Family Ties

by Danielle Steel

  “You can’t do that here, Paul, and you know it. And if you kiss Kate in public, it will cause you both a great deal of trouble. It’s not proper behavior, and even more so since she’s not a Muslim. If your grandfather saw you do that, it would break his heart.” And then she looked searchingly at both of them. “Is she your girlfriend?” she asked her nephew in a whisper, so no one else would hear her. Kate watched him with wide eyes as he paused before he answered, then nodded. He didn’t want to lie to his aunt, and he trusted her to be discreet about it. He knew she liked Kate a lot although not necessarily for him, since she was Christian.

  “Yes, she is,” he answered simply.

  “Do your parents know?” She looked shocked, as he nodded again.

  “Yes, they do. They like Kate, although they’re worried about how it would work out in the future. But it’s different for us. We live in New York, not Tehran.” Jelveh didn’t say anything for a long moment as she thought about it.

  “It’s not different for you,” Jelveh said quietly. “You’re still a Muslim, even in New York. And Kate isn’t. I think you’ve been away from home for too long. It’s time for you to come back here and remember who and what you are.” She was very clear on that.

  “I can’t do that,” he said quietly. “I have a life in New York, and my parents are there.”

  “Your parents were wrong to take you away when you were so young.” And then she took his breath away with what she said next. “We want you to stay here now. You can study here with your cousins. You can live with us.” Her heart was in her eyes as she said it. She meant well, but Paul didn’t want to stay. He was ready to go back. Kate was listening with wide eyes.

  “I can’t do that, Jelveh,” Paul said, with a sound of panic in his voice. “My parents would be upset if I didn’t come back. And so would I. I love it here, but it’s not my home anymore.”

  “Tehran will always be your home,” she said firmly. And as she said it, Kate ran to the bathroom again, and they could hear her retching through the door. “I’ll call the doctor,” Jelveh said calmly. “We can talk about this later.” But the way she said it made him nervous. They had both his passports, and he couldn’t leave Tehran without at least one of them. And Jelveh made it sound like they were determined to keep him in Tehran.

  He didn’t have time to discuss it with her further. The doctor came half an hour later, and by then Katie had a 103-degree fever and was even sicker than before. The doctor examined Katie and thought she had a virus of some kind, or a bacterial infection. He thought about putting her in the hospital, but after discussing it with Jelveh, he decided to leave her at their home.

  The fever raged on for three days, while Jelveh nursed her, and Paul visited her every chance he got. And he was grateful that Jelveh hadn’t told anyone in the family that Katie was his girlfriend, but the sicker she got, the more obvious it was. He was out of his head with worry for her. And Katie looked like a skeleton when the fever broke after four days, two days before they were due to go home. She was deathly pale and had dark circles under her eyes, and she hadn’t contacted Annie because she didn’t want to upset her. They were going home soon anyway. When the fever broke finally, Paul told Katie she had been very brave. He patted her hand as he said it but made no move to kiss her again. He knew full well from Jelveh what a scandal that would cause.

  The doctor declared that she would be well enough to return to New York on schedule, and Katie looked relieved. She didn’t want to get stuck here. She was still feeling sick and wanted to go home to Annie and her own bed. She had felt like a five-year-old when she was sick. But Jelveh had taken good care of her, almost as good as Annie, although with different remedies. But she had been an excellent nurse, and very motherly to her.

  Paul reconfirmed their airplane tickets that day and went to see his uncle about reclaiming their passports. His uncle listened to him, nodded, unlocked a drawer in his desk, and handed him Kate’s, but neither of Paul’s. He handed him Katie’s credit card and traveler’s checks too, but nothing of Paul’s.

  “I need mine too,” Paul said quietly, as his uncle shook his head.

  “I don’t think you do. Your aunt and I would like you to stay here. This is where you belong,” he said firmly.

  “No, it isn’t,” Paul said hoarsely, as a shiver of fear ran down his spine. “You can’t keep me here, uncle. Sooner or later, I’ll find a way to leave. My home is in New York.”

  “You don’t belong in New York, Paul. Iran is your country. Tehran is your home.”

  “America is my country now too. And New York is my home, not Tehran. I love it here, but this is history for me. My future and life are in the States.”

  “That was a foolish mistake your father made years ago. He got lured away by the money he could make in the States. There are more important things than that, like family and traditions. You can correct that now by staying here.”

  “I won’t,” Paul said, looking frightened. “And I have to get Kate home. She’s sick, and it’s time for us to go.”

  “She can fly alone,” his uncle insisted calmly, as Paul felt like he was talking to a wall.

  “Are you telling me you won’t give me my passports?” Paul asked, looking stunned.

  “Yes, I am,” his uncle said with a look of iron, as Paul stared at him in disbelief. “I think you need to spend time here. And you need to send Katie home.”

  “I’m not letting her fly home alone,” Paul said firmly, as his uncle said nothing and quietly left the room, without another word to Paul.

  Paul was in Katie’s room two minutes later with a look of deep concern.

  “What’s wrong? You look like someone died,” Katie said only half-joking.

  “Someone did. Both my passports. My uncle won’t give them back to me.”

  “Are you serious?” Katie looked horrified as he nodded and handed hers to her.

  “They want me to stay,” he said solemnly.

  “For how long?”

  “Forever, it sounds like. As far as they’re concerned, I’m Iranian, and I belong here.” It was the only thing that had worried his mother when they left—the possibility that someone would try to keep him there. As it turned out, she hadn’t been wrong. “You’re going to have to fly back alone. I don’t want you to stay here. You’re sick. You need to go home.”

  “I’m not leaving you here,” she said with a look of panic. “What if we ask the Swiss embassy to help?”

  “There’s nothing they can do. I’m considered an Iranian citizen here.”

  “Your uncle can’t do this to you,” Katie said, starting to cry.

  “Yes, he can. He’s the head of the family. He says it will kill my grandfather if I leave again.” Paul looked devastated as he said it. “And it will kill my parents if I don’t. He thinks they should come back too.”

  “I’m not leaving Tehran without you,” Katie said firmly, clutching her passport in her hand.

  “Your aunt will go nuts. And your visa expires in two weeks. I want you to go back.” And she still looked very sick. The virus she had caught had hit her hard.

  “I’m not leaving you here,” Katie said in tears.

  “We have no choice,” he said as he put his arms around her and hoped no one would see them. And this time no one did.

  “I’ll send a message to my aunt,” Katie said with a look of defiance.

  “There’s nothing she can do,” Paul said, looking defeated. His uncle made the rules and was calling the shots. And he wanted him in Tehran.

  “You don’t know Annie,” Katie said, as she reached under her mattress and pulled out her BlackBerry and was relieved to see that the battery still had power. She texted Annie as Paul watched her. Her message to her aunt was succinct: “I caught bad flu. Paul’s uncle won’t give his passports back. I have mine. I won’t leave without him. I’m sick. Paul is stuck. What do we do? Can you help us? I love you. K.” She put the BlackBerry back under her mattress again, after turni
ng it off, as Paul looked at her with a sad smile. He had the feeling that he would never get back to New York. He felt desperately sorry for his parents. And now he was sorry that he had come to Tehran with Kate. He was trapped, and in two weeks, when her visa ran out, she would have to go back. Annie and his mother had been right. The trip had been a mistake.

  Chapter 21

  Tom and Annie had spent a perfect weekend together. They’d gone to Da Silvano for dinner on Friday night. They went shopping on Saturday, and Tom had done some repairs for her around the apartment. They cooked dinner on Saturday night and made love by candlelight afterward, and on Sunday afternoon, after reading The New York Times, they went to a movie.

  They’d had brunch at the Mercer with Ted and celebrated his liberation from Pattie. He had turned in his papers, dropped her class, and didn’t mind getting an incomplete—all he wanted was to never see her again. When he took his withdrawal slip to his adviser’s office, Pattie had seen him in the hallway and said not a word. She had played all her cards and lost and knew it. He felt like a new man, and he had decided to get his own apartment. He was tired of roommates. All he wanted now was to get back to his studies. He felt free and alive again.

  Ted commented at lunch that he’d been trying to reach Liz all weekend.

  “She’s in London,” Annie said cryptically.

  “What’s she doing there?”

  “Meeting a friend,” Annie said with a mysterious smile. She and Alessandro had agreed to meet there for the weekend, and Annie had encouraged her to go.

  “Have you heard anything from Kate?” Ted inquired.

  “I got an e-mail from her. She sounds like she’s having fun. I guess I was wrong to be so worried,” Annie said, sounding relieved. Tom was happy about it too.

  “So did I. She sent me an e-mail. But it was so short, it didn’t say much except hi, bye, and she loves me. When is she coming home?”

  “In a few days,” Annie said, happy that it was going well for her. Whitney had been right. She needed to let them fly on their own. Ted had gotten out of his nightmarish situation with Pattie, Liz had gotten rid of Jean-Louis, and Kate seemed to be doing fine in Iran. All was well in their world.

  “I still think she was wrong to go,” Ted said, sounding like a disapproving older brother. But he had never been as adventurous as Katie, even as a young boy.

  “Maybe not,” Annie said generously. “If it goes well, it’s a great adventure for her. And she’ll feel very competent and able to take care of herself when she gets home.”

  “Paul’s a great guy, but she doesn’t know him well enough to go so far away,” Ted commented, “and his culture is a whole other world.” Annie didn’t disagree, but she was happy that Kate seemed to be having fun. She and Tom went to the movies after that. She turned off her phone, and they cuddled and ate popcorn and enjoyed the movie, and then they went home. They were cooking dinner when she remembered to turn on her phone. It sprang to life instantly and told her she had a text message. It said that it was from Katie, and her heart nearly stopped when she read it, and she soundlessly handed it to Tom.

  “What do I do?” she said with a look of panic. The fact that Katie was sick was bad enough, but she was refusing to leave Tehran without Paul, and he was stuck without either of his passports and couldn’t leave.

  “It doesn’t sound good,” Tom said with a frown. “Why don’t you call Paul’s parents and see what they think? They know the circumstances and the family in Tehran better than we do. Maybe Paul’s uncle is just bluffing and trying to get him to stay.” Annie called them immediately, and was grateful to find his mother at home. She read Paul’s mother the text message from Katie and asked her what she thought. She was instantly as worried as Annie. Her husband was out, and she was candid with Annie.

  “The family have wanted us to come back for years, and they think Paul should be there and not in the States. My brother-in-law is a very stubborn man. He could keep Paul there forever.” She started crying as she said it. “That’s why I didn’t want him to go. They won’t do him any harm. They love him and they think they’re doing the right thing for him. They’re trying to correct our ‘mistake’ of bringing him to the States. And I’m so sorry about Katie. I hope she’s all right. My sister-in-law is a very sweet woman, and I’m sure she got a doctor for Katie and took good care of her.”

  “And now Kate is refusing to leave Tehran without Paul,” Annie explained. It was a mess, and a difficult situation to resolve. She promised to call Paul’s mother back, who said she would call the family in Tehran and try to get more information, and as soon as Annie hung up, she turned to Tom.

  “How do I get to Tehran?” Annie looked at him with wide eyes. She had no idea where to start, but she knew he did.

  “You need a visa, which takes a couple of weeks to get, or longer.” He looked pensive, then leaned down to kiss her. He felt sorry for her. Annie looked worried sick. “Let me see what I can do. I’ve got some friends in the State Department. Maybe one of them can help.” He spent the next three hours on the phone, calling different people, and two of them promised to see what they could arrange the next day. They had to get the visa at the Pakistani embassy, just as Kate had, but Tom had explained the situation to them. He said she was a young American girl who was sick in Tehran, and her Iranian traveling companion was without a passport and unable to leave as a result. It wasn’t a life-threatening situation, but it was extremely unpleasant for Katie and Paul, and they were stuck. He explained that her aunt needed to go over and bring her back, and Kate wasn’t able to travel alone and needed medical attention as soon as possible in the States. He didn’t know if it was true but hoped it would work as a compelling reason to get a visa immediately. He also explained that Katie’s traveling companion was her Iranian boyfriend, who held American citizenship as well, and had parents in New York, who were also citizens. So this wasn’t a romance that Katie had gotten involved with in Tehran. They had gone over for a visit to his family, and then Katie had gotten sick. And now his family was refusing to let him leave.

  He knew that Katie wouldn’t have asked for Annie’s help unless she absolutely had to and had no other way out. Otherwise she would have figured it out for herself. She was a very independent girl. And they had no idea how sick she really was, or what she had, which worried him too. And there was nothing more they could do until morning. Annie lay awake all night and sent Katie a text message: “Working on it. Hang in. Be there as soon as I can. love, A.” She had tried to call Paul’s uncle, but the phone didn’t answer, which upset Annie too.

  She nearly jumped out of her skin when the phone rang at seven o’clock the next morning. One of Tom’s friends had called the Pakistani ambassador in Washington and told him that this was a personal favor for a major journalist, and they needed two visas for Iran. Tom hadn’t said anything to Annie yet, but he had made up his mind the day before and had asked for two visas instead of one. He wanted to go with her. He knew the area, the country, and the customs, and he knew she would have a hard time alone there. She would do better with a man traveling with her, and he wanted to help. And he had the time.

  The ambassador had agreed to give them both visas at nine o’clock that morning. All they had to do was pick them up at the Pakistani consulate in New York, and she could fly out on the next plane to London. They had to follow the same path that Katie and Paul had. The Pakistani ambassador had admitted to the middleman that the last thing anyone would want to deal with was a sick American girl, stuck in Tehran, with one of the most important American journalists begging for help on her behalf. It was a plea for assistance that they couldn’t ignore, it was noninflammatory, nonpolitical, and a situation they wanted to resolve.

  When Tom told her he was going with her, Annie looked embarrassed and guilty.

  “You can’t just drop everything and leave,” Annie pointed out to Tom. “I can manage on my own.” She was trying to be brave and not take advantage of him or even his con
nections, except to get her a visa and a flight. But she was deeply grateful for his help.

  “Let’s not be stupid,” Tom said firmly. “I was bureau chief in that part of the world for two years. You can’t do this alone. I’m coming with you. I’ll call the network. You call the airline.” He made it seem so simple, and it was certainly easier than trying to work it out alone. “We can pick up the visas on the way to the airport, and be on a noon flight to London, if they have one.” Annie was praying they did. She wanted to get to Tehran as soon as possible. She had no idea how sick Katie was.

  Tom called the network and told them he needed a personal leave of absence for three or four days, and Annie booked two seats on a one o’clock flight to London. She called her office after that and then she called Ted and told him what was going on. He was upset to hear it, and hopeful that Katie wasn’t too sick, which was Annie’s hope as well. Paul’s mother called at that point. She had spoken to her sister-in-law, who said that Katie had had a high fever and severe dysentery, but she was better. And Jelveh had said they were keeping Paul with them because he should be in Iran, not the States. She said they were trying to make up for his parents’ failures, which upset Paul’s mother even more. She was crying when she told Annie that they refused to let Paul leave.

  After that Annie packed a small bag that she could carry on the plane. She put in several scarves for her head. And an hour later they were on their way to the Pakistani consulate. Paul’s father had called and given Tom all the details about where to find them. He had also given Tom both of Paul’s passport numbers, and his brother’s phone numbers again, where Paul and Katie were staying. They had everything they needed. There was nothing more that Tom and Annie could do now, except get there and find out how things really were. They were both sure that Katie would never have contacted Annie if she could have handled things herself. And Annie was infinitely grateful that Tom had come to help.