Introduction

I didn’t think anything was wrong with it. I was still finding my way. I swear, I didn’t think anything was wrong with it! I was married all of 2 months, when another caught my heart in his right hand. What was I to do? I wasn’t really sure how my current husband, and I was going to continue living a secret marriage to console the heart of his other two wives. To be honest, I was tired, but I loved him. It was just this little voice in the back of my head. I obviously brought that voice from my pre-islamic days, as it was telling me to keep my options open. So hell, lets begin the story on how I managed to be married to one brother, and engaged to another. . . at the same time. Let’s go.

I

There I was. Sitting on the floor in the middle of the oldest mosque in Cleveland. Waiting. Waiting to start a new journey. A righteous journey. Lord knew I needed it. I was approached by six sisters who were ready to help me become something I had never imagined I would ever be. Religious. They were asking all types of stuff. What did I know about Islam. Did I believe that Allah was one. Did I believe that Prophet Muhammad was the seal of the messengers. I knew all of this! Of course I responded that I only knew the basics. I couldn’t express the fact that I had been messing with Derrick, a married Muslim man, for 5 months in ways that we both knew was gon’ send us straight to hell. I kept all that bottled inside my gut as I took my shahaddah, and prayed within that Allah would forgive my past sins as Derrick said would happen if I became Muslim. I was also strongly praying that Allah would forgive him too.

It happened so quick, and I transitioned into the community so easily thanks to my new found sister-friends. Crystal, Kinza, Amirah, Hiba, Tania and Stephanie. Stephanie and Amirah were married to the same brother. Kinza and Hiba were also co-wives. Crystal and Tania were cousins. They helped with so much! I needed it for real. I only seen Derrick on Fridays. Our time together was limited but I had expected this, so that wasn’t a surprise. He had 2 wives before me, and I understood that our marriage would be secret until he could figure out how to discuss it with them. He was a really a smooth brother, but he had financial issues. He asked both of his wives to make a hustle to help out financially, and they agreed. However, he was sure they wouldn’t accept him taking on a third wife in their dire situation. Thing bout me though, I ain’t never wanted no nigga to take care of me. I was coming into the situation caring for me and mine. I ain’t ask for his help. I just needed a situation where I could be satisfied…with religious acceptance and since we was already doing our thing, becoming Muslim just made it legit!

Anyhow, so I only seen that nigga, I mean Derrick, on Fridays. He would always come bearing gifts. His first wife sold khimars, and garments. Nice too. His second wife sold jewelry, and lingerie. The best! So I guess you could say I was spoiled as his third wife by the entire camp, unknowingly. He always wanted me to try on everything in front of him. He loved when I would walk around him, and drop it fast on him a couple times before I sent him off to the homes of boredom for the week. The only thing I hated, was not knowing who his wives were. I could never talk about my “new husband” to my sister-friends cause I ain’t even know if one of them broads was his wife!

 II

It had been nearly 5 weeks of marital bliss for me and Derrick before I started feeling somewhat lonely. I mean, I told him that one night a week was cool with me since I worked so much, and barely had time for myself, but, I would’ve loved to come home to a warm body at night more often. He was a really good dude. Very sincere. Straightforward. A woman has to admire a man who is honest about his situation, and leave it up to you to accept or reject it. I always believed a king deserved more than one queen, so I was always game for the lifestyle. Though, the feeling of loneliness was really eating at me.

Not to mention, it was really hard not being able to talk about my husband to my sister friends. They would always joke about putting me up a profile on Muslim Tinder to search for a husband. The conversation and jokes started getting old real quick. Even with my mom. Every time I would see her, she would joke about how Muslims get married quickly, and couldn’t understand what I was waiting for? Most direly was that my own children didn’t know. I would send them off to their dad’s house every weekend so they had no clue. I guess you could say I was becoming less confident with my new life. I didn’t want to tell my children about Derrick if he had no plans to be a part of their lives.

How could he? We were secretly married. What was he going to do? Secretly take my sons to basketball practice? I really started spirally down. I discussed this with Derrick, and he reassured me that he would tell his wives about me. Three weeks passed. Nothing. He was giving me excuses. One of his wives was sick, and was really having a rough time. Call me selfish. I could’ve cared less! He had promised me once again. He kept telling me to be patient. My patience had run dry.

One night after work, I was scrolling my FB feeds, and came across this guy’s post that was liked by one of my friends. He was every inch of handsome, tall and bearded; a soft spot for me. His page was public so I started trolling. I came across one of his previous post where he was celebrating the Eid celebration after the ending of Ramadan. I almost fell out the bed. I felt like God was laying this brother into my hands. There I was, lonely and fed up with Derrick but Amir instantly filled that void, and I hadn’t even made a move yet. I didn’t feel an inch of guilt for what I was about to do next. I sent him a message.

Karey: Samalaikum

Amir: Waalaikumsalaam

Karey: So you Muslim right?

Amir: Fo sho!

Karey: Single?

Amir: I’m married….and single.

Karey: Ok I feel it. Can I call you over the phone? I hate typing serious convos.

Amir: Fo sho!

Now, even though I believed a king deserved more than one queen, I wasn’t exactly flattered that he was already married. However, I kept saying, “Let me see what this brother is talking about”. Why not?

I was a married woman. . .yes. . . but I felt single too!

III

Hearing the sound of Amir’s voice for the first time confirmed that I was taking a position that was rare amongst Muslim women. There I was; laying on cream silk sheets, listening to the voice of a king, other than my husband. Amir was no average brother. He had his own transportation business, and a small financial consulting firm. Yes, he was already married. The fact that it was just one sister, and he wasn’t happy with her was a plus for me. I knew if I played the role of being submissive, and pleasing that I would eventually be the one that he highly favored, and would go to bat for in ANY situation.

Amir, and his wife had been together for 10 years. He explained that the marriage started off with pure romance, and spontaneous rendezvous until she had their first child. He felt like the attention shifted from him to the baby. There were no more spontaneous rendezvous, and little time for romance with a crying baby. He began searching for other sisters to marry, and the process seemed to be taking years due to the fact that his wife seemed to be continuously pregnant, causing him to slip deep into depression every time. It was too much for him. He hadn’t planned on having so many children. His wife on the other hand, was fine with baring children. The only thing she complained about was not feeling desired. Yeah, she was poppin’ out tiny humans but that doesn’t mean they were always doing the “do”. Amir really wasn’t attracted to her after the first born, and he wasn’t going to fornicate when he had in house pussy so. . .whenever he had the extreme urge, then that’s when “it” would happen.

I remember during our first conversation, I asked him, “Is your wife pregnant now’? He said, “YES!” “Are you feeling depressed’, I asked him?  “YES!” We both busted out laughing. He explained that he didn’t care that she was pregnant, and that the time was now to make his move on another sister. He wanted to feel happiness again. He deserved it. In my natural flirtatious voice, I replied, “Maybe I could be that sister.”  I warranted that I would never shift my attention away from him if we had children together. I let it be known that my king would always come first! I even told him that I would start covering my face in public after having children to prove my loyalty to him in which he replied in sound firmness, “Please don’t!” We laughed once more.

Amir started asking me questions about my life. I told him I was a pharmacy tech, and was a mother to all boys which was difficult at times. I couldn’t be their mother and father. Although their dad seen them every weekend, it wasn’t enough. Amir agreed that having a father around full time was important; exactly what I wanted to hear. I had a hard life as a child, and made sure that Amir knew I was a strong woman who could stand on her own. This attracted his attention as he explained that it was hard holding the fort down for his family as he felt like with a big a family, both parents should bring finances to the table. His wife didn’t believe in working outside of the home. She only cared for the children and made money here and there by selling homemade baked goods. Aiza’s Baked Goodness? Really sis? I could never see myself as a woman who wouldn’t help provide for my family through a stable career along with my king. I let him know this with seriousness. He instantly stopped calling me Karey, I was now Queen! What Amir never asked me is if I was married or involved with anyone else. Why would he?

IV

Things seemed to be moving pretty fast for me and Amir. Without notice, he would show up to my job with flowers, or to bring me lunch. He was definitely a king in need of someone to show him the appreciation he deserved. Meanwhile, Derrick and I weren’t having the most pleasant Friday’s we once were. Although he continued to bare gifts, and treat me like his number 1, he still hadn’t told his wives about me. It still sort of bothered me but not like it use to. I knew I had Amir on my right side, and that just made my situation with Derrick easier to tolerate. Though I must say, I had some close calls on a few Fridays.

As I said, Amir would do things without notice. This included showing up to my house unannounced. Derrick would usually arrive at my house around 4pm, so I knew to have certain things together to welcome him. His favorite incense were Nag Champa so I would light a few of those, tidy the house, get dinner going, and made sure I looked like the queen I am. I’m a pretty prompt chic so I’d start my routine at around noon.

I remember on one particular Friday, Amir showed up at my house without calling. It was probably 1:15, and when I heard a knock at the door, I thought Derrick had arrived early. I know, I know. You’re probably wondering why Derrick wouldn’t have a key to my house. Listen, a nigga who can’t even tell his momma about me, is not a nigga who deserves a key. Okay? Moving on! So when I heard the knock, the first thought that came to me was, “Why is this brother so early”? Then. . . I peeked out the living room window, and my heart felt like it was ready to let go. Amir was standing at my door with bags on top of bags. I didn’t know if this brother had pumped the brakes on his wife, and thought he was just gon’ move on in with Karey, or what. All I was certain of, was I needed to let him down easy so he could go back to wherever he came from.

I quickly opened my door, forgetting I was in the middle of preparing for Derrick. I was a sweaty wreck, and my hair was untamed. Amir didn’t care. “You got that natural beauty going on I see”, he said with a contagious smile. My God. His dimples would melt me every time. “Amir, what are these bags”? “I was thinking about you all night after we had a conversation about you losing weight. I know you said you went down 3 sizes, and needed to buy some new gear so I thought I’d start you off. 11/12 right”?

Amir was standing there with several bags of new clothes just for me. I know it was all material things but he had used his hard earned money to splurge on Karey. He didn’t ransack his wives’ closet stores. Damn Derrick! I wasn’t going to let him stand there for long. This wasn’t his first time at my home but it was his first time actually coming in. It would be a visit both of us would definitely remember.

I thanked him dearly for the gifts, and asked him if he was hungry. Amir, with his big stature, was always hungry, and he knew I could get down. I fixed him part of Derrick’s dinner, beef empanadas, jerk pasta, and asparagus. He loved it! As expected. I don’t play when it comes to food. He sulked with every bite. I knew he was falling deeper and deeper in love with me through every bite. His wife only cooked chicken, and black beans and rice for the most part. . .meals not fit for a king. I was enjoying how he embraced my talent but I was looking at the clock with steady nervousness. Derrick would be at my house at 4pm and it was then 2:05. I started thinking, “How can I get Amir out of my house.” I figured out what goes good after a good meal to make a nigga comply. Ass. Yeah. I said it. Ass. Amir deserved it. He wasn’t just starving for food, he was starving for Karey.

It was perfect timing. Think about it. Sincere gifts, a meal fit for a king, and quick lovin’. Well, it made sense to me anyway! I can’t say I wasn’t thinking about it constantly. It was then 2:10. As Amir was making his salat, I went and freshened up. When he was finish, I softly grabbed his left hand, and ushered him to my bedroom. It was then, 2:25. He knew what it was, and I knew I only had about an hour to make a lasting impression, and about 30 minutes to get him out of my house, take a shower, and finish preparing things for Derrick. That was a situation I knew couldn’t be a regular occurrence so I eventually told Amir that Friday’s was a day that I needed to be alone to focus on a new business adventure I was working on. It was half the truth.

V

It had been nearly two weeks since I had seen or heard from Amir. To be honest, I felt bad about our last encounter, and was avoiding him at all cost. He was hounding a sister too. It seemed like fate was on my side because every time he would come knocking on my door, Derrick wouldn’t be there. I mean this brother worked evenings but was steady calling me all the time. You would’ve thought he had lost his job. He was texting and calling so much, I had to block his number.

Things between myself, and Derrick were getting better. I was feeling so drawn to him lately. He seemed as if he was making an effort towards bringing me into the circle on a public level. He had discussed with his wives about having a family meeting. He said the look on their faces was like, “Oh boy, here we go”. Derrick had just got a job offer paying the most he’d ever made, and maybe they knew the first thing he was going to do was remarry. He started helping out his wives more financially, and was putting in a lot of work taking time with the kids. He deserved to be married again. Deep down, I think they knew it too.

Derrick had been married to both of his wives for 16 years. The first wife had 7 children by him, and the second wife had 5 children by Derrick. He married them 3 months apart. They knew about one another immediately. I’m not sure why it was different with me. They seemed like they all got along pretty well from what he explained. HIs wives usually sold their homemade goods through vending events. They even attended Quran classes at the Masjid. I really hoped that info would have given me a clue to who they were. It seemed like all the sisters at the Masjid were always in groups, and no one ever talked about their husbands. No one! I could never make a clear distinguishment.

I was excited to meet them. Excited to be a part of the family. I had just one issue. Amir. I needed to tell him I was no longer interested. It’s never difficult to tell people how I feel. I’m a strong woman, and I never back down to no one. However, I believe I was being selfish. I was kind of holding onto Amir in distance just in case things didn’t work out with Derrick. Seeing as though Derrick was ready to introduce me to his family, it was really time for me to let Amir go. I’m not really sure why he was clingy to me. I mean, niggas get that work all the time from females. Why would one episode phase him? Maybe it was just that good! Or, his wife was pregnant, and you know what people say: Father’s can feel symptoms as well. I guess! Maybe he was extra emotional, and touchy like a pregnant broad. He could’ve just found another sister, and moved on because I was ready to be a part of one big happy family with Derrick.

It was the day of the big meet. I was feeling so elated. Derrick had told me that he couldn’t wait until the meet to tell his wives so he had already told them. They were just fine with it, and very anxious to meet me. They were going to all pick me up, and we would go out for an evening outing in the city. I was prepared to give a speech to my new sister wives. I had it all planned out. I was going to tell them how honored I was to be a part of the family. I was ready to learn the religion with them. Even though I wasn’t as much of a homemaker as them, I did want my own real estate company, and was working towards getting that together. I was thinking we all could run the business as sister entrepreneurs. I had big plans, big dreams for me, and my sisters.

I told Derrick I was running a little late but would leave the side door open for him. I was getting dressed when I started to feel faint. I could barely put on my pants. The room started spinning, and my head felt like it was going to explode. Before I knew it, I was on the floor. I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t move. There was a sense of fear. Then I just lost all consciousness. Once I began to wake up, I could feel that I was still lying on the bathroom floor. It was cold, hard, and my arms wrapped around the toilet. As I was trying to focus my sight, I could hear voices. There were four blurry images standing over me. I reached out my hand, and someone grabbed it. I knew it was Derrick’s hand because he has the most softest hands and I could smell his Oudh oil. Still trying to regain my sight, I could hear voices continuously asking me if I was okay. I couldn’t make out the voices though as my head was still ringing. Finally, I regained my eyesight. And hell! I was asking why the Lord didn’t just take me as I laid unconscious on that bathroom floor. Standing above me were Derrick, two of my sister-friends Kinza and Hiba, and Amir.

Kinza, was looking at me with tears in her eyes with an expression of disbelief while Hiba was looking like she was ready for me to wake up to tell me what was on her mind. Derrick, well, he was just Derrick. You never could get a proper read on that nigga. However, Amir, my gosh. His expression made me feel the worst, and he wasn’t even my husband. He looked glassy-eyed, and confused. My guess was that Amir showed up as Derrick, and my sister wives showed up, and they all rolled in Karey’s Kingdom together. All I kept thinking was why? Why me? Why this? And why the hell did I faint?

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED. . . .