Amira (9 page)

Angus
thanked Hani for being a “right good bloke” and winked at Serena and told her
that she “had better hold on to this one.”  He slipped the business card into
the inner breast pocket of his tweed jacket, and then he started to step away
from them and faltered.  Hani grabbed his arm to steady him, and he turned back
and looked at them thoughtfully for a moment and began to speak.

“Ye
young kids...Aye, ye live yer lives always thinking that ye have forever tae
live yer dreams, but when ye get to be an old man like me, ye realize that life
is but a fleeting moment in time.  Ye live, ye love, and it's all taken away
and gone in a flash before ye realize.  Ye wake up one day and find yerself gray
and yer weary bones creak as ye move, and then…yer alone.” 

He
got a faraway look in his eyes again as his words trailed off, turning to look
out over the water. Serena imagined that he was remembering the early days with
his wife when they were much younger and so much in love.  He began to slowly
sing an old Scottish folk song and seemed to forget that Hani and Serena were
even there.

“My Bonnie lies over the ocean,
My Bonnie lies over the sea.
My Bonnie lies over the ocean.
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me.”

They
all sat quietly for a short time, as if it were a moment of silence to honor
Fiona.  Serena envied the kind of love and devotion that Angus had for her and
wondered if she would ever have a love like that.  She looked wistfully at Hani
and wondered if he might be The One.  Angus came back to the present moment and
wiped another tear from his wrinkled cheek with Fiona's handkerchief.

“This,
my dear, belonged tae my beloved Fiona,” he declared, turning to Serena.  “I
would like for ye to keep it and carry it near yer heart as I have for all
these many years.  She carried this on her wedding day and gave it tae me. 
Said she wanted me tae have all of the happy tears that she cried on that day.
It is my wish for ye that ye find a forever love as we did.”  He winked at her
and added emphatically, “
And birth many wee bairns, raise a little clan.”
 

He
patted Serena’s belly gently with one hand and offered the handkerchief to her
with his other. She protested and said that she couldn't possibly accept such a
heartfelt memento.  He insisted and pried open her fingers, placing the hankie
in her palm, and then squeezed her hand closed.  He said that the handkerchief
had dried enough of his tears at her passing and said maybe one day she would
carry it on her wedding day just as Fiona had.

“And
Hani…Arabian prince,” he said with a charming wink and a grin.  He took Hani's
hand in his again and squeezed it.  “Ye may not always have the riches of Ali
Baba or the wishes of Aladdin's lamp, but what ye have here with Serena is much
more valuable. 
Cherish it!
 
Treasure it!
 
Love
each
other.  Be
good
tae each other!”

Hani
nodded like a young child receiving words of wisdom from his elder, and Serena
could tell that he was holding back a tear as the muscle in his jaw twitched. 
He was unable to speak but managed to utter a quiet “
Yes sir
.” 

Angus
then turned and ambled down the beach in the direction from which he came, and
Alastair strode protectively beside him.  Hani put his arm around Serena and
pulled her closer as they silently watched the pair disappear into the
distance.

Serena
and Hani spent the remainder of the afternoon stopping at a few shops on the
boardwalk and ate lunch together at a café.  There was a kind of quiet calm
between them as they spoke a little quieter, held each other a little bit
closer, and kissed more tenderly that afternoon.  He insisted on buying her a
handmade necklace that she had admired in one of the shops which specialized in
beach glass jewelry.  He lifted her hair and carefully fastened the clasp,
placing one soft kiss on the nape of her neck.  He stepped back to check how it
looked, and he said the color of the smooth, frosted glass complemented the
blue-green of her eyes.

They
returned to the hotel, which was a toasty welcome from the cool autumn air. 
Upon entering the suite, Hani quickly pulled Serena into a warm embrace and
held her tightly in his arms.  She laid her head on his chest as he held her
and listened to his heart beating strongly in his chest.  When he lifted her
chin to look into her eyes, she did not resist his passionate kisses that
followed.

He
guided her to the bedroom, where they had made love many times before.  This
time, however, was a little bit different as they kissed with more depth and
passion, and Hani thrusted slowly inside her like the waves that washed up on
the beach earlier that day.  He made love not only to her body but also to her
heart and soul, and when she came, he held her trembling in his arms as he
released his warm seed inside her.  It was more a life-affirming act than any
kind of hormonal lust, although their lovemaking was always sublime.

Later
that afternoon, he worked on some paperwork even if it was supposed to be his
day off, and Serena sat near him as he worked, not wanting to be far from him
at any time.  It seemed that they were always touching each other in some way. 
She would stand behind him and rub his shoulders or she would sit beside him
and he would rest his hand on her thigh as he explained some of what he was
working on.  She didn't understand a lot of what he talked about, but she
nodded with interest as she listened.

She
left him to have some quiet time to finish his work and make some business
calls and went into the bedroom and closed the door so her music wouldn't
disturb him, but she still kept the volume low.  She texted Maggie and didn't
get a reply, so she dialed her number, and it went directly to voice mail. 
That seemed strange, so she dialed again and finally got an answer.

“Serena! 
Oh my God, girl!” Maggie shouted into the phone.  “Where have you been?  I
haven't seen you in forever, and Dee said you were sick today.  Are you ok?  Do
you need anything?”  Once Maggie opened her mouth, her words gushed out and you
couldn't stop her until she exhausted all that she had to say.

“Maggie!”
Serena shouted back with a laugh.  “I'm fine.  Just been busy with classes and
shit and Hani had the day off, so we hung out and walked on the beach.  We ate
at that little café; you know the one where that really dorky guy was flirting
with me last time?  And spilled my coffee because he was staring at my chest? 
The food was great, and Hani bought me a new necklace on the boardwalk, made
with beach glass.  Wait til you see it, it's so pretty, and--”

Maggie
cut her off and suggested they get together for some drinks that evening and
said they never did that anymore since Serena met Hani.  Serena looked toward
the door, knowing that Hani was busy but had wanted to spend the whole day
together.  She wondered if he would mind if she left him for the evening, but
she had also grown so attached to him that it was hard to be away from him. 

She
asked Maggie to hold for a few minutes while she went to ask Hani if it was ok
with him if she and Maggie went out for a bit.  He told her that was fine, but
he said he had a better idea.  He suggested that they all go out for a nice
dinner and drinks, his treat, and Maggie could bring a date.  Serena wasn't
even sure if she was seeing anyone seriously, but if she knew Maggie, she would
find someone in a hurry to bring along.  Maggie and Serena had both been boy
crazy since they were out of diapers, so finding one to bring along to any
event was never a hard task.

“Thank
you, baby!  Mwwah!  Mwwah!” Serena shouted, giving him exaggerated loud kisses
on his cheek.

She
bounced back into the bedroom and flopped onto the bed on her belly, swinging
her feet back and forth like a little girl.  Maggie liked the idea, and they
started talking about what they would wear since Hani hadn't said where they
would be eating.  The girls decided on “
nice but casual but not too nice and
not too casual
”.  In girl language, that made perfect sense, and they
laughed about how the guys would grab a quick shower and throw on whatever
clothes they found closest to them and always managed to be presentable in any
situation.  Girls, in contrast, had to plan every detail in advance and had to
wear the right outfit, the right shoes, and always had to be properly
accessorized, and God forbid if any other girl dressed nicer or wore a similar
outfit. 

“Men
are like ‘
Pants.  Shirt.  Go
.’” Maggie added, simplifying the basic
fashion sense of most men before bursting into a fit of laughter.

This
was much shorter notice than Serena liked to have, but Hani had bought her a
sleeveless black dupioni silk dress which she hadn't worn yet, and it still had
the tags attached. It was much more than she would ever spend on a dress, even
for being a simple design, and she wondered about returning it, but he insisted
that she keep it.  It came down to just above her knees and hugged her curves
every inch of the way.  She thought it made her behind look too wide, but it
was met with Hani’s lustful approval, and he had no words to say other than
“Damn.”  When he picked his tongue up off the floor, he said her ass didn’t
look big, but it was the ass he was going to fuck when they got home.

She
wore a push-up bra, and the tops of her breasts squeezed out of the low
neckline. She brushed bronzer into her cleavage and a shimmer powder over her
décolletage to accent and contour it even more.  He had given her a cashmere
pashmina with a beaded edge that she planned wrap that around her shoulders on
the way out because it would be cool after the sun went down and she was sure
the restaurant’s air conditioning would still be on, even though it was early
fall. She was slipping into a pair of silver kitten-heels when Hani emerged
from the shower.  Looking at him naked and wet, she wanted to stay home and
spend the evening in bed together, but they hadn’t gone out much as a couple,
but she thought he was amazingly gorgeous and was proud to be seen with him, so
she looked forward to a night out.

She
hoped for a moment that she would not be overdressed, but she lived by the rule
that if you are dressed too formally, you only make others feel they are the
ones who didn’t dress correctly for the occasion.  Her hair was still a little
damp because she was short on time, so she pulled it up into a casual updo,
leaving a few wispy strands at the sides spiraling down to brush her
collarbone.  She also wore the beach glass necklace, and Hani was right; it
made her blue-green eyes appear much more vivid.  He grabbed a button-down
shirt and black jeans from the closet without giving it a second thought and
turned to her for approval as she was finishing her makeup.  As usual, he
looked stunning with very little effort at all. 

Serena
waved to Maggie when they arrived at the restaurant.  She was already inside
near the hostess station and waved excitedly over the heads of a few other
restaurant patrons.  An older woman looked annoyed at her exuberance, but
Maggie didn't notice the sharp look the woman gave her when she almost elbowed
her in the temple when she waved to Serena.  Serena didn't see anyone else with
Maggie, and she wondered who she had brought along as her date.  Even if she
came alone, Serena knew that Maggie would not be going home alone; she would
pick up the bartender, the bus boy, or even someone else’s date.

Maggie
and Serena hugged quickly and started chatting away as Hani told the hostess
that they needed a table for four. 

“You
make me look like a schlub!  You look so nice!” Maggie said, criticizing her
own choice of skinny jeans, charcoal gray tunic sweater, and ankle boots, which
were actually more appropriate for the casual steakhouse than what Serena was
wearing. 

Serena’s
outfit and Hani’s dark clothing made everyone else in the restaurant look
subpar. It was a working class town, but sometimes Serena felt that the locals
were just a bunch of slobs without any taste.  The men seemed to all wear blue
jeans, a faded t-shirt from their favorite sports team or a band that they
liked in high school, and a flannel shirt for a jacket, and the most of the
women didn’t seem to care too much about their appearance and looked like they
were too tired to do more than run their hand through their hair before leaving
the house. 

Serena
started to ask Maggie who she came with, when someone rushed from behind
Maggie, tackling her around the waist and tickling her.  The smile quickly left
Serena’s face when she realized it was Shane.  Panicked thoughts raced through
her head.
Stockroom Shane
.
Shane-who-I-had-let-feel-my-tits-as-he-masturbated
Shane.
  She felt a wave of embarrassment creep to her cheeks, and she tried
to hide her disappointment as best as she could and tried to be social. 

“Long
time, no see, Serena,” he said, leering at her breasts at the neckline of her
dress. 

She
suddenly felt self-conscious and wished she had worn something a little more
modest and pulled the pashmina tighter around her, covering her cleavage.  It
had been a long time since she let him feel her up while he jerked off in the
stockroom; in fact it felt like an eternity because that had stopped as soon as
she met Hani.  She knew that he and Maggie had been hanging out together from
time to time and had even screwed around a few times, but the last she knew,
things weren't working out and he acted like a dick and Maggie wasn't answering
his texts or returning his calls.