Royce (51 page)

Amar was like most people who grew up with different groups of people.  When you see people for who they are and not for the color of their skin it’s hard to pretend color is the most important thing, it just isn’t.  “What do you know of this girl?  Nothing, you know nothing of her and you want to date her, bring her into our family!”  His father said loudly. “I know I like her!”  Amar shouted back at him. “Amar this conversation is over, you will not see this girl.   End of conversation and that is final, is that clear?”  “Yes papa,” Amar knew he had lost and he walked quietly to his room.

On the ride home they told Lindsey the same thing, “You are not to see this boy Lindsey, I know he’s a friend of yours, but as far as going out…no uh uh, that will not happen,” Joy said still fuming, and she was even more pissed that he’d used her mother’s words against her,
make sure he’s worthy Joy,
and now Mr. Abdullah used those same words as his measuring stick to invalidate her daughter. “Okay mommy,” Lindsey said sadly, “But his father didn’t like me, is that it, is that why he said no?”  And that pierced their hearts like a knife they all felt the sharp pain. 

Jameson was upset now and pursed his lips.  Royce wanted to go back and punch Sayeed Abdullah in his fat face and Joy’s heart broke, “Oh come here baby, come here,” she took Lindsey in her arms, “No baby, it wasn’t you, how could he not like you he doesn’t even know you,” she said soothing Lindsey, “He’s a money grubbing…,” and Joy wanted to say asshole, “It’s about money honey and he thinks we don’t make as much as he does, that’s all, okay,” and Lindsey laid her head against her mother’s shoulder.  And none of them knew a boy wanting to date a girl would be their undoing.

And the following week at school Amar had a chaperone.  His father sent a man dressed in a white thobe and ghutra to accompany him and to make sure he stayed away from Lindsey, and on the third day of this treatment he managed to get a note to Lindsey.  He was coming down the hall throwing a wad of paper like a ball, just throwing it in the air and catching it, his friends watched him coming with his sheik behind him.  They stood by the wall as he smiled at them, and then he said, “Incoming Lindsey,” and he tossed the wadded up paper at her, “Will you throw that away for me?”  “Oh sure Amar, I’ll throw away your trash,” she teased sarcastically and he laughed, but she saw the glint in his eyes and so did her friends.  He kept walking to class and when he disappeared they gathered around her and she opened the paper. “I miss you, I miss you, I miss you…,” was written all over the paper and she melted and her friends sighed.

No one but Lindsey and Amar knew how they really felt about each other.  When she first came to the International School his group, all from different backgrounds and ethnicities was already intact and they welcomed her, like most groups at school they were diverse and they loved it.  The school encouraged it saying, “Everyone brings something different to the table, it’s up to you to find out what it is and you can’t find out unless you talk to people.”

Then one day Amar was going over his debate question.  “I’m going to knock them dead I tell you,” he said of his argument and Lindsey who’d only been in the group a short time said, “Not with that argument you’re not,” and he looked at her.  “Why not Ms. Lindsey?”  He asked bemused, “Well first of all…,” and she told him what his argument lacked and as she spoke Amar looked at her, really looked at her and he saw her beautiful thick curly hair, her eyebrows framing her dark eyes and her lips with just the right amount of plumpness, and he wanted to kiss them, her kissable lips and then after that he paid more attention to her.  The way she walked, her long shapely legs and he was smitten, and before long he was always sitting next to her and in the classes they shared he stared at her and before every debate he went to her.

“Hey Lindsey what do you think of this?”  Because she was right the first time he changed his tactic and won, and he was shocked and his father was so proud of him, and he kept winning after he talked it over with her and the next thing everyone knew they were a unit among the group and sometimes Amar would say, “I need to break away and speak with Lindsey it is important she help me with this,” and he and Lindsey would break away to themselves and sit next to each other, and the more they did that the closer they sat until Amar would sit sideways with his legs open and Lindsey would sit cross ways between them their bodies as close together as they could get and they’d eat lunch and study that way and to Amar he’d never met anyone like Lindsey.  Her mind fascinated and intrigued him, he was amazed by her, and her beauty, her smooth brown skin, her lips and the depth and mystery in her dark eyes and he longed to see her and talk to her every day, and that was when he asked her about dating, “Lindsey would you consider going out with me some time, if your parents will allow it?”  “Sure Amar, I’ll ask okay,” and he was happy, happy until the night her parents came over and his father ran them away.

He missed Lindsey, missed her so much he ached for her, and he tried to ignore her in front of the chaperone and it must have worked because after two weeks his father said, “I’m glad you are over that girl,” and he took the chaperone away and the very next day he went back to Lindsey and they resumed back to the way they were.

Another year passed and the search was still going on. Jameson knew Gibeau was in France, after he searched in Spain he headed to France where he hoped he'd stay.  This case was still perplexing and for the life of him he couldn't understand why a father would do this to his son, but he thought it had to do with inheritance, money.  The wealthy were notorious about their money and who had access to it.  He'd seen them try and negotiate him down to peanuts for saving their lives and then turn around and spend a million dollars on a painting.  But somehow he thought Tammy had convinced Walker Harrington Sr. her children should be Royce's only inheritors.   He'd told Mr. Harrington this, and both thought it was the only reason for such heinous behavior.

He was with Naledi tonight, since he’d taken up with her he found he liked her and he made her eat.  She was such a tiny thing, she didn’t have Lita’s voluptuous curves or Joy’s perfect frame and long legs that made his mouth water.  “I have already eaten,” she always said and smiled at him when she said it because he never took her seriously, and he’d watch her eat then take her to his room and with love in his heart for another woman he’d release his anguish and tortured soul with cries of, “Oh Joy, amor, te amo Oh,” as he made hot passionate love to Naledi.  

After a night of love making the next day he was parked in front of the school with a smile on his face waiting with all the limos and cars to pick up the children.  He saw Lindsey standing on the steps with her friends and he smiled.  She was sixteen and a very pretty girl and turning out to be just as lovely as her mother.  Amar was one step below her laughing and talking to her.  He didn’t think much of it, since the horrible incident with the boy last year she hadn’t asked to go out again.  Amar looked away and saw his car and leaned up and kissed Lindsey on the cheek and waved goodbye to her. 

He saw a large man dressed in Arab clothes get out of the backseat of a limo.  His expression said he was angry and he grabbed Amar who looked startled and then he walked back to Lindsey towing the boy and grabbed her by the arm and took both kids forcibly to his car. 

“What the fuck!” Jameson jumped out the car.  He saw the look of horror on Lindsey’s face, she was scared, but the limo was pulling off.  He jumped back in the car and pulled out quickly and followed the limo, he was scared too.  He called Conrad and Royce, “I need back up, an Arab man has just taken Lindsey and Amar,” and he gave them his whereabouts.

When Royce received that call he ran frantically to Joy, “Joy an Arab man has taken Lindsey, I think it’s Mr. Abdullah.  Jameson is following them!”  “What?  Why would he take her?”  Joy was stunned and horrified. “I don’t know but Jameson said he saw him grab her and Amar, so I’m thinking it’s Mr. Abdullah or one of his men…fuck,” and he was beside himself.  He ran out with Conrad and jumped in the car to meet Jameson and the phone rang.

“Looks like he’s heading your way, I’ll keep you posted,” Jameson said as he raced behind the limo, “What was wrong with this man?  You don’t just take someone’s kid, is he fucking nuts?”  He was furious and when the limo turned on R43 he was almost relieved but he still thought the man had lost his mind.

Lindsey was in the car with Mr. Abdullah and he was mad as she'd ever seen a person. “Where do you live?”  He asked angrily of her.  She was crying but managed to tell him, “Off R43,” and she hoped that meant he was taking her home, she couldn’t take it if he took her to his house.  “Amar what kind of shame is this you are bringing on our family?”  He shouted at him, “An you, what kind of girl lets a boy kiss her in public?  That is not the kind of girl of high character!”  He yelled at Lindsey, “I told you, both of you, you were not to see each other and I see it was ignored!  Your parents will hear of this and we will get an understanding once and for all you will not see my son!”  He said angrily at Lindsey.  Lindsey was crying and had no idea what she’d done wrong.

And neither did Amar the way he was arguing with his father, “We have not seen each other as you wished.  We did not date, we are friends at school, what is wrong with that!”  “I saw you kiss her, kiss her out in public like some common…common…!”  His father was so angry and he wanted to say whore, but he controlled himself.  “It was just a goodbye kiss on the cheek.  She is a dear friend father what is so wrong with it?  I don’t understand your anger!”  Amar was trying but his father saw something else   he didn’t want to see, he saw defiance in his son and he thought  he made it clear he was not to see her at all, and that meant not even as friends, “Amar you are not that stupid!  Why this girl?   When you have a choice of many?” 

Lindsey heard him and her shocked expression registered full on her face, she wasn’t good enough and her tears flowed. Amar saw that and he wanted to hit his father for the first time in his life he wanted to hit him.  He was hurting her for no reason, and he looked his father square in the eye, “She is the best girl I know papa, she is the one!  She is the one I love!” And his father almost had a heart attack, his face went from furious to livid and Lindsey looked at Amar wondering was he telling the truth?  He was staring angrily at his father, she didn’t know, and his father was livid, “Amar I will send you back, back to Saudi Arabia and you will never see her again!”

“And I will tell them what you do!”  Amar yelled back and his father’s mouth dropped.  Lindsey sat in the car as far away from both of them.  She was scared and held on tight to her books, held on to something for dear life. “Amar don’t test me on this, you are my son, but I won’t hesitate…You understand,” and now Amar was chastised, he backed down, “Yes father, but leave her alone.” 

“Yes I will take her to her parents house and we will make sure this will not happen again.” “Yes papa,” Amar said and Lindsey saw the tears in his eyes and he looked away from her and out the window and she knew it was lost.

They were on the road she knew well then, and she was so glad she needed her mother.

“They are heading to the compound, stay where you are ETA five minutes or less,” Jameson said.  This road only led one way, to the compound and other houses and villages along the way.  He followed them closely, still furious that he snatched Lindsey like that, she was so scared and he wanted to punch him.  Royce said it was probably the boy Amar’s father and he hoped so.  He didn’t know the man and now he wished he did. 

The limo pulled up to the gate.  Royce was in the house now, but Conrad was still outside waiting and he looked menacing, as menacing as Royce felt.  He was furious and Joy was fuming. The limo came up the drive slowly and stopped just before reaching Conrad, the chauffeur jumped out and went to the back and opened the doors.

The front door opened and Joy and Royce came running out, “What happened?  What made you do a thing like this?”  Joy demanded.  Lindsey burst into fresh tears when she saw her mother and clung to her and they walked in the house, Amar sadly and Mr. Abdullah angry, “We must speak clearly,” he said as they walked inside. “Yes, we must,” Royce said.  Jameson came up and was quickly out of the car, his expression said it all, he was mad as hell, his lips were drawn tight and he and Conrad came inside and Mr. Abdullah was surprised at the wealth of the place, he thought they were ten times beneath him and now he wasn’t so sure.  This house rivaled his in scope and size, and now he wondered what kind of people were they?  They were in jeans and looked the part of commoners but the house spoke of wealth and now he was going to find out.

They stood in the foyer, it was clear he was not welcome. Lindsey’s tears were loud now. “Hush baby, hush now so we can get to the bottom of this.” “Well answer the question, what made you take our daughter?  You had no right to touch her or our permission to bring her home!”  Royce said angrily, Amar stood sadly to the side.  “I understand your anger, but I understood clearly last year that your daughter was not to see my son.  Was that your understanding?”  “Of course and they haven’t seen each other.”  “Ah Mr. Harrington but you are wrong they have been sneaking around at school,” Joy’s mouth dropped but Royce’s and Jameson’s did not, that still didn’t give him the right to take her like he did.  “Is this true Lindsey?  Tell me now so we can straighten this out,” Joy asked.  “Not like he thinks mommy, Amar is my friend.  We talk but we’re around everybody, he is my friend,” she said looking at Joy with sad eyes and now Joy was even madder and so was Royce and Jameson, but Amar perked up, was she still his friend?