Three days later, I left the hospital almost fully recovered, but not enough for us to make the trip we had planned. We spent the holidays at home with uncle Jamal, and Jared never left the house. He left Alice in charge to resolve the most urgent matters by phone.
They were wonderful days, and we took the time to visit tourist spots with uncle Jamal, who got to see snow for the first time in his life.
After the New Year, my uncle went back to Morocco, completely enamored with Jared. As I grew stronger, happy my wound had left no scar, Jared and I flew to Cancun for our second honeymoon. It lasted almost a month.
When we got back home and settled into our routines, me with college and Jared with work, I feared he’d abandon me for work again, but that didn’t happen. On the contrary, Jared became the most dedicated husband, the most passionate and careful a woman could have. He came to campus every day to have lunch with me and started coming home earlier. He didn’t waste our weekends and always took time for us to be alone. If there was a business dinner and I was too tired to go, he canceled it.
It was even better when our prince, Cariel, was close to being born. We bought a big house, with a pool and a soccer court in King County, where we moved a little before Cariel was born.
There were rooms to house `housekeepers and a secretary to help me with the house, because it was too big for one person to care for. One was Afaf, who needed a job.
I had to leave college for some months when our beautiful and healthy boy arrived. He looked a lot like Jared. To console me, Jared told me Cariel had my eyes, but that didn’t matter to me. I loved him even more for looking like the man of my life, the one who made me happy. Every day I spent beside him made me love and admire him even more. There was nothing else I could want. I became a complete woman.
Cariel was almost a year old when we took our first vacation trip after he was born. We went to Hawaii to enjoy the summer and the beautiful beaches. We stayed in a hotel with independent bungalows that were close to the sea. On our first night, Jared made me leave Cariel with Afaf, so we could take a walk on the sands of the private beach.
He surprised me with a beautiful candlelit, white table on the beach where two women waited to serve our dinner while two men played violins.
“What is all this?” I was mesmerized.
“I just wanted to have dinner alone with my wife,” Jared answered, pulling out a chair for me. “Do you like it?”
“’Like it? This is wonderful! I love it. Thank you so much!”
He sat in across from me and poured us some wine, while the men perfectly played beautiful Arabic melodies I knew so well and, although they made me miss home, it made the moment even more special.
We ate our dinner and talked intimately, as we always did when we were alone. When we finished, Jared looked at me with a strange light in his eyes, wearing an expression I couldn’t decipher. He subtly rose and kneeled before me, taking me by surprise.
“I know we have a documented valid marriage, but I still feel like I didn’t do things right.” he said as he pulled a small velvet box from his pocket. “I wanted to do it properly. That’s why I’m kneeling before you to propose, because there’s nothing in this world I want more than to spend the rest of my life with you.”
His words touched me and my eyes teared up as my heart beat faster.
“There’s nothing I could want more as well.” My voice was trembling.
Jared took a diamond ring from inside the box and placed it on my finger.
“I love you, Inaya,” he said, standing and pulling me close with his arms around my waist, kissing me passionately.
“I love you too, Jared,” I said when our lips parted. “Thanks for making me so happy.”
“So, what kind of ceremony shall we have? A priest and a Calif between a church and a mosque?” he said irreverently and I smiled.
“No Islamic religious authority will celebrate the marriage of a non-virgin.” I said, smiling.
“What a shame. So, we’ll do our wedding in the church, if you want.”
“I do. I want Cariel to be Christian.” I kissed his chin and neck. I was anxious to be alone with him. “Tell the musicians to go. The music is wonderful, but I want to be alone with you.”
At his order, the violinists bid us a respectful good evening and departed, leaving us alone.
When they disappeared on the path to the hotel lobby, I gave in to the impulse and pushed Jared away and took off my clothes, feeling his hungry eyes on me. I waited for him to follow suit, and so he did.
We married at a big church downtown, in a beautiful ceremony with friends from college and from Jared’s work. However, the best part was our second honeymoon, a cruise to the Aegean through the Greek islands.
I had graduated from college and Cariel was three years old when our princess, Amy, arrived. She looked like me, and she was so beautiful that it made me realize that happiness was endless. We could always reach for.
THE END