Chapter 7
Janet dragged her suitcase as she walked away from the sheikh’s house. She couldn’t believe that she had been fired after working there for only two weeks. She refused to accept the sheikh’s reasons for firing her; he didn’t like her, probably never did from the beginning. Janet stopped walking. Had she overstepped when she had spoken to the sheikh about Sanaa? she asked herself. Most parents never wanted to be told about their children and given advice by other people, especially from those that didn’t have children. It was just that Janet was worried about Sanaa and she cared about her.
She started walking again and approached the large iron gates. The security guard opened the same side gate for her. “Thank you,” she said to him. Just as she was about to walk out, she heard someone calling her name.
“Janet! Wait!” she heard. Janet crossed her eyebrows as she turned around. She saw Ruth rushing towards her.
“What’s wrong?” Janet asked her.
“The sheikh asked me to call you back.”
“Why? ”
“I don’t know; he just asked me to call you back promptly.”
“Does he want to yell at me more?” Janet sighed. “Let’s go find out,” she added. Janet and Ruth walked up the long stone driveway and headed back up to the house. On the way back, Janet wondered why the sheikh had called her back. He had heartlessly fired her at 9 p.m. He didn’t even wait until the morning, and he hadn’t even allowed her to say goodbye to Sanaa.
Ruth opened the front door and walked in. Janet followed behind her. The sheikh and Sanaa were standing at the bottom of the stairs.
“Hey, sweetheart,” Janet said to Sanaa. “I’m sorry for leaving without saying goodbye.”
Sanaa walked towards Janet and held on to Janet’s top and just looked at her. She had sadness in her eyes. Janet stroked her head. “What’s wrong?” Janet asked softly. Ruth quickly walked off and headed towards the living room.
“Sanaa wants you to stay,” said the sheikh. Janet looked at him and raised her eyebrows.
“Really?” Janet asked. The sheikh nodded.
“She doesn’t want another nanny; she wants you.”
Janet looked at Sanaa and then back at the sheikh. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. Less than twenty minutes before, the sheikh had told her that she wasn’t good for Sanaa.
“Does that mean I’m not fired then?” Janet asked the sheikh.
“You can take your job back, with a 20 percent increase in your salary,” he said.
“I see.” Janet looked down at Sanaa who was still standing at her side. At that moment, the little girl looked up at Janet and smiled. It was the first time Janet had seen her smile, and it warmed her heart. Janet returned her smile.
“I think an apology is owed,” Janet said as she looked up to the sheikh. He narrowed his gaze at her and grunted.
“I misjudged you.” He turned on his heel and walked off. Janet smiled and shook her head.
“Let’s get you to bed,” Janet said to Sanaa as she took her hand. They both headed up the stairs and down the hallway.
Janet tucked Sanaa into bed. “I didn’t know you liked me that much,” Janet teased Sanaa.
Sanaa smiled and turned away, giving Janet her back. Janet giggled and stroked her head before she left. She headed back downstairs and retrieved her suitcase that she had left by the entrance. She went down to her bedroom and unpacked her stuff. What a crazy night it had been.