Chapter 6
“Heee,” the sheikh called out as he tugged on the reins. The horse slowed down and then came to a halt; they had arrived at the stables. Janet hadn’t been at the stables yet; she hadn’t even known that there were stables and so many horses.
The sheikh dismounted from the horse first and held his hand out to Janet. She placed her hand in his, and he helped her down from the horse. Much to her surprise, his hands were warm and soft; unlike his personality. He was cold and unfriendly. She didn’t know if he was like that to everyone or just her.
“Thank you, sheikh,” Janet said. Her heart was still pounding; she’d never liked snakes. They frightened her. “I don’t know what I’d have done if you didn’t arrive just then.”
“What were you even doing there?” he asked, his face showing a hint of amusement.
“I just went out for a walk; I didn’t think there would be snakes there. The thought didn’t even cross my mind.” Janet shivered. Basil gave half a smile before he grabbed the reins of the horse and pulled it into the stable. Janet raised her eyebrows. She’d never seen the sheikh smile or even laugh. Now here he was, amused, because of a scary situation she’d just faced .
“Are you laughing at me?” Janet asked the sheikh.
“It was an amusing sight, I must admit,” he replied. He put the horse in a stall and closed and locked the stable gate.
“Of me screaming?”
Basil didn’t answer; his smile only grew bigger.
“It was scary.” Janet pouted. She couldn’t believe that the sheikh was laughing at her. He turned to face her.
“It was a small snake and probably harmless,” he said.
“It wasn’t small.”
Basil shook his head and started walking. Janet watched the sheikh walking past her. He looked much better when he smiled, she thought to herself. Janet started walking after the sheikh. She had to rush to catch up with him.
“Where is Sanaa?” he asked her.
“She’s in her room. Ruth told me that she had breakfast in her room and didn’t want to be disturbed. So, I sent her a text message letting her know I was going out for a walk. I must check up on her as soon as I get back in the house,” Janet replied.
The sheikh sighed. “I see,” he replied. He seemed slightly worried. Janet wanted to ask about his worries, but the last time she tried speaking to him about something personal, he snapped at her.
“She’s so smart,” Janet decided to talk about something positive. “I’m so impressed that she reads very well at such a young age.”
“Yes, her teacher said she’s at the reading level of a twelve-year-old.”
Janet gasped. She knew that Sanaa was smart but not that smart. “That’s amazing; you must be proud,” she said. Even though it was amazing and impressive, she was still a child, and it saddened Janet to see her not play and smile like a child her age.
Janet rushed up to Sanaa’s room when they arrived back at the house. She knocked on the door before she entered the room. Sanaa was sitting on her bed, drawing in her sketchbook.
“Hi.” Janet smiled as she walked in. “I just wanted to check up on you.”
Sanaa looked at Janet and then scribbled I’m fine . Janet smiled and nodded. She looked at the sketchbook. There were drawings of horses, clouds, the sky.
“Wow, that’s beautiful,” she said.
You can go, Sanaa wrote down.
“Are you sure you don’t want company?” Janet asked her. Sanaa shook her head .
“Okay. Call me if you need me.” Janet waved at Sanaa before she walked out. As she shut the door, the sheikh was just about to enter his room, which was next to Sanaa’s. He looked at Janet and raised his eyebrows as if to ask about Sanaa.
“I was just kicked out.” Janet giggled.
“That doesn’t surprise me.” Basil gave half a smile before he entered his room.
Janet headed down to the laundry room, which was on the basement level of the house. There she ran into Ruth, one of the maids she had met before.
“Hi,” Janet greeted her.
“Hello,” Ruth replied.
Janet put Sanaa’s clothes in the washing machine. “How are you?” she asked Ruth as she put in the detergent and then pushed the start button.
“I’m well, thank you,” Ruth replied.
“How long have you worked for the sheikh?”
“Ten years.”
Janet raised her eyebrows. “It’s a long time,” she said. Ruth responded with a nod. She was a woman of very few words.
“What happened to Sanaa’s nanny, the one who worked here before me?” Janet asked.
“She was let go. ”
“Fired?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Ruth shut the other washing machine and pressed the start button after she had finished loading it up. “They all get fired,” she said. Janet crossed her eyebrows.
“What do you mean?” she asked. Ruth sighed before she turned to face Janet. She was just a little bit taller and slimmer than Janet. Her dark hair was tied into a low bun. She had dark eyebrows that framed her face and complemented her dark almond complexion.
“Since the madam passed away, Sanaa has had many nannies. Each lasted no longer than two weeks. In the eyes of Sheikh El-Masry, no one is good enough to look after his daughter,” Ruth explained.
“The madam, I mean his wife, she looked after Sanaa before she passed away?”
“Yes, she didn’t work. She stayed home with Sanaa.”
Janet sighed. Since Sanaa spent most of her time with her mother, it made sense that she wouldn’t open up to her nannies.
***
Basil stood on the patio, staring into the distance. He had so much on his mind. It had been two weeks since Sanaa had a new nanny, and there was no change. Sanaa wasn’t warming up to her. She was still shut down and not talking. It bothered Basil so much, he wanted a nanny that would be good to Sanaa, and that Sanaa would like and trust.
“Good evening, sheikh,” Janet said as she walked out onto the patio and stood next to Basil.
“Evening,” he replied.
“Are you alright? You look as though you have something on your mind.”
“I do.”
She moved a little bit closer to him. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked. Basil raised an eyebrow and looked at her. He wondered why she was asking, it wasn’t like he was going to tell her, and she knew that. Many times, he had told her to only focus on Sanaa.
“I guess not,” she mumbled.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Oh, yes, I wanted to ask you something.” She played with her fingers and didn’t say anything else for a moment.
“Hurry up and speak.” Basil tended to be impatient.
“It’s not a big deal, really. There’s a carnival in town, can I take Sanaa there? ”
“No.” There was no way he was going to allow his daughter to be in such an environment. There would be too many people; anything could happen.
“Oh, I thought it’d be fun.” Janet sighed. “I’d like to do something nice for Sanaa.”
“You’re impulsive,” he said to her. “My daughter’s safety is a priority.”
“I know, and I’d never do anything that would bring harm to her.”
Basil shook his head. “No, I don’t think you’re the right fit for her,” he said. Janet raised her eyebrows.
“What does that mean?” she asked him.
“It means that your services here are no longer required. Your pay will be transferred to your account; you can leave now.”
“Because of the carnival?”
“Because you don’t seem to understand her or her life. You always suggest peculiar things, and your focus doesn’t seem to be on her. You’re always trying to meddle into my business,” Basil said calmly. Janet narrowed her gaze at him.
“I appreciate you having given me the job, but I can’t leave without speaking my mind,” she said. Basil leaned against the table and waited for her to speak.
“Sanaa is a child. She needs to do things that children do. ”
“Like?”
“Playing outside, eating junk food, going to carnivals and fairs.” Janet threw her hands in the air. “I know that she lost her mother and…”
“Choose your words carefully,” he warned.
“She shut down because of her mother’s passing, and because of that, she needs stability. Changing nannies all the time isn’t good for her. She needs…”
“If you have finished, you can leave now,” Basil cut her off. He no longer wanted to listen to her. There was no way he was going to listen to someone else tell him what his child needed.
“Fine.” Janet sighed. “Can I at least say goodbye to Sanaa before I leave?”
“No.”
Janet’s face dropped. She looked so disappointed. Could it be that she really cared about Sanaa? Basil wasn’t sure and didn’t care. Janet turned on her heel and left.
Basil couldn’t believe Janet’s little tantrum. Out of all the maids he had fired, she was the only one that dared to tell him off . Who did she think she was anyway? What gave her the right to speak about his daughter like this? She had only known Sanaa for two weeks. Basil shook his head and headed back into the house .
As Basil was walking down the corridor, Janet walked out of the dining room with her suitcase. She stopped and looked at him. “Take care,” she said. She pulled her suitcase as she headed out of the front door. Basil didn’t try to stop her or say anything. He pulled his phone out of his pocket as he kept walking. He needed to call Mariam and let her know that she needed to find another nanny.
Just as he was about to head up the stairs, Basil saw Sanaa standing on the stairs looking at the front door. She was in a white dress and had her hair down. She had her notepad in her hands.
“Sanaa, are you okay?” he asked her.
Where is she going? she wrote down.
“You don’t have to worry about her; I’ll get you another nanny,” he replied. Sanaa’s eyes widened and started racing. “What’s wrong?” Basil rushed up to her and held her shoulders. Her eyes welled up.
“Sanaa, what’s wrong?” he asked her.
I want her, she wrote down. Basil raised his eyebrows.
“What?”
Call her back.