The Intern Affair (16 page)

“Samir, I can’t
—
”

“Talya, hush.
Remember this is me; you don’t have to say a word, I can read everything in your eyes.
And now, stop crying, will you?”

Talya nodded, wiping her eyes with a tissue she found in her jacket pocket.
The indescribable joy she felt at that moment was just that—indescribable.

They walked through to the doors to the sidewalk where they found the shuttle ready to take them to town.

As they settled down in their seats and while they were waiting for the bus to depart, Talya said, “I thought you’d like to stay somewhere close to my place, so I’ve reserved a room for you in a modest hotel near my apartment. I knew you wouldn’t like all the fuss of the big hotels. Besides, I need to know that you are near me.
I don’t think I would have been able to go on for much longer if you hadn’t come.”

“Let’s not talk until we reach your home, Talya.
This bus is not the place for talking.”
At these words, Samir closed his eyes and stretched to the back of his seat.
Talya watched the traffic pass by as they
travelled
the twenty minutes to their destination.
When they alighted from the bus, the hotel being right across the street, Talya asked Samir if he would like to check-in and relieve himself of his luggage before walking to her place—two blocks away.

“Yes, that’s a good idea.” He looked round and noticed the ocean lurking at the end of the street from where they stood. “I know where we shall talk.
It will be at the place where the tides rise and fall.” He nodded toward the beach beyond the trees.

“If it doesn’t rain….”

“Rain or shine, My Lady, we will go to where only
God
can hear our words in peace.”

Talya hoped he had a raincoat handy, otherwise there would be many a day when her friend would find himself soaked to the bones—she knew how long their talks usually lasted.

Samir
Sheikh
Mandalay
was as handsome as they come.
His wavy black hair was only enhancing the delicately etched features of his face.
His age was unknown, although the grey hair rising above the temples told Talya he was no longer a young man.
He stood tall before her, and his smile was enveloping.
From the first day she met him, he impressed her with his sagacity and perspicacity.
His eyes were reflecting the deep understanding of human nature with which he had been gifted.
As Talya looked up at him, the respect she had held for him became even more acute.
He had a presence that could never be ignored nor forgotten.

“Let’s go, Talya.” He took her hand to cross the busy street.
“I am impatient as a child to be alone with you.”

“You are?
What do you think I am?”

“As well, My Lady, as well.”

It took a little time to have Samir register and a lot more time for him to get into a shower and change once he had been assigned a room on the second floor facing the street.
Talya waited for him in the lobby, leafing through some magazines, pacing the floor and literally being on tender hooks until she finally
saw him come
off the elevator.
He had decided to wear jeans and a sweater.

He looked at her and smiled as he took a few steps toward her. “Why are you staring?”

“I can’t believe you’re actually here,” Talya said. “It seems so unreal.
I’m staring because you’re—”

“Hush, you will embarrass me.
And what’s more I’ll give you my hand so that you can be assured that I am here beside you and that for a long time to come.”

They walked to her place in silence.
He held her hand tightly.
When they arrived in front of the building, Samir asked, “Is this where you live?” lifting his head, his eyes reaching the top of the high-rise.

“Yes, this is where I live. Why?”

“Because you have chosen well.
The tower faces east.
God
’s eyes will be upon you at sunrise and He will leave you with his blessings throughout your day.” Talya had never made the connection. She had chosen to live there only because the building was close to the beach.

“Your modesty speaks through the décor,” Samir said when they crossed the threshold of her apartment.
He went directly to the window facing the ocean, turned around and stepped onto the terrace where he sat in one of the lounge chairs.

The month of June is not one of the warmest months of the year in
Vancouver
, and on the fifteenth floor, the wind can be rather cold, especially at nine o’clock at night, but Samir didn’t seem to mind.
Talya kept her jacket on and went out to join him.

As she sat in the other chair, Samir looked at her.
“I will be with you, Talya, as I said, for a long time to come and that only because I want it that way. I wanted to make it very clear that
no one
has sent me here.
Only
God
in His wisdom has seen fit to grant me the honour of guiding you through the turmoil that lies ahead.
Do you understand what I am saying?”

“Of course I do.
Knowing you as I do, you could never do what you didn’t want to do.
As you have told me,
Charles
invited you here instead of you spending time in
Paris
. If you had not wanted to come, you would have stayed in
France
.”

“Yes, that’s correct, but I noticed something that prompted my comments in the first place.
I heard no words nor did I see anything in your eyes asking after
Alhassan
. Why?”

Talya did not intend to start their conversation on the terrace. “I’m cold. Let’s go in and I can make some tea for you?” That answer was purposely evasive.
Yet, truth be told, she
was
cold.

“By all means, it is cold, I agree.”

They went in. Samir sat in the Old English chair opposite the sofa.
Talya only sat there when she wanted to read and shut off the world while finding an escape amongst the pages of her books. She went to the kitchen and put the kettle on to make some tea.
She had bought chamomile tea, knowing Samir would appreciate it.
She took her jacket off and hung it in the closet.

Waiting for the kettle to boil, she went to sit on the sofa.
Samir’s gaze followed her.

“Come here and sit beside me on the floor,” he ordered gently. She did. “Now will you answer my question?”

“No!” she replied, lowering her head and shaking it.

“I have a message for you, Talya. Do you want to hear it?”

“Yes, I do, but only after you drink tea, and I want to look at you.
I’m not talking or I can’t listen to you if I can’t see your eyes.
I don’t want this conversation to be like a phone call.”

Samir laughed and pushed his leg against her back so that she would get up.

“I’ve always known that submission was not to be proposed to you ever.” He watched her getting to her feet.

She looked down at him. “You should have known better than to put me through your little test. I’ll get the tea ready.”
Talya heard the kettle’s insistent whistle and went to the kitchen with a grin on her face.
Samir got up and followed her.

“Do you have anything to eat?”

That, too, Talya had expected.
She had prepared a small plate of rice and meat the night before. She took it out of the fridge and placed it in the microwave.
She pressed a few digits under the watchful eyes of her curious friend.
Within two minutes while she poured water over the chamomile in the teapot, the microwave stopped.
She took the steaming hot plate out of it and presented it to him. “Here you are, My Lord, your wishes are my command.”

He took it from her, walked back to the living room, and sat on the sofa. A spoon in one hand and a cup of tea in the other, Talya went to sit beside him.

“Thank you. This is as good as a white woman could prepare it,” Samir remarked between two mouthfuls.
Trust Samir to tell the truth and not to flatter anyone with hypocrisy
.

While he was busy eating, Talya went to get a bottle of cognac from the cupboard.
Samir watched her pour the golden liquid in the snifter.
She turned on the stereo, choosing some quiet music.
His eyes did not leave her for one second.

When he was done eating, he reclined against the back of the seat. “Have you shut
Alhassan
out of your mind, Talya?”

“No I haven’t, Samir, and you know it.
Yet it is one more painful thought, which I rather not handle at the moment.
I know in my heart he’s safe.
That’s all that counts.”

“Why is it a painful thought?”

“Because, I can’t allow myself to love him the way he deserves to be loved.
I can’t go as far as he wants me to go.
Marriage between us is not an option. Not right now anyway. I don’t regret having loved him. Yet, it can’t go on any further than that. As it is at present, our relationship would be doomed to fail.
And if I am not asking after him it’s because he is the reason for my turmoil. But, all of this you know already and it’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is, Talya, but you cannot shut off kindness together with the denial of love. You have to let kindness reach the people you
would
love. Let it be known that your heart is not as cold as the demons which roam amid your thoughts.” Samir was gazing at her musingly.

Talya nodded slowly. “I’ve called him last week because I wanted to hear his voice and I thought he would have liked to talk to me. I was wrong. He asked me to hang up. He said he couldn’t handle it anymore.”

“Talya, the message I have is from
Alhassan
,” Samir began. Talya made no comments.
She wanted to listen. “
Alhassan
didn’t
tell me
to give you this message. Yet, I know that in his heart he would like me to say this to you.
He has realized that pursuing you the way he did in
Dakar
was not only disrespectful but also hurtful.
He feels contrition for his actions and the only thing he wants now is to see you come back.”

“And as soon as he’ll see me he’ll start all over again with his insane desire to
possess
me and he’ll insult me with his unfounded jealousy. No, Samir, I won’t have it anymore. No more!” Talya was getting flustered at the mere thought of putting herself in that same situation, which had provoked her emotional problems in the first place.

“You have to know that
Alhassan
is deeply in love with you. He’s not going to continue
pursuing
you or wanting to
possess
you as you say, because in doing so, he has offended his God.
He is however, not going to give up on you.”

“Yes.
Mansur
had told me—and I have seen it for myself many times—
Alhassan
has a one-track mind. That’s what frightens me. I need my freedom. Like you, Samir, I’m a loner.
I’ve got to be free.”

“I understand what you are saying, Talya, and I can even sympathize with your feelings. As any man or woman in this world, you need to be loved, and freedom comes with loving someone.
If you are
free
of all things in life, you are fostering unhappiness. You are not going to enjoy life or your precious freedom, if you have no love in your heart.”

“You obviously don’t understand how I feel at the moment. When I say I want to be free, it means that I want to be free to bestow my love onto the people who love me in return and that with no restraints, such as jealousy.”

“You know, Talya, loving someone invites a form of jealousy always. No matter the kind of love that exists between two people, jealousy will play a part in the relationship.
Take the two of us for example. We love each other. We have a relationship that I would qualify as ‘sacred’ and this relationship has fostered jealousy. I asked you when I arrived to be alone with you, didn’t I?”

“Yes you did.”

“And do you think for one moment I would have suffered gladly the presence of anyone intruding on our conversation?”

“No, I think you would have kicked the person to the moon if he had dared come in.”

He chuckled. “Exactly. Only because I am jealous of anyone who would be invading our time together or I would be prepared to kill the one who would hurt you. I am fiercely jealous, Talya. I’ll tell you something else;
Alhassan
wanted to come with me. There was only one reason for my preventing him to do so and that was because I wanted you all to myself for the time
God
will allow me to remain at your side.”