What We Learned Along the Way (14 page)

“So he hit you because you didn’t mop the
floor?” Malikah asked. “That’s insane.”

“No, that’s not it. It’s a lot of things. He
just gets so mad,” she sighed.

Malikah reached for her phone. “What’s Adam’s
number? I’d like to have a few words with him.”

Kalimah grabbed the phone from her sister.
“No, you can’t. Don’t say anything, especially to mama and daddy.
It’s not that serious, really. It barely even hurts. I’m married
now. I can’t run to them every time something happens. Just give me
some time to handle this on my own. Promise me you won’t tell.”

“I can’t make that promise.”

“Lika, you have to. I can handle this. I know
I can. Promise me.”

“Okay, I promise, but I really don’t think
he’s going to change. I just don’t see why you won’t let me tell
daddy. He’ll let you move back in until you get the divorce and
everything settled.”

“Divorce! Who’s getting a divorce? I didn’t
come all this way and get married to the most eligible young doctor
around just to get a divorce, so everyone can talk about me. I’m
not going to become a charity case. I can hear it now. ‘Is that
Kalimah Ali? Shame how her husband hit her like that and sent her
back home to her daddy.’ I refuse to become the woman everyone
feels sorry for.”

“No one has to know,” Malikah said.

“There’s nothing for them to know,” Kalimah
said as she stood up and pulled her sleeve back down. “I don’t feel
like watching movies anymore. I’m going home, to my husband,” she
said as she started to leave.

“Kalimah, wait!” Malikah yelled. Kalimah
ignored her and slammed the door.

Malikah didn’t know what to do. She wanted so
badly to tell her parents, but she didn’t want to break her promise
to her sister. She was married and her mother always told her to
stay out of married people’s business, but Malikah didn’t think
this was what her mother was talking about.

She wanted to tell Isaiah, but she didn’t
want to take the chance. If she told him, he might tell his
parents, who might tell someone else, who might tell some else, who
might end up telling her parents. She knew it sounded farfetched,
but she had heard of things like that happening.

She met Isaiah the next day for their weekly
workout. Oddly enough, since she had been dating Isaiah, she had
gained 10 lbs. She knew why. Isaiah made her feel comfortable,
especially with her body. She actually liked it now and didn’t feel
compelled to watch what she ate anymore. She ate whatever she
wanted, and even though she did workout with Isaiah, she wasn’t
doing as much working out as she was eating.

“Malikah, I’m not going back to school next
semester,” Isaiah said as they warmed up.

“Why not?”

“I’ve been wasting my time going to school
for things I don’t really want to do. I don’t need a college degree
for what I really want to do,” he said eagerly.

“And what’s that?”

“A personal trainer! I love working out and
my friends are always asking me to help them get in shape. Why not
get paid for it? I already checked on it and all I have to do is
take a 2-week course at the gym downtown. I already signed up.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” Malikah said. She wanted
to tell him that she thought he was making a rushed decision and
that it would be better for him and their future to get his degree,
but she didn’t want to seem unsupportive. She always hated when
women didn’y support their men. She didn’t want to be one of those
women. “So, you can make real money doing that?” she asked. She
tried to sound interested and not skeptical.

“You really can. Those trainers to the stars
get paid hundreds of dollars per session!” he said.

“How much do regular trainers make?”

“It depends on how many sessions you get a
week, but I know I can get tons, so I’m not worried. I already have
about 10 clients.”

Malikah wondered how Isaiah was going to
convince his friends to start paying for what they had been getting
free for years. She changed the subject.

“I want you to meet my parents,” she said as
she walked beside him. “I was scared at first, but you’re going to
have to meet them sooner or later if we’re really serious about
being together.”

“That’s great. I’ve been waiting on you to
ask me to meet them. What took you so long?”

“You haven’t met my mother,” she said with a
sigh.

“Don’t worry. Parents love me. I’m serious
about us, and I want everything to be out in the open.”

It wasn’t as easy to tell her parents as it
was to tell Isaiah.

“Mother, I want you to meet someone,” she
said later that night.

“Okay,” her mother said without looking up
from her magazine. “Who is it?”

“His name is Isaiah. We’ve been spending time
together for a while now and I think you and daddy should meet
him.”

“Isaiah, huh? I knew you were sneaking off
with some boy. No one spends that much time with her girls.” She
didn’t lift her head from the magazine, but she had a skeptical
look on her face.

“Mother, I wasn’t sneaking off. You make it
sound so bad. I’ve just been spending time with a nice young
man.”

“All I know is you better not bring no babies
up in here.”

“Why is it that when Kalimah and Adam were
together, you said they were courting like a sweet, Muslim couple,
but when I meet a guy, I’m sneaking off? You always have a way of
making everything I do look so bad, but let Kalimah do the same
thing and you’re ready to throw a party.”

“I don’t know who you’re talking to in that
tone, but you better change it. Your sister’s married now to a
wonderful, gorgeous, rich doctor. I just want to make sure you get
something half as good.”

“He ain't that wonderful,” Malikah said under
her breath. She didn’t know her mother heard her.

“No, he is wonderful and you need to stop
being jealous. I only wish I could have married a man like that
when I was your sister’s age. No offense to your father, but we
struggled in the beginning.”

“Whatever, mother. I’m bringing him over
tomorrow,” Malikah said as she walked out of the living room.

Malikah didn’t sleep well that night. She
kept dreaming about her mother and Isaiah getting into a fight. In
all the dreams, her mother won.

She went through ten outfits before she
settled on a simple pair of black pants and a white tailored shirt.
She thought it looked a little too plain, so she threw on some gold
bangles and a long gold chain. Spending all that time with Kalimah
was really paying off. She actually knew how to dress for her body
now. Malikah wanted everything to go perfectly. She didn’t want to
give her mother any flaws to focus on. She spent extra time on her
hair and makeup and used some expensive looking perfume Kalimah had
left in her room.

Isaiah showed up at 4pm on the dot. He had
dropped Malikah off many times before, so he had been to her house,
but it looked so different in the daylight. He had never noticed
the beautiful green lawn with perfectly landscaped shrubs and
flowers. He had never noticed the vines that were growing up the
left side of the house, and he definitely hadn’t seen the fountain
with water splashing out of it.

“This is a really nice house,” he said aloud
as he stood in front of the big oak door. He gave himself a quick
once-over before ringing the bell. He was a little nervous, but he
tried to shake it off.

Malikah opened the door with a huge
smile.

“Right on time,” she said. He brought his
left hand from behind his back to display two bouquets of
flowers.

“These are for you, my lady” he said with a
smile and a small bow as he handed her one bunch. “And these are
for your mother,” he said, holding up the other bouquet.

“Look, mother, flowers” she said with a
smile. Her mother got off of the sofa to greet Isaiah and inspect
the flowers.

“As salaam alaikum,” she said as she examined
the flowers as if she were looking for a bug or a dead petal.
“Daisies, how sweet.”

From the smile on Isaiah’s face, he seemed
pleased that she liked the flowers, but Malikah could tell from the
tone in her mother’s voice that what she really meant was, “Adam
would have brought roses.”

“Nice to meet you,” Malikah’s father said as
he got up to shake Isaiah’s hand. Isaiah had to bite his lip to
keep from laughing. Malikah and her father could have been twins.
He looked like a taller, bald version of Malikah.

Malikah’s mother didn’t waste any time with
small talk.

“Where do you work, Isaiah?” she said as if
it were an interview. Isaiah was shocked by her abruptness.

“I’m a waiter at Bertino’s. You know, if you
and Mr. Ali come in during one of my shifts, I can give you a
wonderful free meal.”

“Can I quote you on that? ‘Cause we like free
stuff around here,” Malikah’s father said.

“Look around, Isaiah. We’re doing quite well.
We don’t need anything given to us for free,” Malikah’s mother said
snobbishly.

“Hold on there, Viv. Speak for yourself. I
love me some free food. What time did you say your shift was?”
Malikah’s father knew just when to chime in when his wife was being
a little too prickly. Malikah knew what her father was doing and
was so thankful for it. She mouthed “thank you” to him when her
mother wasn’t looking.

“So, you’re a waiter. That’s nice. Did
Malikah tell you her sister married a doctor? He was the youngest
person to graduate in his class,” her mother said proudly.

Isaiah could feel the daggers shooting out of
her eyes. “Yes, she told me about him. I think that’s great. I love
to see successful brothers in the community. Hopefully, I’ll be
just like him one day.”

“You plan on being a doctor, too?” She
sounded surprised.

“Oh, no ma’am. Not a doctor. I meant
successful. I plan to be successful.”

“Well, I’d hope so,” she said after a sip of
the lemonade Malikah had placed on the coffee table. “Because you
shouldn’t marry a woman unless you know you can provide her with
all she’s accustomed to. Can you give Malikah what she’s accustomed
to?” she asked as she looked around arrogantly at her
fully-decorated house.

Isaiah could feel the tension getting thicker
by the second. He took a big drink of lemonade to give himself a
few seconds to think.

“Mama!” Malikah yelled in embarrassment.

“Yea, Viv. You really need to give the boy a
break,” her father said.

“No, it’s okay.” Isaiah said. “She’s right. A
mother should want to make sure her daughter will be well taken
care of. I can’t quite provide her with all this right now. But
give me time,” he said, sounding very self assured.

Malikah was impressed. She wouldn’t have
known what to say if someone attacked her like that. She got up to
take the empty lemonade glasses in the kitchen. She gave Isaiah a
big thumbs up from behind her parents’ heads. Isaiah smiled.

“I like your spirit,” her father said. “You
remind me of myself when I was younger. You know I was a bag boy
when I married Malikah’s mother? Nobody thought I’d be able to have
my own business, but I proved them all wrong.”

“Thank you, sir. I plan on having my own
business as well. In a few weeks, I’ll be a certified personal
trainer. I already have a pretty good client base, so I think
things are going to work out well.”

“You can add me to that list,” her father
said as he patted his belly. “My body used to look like yours
before I got married. This is what marriage does to you,” he said
with a hardy laugh. “While you’re at it, sign my wife up too. We
could both use a little personal training,” he said as he rested
his hand on his wife’s round belly.” Malikah laughed hysterically.
It was hilarious to see her get a taste of her own medicine.

Isaiah felt awkward. He wanted to laugh, but
didn’t think it was appropriate. “I think you two look great, but
if you’re serious, I’d gladly do it for free.”

“I just don’t see how you’re going to be as
successful as a doctor by being a personal trainer. Sounds like a
pipedream to me,” Malikah’s mother said as she straightened the
wrinkles from her dress and did her best to suck in her
stomach.

“With all due respect, ma’am, people probably
thought the same thing about your husband.”

Malikah couldn’t believe Isaiah was actually
holding his own against her mother. It was just like in her dream
except Isaiah was the one winning. She wished she could stand up to
her mother like that. She was so pleased with him that she would
have married Isaiah there on the spot.

Her father knew better than to say anything
in front of his wife, but the look on his face showed he was happy
that his daughter was interested in a man who could hold his
own.

“Well, Isaiah. You seem to be a good brother
to me. You’ve got my vote,” her father said as he stood up to shake
his hand again.

“Thank you, sir. I really appreciate it.”
Malikah’s mother had stormed up the stairs moments before.

Once Mr. Ali was sure his wife was completely
up the stairs and behind the closed door, he felt safe to talk.

“Son, let me apologize for my wife. She takes
a little getting used to. Don’t take it personal,” he said as put
his arm around Isaiah.

“I never do, sir.”

“What’s all this ’sir’ stuff? You’re about to
join my family. Call me David.”

“Okay, David, it was great meeting you, and
if you’re serious about training, give me a call.”

After Isaiah left, Malikah and her father sat
down in the kitchen.

“Why is she like that? I don’t see how you
can be married to her,” Malikah said.

“Her bark is bigger than her bite. She just
wants the best for you girls. Before my business took off, things
were really hard for us. Sometimes we didn’t even know where our
next meal was going to come from. She wants to make sure you and
your sister have a better life than we did,” her father
explained.