Adored in Oman (Book 2 in Teach Me, Love Me Series): Interracial Romance (11 page)

After breakfast, Shan made a quick trip to her room to pick up a button down shirt to cover her arms and get her purse.

Laughing, Abdulla asked, “That’s a purse?”

“What?” Shan asked, “I take this when I am being a tourist.”

The purse had a long strap she wore across her body and was a little rectangle that looked to hold no more than a little cash, identification and a cellphone.

“You are a tourist today?” he asked.

“Yes and you are my guide, so get busy and show me something new,” she told him.

“After you,” he said and they headed toward the car.

The Sheikh Zayed Palace Museum was small and very maintained to mint condition. It only took them about an hour to walk around and see everything. There was no entrance fee. Shan was surprised at how humble the palace was, no diamond chandeliers and gold plated water fixtures anywhere to be found. It had been built in 1937 and the Sheikh lived there from that time until the mid-sixties.

They entered the main gate and walked through the public yard where a vehicle was parked under shade made from natural materials. There was a private school on the property. Continuing across the yard there was a library and large tent in addition to VIP accommodations, a private prayer room and a coffee room. They wandered through the sitting room and Sheikha Fatima’s family accommodations. There was a water well in this area.

Here, Abdulla told Shan, “Sheikh Zayed was known for his charitable works and generous heart, but it was matched by Sheikha Fatima. She has overseen many projects designed to help those less fortunate and has been honored by the United Nations.”

The second floor housed the Sheikh’s private rooms and the residential area. It was simple. There didn’t seem to be a lot of luxury. The sitting rooms had traditional seating, with a carpet covering the floor. There were wide, thick cushions on the perimeter of the carpet and against the wall. It was a sofa on the floor.. It looked like a great place to sit and have a chat with friends; the colors were brilliant, red, green, and blue with metallic accents. There was a low table that appeared dressed for tea.

“Sheikh Zayed came from humble beginnings, even after oil was discovered, he remembered his heritage. It was important to him that all his people did too. Oil exports began around 1962 and when he ascended to the position of Sheikh in 1966, he had a vision. Not long afterward, he hired Dr. Katsuhiko Takahashi, a Japanese architect, to design and plan Abu Dhabi. He was planning for his people, not just himself. More rulers today should be that way,” Abdulla continued as they were leaving the museum.

“I had no idea how simply he lived for much of his life,” Shan said. “I imagined jewel adorned women, luxury cars and sheets with the highest thread count you could buy.”

Laughing, Abdulla said, “His wives were adorned with jewels and he did ride in luxury cars; while I can’t say I’ve seen his sheets, I am sure they were of the highest quality. He had those things, but first, he built a city and then with the help of other leaders in the area he built a nation. My father told me that Sheikh Zayed was a wise man at the right time. Timing matters and so does wisdom.”

Thoughtfully, Shan said, “Just imagine, fifty years ago almost none of this was here. Now they have complex highway systems, desalination programs for water, a multi-billion dollar oil industry, hospitals, schools, universities and even a Louvre and Guggenheim. That is some phenomenal growth in half a century. Good for them.”

Since the museum had been such a quick trip, they went by the Al Ain Oasis.

It was outside and it had started to get hot, so they were very grateful for the heavily shaded walkways through the palm farms.

Shan was happy to nibble on a few freshly picked ripened dates. She drank in the green space and was duly impressed when Abdulla told her, “This irrigation system, called falaj, is around three thousand years old.”

The water channels supported about a hundred varieties of date palms which numbered in excess of one hundred forty thousand trees!

“How do you know so much about this when you aren’t even from here?” Shan asked.

“I have family who lives here and when your aunt grows weary of boys running around her villa, she sends you to the local outdoor spaces. I have climbed that mountain and walked this oasis a hundred times,” Abdulla told her with a laugh.

It was lunch time and Shan was starved. She also loved that she had learned something new. She felt all people should be able to teach one another something. If you had nothing to share, what purpose did have you on this planet? The ride to lunch was quiet, each immersed in their own thoughts.

Abdulla was feeling motivated to continue in his work with his father and hopeful he could influence the leadership of his nation in positive ways. He was also considering going to see Shan’s home in Texas.

Shan was imagining what it must have been like to be born and grow into adulthood in this place in the past few decades. So much change in such a small amount of time can be exhilarating and overwhelming. She wondered how women’s lives had changed in that time. The women she met still covered themselves traditionally, but underneath their abayas were every type of fashion from haute couture to urban. They were educated, some locally and others abroad, and worked if they wanted. While there were still those who covered their entire face, many did not. It was different for each woman and her family.

Shan loved that she could be out in the world, seeing different places, people and lifestyles. She felt it gave her a more open spirit. To see people living in ways completely different from her, but just as peaceful and content with their lives was reassuring. No matter what happens, we can all choose peace.

Longview, Texas

Carmen had been busy. She had paid for a membership to one of those search sites and found Shan. She had lied to Jack, she hadn’t had trouble finding Shan. In the age of the internet, finding someone wasn’t that hard. She just wanted to harass Jack and disturb his peace, it bothered her he had managed to move on and rebuild his life. She also had managed to get Shan’s social security number. The plan was to get Shan back to the States. That was the first thing, so she had to make a mess.

She had opened about half a dozen credit cards in her name and was having the invoices sent to a P.O. Box near her mother’s home. She donned a wig and some oversize glasses and made her way to a fly by night car dealership in Dallas and bought a car, in Shan’s name. She rented an apartment in Shan’s name and promptly stopped paying the rent.

She was creating a financial shit storm. She didn’t feel bad at all; she knew all of it would eventually be cleared. It’s not like she was really going to have to pay all these bills. Carmen had ordered tons of items from online stores and had them shipped to daycares, shelters, and halfway houses as anonymous gifts. She had spent somewhere around twenty thousand dollars in less than thirty days. She imagined Shan’s mother would start getting calls sometime in the next three weeks or so, when those first payments were due and collection agents started looking for money.

She had abandoned the car in a bad part of town with the keys on the seat. Who knows what would happen with that? Hopefully, someone would steal it and use it for some nefarious purpose. The cherry on top would be for Shan to get arrested on suspicion as soon as she landed. She was sure an arrest would derail all that international travel and work. What Carmen wanted was Shan at home and in a mess.

Shan thought she had died and gone to food heaven. Abdulla had brought her to Al Taahi Restaurant & Grills for lunch and they were attacking their plates as if breakfast had never happened. While Shan tried to limit meat to one meal a day and rely upon lots of healthy veggies and fruit, she had been unable to resist the mixed grill plate and Abdulla’s lamb chops.

As soon as they walked in the smell practically lifted her on her toes, she was sniffing and asking, “What is that? It smells delicious.”

“That is their mixed grill you smell. Someone has ordered the special with all the meats. You have grilled minced lamb, minced beef, cubed chicken and whole red onions on your plate. It also comes with falafel sandwiches and fries. It is great for sharing,” Abdulla said.

“That’s what I’m getting!” Shan immediately said.

“Just add mutabal and fattoush and I will be in great shape,” she added.

“I can see you know your way around the local food,” laughed Abdulla.

The owner recognized Abdulla as a returning customer and greeted him with a waving arm and pointed at a table. Moments later water, both sparkling and still, was being served and they were nibbling on a welcome plate of romaine lettuce leaves, carrot sticks, green and black olives, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers and red and orange bell peppers. Shan really appreciated the practice of local restaurants delivering a veggie plate as a starter instead of bread all the time. She loved bread as well as chips and salsa, but much preferred a green starter to one loaded with carbs and calories.

After looking through the menu, Shan stuck with her original decision to have the mixed grill plate with falafel sandwiches, but secured Abdulla’s promise to share his grilled lamb chops. The pictures made her mouth water and she was happy to be in a new place for the third time that day.

“So, when do you usually visit home?” asked Abdulla.

“I typically go twice each year, once for Christmas and then again during the summer,” Shan started.

“However, the Christmas trip is usually pretty brief. I like to squeeze in a quick visit to another country at that time; I want to see how other countries celebrate during that season.”

“Where have you been during your winter break?” he asked.

“At this point, I have been quite a few places. Since I go home, I haven’t really had an opportunity to do a multi-country tour. I usually go one place and explore it about four days and then go home for a quick eight day visit. So far, I’ve seen Germany, The Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Ghana, Kenya, and Botswana,” she said, slowly, trying to remember places she had been specifically during Christmas.

“You haven’t let any sand shift under your toes,” Abdulla said.

“I try to keep it moving,” she agreed.

“How would you feel about me visiting with you the next time you went home?” Abdulla asked.

Shan looked at him while she chewed her olive and tried to think of what to say. She was surprised. It had not occurred to her he would be interested in doing that.

“I would be happy to take you home and introduce you to my family. They love to have a reason to cook a lot of food and get everyone under one roof. However, my whole family is Christian, so everywhere you visit will have nativity scenes, Christmas trees, music and decorations. Will you be comfortable?” she asked.

“Of course, I will. Just as comfortable as you were during Ramadan at all the Iftar gatherings you went to with me. I have manners and Christians don’t offend me. We have many of the same prophets and stories told in our holy books. I will be just fine,” Abdulla stated without any hesitation.

“Um, okay, I guess you are visiting Longview, the next time I go home. I will be sure to take you to Dallas, so you can see a large city and if possible, we can take a day trip to the capital so you can see Austin. It is a bit early to plan, but I will speak with my mother,” Shan said.

Their food arrived and both of them began eating with gusto. Shan thoroughly enjoyed her meal and was thinking that it was a good thing she was walking up a mountain in few hours; she would definitely need it after this meal.

Abdulla was laughing at Shan. She was complaining about how full she was and that she needed a nap before hiking.

“Sorry, we have to make our way to the meeting point,” he said. “By the time we walk up this mountain you will feel much better,” he told her as he parked the car.

“I will need to be rolled up the mountain,” Shan groaned. “Look at my tummy, it is so tight!”

Abdulla just kept laughing as he turned his body so his feet were on the ground. He exchanged his sandals for tennis shoes. When he turned around, he was surprised to see Shan had pulled her dress off and exposed a pair of workout tights were underneath her ankle length sundress all day. She had reclined her seat all the way back so she could wiggle her way into a t-shirt without passersby seeing.

Moments later as they were stretching, Lari and Mohammed pulled up as did Abdulla’s sister and parents. A SUV quickly followed and out came Mohammed’s sisters’ and brothers’ four children as well as his sister and one brother. They made quite the large group, chattering children, laughing adults and two nannies that appeared to be very calmly managing it all with aplomb.

They headed up the paved trail, children running ahead only to run back to the group before getting out of sight. Shan, Lari and the other ladies were the slow walkers, trailing behind the men and children. None of the ladies seemed in a hurry to rush up the mountain side. They did catch up to the group when they got to a resting point. There, the nannies pulled water out for the children before they all began to move forward once again.

“So, Shan,” Mohammed’s mother began with a sly look at Khadija, Abdulla’s mother, “I hear you and my nephew Abood have been spending a lot of time together.”

“Yes, we have,” Shan answered cautiously as she glanced quickly at Lari who only shrugged her shoulders.

“What are your plans?” she asked with no shame at her nosiness.

Glancing at Lari again only to see the back of her head as she looked around like she didn’t see Shan getting tossed under the bus, Shan realized she was on her own.

“I’m not sure what you mean by that,” she said sweetly, smiling.

“Hush, sister,” Khadija said. “Let the young people manage their own affairs.”

“Since when did we start doing that? I want to know what she intends to do with my nephew. He loves her. We all know this,” and undeterred, she asked Shan again, “What are your plans?”

Choking back a gasp or a laugh, she wasn’t sure which, Shan said, “Our short term plans are for Abood to come with me at the end of the term and meet my family in Texas.”

Now, it was Abdulla and Mohammed’s mothers turn to exchange a look. Mohammed’s mother looked a bit smug at this piece of unearthed information.

“Really, my son hasn’t told us he was planning to visit America soon,” Khadija said.

“Forgive him; we only just discussed it today, at lunch. So, it has only been the plan for about an hour. We don’t even have dates settled and I haven’t called my mother,” Shan said.

“You must call her right now,” Khadija insisted and pulled her cell phone out of her pocket.

Laughing, Shan could only shake her head. “I will call her, but it will be at a later time. She is sleeping now; it is early morning in Texas.”

“Of course,” Lari, the silent friend suddenly decided to intervene. “Ummi, there is a nine hour difference between here and there. I’m sure Shan is going to call her mother this evening after we have our meal.”

Mohammed’s sister, Alyazia, who had enjoyed the little bit of nosiness; because inquiring minds wanted to know also did her part to deflect the attention from Shan.

“Did I tell you Badr bought me a beautiful new pair of earrings to celebrate my graduation?” she chimed.

“Badr bought you those earrings months ago, when you graduated, we’ve all seen them,” said her mother, who was none too pleased at the distraction.

“Oh, you are right.Did I tell you I’m due to deliver in 28 weeks?” she responded.

That sure changed the subject. Immediately, the air was filled with gasps of delight and excited offers of much joy and many blessings for the baby.

“Why did you say nothing?”

“When did you find out?”

“Is it a boy or girl?”

Laughing, Alyazia said, “Wait, wait don’t you tell Badr I gave away our secret! He wants to announce it at dinner tonight, but Shan is turning red, so I had to save her!”

The rest of the walk up the mountain was filled with questions about the nursery and how it would be decorated and if she would have a nanny hired before the baby came or wait until afterward. What names were they considering? The questions and suggestions were endless.

Shan was grateful for the distraction and also thrilled to be part of the happy little group. Babies were a subject she had long ago stopped thinking about, but lately Abdulla had her thinking about all kinds of things she had thought were never going to happen.

When they caught up with the men, having passed the children headed back down the mountain, everyone exchanged greetings. The ladies tolerated some good natured complaints about how slowly they walked and lots of pictures were taken from the top.

They all walked back down at a faster pace than they had gone up, but it was still completely dark when they made it to the cars. After exchanging goodbyes and assurances that everyone would meet at the hotel for dinner after showering and changing, Abdulla and Shan drove away toward the hotel. Shan was thinking of the day she had and smiling. She realized she really needed to call her mom as soon as she showered. They were overdue for a conversation.

Gazing at the moon, she was lost in thought until Abdulla asked, “What has you smiling and daydreaming?”

Turning to look at his beautiful face, her stomach tightened and she felt an ache in her chest.

“You,” she whispered, almost dreamily. “You,” she said again as she reached for his face and stroked his cheek.

Abdulla saw the look on her face and knew he could live to be one hundred and he would never forget the look of love she gave him in that moment. The fully lit mountain in the rearview mirror, the round moon shining in from the passenger window, the feel of the air conditioning blowing across the distance that separated them were all part of the most surreal moment he could remember having. His mind shuttered and froze this moment; it was part of their forever.