Excerpt
later and then you’ll see the whole picture. The future is very bright, my friend,
and all thanks to Uncle Ibrahim.”
Hakim smiles and silence comes between them, as each sinks into his own
thoughts, until their two worlds merge into one and become the force and
strength Ibrahim wants them to have when they face the reality of what is
expected of them. But Hakim’s face betrays an obvious joy at the thought of the
wealth he’s to inherit. He likes the thought, he likes it a lot.
Helena and Jennifer come inside and sit with them.
“What would you like to do later on?” Helena asks.
“Let’s go to the Double Cherry, okay?”
Talal responds, “No, no Double Cherry tonight; let’s go somewhere else.”
Hakim’s mind is still dwelling on the money, and he stays out of the
conversation. Then he asks, “So, where are we going later on tonight?”
Talal laughs at him.
“Oh, you woke up after all. Well, where shall we go later on? Come on, ladies.
Where are all those bright ideas of yours?”
“Double Cherry, Double Cherry,” repeats Jennifer.
Emily walks by them and hears Jennifer’s comment. She stops for a minute
and asks, “You are already making plans to go out, I suppose?”
“When is Dad going to the office, Mom?” Jennifer asks.
“Tomorrow, sweetheart; you know your father, the office is his life.”
One could feel the disappointment in her words. The words of a woman who
would like to have a husband a bit more to herself. Over the years, she has
struggled with the feelings of loneliness that have covered her heart for so long,
feelings that have replaced the sweet sentiments of the early days of their
marriage, yet she takes it all in stride. The love she feels for Jennifer has kept her
silent all these years when it came to herself and her wants. Emily knows, she’s a
woman with plenty of wants, but her devotion to Jennifer’s upbringing has been
more important than everything else. Now she has two beautiful sad eyes in her
mind all the time, and her life has become sweet and filled with joy once again.
Emily feels like a woman, like the woman she always sensed she was.
Matthew and Emily finished cleaning up outside, with everything brought
into the kitchen to be sorted and put away. The guests are gone, the young crowd
is in the living room, and Matthew is eager to continue his conversation with
Emily about what he has learned.
“You know, honey, he’s going to inherit everything the old man has. He’s
going to be a billionaire in the next two to three years.”
Emily is astonished by such news and stays silent trying to digest it all. A
multi-billionaire, Hakim, her mind goes, and Jennifer goes out with him? Isn’t it
Libros Libertad 