When selecting the perfect strap-on dildo, you must take your time. There's really no other way to go about it, really. That's why I went to the adult video store on near the Rideau Mall in downtown Ottawa that Saturday morning, and bought a toy I dub "Mister Shiny". It's shiny and black, modeled after the penis of Lexington Steele, an African-American porn star with a legendary reputation. You should have seen the look on the short-haired female clerk's face when she saw me walk in, with my hijab and long skirt. Apparently, hijab-wearing Somali girls aren't supposed to purchase sex toys. Where is that written in the noble Quran? I guess I'll never know.
I paid for my selected item and left the store, a plastic bag in my hand. When I set foot outside the porno shop, an old white dude gawked at me. I knew what he saw. A five-foot-eight, slim but curvy, dark-skinned young woman clad in a hijab and a skirt. Coming out of a porno shop. Definitely not something you see every day. I smiled and happily flipped him the bird before crossing the street. Then I caught the number eighteen OC Transpo bus heading from downtown Ottawa to Vanier. Ten minutes later I got off on Donald Street, and made my way to Coventry road, and approached a certain plain brownstone building. I rang the bell, and about a minute later, I got buzzed in. The person waiting for me is an old friend. I've known Hakim Tahir for a long time. Ever since our days at Saint Eugene High School in Ottawa's south end. As Salam Alaikum, I said by way of greeting. Aku Salam my sister, Hakim greets me joyfully. I hand him my coat and he hangs it on a rack. Did you have trouble finding the place? Hakim asks me with a smile.
You know us black folks always show up on black time, I say, grinning. Hakim looks good. Much better than the last time I saw him. He's around five-foot-ten, somewhat round in the belly but not exceedingly so, and roughly handsome with his light brown skin, curly black hair and almond-shaped golden brown eyes. The brouhaha that echoed across the Somali community of Toronto after Hakim publicly came out as bisexual has died off, somewhat. Living in the West has changed many across the Ummah and most of us aren't ready for it, to say the least. Sitting across from Hakim in his living room, I couldn't help but notice the hollow, haunted look on his face. He's holding up but barely, no matter how brave a face he puts on.
Have you seen Amina since the divorce? I asked Hakim, carefully gauging his reaction. He sighed deeply, and nodded. I get to see my daughter every other weekend because that's what Johari decided and the Ontario provincial court sided with her, Hakim said bitterly. I gently touched his knee, cursing myself for bringing up such a sore subject. Long story short? Four years ago, Hakim and I were good friends and classmates at the University of Toronto. I was taking up sociology and he was a business student. We became buddies, and he was really awesome. The kind of laid-back, easygoing and friendly guy that's kind of rare in our community. We hung out together, going to the mall and movie theaters together along with some mutual friends. The brother was handsome, smart and going places. Honestly, I had a crush on him. I nurtured visions and fantasies of us getting married, and having a life together. What I couldn't figure out is how come Hakim didn't have a girlfriend. Most of the Somali brothers at the University of Toronto are into white girls and the ones that aren't are either with black women from non-Somali backgrounds or they're busy dreaming about Arab women, the forbidden fruit for many Muslim men.
The more I hung out with Hakim, the more I realized how different he was from most guys I knew. He was smart, friendly and respectful. A lot of our brothers love to go out and have fun with ladies from other backgrounds but if they see a hijab-wearing sister sitting at a table with a guy who isn't Muslim, they flip out. If that isn't the ultimate double standard, then I don't know what is! Hakim wasn't like the others. When I met a handsome young Haitian guy named Guillaume Grenier, and found myself attracted to him, many of my fellow Muslims frowned upon the two of us dating. Hakim actually encouraged me to date Hakim because he wanted me to be happy. Life is short so make the most of it, he said to me when I asked whether it was alright for me to go on a date with a brother from another religion.
Yeah, Hakim was different. When my relationship with Guillaume ended ( not because of religious or cultural differences but because he graduated from the University of Toronto and moved to Calgary, where he found a job ), Hakim was there for me unconditionally. I think it's around that time that I started falling in love with him. I could confide pretty much anything in him. The guy was always there for me, and the rest of our mutual friends found him smart, friendly and reliable, but I knew next to nothing about him. Well, one day, I got to know the real Hakim and I must say that I got more than I bargained for.