The Intern Affair (30 page)

“You needed to feel how painful evil could be…,” he went on. Talya wasn’t listening anymore. She wanted to tell him to stop talking and take her in his arms, to return to the way it was between them, and to feel the peace he had brought her until that afternoon. “…he has no name, but he penetrates you and you become him, and that, I couldn’t tolerate. You are too precious to me, and tonight I will try to tell you how precious you are.”

Talya was staring at her nearly empty cup distractedly. “Did you ever think for one moment that we were going to find ourselves in a strange and magnificent city together when you first took
Alhassan
to
Dakar
?”

Before answering, Samir stretched his hand across the table and took Talya’s in his, and squeezed it so hard that she grimaced. “You will never know how many times I have thanked
God
for allowing me the privilege to take
Alhassan
on that first journey. When I saw you, and you so graciously granted me hospitality in your home, I sensed that one-day we would travel together.
When I was flying over the mine site, I knew that
God
was guiding my flight path.
He showed me the adits that sealed our fate for ever.”

A calming silence draped over them for a few minutes then. His soothing words once again seemed to assuage Talya’s desire for inner peace.

They finished their tea and went out under the puzzled gaze of the concierge.

35

They got back
to the hotel in time to change for dinner. The concierge at the Empress recommended a restaurant nearby, where they could have a quiet dinner or supper later, if they preferred.

Samir knocked at the adjoining door just before eight o’clock. Talya was ready. She looked in the wardrobe mirror one more time and it agreed with her that she looked
smashing!

She went to the door and opened it. Samir was dressed in a dark grey suit, which he had bought when they went shopping after leaving the Brownstone Inn.
He had chosen a shirt and a tie to complete the attire, and had come out of the store, looking definitely satisfied with his purchases. In one other shop, he had picked out a long, blue, lamé dress for Talya to wear that evening. It was fitting her like a glove, literally, and its simplicity suited Talya’s taste. She hadn’t expected the gift but “don’t utter a word,” Samir had said, when he had told the clerk to “wrap it up!”

He looked at her, took her hand and swirled her around. “You deserve the title of Princess in this dress, My Lady. You look enticingly beautiful.”

“Thank you, Samir.”

He grinned and put her arm into his to lead her out of the room.

As they were walking down the corridor toward the lift, a pang of guilt hit her. Instantly Samir turned to Talya and stopped. He peered into her eyes, acknowledging what he had seen. “There is no guilt to be felt, Princess, remember, next week we are destined to go into battle for the ones we love. Tonight however, we need to set aside the torment and cleanse our souls—”

“I know, but—”

“Hush, Talya. Tonight you will be Cinderella until the midnight bells toll.”

They reached the little restaurant without seeing it. It was located in the basement floor of an old house. They went down the stairs and entered through a door, which was creaking on its hinges.
The maitre d’ greeted them and led them to a table in a corner. Two steps, stretching lengthwise from one wall to the other, separated the restaurant from the bar below it. The light green walls were adorned with oil paintings set in heavy golden frames. The tables and sideboards were as old as the house by the looks of them: their patina reflecting the years of careful polishing. The spotlights overhead, casting their beams on particular items, left the rest of the room bathing in soft dimness and enhancing the peaceful atmosphere of the restaurant.
There were maybe ten tables in total. In fact, Talya felt as if they were ready to have dinner at home rather than here. In an alcove, discreetly removed from direct view, a grand piano gleamed from under one of the spotlights. On an impulse, Talya rose and walked to it.
She opened its lid and looked at the keyboard.
Samir came to stand at her side.
She felt his hand caressing her back as she stared at the keys. Ebony and Ivory, the keys of harmony, were staring back at her. The hurting returned viciously. The memory of
Alhassan
’s passion was invading her body. She turned to look into Samir’s eyes.

“What do they represent? Why are you drawn to the keyboard?” Samir asked.

“
Alhassan
and I were Ebony and Ivory. We strove to find harmony and now how can we?
The torment has returned. How will we ever find harmony now that
Kareef
has destroyed our future?”

Samir took her by the hand and led her back to their table.

The waiters had watched the scene with curiosity. Their discretion however, had prevented any of them to intrude.

“
Kareef
didn’t destroy your future with
Alhassan
,” Samir replied once seated. “He only tried to kill the men who knew too much. Your future, whether with
Alhassan
, or with anyone, is in your hands, and from this day forward it will remain so.”

“May I ask you a question?”

“Of course, you know that you are the one person from whom questions I will need to hear always.”

“Where were you when
Kareef
attacked me?”

“One day you will understand perhaps how I felt when I heard of the attack. I have to confess that when I learned you were under care, I immediately went to the gardens in search of
Kareef
.
Had I found him before the officers did, he would be dead now. Vengeance is very hard to control, Talya, and for me, it’s practically impossible at times. However, now that I have a reason to look forward to the future, which requires my looking after you, I will not allow myself to sacrifice that for which
God
has given me leave in favour of revenge. It would ultimately destroy me.”

Seeing that a moment of silence had returned between them, the waiter approached the table intending to take their dinner order.
When Samir ordered red wine, Talya stared at him.

When the server went away, she couldn’t refrain from asking
,
“Wine; Samir, what’s going on?”

“Yes, My Lady, wine will be served tonight.”

“But I thought—”

“Talya? You should know why or how we could permit ourselves to drink wine tonight. Don’t you remember your teachings?”
She didn’t.

“I only remember the precept; wine is forbidden because it is liable to cloud your judgment in discerning good from evil—”

“Yes, you are correct. But, the precept does not interpret the prophet’s words correctly.
It has been written that you should drink to honour the passing of an event. You should taste the goodness of wine to complement the taste of the food
God
has presented before you but you should not allow yourself to become inebriated. Besides, did you know that the word ‘alcohol’ comes from an Arabic word ‘al’khul’?”

Talya smiled. “You know, Samir, that’s what I missed, the teachings, I mean.”

“God willing, I will never again give you opportunity to miss my teaching you.”

When the waiter chose that instant to bring the wine, Talya thought that she would stray quickly from the path on which this conversation was heading. The feelings that were igniting in her heart at that moment were not to be expressed in a restaurant.

“Samir, may I ask you to talk about our private thoughts somewhere else?”

He smiled in response. “Your perspicacity will always be amazing to me, and yes, we will talk later. For now let’s enjoy our meal,” and that they did.

When tea and coffee (for Talya) were served, they
saw two waiters roll
the cut-out carpet from in front of the piano uncovering a space of the parquet floor. The pianist came in, bowed to his small audience and sat at the keyboard.

“Would my princess like to dance?” Talya was so surprised that her mouth fell open. “Is that a yes or a no?
Samir grinned at the stunned look on her face. Men of the Islamic faith generally do not dance.

“It’s a definite
yes
, Samir, I’d love to dance.”

He stood up and came to her a hand extended.
They took the couple of steps separating them from the dance floor and he then pulled her to a small distance from him and led her with gentle elegance through the perfect rhythmic paces of a salsa. He knew how to dance with grace and respect. When the opportunity presented itself to pull Talya closer, so that he could whisper in her ear,
he said,
“I have discovered something else about you; you are a beautiful dancer. Thank you for allowing me the pleasure of this dance with you.”

Talya smiled in reply.

The other three or four couples in the restaurant hadn’t joined them on the floor. Talya felt as if they were on display. Yet she didn’t mind; she was living a dream from which she didn’t want to wake.

36

They returned to the hotel
just before midnight. Samir had said, when they were leaving the restaurant, that he didn’t want his princess to turn into a pumpkin—he didn’t like pumpkins.

When they reached his suite, they were tired.
Exhausted
, perhaps would be a better word to describe how Talya felt when they sat down on the sofa.

They were silent for a few minutes before Samir put an arm around Talya’s shoulders and said, “I need to tell you how I feel about you, Talya, because if I hide behind a mask of friendship any longer, I will become hateful to you.”

“No!” Talya threw him a reproving glance. “Don’t you say anything, Samir. I already know how you feel and you’re not wearing a mask—not with me—you can’t. I can see through you. When we’re back in
Africa
, it’ll be time enough for you to tell me what’s in your heart.”

“Is that your wish?”

“It is, because same as me; you know what my thoughts are before my expressing them. You know how I feel without my saying anything.”

He shook his head. “God will bless you for ever for the chastity of your thoughts and the integrity of your heart. You are a true princess, My Lady.”

“I am just grateful for your friendship and your understanding, Samir, and let’s leave it at that for now.”

He put his elbows on his knees and didn’t look at her. “Tell me something, and only because I know the young man the way I do, now am I letting myself ask this question, did
Ghali
touch you when you spent the last wee
ken
d with you here?”

Where is he going with this?

“No, he didn’t. I wouldn’t have considered spending four days with him if he had dared impose himself on me. He knew I was hurting and he wanted to distract me in the best way he knew how, so that the images of the past would subside.”

“Why is it then that he was so offended when I asked to look after you as if you were his sister?”

“Because
Ghali
knew that he had shown great restraint only a few days prior to your arrival, and he probably felt guilty for having the desire to making love to me. Does that satisfy your curiosity now?”
Samir shouldn’t have gone there.

“I am very sorry.
Please forgive me for prying.
I had no right—”

“Listen to me . . .” He shot a rueful glance in her direction. “What should be most prominent in your mind is what
I
do or how
I
behave—not the wants, needs or desires of the men around me. What counts is how
I
respond to their advances.”

“Yes. But I know also that I do not trust anyone coming near you, because they have no knowledge of the injury they could inflict in attempting to fulfil their desires, needs or wants.”

“I understand, but I am the one who has to push them away.”

He rose from the sofa. “It is time for us to retire.”

Talya got to her feet. “Can I ask you to wake me up in the morning?”

“I will do that. Morning Prayer will have hardly been concluded, that I will be at your bedside to wake you.”

37

When Talya
opened
her eyes, she was staring at the blue dress that she had draped over the chair near the bed. In an instant, she relived every moment of joy, happiness and peace she experienced the evening before. She felt rested although the sun was only peeking over the horizon. Then she remembered that she had asked Samir to wake her. She got up and rushed to the bathroom to check on what the mirror had to say. “Yeek!” was the answer. She took a shower, washed her hair, and came out, once again wrapped in the hotel’s robe when Samir knocked gently on the adjoining door.