered inside before bringing out a jar of tuwon madara.

"God bless Hajiya" Khalifa praised eyeing the jar. I rolled my eyes at him as Najma kept the jar away from him.

"I can't believe you're still obsessed with this" I laughed shaking my head.

"Tuwon Madara is a delicacy and you're just not elite enough to appreciate it." He retorted. I chuckled and continued eating. After dinner, I helped Najma to clear the table and carry the plates to the kitchen, leaning against the cabinet, I watched her wash the dishes.

Tell her.

"Um... Najma, I... I have something to tell you." I started.

"What's up?"

"Well, I've been thinking and I've come to the decision that I want to adopt Yasmin."

Her hands stopped the washing as the spoon clattered into the sink.

"Najma are you okay?" I asked.

She seemed to snap out of whatever ttance she was in and turned to me.

"You want to adopt Yasmin?" Her voice barely audible.

"Yes. More than anything in the world." I answered. She seemed lost for words as she walked towards a kitchen stool and slid on.

"What's wrong? I thought you would be happy?" I asked frowning.

Why was she acting like this?

"I am, Abba. I really am. It's just... are you sure? There's no going back after this. Maybe you should think about it again?" She advised.

I opened my mouth to reply her

"Think about what?" Khalifa cut in, leaning against the door frame, his eyes darting between Najma and I.

Taking a deep breath and squaring my shoulders, I turned to him.

"I am planning on adopting Yasmin."

He stared at me, shell shock before letting out a chuckle. I frowned ready to argue my point.

"About time."

wait... what?

He laughed at my facial expression before walking further into the kitchen.

"Are you actually in support of him?" Najma asked staring at her husband.

"Yeah, I know Abba can be a lot of things but when it comes to Yasmin, the man is dedicated to her." He explained.

Never thought I'd see the day Khalifa supported me.

"Or you don't think he is serious about Yasmin?" He questioned raising a brow at her.

"No!!! Ofcourse I know how serious he is about her. It's just... this is huge. Like I said, once we start this there is no going back. Oh God, maybe I am just overthinking this. I'm honestly very happy about this Abba. Congratulations." She replied smiling.

"Thank you" I whispered smiling back at her.

"Have you talked to Hajiya about your decision?" He asked.

"Not yet. I wanted your opinions first before I proceeded with her" I explained. They both nodded and we moved to the living room. A few minutes later, I decided to call it a night.

I drove back home and walked into the main house, it was quiet and dark but I could hear the noise coming from the living room.

"Salaam Alaykum" I said quietly walking into the room.

"Wa Alayku Salaam, you're back." Hajiya said looking away from the tv.

"Yes. Najma and Khalifa send their regards." I replied. She nodded and I sat opposite her, my fingers shaking as I gathered my nerves.

"Um... Hajiya?" I started.

"Yes?" She turned to me.

"I need to talk to you about something, concerning Yasmin." I continued.

"What's wrong? Is anything the matter?" She asked.

"No, nothing's wrong. I have been thinking and well, Hajiya, I want to officially adopt Yasmin."

She kept quiet, seeming to digest the news.

"Adoption" She murmured quietly. "This is a big decision Abubakar, are you sure?"

"Yes Hajiya. I'm sure." I replied.

"Very well then, I'll talk to the family lawyer and we will get the procedure underway"

"Thank you" I said smiling. "It's nothing Abba, I'm proud of you."

Her words filled me with a sense of warmth and accomplishment. With that I bid her goodbye and walked back to the chalet.

Everything was going to work out well... In Shaa Allah.

**********************

The rest of the week went by pretty fast and finally it was the weekend, Saturday afternoon to be precise.

I was seated on the checkered picnic blanket in the garden, Yasmin was seated next to me concentrating on her colouring while I tried to catch up on some work.

My phone buzzed and I glanced over to see who was calling.

Khalifa Calling...

"How far" I said answering the call.

"Hey, are you busy?"he asked.

"Not really, what's up?"

"I'm at the polo club for the Charity tournament and we are one man down. Could you come over?" He asked.

"Sure, no problem."

"Thanks man. I owe you one, oh that reminds me bring Yasmin along, Najma is also here." He explained.

I glanced over at Yasmin who was almost done with her colouring.

"Yeah sure. We'll be there."

"Okay." With that he hung up. I gathered the papers and placed them into the binder before getting onto my feet. Yasmin noticed my movements and turned to me.

"Come on Yasmin."

She got up clutching her drawing book.

"Let's go inside." She smiled before skipping ahead of me, I followed her at a more leisure pace.

Hajiya was in the kitchen with two of her maids.

"Hajiya, Khalifa just called, Yasmin and I are heading to the polo club for a tournament." I explained.

"The GT Bank Charity Tournament?" She asked.

"I think so, he didn't specify. He just told me they were one man down so I'm going to be the replacement."

She nodded, gesturing for Atine to get Yasmin ready. I walked back to the chalet to drop the files before grabbing my car keys. I stopped by the closet and changed my trousers to the standard white Polo breeches. I met up with Hajiya holding Yasmin who was dressed in a denim overall and a white inner shirt. She looked adorable. I popped my trunk open and unzipped my polo kit bag. Pulling out the zipped boots and slipping them on.

Hajiya helped Yasmin into the car and buckled her up while I wore my knee pads.

"Goodluck" she said smiling. I smiled back at her and got into the car, glancing at Yasmin, making sure she was alright before starting the car and driving out of the compound.

We arrived at the club in 30 minutes. Hoisting my kit bag over my shoulder, I grabbed my mallet.

"Come here" I said gently to her. She walked up to me and I placed my helmet on her. I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped me as the helmet swallowed her entire face. She pushed the helmet back looking up at me, a smile on her face before offering me her hand. I took it and we walked into the building together.

Khalifa was waiting in the reception and he laughed at the sight of Yasmin.

"This has to be the most adorable thing I have seen all week" he chuckled as we approached him.

"Yasmin how are you?" He asked squatting to her level. "Fine" she replied giggling when the helmet covered her face again.

"My Abba's hat is funny" she uttered laughing. "It is isn't it? But it's a helmet not a hat. Can you say helmet?" He asked correcting her.

"Hemmet." She said.

"Hel-met. Helmet." He slowly enunciated. She frowned looking at him.

"Helmet" she uttered, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

"There you go!!!" He cheered giving her a high 5. "Let's go see Anty Najma" he said picking her up. She smiled nodding eagerly.

"I'll see you later Yasmin" I said giving her a quick kiss on the forehead before plucking my helmet from her head and walking to the locker room to meet the other teammates.

Khalifa joined us a few minutes later while I was getting briefed on the postion I was to occupy. I slipped on the Jersey and wore the gloves, fixing my helmet and face guard. We all walked to the stables and greeted the other team.

Due to the nature of the game, we had more than one horse per player as such the stable was filled with more horses than usual. I spied some of our family horses by the side.

The umpire gave us a sign and we mounted our horses, walking onto the field. Once we got into our positions, I turned my attention to the stands, looking for Najma and Yasmin. I found them sitting on the third row. I smiled as Najma looked my way, she said something into Yasmin's ear, pointing in my direction. She smiled waving at me. I waved back before turning my attention back to the umpire.

The whistle signified the beginnings of the game.

*******************

An hour and a half later, the final whistle was blown signifying the end of the sixth chukka and the cheers from my teammates surrounded me.

We had won 12-9.

Samaar who was our team's #1 position led us round the field for a victory lap followed closely by Khalifa in the #2 postion of the team and then I with Al-Amin as our #4.

"Great job guys" Samaar praised as we headed towards the stage that had been set up. Getting off my horse and handing the reins to one of the men standing there, I followed the rest of the team, shaking hands with the organizers and taking pictures.

"Good job Abubakar, you really should be on our team. You did marvelously out there" The head coach applauded.

"Thank you sir, polo is a real passion of mine." I replied shaking his hand. After a couple more photos, Khalifa and I jogged over to the stand towards Najma and Yasmin.

"Congratulations!!!" Najma cried out grinning from ear to ear. "You guys were amazing out there"

"Thanks" I replied before turning my attention to Yasmin who was wide eyed looking everywhere.

"Hello Mama na" I said making her turn to me, she let out a laugh before raising herself up, her arms in the air. Reaching over, I wrapped my arms around her and plucked her off Najma's lap.

Her eyes immediately went to my medal and she fingered it curiously, toying with the strap.

"Why don't we all take a picture?" Najma suggested.

"Good idea" Khalifa said gesturing to a nearby photographer. I stood by Najma's left while Khalifa stood by her right, Yasmin was in my arms.

"Look at the camera Yas." I whispered pointing at the camera man. She looked up from the medal towards the camera man.

We took a couple of pictures together, I took some alone with Yasmin who didn't seem interested in the pictures. Khalifa exchanged contact details with the man.

"Horsie" Yasmin cried out pointing at the horses that were being led back to the stables.

"Yeah, you want to go for a ride?" I asked. She nodded eagerly. Khalifa went ahead of us and got one of our horses.

Yasmin's grip on my shoulder tightened as Khalifa approached us with the horse.

"No need to be scared." I soothed as the horse came to a stop in front of us.

"This is Noir" I whispered, gently stroking the mane of the white horse.

"Why do you call her Noir if her coat is white?" I heard Najma asking Khalifa.

"Suls handiwork" he replied. I cut them out, concentrating on Yasmin who was looking at the horse curiously.

"Come on, touch it" I coaxed, moving my hand to the forehead of the horse. Noir snorted before pressing her head closer to my palm.

"See, she won't bite." I murmured to her, she turned to look at me before turning back to Noir. Raising a hand out tentatively she reached out to the horse. I stepped closer and let her palm replaced mine. She let out a gasp rubbing Noir's forehead.

"That's it. You're doing great." I cheered quietly so as not to spook the horse. "Up" Yasmin said looking at me.

"You wanna ride her?" I asked, She nodded. I moved to the side of the horse before handing her over to Najma. Getting onto the horse, I had Najma lift her into my arms. I settled her infront of me and she immediately grabbed onto the mane of the horse in fear.

"Shhh, it's okay." I cooed, she relaxed and I led the horse into a walk. Once I noticed she was completely calm, I urged the horse into a trot and we circled the entire field twice before slowing down into a walk and heading to the stable.

The stable hand helped Yasmin down and I jumped down, thanking him, we walked to the reception. Najma was waiting there, I left Yasmin with her and made my way to the locker room, shrugging off the jersey and tossing it into the laundry bin. I made my way to the shower stalls.

"Abubakar" I turned to see the head coach walking towards me.

"I just wanted to commend you on the effort you put out there. It was fantastic and to think you were a last minute addition. Here's my card if you ever want to play professionally" he gushed handing me over his business card.

"Thank you sir" I replied smiling, collecting the card. I watched him walk towards the rest of the team. Flicking the card into my bag, I went to shower.

After a quick shower, I got dressed and grabbed my kit bag, saying my goodbyes to the rest of the team, I made my way to the reception.

Najma was seated with Yasmin who immediately rushed into my arm the moment she saw me.

I picked her up, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She tried to grab my helmet but I stopped her.

"It's sweaty. Why don't I hold onto this and you help me with this?" I said pulling out the medal. She nodded making grabby hands at the medal. I placed it over her head gently, she lifted the gold pendant, admiring it.

"I'll see you later" I said to Najma. She nodded smiling, giving Yasmin a quick kiss on the cheek before we walked out to the parking lot.

I buckled her in and got in, throwing the kit and the rest of the equipments into the back seat. I got in and drove us back home.

By the time we got home, it was already evening. I had one of the maids take her inside and I made my way to the masjid.

I waited for Isha before walking back home. I headed for the main house. Hajiya was in the living room.

"Salaam Alaykum"

"Wa Alaykum Salaam" she answered. I walked in and took a seat.

"Congratulations on your win" she said.

"Thank you Hajiya. How was your day?" I asked. "It was okay Alhamdulillah." She replied.

"Where's Yasmin?"

"Already asleep, today's outing really exhausted her." She replied chuckling. "That reminds me, I contacted the family lawyer and he is coming over tomorrow. We'll sort the details and by Monday he will file the application and hopefully by the end of the week we'll have a date for the hearing." She explained.

My heart leaped into my mouth. This was great. The sooner we started the sooner we would finish and Yasmin would be part of our family.

"Thank you Hajiya."

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A/N

Hello everyone, Iftar Mubarak to my Muslim readers. May this Ramadan be the best amongst the best for us all.

I love this chapter so much I made a aesthetic board for it.

I actually made it years ago so apologies if it looks horrible. 😅😅.

DISCLAIMER!!!!

THE PICTURES I USED AREN'T MINE AND CREDIT GOES TO THE OWNERS

That aside, I hope you guys love this chapter as much as I did writing it, let me know what you think of the chapter.

As always,

Stay safe

Sarah

Xoxo