Him & His Muslimah

Epilogue 2.0

Zoya/Zaib

"Hidaya prefers her blue bottle to her pink one, but if she starts chewing at the blue one too much, give her the pink one instead," Zaib instructed Bilal carefully as the muddled uncle tried to memorise his friend's instructions.

"When she's drinking the milk, hold her in an upright position and make sure to pat her back properly after she's fed- thrice at the top and the bottom," Zoya added on to Zaib's words.

"Am I missing anything Zaib?" She turned to her husband. "No, we already told him about her sleeping hours and habits, I think we're good now," Zaib ticked off the checkpoints on his mental list. The couple nodded at each other and turned to Bilal.

Zoya handed him her daughter very gently, kissing her baby's soft, fragrant head. Bilal held her firmly but tenderly, making sure not to drop his niece.

"For a baby, she sure has a lot of requirements," he commented, smiling down at the adorable girl he held in his arms.

"That's kind of the whole point B," Zaib joked. He hadn't been used to caring for a baby initially, but after fathering Hidaya for six months, he had gotten used to her needs as an infant. He looked at his watch and realised it was already seven pm.

He slid his hand into Zoya's, "It's getting late love, we have to get going." Zoya smiled and nodded at her husband, grabbing her things from the sofa.

After a long six months of solely caring for their daughter and working hard in their careers, they had finally managed to make time for a date night. It was hard for them to prioritise their relationship, so much that they had lost track of having time alone. However, with Ehsan and Naimat's advice, the two finally decided to have a night out. After all, before parents, they were husband and wife.

Zaib pulled open the car door, allowing Zoya to slide into the passenger's seat. "Thank you," Zoya giggled as she settled into her place. Zaib smiled at her and walked over to his side, getting in the driver's seat.

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"What should we do?" Zaib hummed, driving the car aimlessly with no definite plans. It had been so long since they'd come on a date that they had almost forgotten what to do.

"If Hidaya was here, we could've gone to the arcade. I bet she would've loved all the bright colours." Zoya wistfully thought of their baby back home. Zaib nodded, agreeing their daughter would love it, but this was their date now, so they would do something different.

Zaib spotted the newly opened ice rink in the centre of the town's park. The LED lights flashed, catching his attention. "Hey, do you wanna go ice-skating?" He pointed towards it. "I haven't gone since high school," he joked. She furrowed her eyebrows, contemplating it, "That sounds fun." She flashed a grin in his direction. He parked the car, and they headed to the front desk.

They gave their details to the man at the desk and kept their belongings in a box. Zoya sat on a bench as the man approached her with the skates. He leaned down to help Zoya wear them.

"I'll help her, thank you," her husband called out before taking the skates, kneeling in front of her. He helped her push her feet into the firm ice skating shoes and tied the laces for her. She looked down at her husband, lovingly reaching out to run her fingers through his hair. "Thank you," she gave him a small peck on the forehead, and he immediately broke into a smile.

"I should help you take off your skates later too so I can get more of that," he joked, referring to the gentle kiss he had received. Zoya just rolled her eyes playfully.

"Do you need assistance, Zaib?" she asked. He shook his head and put his skates on himself.

"Let's go," he intertwined their fingers and pulled her towards the ice rink. A gust of cold wind blew towards them, enhancing the chill of the ice rink. Zaib went first, wobbling slightly, so he grabbed the metal bar for support. Despite his instability, he reached out to give Zoya a hand, but she had no problem stepping onto the ice.