A Family Affair (17 page)

It was dusk when Malik walked out to his own personal garden and sat down. He was tired, and there was no point in hiding it. The relief he felt showed on his face when he sat down and put his feet up. Rashid was there in an instant. He had two bottles of beer in his hands.

“I have corrupted you, have I not?” Malik said.

“You have, but I allowed it. Have you taken your meds this evening? Dare I ask if you are permitted to drink this beer?”

“You dare, and the answer is yes. I have taken the medicine. It makes me very tired. But there is no pain. Yet. We must make plans, Rashid.”

“Have you heard from your wife?” Rashid asked bluntly.

“A few moments ago. But it was in response to a text I sent her. I wished her a good morning, and she wished me one back. I still don’t know when she’s coming back or
if
she’s coming back. I had no idea I hurt her so badly, if what my sister tells me is true. She has spent so much money these past few days, it boggles my mind. Just an hour or so ago she transferred four million dollars to some offshore account. That’s on top of the nineteen million she spent yesterday. I, of course, replenished it. What do you think she’s spending it on?” Malik asked fretfully.

“From what I know of your wife, she isn’t spending it on herself. Off the top of my head, if I had to guess, I would say it’s her family. She has a sister and a niece, does she not?”

“That’s what I thought. But why?”

“Ask her.” Rashid smiled.

“I can’t do that. I promised her I would never ask what she did with her money. She’s so frugal. I think you’re right. I am also wondering if something is wrong, and if that’s why she returned to the States.”

Rashid snorted. “There might be something wrong, but she just worked that into her return because of what you did. I now know things about women I didn’t know before. You are at fault here, and it doesn’t matter the reason, so just accept it and go from there.”

“I can’t do that if she doesn’t return, now, can I? I’d make the trip to the States, but I’m just not up to it. This . . . this thing is sapping all my energy. I hate the pills. They just make me sleepy. I do not want to sleep away what’s left of my life. Tell me, how goes it with you and my sister?”

“You know damn well how it is going. All you have to do is say the word, and I am back in her good graces. What kind of friend are you, anyway?” Rashid grumbled.

“I did that an hour ago. You are free to go to your apartments, where your wife is waiting with open arms. Do not look at me like that. Go now and tell her the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. That is an order, Rashid.

“But before you do that, would you mind fetching me another beer? No, wait. I think I’ll go to the cave, and I can open my own beer. You’re still standing here. Go!”

“Wouldn’t it be better coming from you, Malik?”

“No, my friend, it wouldn’t. She will need to weep and feel your arms about her. Tomorrow she can squeal at me. Be brave, in case she hits you. She might, you know. Pregnant women do strange things. Speaking of pregnant women, the council has agreed with me that the law my father initiated is archaic, and it has been rescinded. Trish and I are in the clear on that. I should have done that years ago, and I take responsibility for my wife’s angst these past years. I hope she can forgive me.”

“Forgiveness is an act of love, Malik.”

“And you learned this . . . where?”

“From you, that’s where. Come along. I’ll walk you back to the cave. I want to see you settled before I go before the dragon lady.”

Rashid hated leaving Malik alone, but he desperately wanted to see his wife and children. When he left Malik, his feet had wings on them as he raced to his apartments. The children were already in bed, and his wife was standing in the doorway, her arms folded over her protruding stomach. She glowered at him.

Rashid shuffled his feet and bit down on his lower lip as he struggled to find the words he needed to say. Finally, he just blurted it out, then reached to take his wife in his arms. “I am so terribly sorry. Malik swore me to secrecy. I had no choice, my love. I begged him to tell you himself, but he said you needed to vent to me first. Tomorrow morning will be time enough. We now need to sit and talk. We have to call Trish and tell her to come home. I think you are the one to do that. Can you? Will you?”

“Of course. Of course I will, but that is not something you speak of on the phone. I will send her a very carefully worded text. But, Rashid, I’m not sure where she is. She could be with her sister in Princeton, New Jersey, or she could be in Las Vegas. I know. I will call Ernie,” she blubbered into her husband’s chest.

“I’m not sure I like that idea,” Rashid said glumly.

“Do you have a better idea? You need to get over your jealousy of Ernie. I just used him for practice. You got the benefit of all my practice. Come, come. Let’s go to the sitting room. While I do this, will you get me some peach juice? That way, you won’t have to hear me sweet-talking Ernie. By the way, Rashid, Ernie is married now to a lovely young lady.”

Rashid grumbled some more just to keep in practice as he sought out one of the maids to fetch the peach juice. He stopped in his children’s bedrooms and smiled as he brushed their hair back from their foreheads. He bent over to kiss each of them on the cheek. “I am so blessed,” he whispered to each of them.

When Rashid returned to the sitting room, Soraya was smiling through her tears. “Trish is in New Jersey with her sister. I sort of explained things to him, but I made him promise not to tell Trish. He did promise. Now, what you have to do is make arrangements for a private plane to bring Trish home. Do it now, and I will text her. I need to be alone to do this. This is girl stuff. Do you understand?”

Rashid didn’t understand, but he said he did. He trotted off a second time so that his wife could compose the message to Malik’s wife.

Tears streaming down her cheeks, Soraya knew that what she was about to write was probably the most serious message she would ever write during her whole life.

Dearest Trish, I wish I wasn’t writing this to you, but Rashid has said I must. Arrangements are being made as I type this for you to return to Dubai. Just go to Newark Airport. Do not delay. You must return immediately. Please, do not think for one instant, one moment, that this is a ploy or a trick to get you to return. It is urgent that you return
immediately.
I have the answers to all your questions and mine, as well, but I have been forbidden to discuss them at this time. Rashid has informed me that the silly pregnancy law has been done away with. He said he saw the council’s declaration himself. It has been stamped and so ordered. I know you are full of questions that I cannot answer right now. I know how mysterious this must sound to you, but Rashid has said you are not, I repeat, you are
not,
to get in touch with Malik before your return. Please text me when you are on the plane. As you Americans say, my one true friend, fly with the angels. Much love from me, Rashid, and all the little ones, who miss you.

Soraya’s fingers were shaking so badly that she had to hit the SEND button twice before her text made its way across the world. She felt drained as she tried to imagine Trish’s reaction to the message once she got it.

Rashid returned, a glass of peach juice in his hand. Soraya waved it away.

“I just sent you for that to get you out of my hair. I sent it, Rashid. Now we wait. Sit here by me. Put your arm around me. Oh, the baby just hopped from one side to the other.” Then she burst into tears. Rashid’s eyes were wet as they snuggled close, waiting for a return text.

Trish cut the engine, gathered her purse and gloves, and was about to get out of the car when she heard her cell phone ping. Thinking it was either Ernie or the nameless, faceless man she’d spoken to earlier, she clicked it to read the message. She blinked, then shook her head to clear it. She read the text a second, then a third time. She looked out through the windshield, which was suddenly full of snow. She thought she could see her sister standing in the open doorway of her new house. The cell in her hand, she got out of the car and ran to the door.

“Look at this! I don’t know what to do. God, Emma, what do you think it means?”

Emma closed the door, turned on the foyer light, and read the text. “I think it means just what it says, Trish. You need to go right now. Wait, wait! First you have to respond. Tell her you’re on your way to the airport. Another few hours, and everything will be delayed. Do you hear me, Trish?”

“Yes, of course I can hear you. Something terrible has happened. I just know it.”

“Maybe not terrible, just serious enough for you to return. You need to go now.”

“Okay, okay. I have to stop back at the hotel to get my things. I’ll call you from the airport. I have to turn the car in.”

Emma was crying as she hugged her sister. “Call me as soon as you know something. Promise me, okay?”

“I will. I promise. I had other stuff to tell you. It will have to wait, Emma.”

“Whatever it is, it can wait. This is more important,” Emma said, tapping the cell phone. “Go now. Thanks again. God, how inadequate that sounds.”

“Say good-bye to your friends for me. Okay, okay, I’m going. I love you, Emma.”

“And I love you, Trish. Like Soraya and Mom always said, fly with the angels.”

Trish opened the door and ran down the steps and out to the car. Emma stood in the doorway, the snow spiraling inward to wet the wooden floor. Emma didn’t care. She watched her sister until the rental car’s back lights were just faint pinpricks of pink light. Only then did she close the door and clean up the floor. Her shoulders drooped as she made her way to the kitchen, where she put on a pot of coffee and called her friends. “Please come now. Unexpected emergency.” Then she mumbled a sincere prayer from her childhood that things would go well for her sister.

R
ASHID LOOKED AT
M
ALIK AND SMILED BECAUSE HE LOOKED
fresh, bright-eyed, and alert. He knew for a fact that Malik hadn’t taken any of his medicine, because he wanted to be seen as strong, even though he knew that rumors about his health, which he and Rashid had tried to squelch, had already circulated.

“I’m glad you had the good sense to call this meeting in Dubai, instead of in one of the other emirates. Even I am feeling the stress, and don’t tell me it’s because Soraya is about to give birth. Are you absolutely sure, Malik, that the other emirs are going to vote with you?”

Malik threw his hands in the air. “They assured me they would. When I explained the whole world would be coming down on us over here if we didn’t put an end to what’s going on, I think they saw the light. Look, we’re never going to stop the money laundering, but we can certainly scale it back. I, for one, have always taken umbrage at the fact that Dubai is known as the Little Switzerland. And as much as I hate to have to admit it, we’re in the position my father put us in. I owned up to that little fact with the others. If our facts and figures are correct . . . and, Rashid, we went over them time and again, until we were blind . . . The bottom line is, numbers don’t lie.”

“The others are
old,
Malik. They like the status quo. They don’t like upheaval. They could switch up at the eleventh hour. Then what do we do?”

“We talked about this, Rashid. We simply refuse to sign and renew the contract with those thieves. That’s what we do. International Alliance Capital has ripped off the emirates, taking over a billion dollars. That’s a billion, with a
b.
Remember that American phrase we learned when we first went to the States? We didn’t understand until Zack explained it to us.”

Rashid laughed. “Money talks and bullshit walks. Those four are snakes.”

“Right, and what do you do when you find a snake in your midst? You cut off his head.”

“Hold on, Malik. A text is coming in.” Rashid scanned the brief text and frowned. It was from the pilot of Trish’s plane.

We’re grounded in London due to severe weather. Twelve hours more on the ground before we can take off, and even that’s not certain.

Rashid typed a terse reply. Keep me apprised.

Malik frowned. “Is something wrong?”

Rashid hated lying, but he lied, anyway. “It was Soraya saying she thought she was going into labor, but it’s a false alarm.”

“What will you call this one, Rashid?”

Rashid laughed. “Malik if it’s a boy, and Patricia if it’s a girl. Now if it’s twins, we have it going on. Soraya thought you would be pleased.”

“I am pleased. Has she heard from Trish?”

Another lie rose to Rashid’s lips. He was sure Allah would forgive him. “If she has, she has not told me. She is not in touch with you?”

“I’m afraid not. Perhaps today,” Malik said wearily. “Tell me, wise one who professes one minute to know everything about women, then in the next minute, he says he knows nothing about women, how could something so wonderful go so bad in such a short time?”

Rashid straightened his shoulders. He was glad not to have to lie again. “Because you were stupid and didn’t tell her the truth at the beginning. That’s how.”

“I should cut your damn tongue out, but, alas, it’s true. Tell me the truth now. Do you think I can make this right? Providing Trish returns.”

“Of course you can make it right. Trish loves you the way Soraya loves me and the way I love her. End of story.” Rashid looked down at his watch. “Ten minutes, Malik, till we beard the lions. And before you can ask, yes, you look forceful and on top of your game. One last question, Malik. When and how are you going to tell the emirs that you are turning the reins over to your wife, your sister, and me?”

Malik smiled. “At the end of the meeting, after everything is signed, and the emirs ask if there are any other housekeeping details to be discussed. They have no say. I rule Dubai. Sometimes the things that are
not
said aloud are the most important. They all know you will be the driving force, and you will run our country as I would. New blood will begin to take over the other emirates. Educated young blood like yourself. That’s where the real power is, Rashid, in education. Even my father saw that when he sent the two of us to the States. He saw the day coming when night would have to give way to light, as he put it. I have not one single worry that the three of you will do all that is right for our country and our people.”

Rashid’s vision blurred for a moment as he tried to imagine his life without Malik in it. The lump in his throat was so big, he could barely swallow. He nodded and made a sweeping motion with his hand to indicate they needed to head to the meeting room at the other end of the palace.

Trish entered the VIP lounge at Heathrow and settled herself. A twelve-hour delay! She was beside herself with worry. What was going on? She had sent three texts to Soraya since she’d stepped off the plane and had received only one in return, which was almost laughable
.

I’m kind of busy right now. I think I’m going into labor.

Trish wasn’t sure how she should respond or
if
she should respond. She decided to wait a bit to see if Soraya, or possibly Rashid, would send another text. She walked over to the bar and ordered a ham and cheese sandwich and a scotch and soda. She carried both back to a comfortable area that was virtually empty. As she chewed, she checked her other texts. Ah, one that said the sender was unknown. Hoping it was from Ernie’s nameless, faceless friend, she felt her heart take on an extra beat. It was. It was simple and to the point.

Making headway. Check with Ernie twenty-four hours from the time of this text.

Trish didn’t know if she should respond or not. She thought about it for a few minutes, and by the time she finished her sandwich, she had sent off a text.

Am on a twelve-hour layover in London on my way home. Will do as you say.

Trish finished her drink, disposed of her trash, and decided to take a walk around the airport just to have something to do. She wanted to pick up some reading material in one of the shops to occupy her during the remainder of the flight back to Dubai. And to pick up something for Soraya’s children and Soraya herself. If nothing else, it would give her something to do. Twelve hours seemed like an eternity at the moment.

Trish strolled along aimlessly, gazing into shop windows, stepping aside more than once to get out of the way of passengers racing toward their flights. She wondered why they were in such a hurry, since most of the planes appeared to be grounded. Finally, she stopped in a bookstore, bought a book by Stella Cameron, her favorite author, a copy of the
London Times,
and three packages of Life Savers. She was pocketing her change and reaching for the bag the clerk was handing her when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She whirled around, her eyes almost bugging out of her head.

“Zack!”

“Trish! I thought it was you, but I wasn’t sure. What are you doing here?”

Trish’s first thought was,
How big he is, how handsome.
She’d never seen such blue eyes in her life. “I’m on my way back to Dubai, but the plane got grounded because of the bad weather. What are you doing here?”

Zack took hold of Trish’s arm and led her away from the long line of people waiting to pay for their purchases. Out in the middle of the terminal, he smiled down at her. “Right now the same thing you’re doing. My flight was grounded two hours ago. No clue when I’ll get out. I’ve just been rambling around to kill time. Let’s go somewhere we can talk. Can I buy you a drink?”

Trish’s somber mood lightened. This would be a good way to pass the time. “Let’s go into the VIP lounge, although I’m sure it’s crowded by now, but not as bad as out here. I imagine every bar seat has been taken.”

“I think you have that right,” Zack said, looking around. “Lead the way. I’m right behind you.”

“What are you doing here?” Trish asked.

“There was an international conference, and I had to give a speech. Boring as hell, but it was something to do to break up the winter blues. You know how that goes. So, you were stateside, eh? You should have called to say hello. How are things in Dubai? That husband of yours isn’t big on staying in touch of late.” He said this half jokingly, but Trish saw the concern in his eyes. “Plus, you didn’t answer my last text.”

Trish was relieved when she opened the door to the lounge and saw that the seating area she’d been in still had two vacant seats. She rushed forward and claimed them. Zack laughed out loud at the speed with which she moved. She thought he had a wonderful laugh, and her mood lightened even more.

“When it’s crowded like this, a steward will come around and take your drink order. They serve food, too, if you’re hungry. I had a very good sandwich a little while ago.”

A steward appeared out of nowhere, a fussy little man wearing a bow tie, his gaze swiveling about as he tried to calculate his tips. Trish ordered another scotch, and Zack ordered a bourbon on the rocks with a turkey club sandwich.

Zack leaned forward, his blue-eyed gaze sharp and intent. “Things aren’t quite right, are they?” he said bluntly.

Trish squirmed in her chair. “What makes you say that?”

“Well, for one thing, you have dark circles under your eyes, you’re a lot thinner than in the last picture Malik sent to me, and you’re traveling alone. In addition, you look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders.”

“Wow. All that in five minutes,” Trish said lightly. “It was more or less a rush trip home. I went to see my sister, who lives in Princeton, New Jersey. Jet lag, burning the candle at both ends, not eating right, and now this. As for the weight, a lady can never be too thin. At least that’s what all the fashion magazines say.”

“Yes, you can be too thin, and who cares what fashion magazines say! You are too thin,” Zack said bluntly.

“Why don’t you tell me what you
really
think?” Trish teased.

“What I
really
think is, something is wrong, and you don’t want to talk about it. How’s zat? My mother takes great pride in the fact that she didn’t raise any dummies.”

In spite of herself, Trish laughed out loud. “Okay, my sister had some problems. I stepped in and am trying to help. It got complicated. Things back in Dubai could be better. I left to go stateside to help clear my head a little.”

“Did it work?” Zack asked as the steward removed the drinks and food from a silver tray.

Trish winced. “I really didn’t get a chance to find out. I was summoned home, and that’s why I’m sitting here. My sister-in-law said it was urgent that I return immediately, and she stressed the word
immediately.
They hired a private jet for me, so I guess it is important. Other than that, I know nothing. It goes without saying, I’m worried.”

“What do Malik or Rashid say?”

Trish winced again. “Soraya said I wasn’t to get in touch with either of them, and made me promise. Now you know everything I know.” To show her disgust, she downed her drink in two long gulps. Her eyes started to water with the effects of the alcohol.

“I’m sorry, Trish. I just want to help. I can’t believe I bumped into you like this. Malik has been on my mind a lot lately. I’ve tried calling him, but he doesn’t respond. The other guys tell me the same thing. I’m sure you know we were always a tight group, and that didn’t change once we all went our separate ways. We were all in touch almost daily up until a few months ago. Then things sort of got shot to hell. I can’t explain it any better than that.”

Trish nodded. “Yes, that’s when things started to change. At first, it was barely noticeable, then just a tad subtle, then nothing. I thought it had something to do with that archaic law about me not having a child in five years, but that wasn’t it. By the way, that’s been done away with. Malik saw to that, but only just recently. I wish he had done it sooner. It would have saved me a lot of angst. Guess they won’t be kicking me to the curb, after all. Then again, you never know.”

Zack digested her rapid-fire dialogue and smiled. “Malik always was able to figure out a solution faster than any of us when we were in school. Listen, would you like me to return with you, talk to Malik? I’m more than willing. I have time coming to me, and I can do it if you want me to.”

“That’s so kind of you, but no. I will promise you, though, that I will let you know what is going on as soon as I find out. Lord, can you imagine Malik’s expression if the two of us walked off the plane together?”

Zack grinned. “I think that’s a visual I can do without.”

Trish laughed. “Yeah, me too. So, Zack, tell me about how it was when you all were in school. I’ve heard Malik’s version a thousand times, but I’d really like to hear yours. In case you don’t know it, he considers you the best thing since sliced bread. Don’t ever tell this to anyone, but I think if it was a toss-up between you and Rashid, he’d pick you.”

“Really!”

“Yes, really. In his heart of hearts, Malik is American. Unfortunately, he takes his birthright very seriously. He’s happy, but he’s not happy. Does that make sense?”