The best way to spend an evening in Al-Zhera, Eloise had decided, was out on the balcony of their shared bedroom. She had taken several books from the library up to keep beside the bed and often sat outside reading by the light of a lamp that could be pulled out from inside.

Tonight, as he often did, Masoud had joined her. He didn’t share her reservations about calling for help from the wait staff, of course, so a tray of fresh fruit and sweet tea sat between them. In a touching—if somewhat misguided—gesture, Masoud had arranged for several American fruits to be imported to make Eloise feel more at home.

“You know your local fruit is better than what we have in America, don’t you?” Eloise laughed. “Nobody actually eats cranberries.”

“I like them,” Masoud said, popping one in his mouth. “What do you do with them, then?”

“I don’t know. Make pies, I think. Or juice.”

“We’ll do that,” Masoud decided. “I’ll tell the kitchen.”

She reached across the divide between their lounge chairs and took his hand. “Have I ever told you that you’re wonderful?”

“It may have come up.” Masoud smiled. “Have I ever told that you you’re the best thing in my life? You and these babies, of course.”

“Have we talked names?” Eloise asked. “We should think about that.”

“Are we giving them American names? Or Arabic names? Or one of each?”

Eloise shook her head. “Not one of each. I don’t want them to feel like they’re each only half of their heritage. I think they should have Arabic names, because we live here, and I want them to feel like they’re a part of their culture. Maybe American middle names.”

Masoud smiled. “I like the sound of that.”

Eloise looked out over the city. “I’ll have to tell my parents,” she mused. “Though I should probably hold off for a few hours. They’re just waking up over there.”

Masoud glanced over at her. “Do you wish you were back there?”

Eloise smiled. “No,” she said. “I miss my parents, sometimes, and I miss my friends. I really miss good pepperoni pizza. But I know I made the right choice in coming here. We’re going to be a family, Masoud. We’re all going to be together. What could be more important than that?”

“Can you believe it’s only two more weeks until our little ones arrive?”

His face was aglow at the idea. Eloise couldn’t wait to see him hold them for the first time, if this was how excited he got just thinking about it.

“I feel like it was just yesterday that we found out you were pregnant.”

“Everything’s moved pretty fast,” she agreed. “But in a good way.”

“Definitely a good way.”

Eloise was glad they’d been able to schedule a delivery date for her, so she knew exactly when to expect the twins. It had been infinitely helpful when planning things like the nursery, which had to be ready for its occupants by an exact date, or the baby shower, which had been a large, royal event at City Hall.

Now, they were close enough to the date that she could just relax. Almost all the preparations were out of the way; they’d purchased enough diapers to outfit an army, and the bookshelf in the nursery was stocked with dozens of classics and books she’d never heard of.

Eloise had even had time to work on her Arabic. Masoud had practiced with her, reading translations of familiar stories from her own childhood until Eloise had begun to master the look and pronunciation of the words. She was thrilled by the thought that she would be able to read to her children in both languages.

Also, she had to admit, she was tired of being so big and heavy. She was eager for the twins to arrive and take some of the pressure off her body. It was nice to know that, in two short weeks, she would finally be able to put them down sometimes. Whether she would ever want to remained uncertain, but it would be good to have the option.

She squeezed Masoud’s hand as a shooting star tore its way across the heavens. Eloise was reminded of that night in the City Hall garden, waiting to meet him, uncertain about whether he would show up.

How far things had come since then! In fact, just a year ago, she’d been working gruesome hours for Patrick, trying to convince herself that her salary made her job worthwhile. Trying to convince herself that she didn’t loathe her boss. She’d had almost no free time to see her friends, and meeting men had been out of the question. Although she’d never allowed herself to think about it, she had been deep in a rut.

I’m so lucky, she thought, staring up at the crystal-clear Al-Zheran sky. It’s a miracle that this all worked out the way it did.

Suddenly, she was jolted back to the present by a stab of pain in her midsection. She gasped, sitting halfway upright in alarm. Immediately, Masoud was beside her, his arm behind her back to support her.

“What is it, my love? What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. Something hurt for a minute.” She shook her head. Whatever the pain had been was starting to fade. Had she imagined it?

“Are you okay?” Masoud asked, one hand moving to her face. “Should we call the doctor?”

“No, no. We don’t need to do that. I probably just ate something that didn’t agree with me, or—” Without warning, the stabbing pain struck again. Eloise cried out and clutched at Masoud’s arm, digging her nails in.

“I’m calling the doctor,” Masoud said, sounding firm.

“No, don’t. It’s nothing…”

It couldn’t be anything, could it? Eloise’s pregnancy had been so uneventful thus far. So easy. Now, here they were in the final days. They had made it. They were about to have their babies. Things surely weren’t going to go wrong now, were they?”

“Well, I’m calling Auntie Salma,” Masoud said.

Eloise had no time to protest; he was already dialing. A moment later, he was on the phone, and she closed her eyes and tried to let the sound of his voice soothe her as another bolt of pain hit.

What’s happening?

Masoud returned to her side. “Salma’s coming over. She’s five minutes away.”

“What can she do?”

“She’s taken care of dozens of pregnant women. She’s seen everything. Here.” He grabbed a water pitcher and poured her a glass. “Drink this. Take a deep breath. Everything’s going to be okay.”

“What if it isn’t?” Tears welled up in Eloise’s eyes. “What if something’s wrong?”

“No. Everything’s fine. What did I tell you that night in the gardens?”

“You told me…you said everything would be okay.”

“And I was right, wasn’t I?”

“Yes,” she admitted, smiling shakily.

“Look, I know you’re scared, but you don’t need to be. Everything’s going to be fine.”

Auntie Salma came bursting through the door and ran to Eloise’s side.

“Why didn’t you call me sooner?” she demanded, glaring up at Masoud.

“Auntie, we called you right away.”

“Get out of here, Masoud!” Auntie Salma shooed him away. “We don’t need any men here right now.”

Eloise clung to Masoud’s arm. “No, I want him to stay. Please stay.”

Masoud squeezed her hand. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Another jab of pain struck Eloise and she let out a gasp and doubled up on herself.

Auntie Salma stroked her hair and looked up at Masoud. “It’s time to call the doctor.”

“Is something wrong?” Eloise cried.

“Everything’s fine,” the older woman said. “The babies are coming.”

“What?”

They couldn’t be! It was too soon. Eloise hadn’t planned for this. She was supposed to have her babies right on time. There weren’t supposed to be any surprises.

“They’re not ready…”

Masoud kissed her forehead gently.

“It’ll be all right,” he said. “They’re close enough, Eloise. I’ll call the doctor, we’ll get you to the hospital, and everything will be just fine.”