“Jackson talks so fast he sounds like one of those disclaimers at the end of a drug commercial on TV warning you that taking the pill they’re advertising might make your great-grandchildren sick.”
Jackson Culpepper was one of the other associates who fed work to Janet. He specialized in employment law for big corporations. When Jackson had a project, it usually involved a lot of paperwork.
“I’ll try not to give you much to do until you’re finished,” Hana said.
“No, I need a break from the motormouth.”
“Motormouth” was a term new to Hana.
“Let me show you a photo of Daud’s new vehicle,” she said. “I drove it to work because he’s out of town for the day.”
“That’s a serious ride,” the legal assistant said, looking closely at the phone. “It looks like it could rumble over a big tree trunk if it fell in the middle of a road.”
“Except for the color and a few scratches, it’s almost exactly like the one he was driving when we first met in Jerusalem.”
“Donnie picked me up in a white pickup for our first date. It had more scratches than paint, but he’d done his best to clean it up. That told me a lot about him. Where is Daud traveling this time, or is that a secret?”
“It’s not a secret. He’s in Washington, DC, but I don’t know exactly where he was going for his meeting or who will be there.”
Janet shook her head. “Before I met you, I thought being married to someone like Daud would be exciting, but now I know the stress outweighs the adventure. Do you want me to ask the senior partners to give you a big raise so that Daud can stay home and bake cookies?”
Hana smiled. “Daud would eat all the cookies.”
“I could use a cookie even though it’s early in the morning,” Janet said, picking up the earbuds. “A sugar rush would help me keep up with Jackson.”
Hana spent the first half of the morning working alone in her office, followed by a long conference call with Mr. Collins and a big client. After the conference call, she checked her cell phone and saw that she’d received two text messages from Ben Neumann wanting to talk to her. Hana immediately called him.
“Sadie is struggling,” Ben said. “She met Laura last night. I set everything up perfectly. We ate at a chicken restaurant in the shopping mall near the townhome. Sadie loves that place.”
“Where she goes with her poppy,” Hana said, referring to Sadie’s maternal grandfather.
“Yes. Sadie was rude and pouty.”
“Did you try to talk to her about it afterward?”
“Several times, before she ordered me to leave her room so she could go to sleep. I was so anxious and upset that I pressed her too hard, which didn’t help. This morning she came out of her room at the last minute and was all business getting ready for school. On my drive to work I thought about you because the two of you have such a special relationship.”
Hana could hear the stress in Ben’s voice. “You want me to talk to her?”
“Yes, and I’d prefer sooner rather than later, but—”
“I’ll pick her up from school this afternoon,” Hana said before Ben could finish.
“What are you going to say?”
Hana opened her mouth but then shut it. “I’m not sure,” she said. “What do you want me to say?”
“Whatever it takes to get her unstuck. I know it will fall on Laura and me to make this work for Sadie in the long run, but we need reinforcements now. The evening Laura came over and fixed dinner at the townhome, we had a serious conversation about the future and want to get married soon. There’s no need for delaying the wedding except for the time it takes to bring Sadie around to accepting the change.”
Hana knew that was a pretty big “except.” A knot formed in the pit of her stomach. It wasn’t her job to manage Ben’s life, and she’d never met Laura, but she couldn’t shake her reservations about what was happening.
“Daud is out of town and won’t be back until late tonight. I’ll figure out something fun to do with Sadie and ease into a conversation about what she’s feeling and why.”
“That’s exactly what she needs,” Ben replied. “Like any guy, I immediately launched into fix-it mode instead of listening and letting Sadie unpack her emotions.”
“What time should I bring her home?”
“No curfew. If she doesn’t finish her homework, I’ll write an excuse for her teacher. Just do what you think is right. And thank you.”
The call ended. Hana pushed away from her desk. Her appetite evaporated. Instead of going out for lunch, she decided to skip eating and pray.
* * *
Hana waited in the line of cars. When she crept closer to the pickup point, she saw Sadie standing on the curb looking in her direction. Sadie didn’t recognize the Land Rover, so it wasn’t until she saw Hana’s face that a big smile creased her face and she waved excitedly. Seeing the smile instantly made Hana feel more optimistic. She’d imagined Sadie crying all day at her desk. It took a few more minutes for Hana to reach a spot where one of the teachers on duty released Sadie, who climbed into the rear seat and fastened her seat belt.
“Wow, I feel like I’m on a safari,” she said. “Is this Daud’s new car?”
“Yes.”
“And he let you drive it?”
Hana smiled. “Actually, he’s out of town, and I didn’t ask him.”
“It’s okay,” Sadie replied. “He loves you bunches.”
“Where would you like to go?” Hana asked.
“You’re leaving it up to me?”
“Yes. Anyplace you choose.”
“Let’s get ice cream.”
The ice cream parlor had been a recurring destination during their relationship. The first visit didn’t end well when Sadie mentioned that she’d shared an ice cream treat with her mother moments before Gloria was murdered. Follow-up trips had been much more benign. While she drove, Hana prayed that this visit would have a positive outcome. From the rear seat, Sadie jabbered about her day at school without any mention of her dad or Laura.
“What did you do today?” Sadie asked, suddenly switching gears.
“I worked in my office for a while and then participated in a conference call. I translated from English to Hebrew and Hebrew to English for the people on the phone.”
“One day we should agree to only talk in Hebrew no matter how hard it is,” Sadie said. “They call that submersion.”
“Immersion,” Hana corrected her. “But it’s the same idea.”
“Let’s don’t do it today,” Sadie added. “My brain is already tired from school.”
There were only a couple of cars parked in front of the ice cream parlor. Sadie hopped out and waited for Hana at the front door.
“Can I get anything I want?” Sadie asked.
The menu included massive sundaes that cost as much as a meal in a nice restaurant. Hana hesitated.
“What I really want is one scoop of pistachio in a waffle cone,” Sadie continued. “Maxie, a new girl at school, told me it’s her favorite.”
“Do you want a sample to make sure you like it?” Hana asked.
Sadie sampled a tiny spoonful of the light green ice cream with olive-colored nut particles mixed in. “Yes, I like it,” Sadie said and nodded.
Hana went traditional with a scoop of natural vanilla bean ice cream in a cup. They sat at a small square table. Sadie licked the ice cream and nibbled a piece of her waffle cone.
“I’m glad you picked me up from school,” she said. “I didn’t want to see my daddy. I’m mad at him right now.”
Hana resisted the urge to ask a question to which she already knew the answer.
“Do you know about Laura?” Sadie continued with a forlorn expression on her face. “I guess she’s his girlfriend.”
“Yes. Your daddy told me about her the evening I came over and we made homemade hummus. And I know they had dinner together the night you stayed at my house.”
“Why didn’t you tell
me about her?”
“That was for your daddy to decide.”
“He should have said something to me before taking me to a restaurant to meet her for the first time. She walked up and kissed him on the lips! I didn’t know who she was.”
Hana didn’t have a good defense for Ben. “I’m sure he did what he thought was best.”
“He was wrong! I have to say I’m sorry when I make a mistake. Don’t you think he should too?”
Hana knew she had to proceed delicately. “Did you tell him that?” she asked.
“No, it will just make him madder. He didn’t yell at me, but I could tell he was mad.” The words tumbled fast from the little girl. “I didn’t want Laura to hug me. She tried to grab me when we finished eating, but I didn’t let her and walked away. When I looked over my shoulder, I saw her give my daddy a mean look. I don’t ever want to see her again!”
Hana’s ice cream remained untouched while she listened. Sadie had gone much deeper in her analysis and rejection of Laura than Hana would have imagined.
“Would you be willing to give them a second chance to do things better?” she asked tentatively.
It was a risky question, because a negative answer would reinforce and harden Sadie’s position.
“I don’t know,” Sadie answered with a shrug. “Maybe.”
“Would it help if I talked to your daddy about how you feel?”
“I guess so.”
“What would you want me to say to him?”
Sadie was silent for several moments. Then she brightened up and smiled. “Tell my daddy that I want him to meet someone just like you!”
Chapter 14
Daud rode a MARTA train from the airport to a station not far from their house and caught an Uber ride. Once home, he saw Hana’s car parked in her spot and smiled at the thought of her navigating Atlanta traffic in the Land Rover. She was a good driver, but the large, heavy vehicle required extra space to maneuver. Daud started a load of laundry. Checking his watch, he sent Hana a text asking her if she wanted him to pick up Leon. She quickly replied.
No. I have him.
A few minutes later Hana came through the door with Leon on a leash. She was trying to control the dog while holding her cell phone to her ear. She thrust the leash toward Daud.
“Can you take him for a quick walk?” she asked, slightly breathless. “I need to finish this call with Ben Neumann.”
Daud took Leon outside. He could see Hana walking back and forth and talking in an animated fashion. When he reentered the house, Hana had gone into their bedroom. Daud fed and watered Leon.
“Are you okay?” he asked when Hana returned.
Barefoot, she’d changed into workout clothes. “No,” she replied, flopping down in a chair at the table where they ate.
Daud listened as she explained what was going on with Ben and Sadie.
“I shouldn’t have told Ben that I had questions about his relationship with Laura, but one comment led to another, and when he began defending himself, I felt trapped. It took me almost half an hour to back away from the hole I dug. I never told him what Sadie said about wanting him to meet someone like me. If that ever comes out, he might totally cut off my relationship with her.”
“Maybe you should end it voluntarily.”
“What!” Hana exclaimed.
“There was a season for you to be involved with Sadie,” Daud replied in a level tone of voice. “But it’s clear she’s connected with you in a way that’s going to make it hard for her to develop a healthy relationship with any potential stepmother.”
Hana stared wild-eyed at him for a moment before bolting from the table to the bedroom and slamming the door behind her. Daud started to get up and follow her but stopped. Leon was barking at the loud noises. Grabbing the dog’s leash, Daud wrote a brief note on a whiteboard stuck to the refrigerator.
I’m taking Leon for a walk.
It was early evening, and as the sun dipped below the tree line the temperature cooled quickly. The night’s first crickets were tuning up their songs. Daud’s agitation caused him to walk rapidly, which suited Leon, who trotted to keep up.
“I was very calm and didn’t raise my voice,” Daud said to the dog when they reached the corner at the end of their street and turned right on the sidewalk. “And anyone who heard the facts would agree that what I told her was true.”
His tongue hanging out of his mouth, Leon kept looking straight ahead.
“Should I have forced my way into the bedroom to continue the conversation?” Daud asked.
Leon glanced sideways at Daud but continued walking.
“No.” Daud stared down the sidewalk toward a large oak tree. “Hana needed space, and you and I needed a walk.”
* * *
Hana lay sobbing on the bed with her face buried in a pillow. What made the pain worse was a nagging thought in the back of her mind that there was a sliver of truth in what Daud had said to her. Her relationship with Sadie, as beautiful and sweet as it had been, might have a jagged, negative edge. She crammed that thought back into her subconscious by reminding herself that she wasn’t opposed to Ben remarrying. She’d be thrilled if the right woman joined him in loving Sadie. All Hana did was voice a reasonable reservation about Laura, a woman she hadn’t met. That admission caused another wave of sobs that included a mixture of embarrassment and personal frustration. Hana flipped over onto her back, grabbed a wad of tissues from a box on the nightstand, and wiped her eyes. She breathed in and out several times to regain her composure.
Getting off the bed, she cracked open the door. Daud was gone. She saw his note on the refrigerator. Seeing his handwriting reminded her that he’d picked a terrible time to coldly suggest that Hana cut Sadie out of her life. Another tear coursed down Hana’s cheek.
She began to prepare supper, which was a salad topped with smoked salmon. The longer it took Daud and Leon to return, the more anxious she became. She put the finishing touches on the salad and put it in the refrigerator. Ten minutes later Daud opened the door. He gave her an apprehensive look that caused her to burst into tears again.
“Should I leave?” he asked. “I tried to give you space.”
“No, no,” Hana said, holding up her hands. “I’m a mess and I know it.”
Daud released the dog’s leash. Leon immediately pattered over to Hana and pressed against her leg.
“He knows you’re upset and wants to comfort you,” Daud said.
Hana rubbed Leon’s head. It actually did help soothe her.
“There was truth in what you told me,” she said to Daud, keeping her head down. “But it’s hard for me to hear it right now.”
“And the last thing I want to do is hurt you.”
Hana’s lips trembled again, but she pressed them tightly together. “Let’s eat.”
Dinner together was an act of normalcy that helped Hana more than she suspected.
“Tell me what you can about your trip to Washington,” she said.
“There’s not much I can say because the details are classified,” Daud replied. “The man in charge of the mission reminded me of Aaron Levy and agreed with my assessment of the operation.”
A knot formed in Hana’s stomach. “Did he mention working with them in the future?”
“Yes, but I told him I wasn’t interested.”
Hana looked at him with surprise. “Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
Hana quickly wiped away another tear. “That’s a happy one,” she said. “I’m so relieved. But I don’t want to change who you are.”
“It’s too late for that,” Daud said, smiling. “Marriage is changing both of us.”
They were able to relax for the rest of the evening. Shortly after the time Sadie normally went to bed, Hana asked Daud whether he thought she should call Ben and apologize. He paused for a few moments before shaking his head.
“I think you should allow time for him to talk to Sadie and think about things himself. Calling so so
on makes you look pushy.”
Even though she wanted to clear things up, Hana knew it might be best to hold off, for both her and Ben.
“Okay, I’ll wait a day or two.”
When she slipped out of bed in the middle of the night and returned to the living room, Hana was thankful that she and Daud had resolved the tension between them. One of the lessons drilled into her by her mother was not to let the sun go down on anger. Now that her emotions had calmed, Hana was able to pray for Ben and Sadie. And Laura.
In the morning she had an email from Jakob wanting to discuss Vladimir Ivanov’s case. She mentioned it to Daud. “He really wants to talk to both of us,” she said.
“Let’s meet him either at your office or for lunch.”
“I’ll suggest the office,” Hana said.
“Should I wear my dark-blue suit and yellow power tie?”
Hana shook her head. “No. A yellow tie isn’t going to make you any stronger.”
* * *
After Hana left for work, Daud dropped off Leon at the vet’s office and went to a local park to exercise. It was going to be a hot day, and by the time he finished, the sun had risen in the sky, taking the temperature up with it. On his way home, he received a text from Hana.
Meet with Jakob at 1:30 p.m. and Mr. L at 3:00 p.m.
With several hours to fill, Daud completed two proposals for American companies about setting up security protocols for branch offices in the Middle East. One was in Egypt and the other in Lebanon. For the latter, Daud included a scenario in which he would travel to Beirut to provide direct assistance. He didn’t include a similar option for the Egyptian project, even though the company’s office was in a nice area of Cairo, nowhere near Sharm el-Sheikh or the Taba border crossing. Daud didn’t want Egyptian border guards or security police to see his photo at any time in the near future.
He parked the Land Rover in a space reserved for visitors to the law firm. He’d been to the office several times and recognized the young receptionist on duty. While he waited, Daud flipped through an American magazine that focused on economic issues. The door to the office suites opened. It was Hana’s assistant.
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