27: Dalal's Wedding and Zeina's Surprise

The red box with Dalal’s wedding invitation sat on Zeina’s bedside table; Dalal had been kind enough to send her mother one too even though they both knew that Zeina’s mother wouldn’t go. Walking around in her bathrobe Zeina caught a glance of herself in the mirror, her bare face stared back at her; she had just returned from the hairdressers and couldn’t stop admiring the amazing job they had done. Having woken up with extreme impatience for the event to come she decided to waste as much time as possible, and so she had grabbed the nearest pile of magazines and began flipping through for a new hair color. This is how her light hair had now turned into a shade slightly darker than chocolate; she realized, staring at herself, that her darker hair brought out the paleness of her skin making her look more delicate than ever. Almost every hair style ever invented had gone through her head in the week leading up to today and having narrowed it down to ten different styles, it took her all the way until the very last minute in the hairdresser’s seat to settle on the one she wore now.

Her hair puffed up slightly from the front, was pulled back neatly and sprayed to perfection with the rest of it pulled to the back in a large neat bun. An assortment of pins with single silver crystals were neatly placed around her hair. She stared at her phone impatiently waiting for the makeup artist to call and tell her that she had arrived; Zeina longed to call Manaf but she knew he was too busy with his brother to talk. Ever since he had gotten back from Ma9er two days ago they had been on the phone constantly and Zeina lacked so much sleep she was shocked she could walk. She had begged Manaf to tell her what the surprise he had for her was but he had been persistent in his decision to wait until the wedding. Just then her phone rang interrupting her thoughts, running she made her way to the living room downstairs and waited for the makeup lady to be let in. Once she was in she presented her gown to her so that they could decide on the makeup.

Zeina had put a lot of thought into what she would wear; unlike any other wedding, this one had an audience she was longing to impress. Amirah, the makeup artist admired the dress with wide eyes and Zeina didn’t blame her, this was by far the prettiest dress Zeina had bought for a wedding. It lay flowing from its hanger to the ground, a deep crimson color that had always been Zeina’s favorite. It took Amirah a little over half an hour to complete Zeina’s makeup and when she finally glanced at her face in the mirror her smoky black eyes and crimson lips gazed back.

“entay lazim kel mara eta2akharain?” Zeina’s mother appeared lecturing her daughter and smiling broadly at the same time, it was obvious that she liked the outcome of her daughter’s hair and makeup.

“Yala ka al7ean balbis” Zeina replied once again making her way upstairs, it was at that moment that she began to feel the formation of butterflies in her stomach. Her mother followed her carrying the dress carefully and calling at the maids to make some bukhoor for Zeina. Inside Zeina’s bedroom her mother cleared off some stuff from her bed and lay the dress on it and immediately began fussing about the shoes and what clutch she was going to use with the dress; Zeina however was not listening to her mother because she had noticed a new message blinking on her mobile screen and the name of the sender was Manaf.

Slowly she clicked on the icon opening the message, the words “I love you” immediately filled the screen; hiding her need to scream with glee as best as she could Zeina put the phone down and turned her focus to her mother. She began undressing and started putting on the layers of clothing she needed, finishing off with her dress. Her mother helpfully adjusted everything she put on making sure Zeina didn’t mess up her hair or make up in the process then like most obsessive mothers she began going over a verbal checklist of things Zeina should have done or should be wearing. When they were finally done Zeina threw in everything she needed into the dark silver clutch she was using and headed to her mother’s room to accessories. Opting to go with big earrings Zeina chose a simple diamond necklace and a simple diamond encrusted Cartier watch for her wrist.

Finally she began making her way downstairs for the final touches, perfume and bukhour. As she lifted her dress to avoid tripping over it she could overhear her mother silently mumbling a few ad3iya to protect her daughter from el 3ain. When Zeina’s mother was done spraying every inch of Zeina’s skin with 3i6er and spreading as much bukhour smoke around her and her hair she was ready to go; covering her bare chest and shoulders with a black shawl Zeina left the house and got into the driver’s car and began directing him towards Dalal’s house, which according to the invitation is where the wedding was taking place.

The butterflies which had been slowly increasing since the makeup session were wreaking havoc in Zeina’s stomach as she finally pulled up to the house. If Zeina had thought the house looked nice when she had first seen it then there were no words to describe how it had transformed for the wedding. Bright white lights filled the place so abundantly that a person had to take a few minutes to let their eyes adjust to the brightness; and from what Zeina could see from her car window, the side garden was filled with decorations that had a silvery theme. A uniformed man made his way to her car and opened the door for her and taking a deep breath Zeina made her way towards the music and crowd of dancing women.

The basement, where everyone was gathered was decorated magnificently with large sheaths of clear silver material that stuck to the corners of the ceilings and then drooped low into the center of the room before rising up again, finally ending as a bow on one of the sides of the large chandelier that hung in the center of the ceiling. The chairs that were aligned on opposite sides of the room were enough to fit hundreds of people and almost all of them were already occupied. The Kosha (where the bride and groom sat) was positioned in the front of the room between the two sides of chairs; was one of the largest and longest Zeina had ever seen. The left side of it had a glamorous backrest that went halfway up the height of the room with patterns and holes in it; scattered across the patterns were tiny silver bows and bright shining crystals. The rest of the Kosha twisted into a large S-shape, stopping only a few feet from the first row of seats.

Dresses of almost every color and design filled the center platform, dancing towards the Kosha and then back in the opposite direction; some stopping in front of family members to dance for a quick minute or two. Zeina made her way to the seats that held the bride’s side of the family and took her place towards the back. She spotted Dalal’s sisters dancing among the crowd and waited patiently for them to glance in her direction so she could say hello.

Two hours later when Zeina had finished saying hello to both sisters and had danced a couple of times with them, she made her way to her seat along with the rest of the crowd as the DJ indicated the entrance of the bride. Minutes later Dalal walked in, followed by her two sisters and began her walk down the aisle. With every step she took her sisters leaned over and adjusted her long train and once she had reached the Kosha her mother, who had been waiting for her there, helped her up the step and seating her down. Close friends and relatives immediately began making their way up to her to congratulate her.

Zeina’s phone vibrated in her hand and a shot of excitement went up her spine as she read Manaf’s message “al7ean bindish” and soon enough the DJ announced that the men were there and told the women to cover up if necessary. Zeina’s heart pounded with excitement, this would be the first time she’d see Manaf since before he left for Ma9er and she felt like she had waited a lifetime; adjusting herself in her sit she tried to lean in the best angle so that she could see past the rows of women. The door slowly opened and the groom walked in followed by several of his and the bride’s closest relatives, among them Manaf. Zeina caught her breath as she stared at him in his Qetra walking down the aisle behind his brother; she had never seen him look so grown up and manly and she felt something inside her tighten around her heart with love.

After the men were done congratulating each other and were done posing for pictures Zeina saw Manaf leave without glancing once at the crowd. Her heart fell with disappointment; she was hoping that he would spot her. After Dalal had danced the bride and groom made their way out of the room and towards the back garden to cut the cake and have dinner. The rest of the women made their way back to the dance floor and resumed dancing. Zeina took her phone and messaged her mother to send the driver, she was getting tired and wasn’t in the mood for dinner. As she waited patiently for her driver to call her Deema, Dalal’s sister, took a seat beside her.

“Ha mestansa?” She asked.

“Ee wayed, Daloool mashallah etyanin!” She replied

“Ee ya7lailha, tara we’re so glad you could make it” she continued. Zeina wanted to reach out and hug her, Dalal and her sisters were some of the nicest people Zeina had ever met. “Enzain sem3ay, Manaf yabi ekalmich he’s upstairs ta3alay ma3ay…” And with that Deema got up with Zeina closely behind. Deema led Zeina up a set of stairs and into a small closed living room where Manaf was sitting on the couch busy texting.

“A7em” Deema playfully cleared her throat, Manaf looked up and his mouth widened into a small gap as he stared at Zeina in awe. Deema laughed quietly, “akhaleekom 3ayal…bes yawailkom etha sakartaw il baab haa!” she joked before closing it herself. Zeina stood by the door blushing; she had never been so exposed in front of a man before, especially a man she was madly in love with.

“Mashallah…” Manaf finally breathed out still looking Zeina over from head to toe. He was now on his feet; the mobile had dropped from his hand back onto the couch. For a few seconds they stood there staring at each other.

“Ahlan…” Zeina whispered looking away and focusing on a pillow next to her, she couldn’t meet Manaf’s piercing gaze anymore. Memories of the first time she saw him came flooding back to her and she remembered the power of his eyes; the very same eyes that still hadn’t removed themselves off of her face and body.

In two swift strides Manaf was standing in front of her putting one hand under her chin and slowly turning her face towards him. “Yala 3ad 6al3eeni” he whispered. Zeina continued avoiding him with his eyes directing them instead downwards but he was standing so close that looking down meant staring at his broad chest that lay close beneath the thin cotton material of his dishdasha. Realizing that Manaf was waiting for her to look up she slowly raised her eyes towards his face and gazed into his black eyes; and they stared expressionlessly back at her.

“Did you have fun?” He asked her not removing his eyes.

“Yes” Zeina replied weakly back

“Ra7 tolheen 3alay lama arid asafer?” He asked a small grin forming on his face.

“Manaaf” Zeina let out a small groan “laish et’thakerni…now ytheeg khelgi” She whined

“Affaa…ana agdar athayeg khilgech? Goleeeli bes, agdar?” He asked

“Ee tegdar, ra7 etsafer wetkhaleeni” she replied

“Enzain wetha reja3t ebsir3a?” He asked in all seriousness, Zeina stared at him for a second trying to understand what he meant.

“Define ebsir3a…” She replied skeptically

“Ya3ni bel ketheer shahrain…”

“Ollaaa…ya3ni shahrain ebsir3a bil nesba lek?” She pulled away from him and took a seat, Manaf immediately took his place beside her.

“La bes 3igub hal shahrain khala9 ag3ad bil kwait ma arja3 Ma9er…” He continued, a smile creeping across his face.

“Ay shay…shlon o derastik?” Zeina asked her voice rising eagerly.

“Akhali9…”

“Shlon?”

“Ma3alaich shlon elmohim arja3 lekwait forever…eshrayech?”

“CHAN ZAIN!” Zeina replied, it sounded almost too good to be true and she was half waiting for Manaf to take it back.

“Will it make you happy?” He asked her, his face was back to being serious

“Akeed it will, eshrayek Manaf?” Zeina realized that his expression had thrown her off, he seemed unsure of whether his presence really made Zeina happy. “Shfeek shaklik mu im9adeg?”

Manaf suddenly became very nervous and he gazed away for a second deep in thought, he opened his mouth to begin speaking before changing his mind and silently stared some more.

“Shfeek tell me?” Zeina asked him, curious to know what was making him act this way.

“Bagoolich shay bes mu 3aref shlon, faj2a I got nervous” He laughed at himself, still not meeting her eyes.

“Gooli, you can tell me anything” She told him gently trying to comfort him. Manaf got up walked towards the other side of the room and took something out from a small chest that sat atop a antique-looking table. Holding it in a way so that Zeina couldn’t make out what it was he slowly made his way back towards her and took his seat next to her.

“I really wanted to talk to you about this before bes Dalal o Deema eqna3ooni that surprising you would be a better idea o el 9ara7a 7adi mit7asef now ina I didn’t talk to you about this lana ….” He began rambling and turning his head to look away.

“Ubay Manaf, ga3d etkhare3ni..just say it, I’m sure it’s not a big deal…” Zeina told him wanting to reach out and pry the thing out of his hands so she could look at it.

“I’m done Zeina.” He finally said, pausing to take in her reaction. Zeina didn’t know what he meant.

“Done with what Manaf?”

“Done with derasti..”

“Oh. Hathy il mofaja2a?” She asked skeptically.

“Ee…” He smiled broadly. Zeina wanted to slap him. This was the surprise he had made her wait so long for?

“Oh…7ayati mabrook” Zeina forced the words out from between her teeth.

“Alah ebarik feech, matadreen how happy I am. Mu lazim arja3 khala9” He beamed at her. Zeina nodded and smiled back as much as she possibly could before glancing at her mobile to see several missed calls from her driver.

“Umm 7ayati, tadri ana 7adi wedi ag3ad ma3ak bes sayeqna ta7at o I can’t be late” She told him, she wanted to get out of the room before she exploded in his face. Could he and Dalal be so tafheen that they called this a “surprise” that was worth coming for?

“Okay 7abeebti” Manaf replied unfazed by her lame excuse. Zeina, feeling slightly upset by him not asking her to stay longer, got up and began wrapping herself with her shawl and heading towards the door. As she twisted the knob open she heard Manaf getting up from his seat, “ta3alay Zayoon baqait as2ilich” He spoke casually from behind her.

“Hala?” She muttered back not wanting to turn around.

“Will you marry me?”

Zeina froze in her place, she didn’t trust her ears, had he really said those words? Slowly she turned around to see a confident and grinning Manaf staring back at her. When she met his gaze he gave her a small wink and began walking towards her, displaying what he had hidden in his palm. A small red velvet box sat there staring back at Zeina who was too speechless to say anything. With two fingers he popped the box open and revealed a diamond ring.

“You have to hide it though, min ahalich, adry mosta7eel ekhaloonich etizawajain wa7d lail7ean bugala course. You don’t mind waiting these two months do you?” He asked leaning in close to her.

“La..I don’t” She finally choked out still staring at the ring, slowly she reached in and took the ring into her hand turning it over. She realized that Manaf was staring at her reading every expression. She put it back in the box and smiling put the box into her clutch.

She stared at Manaf for a long time taking in all his wonderful features, images of the past few months ran through her head and she couldn’t believe how fast the time had gone and how much they had been through. She felt as if she had met him yesterday.

“Thank you” She whispered.

“For the ring? You’re welcome…” He replied a little taken aback by her words.

“No, not for the ring. Thank you, for not breaking my heart”. As Manaf understood what she was trying to say his face turned into a deep frown and raising both hands he took her tiny face into them and held it tightly for a few minutes.

“Ana ma nwait, wela 7atan 7ag la7tha, ini al3ab 3alaich.” And with that he kissed her forehead, before gently letting go of her face. A wave of emotion hit Zeina and she longed to hug him and cry a few tears of joy but controlling herself she told him once again that she had to go, this time meaning it.

“Okay 7abeebti, will you call me gabel la etnameen?” He asked innocently. Not being able to control herself Zeina closed the distance between them and leaned in to kiss him lightly on the cheek. As she pulled back she inhaled his cologne and found herself fighting the urge to lean back in. Manaf’s face blushed slightly causing Zeina to blush with him.

“Thank you 7abeebti” He whispered shyly, and with that Zeina slipped out of the room. Finding Dalal’s sisters she congratulated them one last time and made her way to her waiting car. Once inside she took the ring out and tried it on her finger; a tear of joy rolled down her face as she thought of what was to come.

26: Nostalgia

7ag all il commenters ili dazeenli rude comments.....moootaw o mu ela tegroon liblog etha mu 3ajebkom my schedule..I don't recall being hired for this job!

O plz don't go to my other blog and tell me to continue the story...I have two separate blogs for a reason!

7ag il baji il 7elween ili you waited so patiently wala a7ebkom o ya36eekom alf 3afia..o sam7ooni lana wala these past two weeks have been hectic! Hope you enjoy the post.

love you ;*

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Chuckling inwardly at Mano’s embarrassing exposure Zeina had spent the entire meal thinking of different scenarios in which she would bump into Mano and laugh in his face or tease him about his lie. As her father ordered the check Zeina glanced at her phone for the time, blinking next to the digital clock on the screen was a tiny mailbox; she hadn’t heard her phone beep. Flipping it open she immediately scanned Manaf’s name in the title. Her heart began thudding as she contemplated what he would say to her; would he tell her he didn’t want to speak to her? Would he tell her that things had gotten so confusing and messed up that it looks like it’s not going to be worth the trouble to keep what they had? Instead of all the things that ran through Zeina’s head, she read four short words:

I miss you wayed.

Zeina’s heart began filling up with emotions as she herself began to long for Manaf and more specifically for the way things used to be between them. She hit the reply button and her fingers took over for her:

“Wala…walah il 3atheem Manaf mu kethri.” She replied, it took him seconds to respond,

“Can I call you?” He asked

“La ana ma3a ahali now. When I get back to the hotel I’ll call” She replied and immediately started nagging to go back.

“Yala mama ta3bana” She whined as her father took his time looking over the check and answering her mother’s annoying questions about the table cloths and the shapes of the spoons on the table. “Earth shattering observations” Zeina thought to herself impatiently.

Finally they got up from the table and began heading back to the hotel, naturally Zeina in the lead. When she had finally thrown on her pajamas she dialed Manaf’s number; to her delight his warm voice picked up on the second ring.

“7abeebti” he told her, acknowledging her before even saying hello.

“9ij? 7abeebtik?” Zeina replied stupidly, immediately wanting to take it back. Manaf chuckled at her alarm.

“Ee shlon mu 9ij” he replied. Zeina noticed that his voice was husky and she realized that she must have woken him up. She beamed to herself, realizing just then how much she had missed that word coming from him.

“Wana?” He asked, taking advantage of her silence.

“Wenta shino?” Zeina replied finding herself beginning to become a bit shy in his presence.

“Ana 7abeebich wela la2?”

“Ee. Akeed you are” Zeina replied, her voice slightly lowering with embarrassment. “Shlon Ma9er?” she attempted to casually change the topic to something less heated.

“Laish omy, ma9er hamitich?” He teased her.

“Madry!” Zeina replied flustered.

“Shfeech metwahga?” He continued to taunt her, his voice becoming more and more teasing by the minute.

“Manafo bes!” Zeina whined, admitting defeat. She was too embarrassed by his forwardness and nervous to keep it up and she knew that she was bound to say something stupid very soon if he didn’t stop.

“Enzain enzain khala9 awagef, ma3ina ma kent ga3d asawii shay!” He replied innocently.

“Of course you weren’t” Zeina smiled.

“Enzain…fe majal nerja3 mithel gabil?” He asked her in a more serious tone. It took Zeina a few seconds to recover from his forwardness and to think about what he was asking. She wanted to go back to the way things were but she also didn’t think that Manaf was going to let the whole Faisal thing go without another explanation. Or was he willing to let everything drop?

“Bes chithee?” She asked him, this time Manaf didn’t reply immediately; the pause grew longer and Zeina began playing with her hair nervously, had she said something wrong?

“Ee.” He finally replied. Zeina exhaled slowly, letting go of her hair and wiping a fearful tear that had formed at the corner of her eye.

“Ok.” She whispered back, her voice slightly choked up, but not enough for Manaf to notice. “Be wait…” Zeina almost shouted remembering something very important.

“Shfeech?” Manaf asked.

Zeina slowly began telling him about Dalal, starting at everything she had heard about them to the last encounter with her when she had shown Zeina the message. Manaf kept quiet for a long time, and Zeina nervously listened to his breathing which had gotten heavier and more violent.

“Sheftay tareekh il message?” He finally asked her. It hit her like a slap in the face; she hadn’t even considered that.

“La2” She said quietly.

“Lana mosta7eel ykoon new message” He told her, his voice remained calm and she couldn’t tell what he was thinking or feeling.

“Okay” Zeina replied deciding to let it go, unless he had anything else to add. He didn’t.

After a few seconds of silence he spoke; “3ayal solfeeli 3an your break are you having fun?” Manaf asked her, his tone getting much softer and friendlier. Zeina began telling him about Italy and everything she had done, careful to leave the lovely Mano out of the conversation. After about an hour of talking Zeina excused herself to go to sleep; “adezlich message awal ma agoom min il noom” Manaf promised her as they got of the phone.

That night Zeina slept more peacefully than any night in the past few weeks and she knew it was because things between her and Manaf were finally back to normal.

---

The next morning when she awoke she found a message from Manaf just like he had promised her:

“9aba7 el khair yal 7elwa….9arli fatra 6weela an6er el yoom ili ared a9abe7 3alaich feeh”

Zeina reread the message a dozen times not believing the effect it had on her every single time; as a large smile formed across her face she knew it would last all day from that short message.

“9aba7 el noor yali a7la min el 7ilo!” She texted back, she knew it was gushy and ridiculous but she and Manaf deserved a few days of extreme maleqeen-in-love style messages after what they had been through. Manaf texted her for the next hour as she took a shower and got dressed to go out with her parents again. When she was finished she realized that her parents still had a long way to go before they’d be ready for lunch and so she took it as an opportunity to do some more shopping and talk to Manaf on the phone.

Their conversations remained on light topics as Manaf told her about how after meeting with his advisor and clearing up all his paper work and such he had found out that if he took an extra few classes he’d be done by the next semester.

“Shino your favorite color?” Zeina asked Manaf casually, when he had finished telling her about his derasa.

“hmmm…abyath” He told her

“Maliki” Zeina muttered to herself going through the racks of designer men shirts and sweaters.

“Laish?” He asked.

“La bes as2al” she replied innocently already picking up a few white colored articles of clothing.

Manaf brushed it off and continued talking about other random things, from soccer to Kuwaiti politics.

“Enzain Manafo meta bashoofik” Zeina whined pouting slightly as she paid for the clothes she had picked up for him, realizing she wouldn’t be able to see him in them when she got back to Kuwait.

Manaf thought for a second before realizing when he’d be back to Kuwait “3ers ikhoy!” He said shocked that he had forgotten.

“9ij? Meta 3ers ekhook?” Zeina prayed silently that it would be soon.

“Ba3ad shahar” He replied. Zeina’s smile turned into a pout again as she realized that he wasn’t going to say next week, as ridiculous as that seemed she wished it was possible.

“Enzain.” Zeina replied showing the sadness in her voice

“Waaih shfeeha Zayoon ba3ad?” Manaf asked.

“Tabeek etyey next week mu next month” she told him

“Entay a9lan betkooneen bel kwait next week?” He asked her

“La2.” She replied laughing

“7elwa minich 3ayal” He laughed with her.

A beeping interrupted their conversation as Zeina’s father’s name flashed across the screen.

“Manaf 7abeebi I have to go, iboy ga3d edig 3alay”

“Okay 3omri, deeray balich 3ala nafsich o I’ll message you later” He told her before getting off the phone.

Zeina answered her father and told him she’d come to the hotel immediately so that they could go out for lunch. When she got there Zeina quickly headed to her room to put away Manaf’s new clothes and made her way back down to meet her parents.

The rest of the trip in Italy flew by with every minute spent either at fancy restaurants, boutiques, or at the hotel talking to Manaf until the long hours of the night and before Zeina knew it she was walking through the airport in Kuwait.

She watched the screen of her phone brighten up as it came to life and she waited patiently for a list of the missed calls. She smiled to herself as she saw Manaf’s number in the Missed Call list with the number 3 next to it. She was also happy to see Sara’s number. Finally both of them were in Kuwait and would get to see each other after what Zeina would consider one of her longest summers ever. She called Sara back and excitedly invited her over for dinner.

---

“Tell me EVERYTHING!” Sara stated in all seriousness as she pulled the covers they had brought to the living room around her body. Zeina and Sara were in their pj’s and were having one of their usual slumber parties; around them were bags of chips, an assortment of chocolate bars, and a bowl of popcorn, There’s Something About Mary was muted in the background.

Zeina considered for a second how much she would like to tell Sara and deciding to keep the latest events with Manaf a secret still she told her about Faisal and her trip to Italy trying her best to make sure she didn’t slip up and mention anything to do with Manaf. After she was done, Zeina listened intently to Sara’s summer and by the time the sun began to rise they were both passed out on the couch.

They didn’t wake up until late into the afternoon and only because of Zeina’s mother’s ranting “laish ma nemtaw bil daar, mu zainlikom!” she muttered trying to push Zeina further back onto the couch so that she didn’t fall off.

“Hmpfff” Sara muttered looking up from under the covers “waini?” she squinted up at Zeina’s mother.

“La o hathy etgool waini ba3ad!” Zeina’s mother complained walking away without answering Sara. Sitting up Sara began nudging Zeina with her foot “goomay goomay” she whined.

“Haa shfeech?” Zeina muttered getting up. Both of them looked around at the junk food that covered the tables and other couch and then back at each other.

“wai3 thahrii” Zeina whined getting up and throwing the covers off of her. Sara got up and followed Zeina upstairs to the bathroom to wash up. When they made their way back downstairs, washed up and dressed they found to their relief that the living room had already been cleaned up.

“Adry ina we ate a lot last night and we shouldn’t be hungry for a year…bes yo3ana” Sara sighed looking around for leftover junk food.

“Tabeen ne6la3?” Zeina asked her looking for her mobile under the couch finally finding it next to Sara’s.

“Ee yala aby Johnny rockets pancakes!”

“Alah yzeed il ni3ma” Zeina muttered checking her phone, there were two missed calls from Manaf and one from Dalal. There was also a message, quickly flipping through to the inbox she saw Manaf’s name.

“Tara Dalal ebta3zimich 3ers ekhooy…O aby ashoofich ihnak. I have a surprise for you.”

Zeina told Sara to go outside and start her car while she went to talk to her mother and as soon as Sara left she quickly called Dalal.

After accepting her generous invitation to her wedding Dalal ended the conversation on a teasing tone, “3ad mu takshiteen…ra7 eta7asifain lana sam3a ina be9eer shay wayed 7elo etha you came!”

“Sheno??” Zeina asked the curiosity almost killing her.

“Ta3alay o ra7 etshofeen” And with that Dalal hung up.

To all the confused readers: Mano is Sulaimano...Kuwaiti bes apparently he speaks Italian. Zeina doesn't know his whole story yet and he hasn't told her.

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Zeina awoke to her mobile’s loud beep, she reached her arm out as far as possible trying to retrieve it. It was a message from Manaf; she had been so distracted last night with her dinner and so tired from the plane ride that upon arriving at the hotel, she had crashed without remembering to text Manaf back.

“Aloo, wainich?” The message read. Zeina clicked on the reply icon and began moving her fingers slowly across the buttons;

“Kani…shlonik?”

“Zain..u?”

“Good.”

“Ana ib ma9er.” He texted

“Ok.”

Zeina waited a few minutes for Manaf to reply but he didn’t, she contemplated asking about his trip but wasn’t in the mood to pretend to even care, instead she found the phonebook and looked up his number pressing Call when she found it.

“Hala…” he answered on the second ring.

“Hala feek…” she replied, an awkward silence followed and for a second Zeina wasn’t sure who was more mad at the other and who had more right to be so.

“Zain fakartay etdigeen 3alay” He snapped. Okay so he wins, Zeina thought to herself, in her anger over his unexpected trip to Dubai and Dalal’s message she had forgotten that she was the one who had disappeared for two weeks with no warning or explanation.

“Why do you think I stopped answering your calls?” Zeina asked warily, buying time…she still hadn’t decided whether it was best to tell Manaf about Faisal, although even if she did decide to tell him she would probably end up crying at the mention of his name which wouldn’t help their case at all.

“Eshdarani 3anich…entay goleeli laish” His voice wasn’t getting any kinder. Zeina paused for a bit trying to think of what to reply to his question.

“Manaf if I had a really good reason for what happened bes ma gedart agoolikiyaha o I just needed you to trust me o I promised you ina kelshay min ba3d elyoom ib yerja3 mithel gabil would you accept it?” She asked him, thinking on the spot. She immediately regretted what she said, it sounded lame and stupid and nobody would buy it, but she had nothing else to say to him. It was at that very second that she had decided she couldn’t tell Manaf about Faisal, not because she didn’t want to hurt Manaf’s feelings or cause awkwardness, but because she couldn’t utter his name ever again and she couldn’t bring herself to talk about what had happened to him at all.

“No.” Manaf’s firm word brought her back to reality for a second. “Goleeli to my face inich reja3teela o hawantay 3igub two weeks o akheeran now daraitay inich tabeeni ana” his voice grew louder and more threatening as he revealed to Zeina for the first time how he had understood the two weeks to mean.

“La kelish ma kan chithee” Zeina gasped shocked at the idea Manaf had become so convinced of.

“3ayal?” He snapped back. Zeina was at a loss for words and before she could help it the confession she had been convinced could never leave her lips tumbled out of her.

“Manaf ma reja3tla. He died.”

The silence that followed those two words burned through Zeina as she tried her best not to imagine Faisal returning from his day at the office. Faisal thinking about her and their upcoming life together convinced he would have Zeina all to himself very soon; him glancing at his phone wondering when he’d see her name on his screen again. And, most painfully, Faisal not knowing that when Zeina would finally call him it was to end things between them forever. She tried not to picture the car swerving out of control on the wet streets eventually crashing into a traffic light which crushed the car almost to an unrecognizable state. She tried not to hear the screams of Faisal’s mother and sisters as the call came to them from his office, informing them of his tragic death.

“3atham allah ajrech” Manaf finally spoke up but by then Zeina had nothing more to say; choking back a sob she excused herself promising to call him tomorrow and got off the phone. She threw it across the room, this was the mobile she had practiced her break up message on, saving it in her Drafts and waiting for the perfect time to send it to Faisal. This was the phone she didn’t want to look at ever again.

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Zeina didn’t know how long it had taken her to cry herself to sleep but when she woke up she felt rested and refreshed. She rolled out of bed easily and pulled open the curtains to reveal the view of a garden filled with pedestrians; the weather looked sunny and hot and she couldn’t wait to be out in it. Quickly running to the bathroom she washed up and shoved open her suitcase picking out a pair of pink Juicy track suit shorts and matching it with a white t-shirt, she slipped on white flip flops, tied her hair in a loose knot, and gathered her things before leaving the hotel room.

As she began making her way down the corridor she pulled out her mobile and called her father who didn’t pick up; she then speedily texted him: Baba 9aba7 el khair, ana ga3adt imbacher o 6ala3t…mara7 aroo7 b3eed call me lama teg3idoon” And with that she shoved it into her bag and almost skipped out of the hotel, giving the doorman the brightest smile she could on her way out.

She found herself a Taxi and got into the backseat explaining to him that she wanted to buy a new phone and if he knew any Nokia or Sony Ericsson stores. Her emotional attachment to this particular phone would grow the more time she hung on to it and she needed to avoid checking through her inbox to see the old messages Faisal had sent her. She also didn’t have the heart to delete them. The taxi driver knew exactly what she needed and began weaving his way down a street filled with small shops and boutiques on each side. He let Zeina out with a warm goodbye and signaled her towards a small store that had a big Nokia sign on top of it. She nodded thanking him and made her way inside the store. It didn’t take Zeina long to pick out a new phone and with the bag hanging from her arm she made her way through the boutiques around it. She entered the first bakery she saw, dizzied immediately by the smell of fresh bread and coffee, and asked for juice. As she made her way down the second side of the street, her heart began expanding with joy. She wanted to be here forever, and not go back to crying over Faisal or caring about whether Manaf was going to dump her or not.

As she left her fifth store, she began feeling the burden of all the bags she was carrying. Zeina was not one to control herself when on a shopping spree and knew that if she didn’t head back to the hotel to drop off the bags there’d be no way she could buy anything else soon. Taking a seat on a nearby bench, Zeina placed all her bags between her legs and took out her phone to check for messages. Her parents still hadn’t called but she wasn’t surprised, her parents always slept in on vacations, preferring an early lunch than breakfast.

Just as she was flipping her phone shut, something in the corner of Zeina’s eye caught her attention. It was someone staring directly at her from across the street. Mano. He stood motionless, facing her, and had both hands in his pockets. He wore black training pants and a grey sweater on top and looked as if he hadn’t slept at all last night. After they both gazed at each other for several seconds he slowly pulled out one of his hands and raised it in a wave; Zeina awkwardly waved back; she immediately lowered her head though as she realized that he had started making his way across the street towards her.

“Bonjourno” he smiled when he was finally in front of her.

“Hey…” She smiled back looking up and shielding her eyes with her hand. The sun was piercing and she was beginning to feel the effect of it all.

“Is there anything left in the stores?” He asked jokingly, pointing at the bags around her.

“Well yes…but only because I can’t carry anymore bags. Wait till I drop these off at the hotel and come back for round two” she teased back. Mano let out a laugh that exposed a childlike side of him Zeina had not expected. His entire head tilted back and his eyes squinted shut as he roared with laughter.

“Where are you headed to next?” He asked her

“The X-Hotel, I was going to get a cab”

“Why not walk?”

“Umm…well yeah I can walk I guess..” Zeina replied awkwardly, not knowing what else to say, she really wanted to take a cab.

“Well then can I walk with you?”

OH! Zeina mentally smacked herself.

“Sure..” She smiled. She loved the fact that he had no idea she was Kuwaiti and thought he had her fooled. As she got up from the bench and walked towards him she reminded herself not to slip up and say anything in Arabic or tell him that she was Kuwaiti. For this trip she was a foreigner and she was going to play dumb and pretend she had no idea he was Kuwaiti.

Mano politely took the bags she was carrying out of her hands and let her take a few steps ahead of him; “I have no idea where the hotel is by the way” Zeina laughed turning to face him.

“No problem, it’s just straight ahead, keep walking”, Mano placed a light hand on the bottom of her back to direct her forward; Zeina pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, the loose ponytail her hair was pulled back in was messily falling out of place and finally deciding to let it loose she raised a single hand and pulled the hair tie back letting waves of her long hair cascade around her shoulders and down her back. She adjusted what she could of it with her fingers and turned to face Mano, who hadn’t removed his eyes off of her.

“So tell me about yourself Mano…” Zeina faced him, he regained himself, turning away for a second then met her gaze again.

“Well, I’m Italian. I work, have been working for several years now…”

“What do you work as?” Zeina interrupted him, she was always curious as to what peoples’ jobs were, she didn’t mind sitting and talking for hours about a person’s job, and found small details like what they did day by day to be fascinating.

“Well, my family owns a few businesses so I help out in managing them” He smiled, Zeina could tell he was very proud with this answer, she could also tell that this was a typical Kuwaiti male response.

“What about you?” He asked her. Zeina tried, with as little detail as possible, to tell him about being in University and what her life was like.

For the next twenty minutes Mano told Zeina things about him, things that were too good to be true in Zeina’s opinion. He lived in a large house with his extended family, his mother had passed away three years ago, and he drove a Ferrari which he had bought with his own money. Zeina couldn’t help but feel that he was trying to pick her up, and what better bait than a western tourist? She was aware that many Khaleeji guys tried these tricks on women when on vacation and she couldn’t help but be glad when the large sign of the hotel loomed into view up ahead.

“Thank you so much” She told him politely, quickly pulling the bags out of his hands.

“I had a nice time..” He began telling her, standing awkwardly, waiting for her to hint to him what would happen next, but when Zeina refused to speak or move Mano was forced to make the next move. “I was wondering maybe if you wanted to hang out sometime. You could give me a call I’ll show you around”

This was exactly what Zeina was expecting and was hoping to avoid, she put on the most courteous face she could as she began letting him down easily “I’m sorry Mano, I’m only here for two more days, and I’ll be spending most of those days with my family. It was really nice meeting you though” She flashed him a quick smile, and with a small wave she headed into the hotel, leaving Mano with his crushed expression outside. Zeina had lied to him, she wasn’t leaving in two days and she wasn’t planning on spending too much time with her family on this trip. Pushing him to the back of her head she headed to her room, throwing the bags on the floor and crashing on the bed when she was finally inside.

She picked up the phone and dialed Manaf’s number, feeling she could finally face him after what had happened last night. Manaf didn’t reply and so Zeina decided to send him a nice message in case he was still upset over last night and was ignoring her: “Sorry 3ala ams…please degli awal matshoof el msg” She texted.

Less than an hour later she joined her finally awake parents at the lobby and they headed out to sight see and shop. Zeina played with her new cell phone during the entire lunch meal trying to understand how it worked. After lunch they shopped a little more before Zeina’s dad insisted that he needed to nap if he was going to make it to dinner alive and so all three of them headed back to the hotel. The two hours that Zeina’s dad took to sleep were spent at the Spa with her Zeina’s mother getting facials and a massage. Finally, Zeina’s mother’s cell phone ranging telling them that her father was finally awake and that it was time for round three of shopping.

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By the time they made it to the restaurant for dinner everyone was exhausted; it was ten o’clock and Zeina was already picturing her comfortable hotel bed with longing. The restaurant was a nice little one on a corner with tables outside and inside. Zeina’s father had picked one outside since the weather had turned quite breezy and was too great to waste by sitting indoors.

“Sheno ebta6libeen?” Zeina’s mother asked her as they looked over the menu; everything looked delicious to Zeina, but as she went through the menu a second time she began to focus on the different pastas available. She had room for two main dishes and dessert from all the walking and decided to go with the heaviest, cheesiest pasta they had.

Zeina began flipping through the dessert section as she overhead her father call the waiter and begin to list their orders.

“And your drinks, Sir?” Asked the waiter, and Zeina, not being able to help recognizing the voice, looked up from the menu.

There, in a waiters’ uniform, stood Mano, notepad and pen in hand, shocked and embarrassed features on his face. Zeina tried not to choke with shock as a coughing fit hit her that second.

“Bsmilla 3alaich shfeech” Her mother asked panicking, slapping her on the back lightly. “Water…quickly” She told Mano with a wave of her hand and to both their relief, Mano disappeared from the table. The rest of the night a different waiter waited on them but Zeina couldn’t help spotting Mano walking by every once in a while with a tray in his hand.