Chapter 18 #2
Wow. They really did things differently where he came from, didn’t they?
“Let’s see. We have elementary school, which is little kids.
Kindergarten through sixth grade. That’s where my sister works.
She teaches second graders. Then there’s junior high, which is seventh and eighth grade.
Then there’s high school, which is ninth through twelfth grade.
After graduating high school, most people go to college. ”
He smiled. “You went to college.”
“You remembered.”
“Yes, I did.”
“So what do they call the different grades where you come from?” She was beginning to worry. Dubai was a very modern city. Things couldn’t be that different. She fidgeted on the couch while waiting for him to answer.
“Younglings are taught at a very early age how to read, write, and engineer.”
She coughed. “Wait, what? Engineer?”
“Yes, of course. Where I come from, there are a great many intellects. We produce engineers, architects, and mathematicians. My people excel at academia.” He looked around the room some more. “I see you have a television. I find them fascinating.”
She blinked several times. “You don’t have a TV?”
He shook his head. “No. No one does.”
Her eyebrow shot up, and she scooted a few inches away from him, unsure of what to do. “No one has a TV where you come from? Not one person in Dubai? One of the most modern cities in the world and no one has a TV?”
He stared at her like a deer in the headlights. “I may have said that wrong.”
“I think you did,” she agreed with no small amount of sarcasm. “But that’s okay.”
She sat tapping her fingers against her legs. This was getting awkward again. Quick. “So, um, would you like to go to the beach?” Oh. Why had she just asked him that?
“Yes.” He didn’t even hesitate.
She looked at him. “Really? You would?”
Rhaz nodded. “I like the beach. I haven’t had a chance to see it but the one time. And that had been from a distance.”
She laughed. “Rhaz, I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but you’ve got to get out of that house more. What have you been doing all day?”
“Working on this and that. Mostly Anon teaching me things about your culture.” He smiled and sat a little straighter.
“Yeah, well, if you don’t mind me saying so, you have a lot to learn.”
He laughed. “That I do, Phin Ironwood. Can we go to the beach now?”
“Now?” she sputtered. “Well, I guess. I don’t have anything going on. Just let me change my shoes.”
She got up, hurried from the room, and ran upstairs. She pulled on a pair of sandals, something she could take off and carry, then hurried into the kitchen to tell her parents she was leaving and where they were going.
A moment later she returned to fetch Rhaz. She looked at his shoes. “You might want to take those off when we get there. They’re going to get wet.”
“Wet,” he said. “Oh yes. The water. That’s all right. Let’s go.” He headed for the front door.
Phin found herself following. Maybe he just wanted to get out of her house. She hoped that wasn’t the case.
They got into her car and left. A few minutes later they pulled into the parking lot most of the locals used. Phin parked and waited for him to get out.
As soon as he did, she pointed toward the sand dune they’d walk over to reach the beach. She liked this parking lot because you had to climb the dune, and once you reached the top, there it was. The ocean in all its glory.
Rhaz stood beside the car for a moment and took a deep breath, closing his eyes. “I have never been this close to so much water before.”
“Really?” she said in disbelief. She’d have to look Dubai up on a map and see where the nearest body of water was. Or in this case, the sea.
“Come on. You’re in for a treat then.” She stopped short and turned to him. “You mean you’ve never been to the beach before? You’ve never actually stepped into the ocean?”
He opened his eyes and gave her a warm smile. “No, I have not.”
She stared at him for a moment, then took him by the hand. “Come on. Let’s go.” Phin dragged him up and over the sand dune and almost fell down the other side when he came to an abrupt stop.
He stared at the ocean in wonder, his eyes wide.
“Well, Rhaz Stormfyr,” Phin said with a laugh. “Meet the Pacific Ocean.”
He started down the dune slowly, kicking sand along as he did. He had to be getting it into his shoes, but he obviously didn’t care.
She took her sandals off and carried them as she plodded along behind him.
He headed straight for the water and stopped short as soon as he hit wet sand. “It’s cold,” he said, taking a step back.
“I’m afraid so. The Pacific is freezing, whereas the Atlantic is much warmer. Still, I like it, but it has to be an awfully hot day for me to go swimming.”
He smiled at her. “You swim in it?”
“Yes, but you have to be careful. It’s easy to cut your foot on something or step on a jellyfish.” She shuddered. “That’s not fun. But we’ve never really had a problem with sharks around here. Not in a lot of years.”
“Sharks,” he said, frowning.
“Yeah, you know. Big teeth. Jaws.” She looked at him and pressed her lips together.
He had that expression again, the one that said he hadn’t the slightest clue what she was talking about.
She nodded to herself. On the one hand, he was so gorgeous it made her heart flutter just looking at him. On the other hand, it was like he was from another planet. There were so many things he didn’t know, yet he seemed to take his ignorance in stride.
Still, the television thing bothered her. No TVs in Dubai and nobody owned one? Where had that come from? She’d have to tell her parents when she got home.