Chapter 13
Laine
Jack pulls in front of the beat-up apartment building, and a slight, dark man smiles and waves at me from the sidewalk. “There’s Faheen.” I get out of the car, and behind him are two young girls who must be his daughters and a beautiful woman. They have many packages.
“Jack, I’d like to introduce you to Faheen and Amani Bior and their daughters, Amal and Faiz.”
Jacks extends his hand. “I’m Abdo’s doctor, Jack Drake.”
I had Jack stop by a local game store on the way over so I could get a Sorry game for the kids to play. It’s perfect for Abdo’s age, and I thought it might be a good ice breaker. Jack picked up several other board games too.
We load up the car, and Faheen sits up front next to Jack.
“Are you working?” Jack asks Faheen.
He shakes his head. “No. I only got my papers to work last week.”
Jack nods. “What kind of work are you looking for?”
“I’ll do anything. I’d just like to earn a decent living. Our apartment is small, and the kids need room to play.”
“What did you do in Sudan?”
“I’m a civil engineer.”
Jack glances over at him. “Really?”
He nods. “Amani is also an engineer.”
“That’s very impressive. I may be able to help.”
His eyes grow big. “Thank you. We want to have a house with a yard. The children want a dog like we had in Khartoum.”
Jack pulls in and parks at the hospital. “I was staying in the south part of Khartoum before I was evacuated. I was close to the hospital.”
Faheen nods. “I had many friends there. I know it well. It’s very sad what they are doing.”
“I’m glad you were able to leave.”
“Yes. We had to go quickly and forgot some things, but we keep reminding ourselves that doesn’t matter. As long as we have each other.”
He looks back at Amani with love in his eyes, and she reaches for his hand.
As we walk through the hospital, everyone carrying something, Jack tells them a bit more about Abdo so they can be prepared. Faheen explains how Abdo will look to his kids, and they nod, solemnly.
Jack knocks on the door and pokes his head in. “Abdo, I’d like you to meet some new friends of mine. They just moved here from Khartoum too.”
Abdo’s eyes bounce wide. I don’t know whether he understood what Jack said or the Biors just look familiar because of their dress, but out of his mouth comes a slew of Sudanese Arabic.
Everyone freezes for a moment, and then the Biors run over to surround him. Faheen turns to us. “We know this boy. I worked with his father.”
A sudden weight lifts from my shoulders and emotion wells up immediately. Abdo now has people in his new life that understand his old one. That connection and community will make such a huge difference for him. I love this aspect of my job, the way I can make connections even beyond what I write.
After lots of talking and careful hugging, Amani begins to unwrap what she’s brought. It’s a giant feast of goraasa be dama, which we learn is a beef and vegetable stew. She has a naan sort of bread to eat it with, and there’s plenty for everyone. The meal is wonderful.
We show the kids how to play Sorry, and they’re soon entertaining themselves.
Amani looks over and wipes tears from her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
She says something quietly to Faheen, and he translates for us. “She’s sad to know that his mother and father are dead. I think we both hoped to one day return to our home and see our old friends.”
I nod and clasp Faheen and Amani’s hands. “I’m sorry. I’m so grateful that all of you are here and safe.”
The kids play round after round of Sorry, and after a while, I think they’re making up their own rules. When Abdo yawns, Amani puts her hand on Faheen’s arm.
Faheen nods. “Amal, Faiz, we need to go home. Abdo is tired, and it is time.”
The kids say their goodbyes, and Abdo gets a look of almost panic in his eyes. He reaches for Jack’s hand and holds it tight.
Faheen says something to Abdo who quickly replies.
Faheen smiles and looks at Jack. “I’ve promised him we’ll return again to see him. He wants to know if you’ll stay with him now.”
Jack pulls his keys out of his pocket and hands them to me. “Do you think you could drive them home and come back for me?”
“Sure. No problem.”
“He also wants to know where your children are.”
Jack’s mouth nearly drops open. “We’re not married,” he says, shaking his head vigorously. “We’re only friends.”
After Faheen tells Abdo that, he smiles and says something to Faheen and Amani. Their girls laugh and look at me.
“He wants to know if you’ll marry him,” Faheen explains.
I grin. “Please tell him I’m flattered, but he’s too young for me.”
Faheen tells him and he replies.
“He wants you to know he won’t always be young.”
I put my hands on my heart. Such a charmer. I shake my head and smile.
When we’re ready to leave, Jack hands Faheen a piece of paper. “My friend owns a construction company and knows a lot of engineers. She asked that you call her. She may be able to find you some work.”
I don’t know when he stepped out to do that, but that’s the Jack I used to know. My heart warms. He is a good man. That makes me sad all over again about what happened with us.
Faheen’s eyes gleam, and he hugs Amani. “Thank you,” he says on repeat as I drive them home.
When we arrive, I step out with them to help unload, and Amani puts her hand on my arm. “We come tomorrow?”
“I think so, yes. I will make sure it’s okay and call Faheen to let you know.”
She smiles and bobs her head. “Thank you.”
I drop them off and drive Jack’s car back to the hospital. I’ve been gone maybe twenty minutes, but when I return, Abdo and Jack are playing Chutes and Ladders. “Who’s winning?”
Jack shakes his head. “He is. He’s killing me.”
Abdo is all smiles.
“Did you enjoy seeing your friends today?” I ask.
He just smiles. He’ll get there, eventually.
When they finish their game, Abdo’s eyes begin to get heavy again, and Jack stands. “I’ll be back in the morning,” he tells Abdo. “I’m going to get a nurse to help you get ready for bed.”
Abdo nods.
Once he’s settled, with the evening nurse fussing over him, Jack and I walk out to the car together. He shakes his head. “I can’t believe with more than six million people in Khartoum, they knew each other.”
“How crazy is that? And boy, were they excited to see him. That’s going to be an amazing connection.” I smile to myself. I feel such relief just thinking about that. “Whose number did you give Faheen?”
“Steve’s sister. She runs Boss Construction. She was excited to hear he was a civil engineer. He may not be able to be licensed here right away, but he’ll likely have some knowledge she can use. If not, she has people she can refer him to.”
“When did you talk to her?”
“I stepped out while everyone was eating.”
I put my seatbelt on. “Amani wanted to know if they can come back tomorrow?”
Jack nods. “I’m so glad they want to. Abdo meets with the child psychologist in the morning over Zoom, but maybe after lunch?”
I nod. “I’ll let them know.”
“Thank you for organizing that and spending the day with me. It’s going to make a huge difference for Abdo.”
“I was happy to do it.”
Jack pulls up and stops in front of my apartment building. “What’s your plan this week?”
“I work the five-to-two schedule at Steaming Mugs, and I’ll be working on the next piece for the paper. I think I’ll have it done sometime tomorrow or the next day. Can I email it to you?”
“I think I’d rather you bring me a copy.”
“Oh. Sure, I can do that. Just leave it at your office?”
“You think you’ll have it done tomorrow evening? Maybe you could meet me at my place for dinner.”
My breath stills and conflict rages inside me. It would be so easy to ride this wave of friendliness that’s developed between Jack and me. But it certainly doesn’t erase the past. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I say, just above a whisper.
“Why not?”
My chest falls. “Jack, when you dumped me, without even hearing what I had to say, it nearly killed me. There are so many wonderful things about you, but you hurt me. I don’t trust you with my heart. Giving you back your ring was me finally letting go. I can’t do it again.”
He looks forward. “I miss you. I’ve enjoyed spending time with you.”
My heart is beating so hard it’s going to leap right out of my chest. “I’ll email you the article.”
“I made a mistake, and I’m sorry.” He reaches for my hand. “Truly and irrevocably sorry. I would like to spend time with you again.”
I want so much to say yes, but it’s not that easy. He can’t just erase what happened. I open the car door, saying nothing.
Inside, the first thing I do is call Faheen and let him know Abdo will be available in the afternoon tomorrow. Then I sit down and run through my week, trying to organize my schedule and figure out what’s left to do on the story. I’d love to include some of the interactions I witnessed today.
And thinking about that of course takes my mind right back to being with Jack. It felt so easy today. We know each other at a visceral level. But even so, he cast me aside as soon as things got complicated. I can’t build a life with someone who reacts that way. And we still haven’t ever talked it through. I need Trish’s advice.
“Hey, hot stuff!” she says as she answers her phone, almost before it even rang.
“Hi. What’s up at the chocolate factory?”
“We’re going to be doing hedgehog truffles this week.”
“My favorite.”
“Are you in need of a box of truffles? You know I can bring you one.”
Suddenly, there are tears on my face. “I don’t know.” My voice cracks. “I don’t know what I need.”
“What did Jack do?”
I tell her about yesterday at Michael and Nadine’s and then our day today. “It was actually really pleasant. I remembered all the good things about him. And now, he wants to hang out and have dinner. He said he misses me.”
I can hear her sharp intake of breath through the phone. “Absolutely not!” She mutters things I can’t quite make out. “You did the right thing to tell him no. We don’t do repeats. Hell no! Did he apologize? Explain why he threw your whole relationship away when he was mad?”
“Not exactly…”
She sighs again. “You cannot go back to him or even hang out casually after what he did. There’s no way to know what he’s thinking. He can’t treat you that way. If you’re such a terrible person, why does he even want to spend time with you?”
I’m nodding along as she speaks. “You’re right. That’s a good point. Thank you. He can’t just jump back in because he feels like it would be easy. I know that’s true. Of course, it is. I just got caught up in the moment.”
“It’s easy to do, but I’m always here for you,” she assures me. “I think we should go get a late dinner somewhere and get very silly.”
My shoulders fall. “I can’t. I have to be at Steaming Mugs before sunrise, and I got up at the crack of dawn today. I’m opening the store all week and again on Saturday.”
Trish groans. “Why did you have to take that horrible job? Won’t you just move into my guest house?”
“No, because I’m not your child. I just behave like one.”
That makes us both giggle.
“You really don’t,” she says after a moment. “I know turning Jack down today was hard. I’m proud of you.”
“Thank you.” Then it hits me. “Oh! I forgot.”
“What else did he do?”
“No! Davis asked me how you felt about Phillip yesterday. He’s worried you’re playing him and going to break his heart.”
“What?” Trish virtually yells. “Break his heart? No way.”
“I need some details. What the heck is going on?”
“You know all the details. We’ve been out a few times, but I’m being cautious, because I don’t think he’s serious about any of this. I can’t believe Davis said that.”
“What did you guys do this weekend? I thought I would have seen you at Michael and Nadine’s.”
“I’m not tight with them, and neither is Phillip, even though the families are close. Our friends are a few years younger. But I did bid on Steve McCormick at Julia’s bachelor auction for kids with cancer last summer.”
“That’s right. You did. So classy.”
We break down in giggles again.
“Thank you for being such a wonderful friend,” I tell her. “I would be lost without you.”
“Oh sweetie, I feel the same way about you, which is why I wish you’d give notice at your apartment and move in with me. I hate to see you struggle.”
“I have a job that pays for rent and another that pays my bills. I’ve got this. But thank you,” I assure her.
“If it would help you change your mind, I’ll be right over with a box of hedgehog truffles.”
“Don’t worry about me,” I assure her. “Right now, I’m off to bed. But maybe we can have an early dinner later this week.”