Chapter 6
When Nora had called and told Abdul that she was coming in for wedding appointments, he felt a feeling of dread come over him. It wasn’t as if he didn’t want to see Nora, she may not be someone he was in love with, but she still had been a friend for his entire life and he did enjoy being around her, when she was acting like the sweet girl he had grown up with. Abdul had a harder time when she was being the difficult and hard woman that she could easily slip into. Sometimes he wondered if the girl that he had known was now only a costume she would slip into when she wanted something from him. Not that there was anything wrong with a tough woman, but when it became more of a problem then it did a positive, then it wasn’t something he wanted to be around.
But when she called, she sounded sweet and like her old self so when she said she was flying in, he had a small spark of excitement in him. He enjoyed spending time with her when she was sweet and happy like that. But almost immediately she dropped the bomb of why she was really coming in.
“I’ve been thinking and I don’t believe that this Emily girl can really make those roses. When I come in I want to see her progress on them. If she can’t make them to my satisfaction then I am going to cancel our contract and hire someone a little more…professional,” she told him.
“I’m sure she will do just fine and I don’t think we need to bother her with the roses right now. We have a few months before the wedding.” Abdul knew that Emily had a big weekend of baking ahead of her and he didn’t want to overwhelm her with unnecessary details at the moment. Of course he couldn’t tell that to Nora. It wasn’t as if he was doing anything wrong by being friends with Emily, he enjoyed her company and found her very interesting and fun. But he knew Nora wouldn’t see things that way. He knew that she would blow things up out of proportion and he didn’t need a call from his parents lecturing him on his life.
Nora paused, almost sounding as if she was considering his point, but then quickly disagreed. “No, I want to see the roses. Call her and tell her that I will be in tomorrow and I want to see how she’s coming along. I have to go darling, I will see you tomorrow.” With a click she hung up the phone and left Abdul hanging, unable to even argue with her.
Often he couldn’t help but wonder why exactly his parents found her so perfect for him. She certainly had changed and wasn’t exactly who they thought she was anymore. Yes, their families had known each other for a very long time, and yes she could make a good wife for a sheikh, but what about love? What about happiness? Did he need to spend the rest of his life seeking out other women looking for one that makes him smile yet can never be with her? The thought just didn’t seem fair but he knew it was a point he couldn’t argue with his parents. They had married the exact same way he was about to and they seemed happy enough. But maybe some marriages worked that way and some didn’t, just because it worked for them didn’t mean it would work for him.
These were the thoughts he tossed through his mind the entire drive to Emily’s Kitchen that night. It wasn’t as if he was in love with Emily or anything he argued to himself, but he couldn’t deny that seeing her made him happier everyday than talking to Nora did. And he looked forward to it every day too. She made him smile easily and he admired how hard she worked to pursue her dreams. Life wasn’t handed to her as it had been for Nora and himself, she had to work for everything she got, and that impressed him more than anything.
Telling her about Nora’s visit wasn’t easy either. He had already been able to tell something had been off with her and now here he was demanding more work out of her, and she wouldn’t even accept his payment. At times her stubborn way of turning down his money frustrated him. He wanted to help her and she was earning the money he was offering, it wasn’t as if he was trying to give her charity. She didn’t want anything that even seemed like she needed the extra help and he enjoyed that. But he made a plan anyway, if she wouldn’t accept his money, then he would find another way to make it up to her.
The lights were off in the front of the bakery when he arrived, two brown bags filled his hands. Peering through the glass door he spotted her through the window in the kitchen. He watched her for a moment as she worked in the dim lighting. Her hands moved methodically and gracefully, stretching the materials and rolling them in her palms. It was the movements of a ballet dancer on stage performing when she doesn’t realize anyone is watching. It was mesmerizing and beautiful. Suddenly she looked up and saw him standing at her door. For a moment he felt embarrassed that he’d been caught watching, but he pushed that feeling aside, happy that he did get to watch her for just a moment in time.
Emily’s face betrayed her stoic nature. She lit up when she first saw him standing there, then quickly wiped her face clean and put on a blank, if not confused mask. Walking through the bakery to the door, he saw her take a deep breath before she unlocked it.
“Hi,” she greeted him timidly. “Did you come to check on the roses before tomorrow? I haven’t quite got it right but I’ll keep working until I do.”
“Actually, I thought you might be a little hungry and would want to take a break.” Abdul held up the bags he’d been holding. Take-out spaghetti from his favorite Italian restaurant.
“Wow!” Her eyes widened in a pleasant surprise. “That was really thoughtful of you, thank you.” She stepped aside and let Abdul into her closed bakery.
“The only catch is I bought some for myself, so how about we eat together?”
A flash of uncertainty clouded her eyes and for a moment she looked as if she might tell him no. But before she did she looked into his eyes and he stared back into hers. Something passed between them, something he wasn’t exactly sure of, but it changed the air between them. A smile came across her lips and she nodded her agreement. It was as if both of them knew that things would be different after that night.
Without even thinking about it they walked over to their table in the corner.
This is the absolute best Italian food around, have you ever had it from Linguine?” He asked her.
She shook her head no as she took a bite of the spaghetti and meatballs he had bought her. Once the food hit her tongue he saw her eyes close in delight as she appreciated the savory garlic and herb sauce tossed with perfectly al dente noodles. Part of the reason he’d brought her this dinner was to watch her reaction, to see if she really appreciated food the way he did like he thought she might. Her reaction told him everything.
“I used to want to be a chef,” he admitted to her. He was surprised the confession came out, Nora didn’t even know that about him.
“Why didn’t you do it?” She asked him while her mouth was still of noodles. That could have been a very gross turn off but instead he found it adorable that she was not only enjoying the food that much, but also because she was completely comfortable around him. He loved that.
“Well, my parents are very traditional and they didn’t really believe a chef was a high enough….status.” He had to choose his words carefully. It wasn’t as if he was ashamed of who he was and the status he held, he just never liked to seem like he was bragging or that he believed that he was better than anyone else. In his opinion being a chef was a very excellent profession, but his parents had strongly disagreed.
Emily chewed as she thought over what he had just said.
“Well, it’s sad that you’re not able to do what you love, I can’t imagine not having my bakery. But it’s nice that you respect your parents’ wishes the way that you did.”
He supposed she was right, but it still felt like a disappointment in his own life.
“What do your parents say about your bakery? Are they supportive of it?”
For a fraction of a second he watched as Emily froze but recovered herself quickly. She took a piece of fresh bread that came with the spaghetti and dragged it through her sauce and he could see that she was lost somewhere in her own thoughts.
“My parents both passed away.” She finally said. “They were in a car crash and didn’t make it.”
Immediately Abdul reached across the table to take her free hand. What a horrible thing to have to go through, and so young. She looked up at him and tears clouded her blue eyes. She tried to shake them off but he could see that it was difficult.
“After paying for all of the funeral costs and taking care of the rest of their bills, the only money they had left I used to open this tiny space. I’d always dreamed of opening a chain of bakeries and my parents had always supported it so I knew that it was exactly what I should do with the money. It’s not a chain and truthfully I don’t see myself ever getting to be a chain, but this little space is at least a part of a dream that my parents were able to help make come true.”
Abdul couldn’t find any words for a moment. He admired her bravery so much, the fact that she took what little money he had and sunk everything into living the life that she wanted. Even if that meant having no savings, as he assumed she didn’t because of her need for an extra job just to stay afloat, and practically no support system. Living that way was something he truly couldn’t imagine. What would his life be like without the cushion of money, without the support of a strong and in-charge type of a family? Actually, without any family left at all. For a moment he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. He took in the entire package, every little detail that he’d learned about her in the past several weeks. The way the he believed he knew her so intimately and that everything he didn’t know, he couldn’t wait to know about her. She was beautiful, strong, independent, kind, and creative. The list could go on further but he didn’t need to. He had already realized everything he needed to know. He was falling in love with Emily.
“Do you always do everything your parents tell you?” She asked him.
The question caught him off guard, but the answer that ran through his head surprised him even more. Maybe, he thought, it’s time to live the life that he wanted to live.