Home > Misfit in Love (Saints and Misfits #2)(59)

Misfit in Love (Saints and Misfits #2)(59)
Author: S. K. Ali

I check my own phone and see that he beat Noor by 103 votes.

I can’t stop myself from checking Sausun’s Instagram and Snapchat.

She’d posted something late last night.

“Soooo, many of you are going to wonder why I’m wading into THE MUSLIM VOICE competition of all things. But that’s because you haven’t heard Abdul Kareem. And I HAVE.” There’s a cut to Abdul Kareem singing “Tala’al-Badru Alayna” from her laptop, and then Sausun’s back. “I’m here to tell you all to vote, cast your ballot, press that button for him”—fast cut to Abdul Kareem singing again—“or him.” A cut of Haytham singing “Hold On” from her desktop computer, after which there’s a screeching sound. “Yeah. That was indeed country music. Of which I do not approve. But the dude Haytham does. Thus, the choice is yours—you’ll never know mine. Even though you know I don’t like country. But voices sometimes make you rethink your choices, which is terrible but also, I don’t know, weirdly satisfying? To know humans are not stagnant? Even humans with superior tastes? Okay bye, go vote!”

So that’s how he won.

I smile.

Sausun and Haytham.

Muhammad and Sarah.

Tats and Jeremy.

Mom and Uncle Bilal.

Me and—

Well, all I’m going to say is this: Let there be all kinds of love.

And taking first steps.

And changing my world.

Insha’Allah.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Re: our tickets for MuslimARC

We’re all in for the October Chicago session—mark your calendars. And Muhammad, let’s do Baba’s Pizza and Pasta afterward for old time’s sake?

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Forwarded message: from [email protected]

Re: Registration Confirmation for Anti-Racism Seminar 101

Thank you for registering for our upcoming seminar: Anti-Racism 101. We look forward to you joining us for this informative session exploring the historical roots of racism and its continuous social impact, with an emphasis on Muslim spaces.…

* * *

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

CC: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Re: raingear packing list for ecuador in december

Thanks for the list! Cc’ing Sausun and Haytham and Muhammad—Sausun wants to know if there’ll be enough sunshine to power a small solar generator for the cameras we’re bringing to shoot the fundraiser. Haytham wants to know if we’ll even be able to shoot. We’re worried about the rain.

And Muhammad wants to know if there are good pizza places in Mera. (Sarah doesn’t need to know anything. She has her “Ecuador clipboard” already filled.)

Let me know answers for the others. When you next go into town for wifi.

Adios and see you soon.

Insha’Allah,

Janna

* * *

PS Also, Sausun and Haytham both wanted me to ask if you’re sure you can’t come to their nikah on Thanksgiving weekend. It’s a simple, everyone-drop-in nikah at the Eastspring mosque. They hope you can come. (I hope so too.)

* * *

Thank You for Being Part of This Big Day…

Planning a celebration of love involves the efforts of many hearts. Here are those who were important to ensuring Muhammad and Sarah’s nikah weekend unfolded as intended.

To thank the people who guided this book, I’d like to call them by the table number they’ll be seated at during next year’s “official” wedding reception (the one decorated tastefully in a matte-gold and gray color scheme).

Table one: Jez, Hamza, Bilqis, Jochua, Ahmad, Zuhra, Hajara, Johanne—thank you for helping me understand love deeply enough to write about it.

Table two: Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, Margari Aziza Hill, Nevien Shaabneh, Kenyatta Bakeer, members of the MuslimARC team—thank you for helping me begin to learn about anti-racism and being an ally. Any and all of the good offered on these topics in Misfit in Love comes from those seated at this table while all the deficiencies come solely from me. Please note: as a non-Black author, I could not explore the impact of anti-Blackness on Black characters; I chose to explore how non-Black characters are complicit in perpetuating anti-Blackness and how easy it is to practice complacency even when confronted by prejudice in our midst. But this is only one sliver of insight into the subject. I urge all readers to seek out narratives written by Black authors, particularly Black Muslim authors, to more substantially understand the impact of racism in our communities.

Table three: Uzma, Ausma, Safiyyah, Aisha, London, Huda, Fartumo, Natalie—thank you for being in my writerly-worries-sharing friends crew. (Jamilah and Nevien, you totally need to table hop to this table too!)

Table four (seats more than eight, this one): Zareen Jaffery, Kendra Levin, Sara Crowe, Dainese Santos, Justin Chanda, Amanda Ramirez, Lisa Moraleda, Brian Luster, Marinda Valenti, Lucy Ruth Cummins, John Cusick—thank you for helping me continue Janna Yusuf’s story.

Tables five, six, and seven: Faisal, Shakil, Anwaar, Amanda, Sana, Sakeina, Sahar, Bushra, Muhammad, Khalil, Khalid, Zenyah, Chiku, Saira, Dawood, Alain, Shaiza, Rania, Amie, Naseem, Soobia, Mehjabeen, Bilqees, Nhu, Thayyiba, Zakiya, Farzana—thank you for being in my crew of beloveds.

Tables eight and on and on: All of the readers who’ve shared their love for Janna, Nuah, Adam, Zayneb, and other characters with me via e-mails, messages, and in person—with members of the Misfit in Love street team sitting at the head of each table. Thank you so much. I write for you.

Misfit in Love (Saints and Misfits #2)(59) Author: S. K. Ali

Misfit in Love (Saints and Misfits #2)(59)
Author: S. K. Ali