Love from a to Z

A SECOND MARVEL:
HUGS
Exhibit A: Auntie Nandy.
By the time Auntie Nandy got home—at eleven o’clock (must have been
some serious meeting!)—the luggage I’d come to Doha with had been
completely emptied and repacked with Souq Waqif gifts, my laundry was
put away neatly in drawers, my Instagram was updated, my room was
superclean, I’d prayed Isha and read Qur’an, and I was on my second
episode of Sweet Tooth. I’d seen cupcakes with real-looking candy plants
sprouting from them, a dollhouse cake, and unbelievable floating desserts
that burst like fireworks.
After letting herself in, Auntie Nandy came right over to the couch I was
sitting on, without dropping her purse or schoolbag, and hugged me. It was
a supertight hug even for Auntie Nandy, who had a reputation for tight
hugs. I sunk into it, surrendering willingly. In gratitude.
She held on for a long time.
“You’re amazing, okay?” She let go of my shoulders and her bags, and
sat down beside me.
“You are amazing too, Auntie Nandy.” I wasn’t surprised by the sudden
hug. It was very Auntie Nandy, but today it hit the spot of sadness that I
thought I’d shoved deep inside. I blinked away the sudden teary burst of
emotion the hug had unleashed and got up from the sofa. “Can I get you
something to eat?”
“Yes. Chips. And pop.” She smiled sheepishly, kicking off her shoes. “I
just want to eat a big bag of chips and drink fizzy sugar.”

---

“What? You don’t even have such stuff in the apartment. I know. I spent
almost an hour trying to find some the other day!” I advanced to the
kitchen. “I’ll get you some good food. I’m sure there’s something in the
fridge. Remember you were cleaning out your toxins?”
“No. Go to my room. In the closet there’s a big, blue plastic bin. It’s not
too heavy, so you can pull it out here.”
I was perplexed but followed her instructions, dragging the blue
Rubbermaid bin behind me to set it at her feet in the living room.
She opened it up to reveal various junk foods and cans of pop.
“Choose your poison,” she announced.
I chose a bag of Doritos. She picked out a can of Pepsi and another bag
of Doritos, different flavor. “Pop?” she offered, holding out a can of Pepsi.
I accepted it, slightly worried about her. “Did something happen, Auntie
Nandy? Everything okay?”
“Yeah.” She tore open the bag of chips. “Just taking it easy tomorrow. I
decided to take a day off of work, early start to spring break.”
“Oh, yay! Does that mean we can go to Katara?”
“No, Zoodles, I’ll be home but busy. We’ll have to do Katara another
day.” Auntie Nandy crunched chips and looked at me for a while, like she
was considering me. “I’m sorry it hasn’t been a fun trip for you so far,
Zayneb.”
“No, it’s been good.” I shrugged. I did like chilling here.
“But you’ve been mostly stuck in this apartment.”
“No I haven’t. I went to the mall, went to a shelter, went to a zoo, went
swimming, went to Souq Waqif two times. Actually, it will be three times,
because I’m meeting the Emmas there tomorrow.” I took a swig of my
Pepsi. “That’s a lot of stuff!”
Auntie Nandy sat up. “When are you going to the souk tomorrow?”
“One o’clock.”
“Perfect. I have a meeting at that time. If you get back home from the
souk by four, I can see if we can go somewhere fun together in the evening.
Maybe go eat dinner on the Pearl.”
“Oh, that would be amazing!” The Pearl was this man-made island with a
gorgeous waterfront all the way around it. Mom was always showing me
pictures that Auntie Nandy would post, eating at different fancy restaurants
or shopping at high-end boutiques there.

---

“I’ll take you to my favorite French restaurant.” She crunched more chips
and laughed. “But today, let’s eat good ol’-fashioned junk. Just don’t tell
your mom, okay?”
I nodded and put my head on her shoulder and turned up the volume on
Sweet Tooth, intent on recharging myself with more of Auntie Nandy’s
warmth.