by Emma Easter
“That’s the best I can do, Stan. The money is tied up in a lot of investments and it will take time to liquidate it. I will get the money for you but you need to be patient.”
“I can only wait three months,” Stan said.
“Three months is too short,” she said to him.
“Well, have it your way. I’ll see you in court, then.” He turned around and began to walk away, and she called him back once more.
“Alright, three months it is.”
He smiled widely. “Good! And don’t try to double cross me, Trisha, or I will make your life a living hell.”
She said nothing and watched as he walked to his car and drove away. After that, she shut the door quietly and threw herself onto the sofa. This was all wrong. She wanted to curl up on the sofa and weep, but she gathered herself together, reached for her phone, and called her lawyers. She would find out what her options were and then, if she had to fight, she would fight Stan with everything in her. One thing she knew was that no one was taking Ruby away from her. No one.
*****
Audrey walked into her house and found Ken sitting on the living room couch, flipping through the channels on TV. He turned, smiled at her, and patted the seat beside him. “Audrey,” he said. “I’ve got good news to share.”
She sat beside him and smiled curiously. “Did you speak to Faizan?”
“Yes, I did,” Ken said.
“What did he say?” Audrey asked.
“He said that Frank, Bryan, and I can come to the camp. He found a men’s camp near the women’s camp where he and Zainah stay. They agreed to let us stay there for the duration of our trip.”
Audrey whooped. She reached out and hugged Ken, and he squeezed her tight. Her heart flooded with joy. Finally, she would be able to go and see Faizan and Ken would come along, too. And then she remembered what Trisha had just told her and her heart sank. She turned away from Ken and shut her eyes as sadness replaced her joy.
“What is it, Audrey?” Ken asked.
Audrey sighed loudly and opened her eyes. “I still can’t go, Ken,” she said.
“Why not?”
“It’s Trisha. She told me and Sienna just now that Stan visited her and Frank and told them he was going to file for custody of Ruby. Trisha is distraught and right now Sienna and I have to be there for her.”
Ken thinned his lips and nodded. “I understand.” He smiled sadly. “This is so weird. First, no one except Trisha could go, and now that we can, Trisha can’t, and because of that, we can’t either.” He shook his head. “Maybe Bryan can go.”
“No, I don’t think so,” Audrey said. “Sienna is going through some stuff right now and she needs Bryan beside her. And I am pretty sure he won’t want to go without her.”
“Great!” Ken shook his head, dismay written on his face. “Now I have to call Faizan and tell him that none of us is going again.”
“He is going to be so disappointed,” Audrey said ruefully. “And we were all looking forward to the trip. If that idiotic Stan had not returned, things would not be like this.”
“What is Trisha going to do now?” Ken asked, looking at Audrey.
“She said she is going to fight him. I don’t think he can ever win the case. He hasn’t even been there for Ruby.”
“Frank is definitely the only real father she’s known,” Ken said.
Audrey nodded.
“Well, I guess I have to call Faizan now. Let’s just hope Miriam’s phone goes through, because if it doesn’t Faizan will still think we are coming.”
Audrey sighed. “And we were supposed to leave in just five days. We have to get him on the phone, Ken. It will be really bad if we are unable to and he keeps expecting us and we don’t show up on the day we are supposed to.” She sighed again. “Tell me why Faizan can’t get a satellite phone like Miriam’s as well.”
“The camp has to be kept as private as possible. Multiple phones wouldn’t be a good idea.”
Audrey nodded. She knew that, but it made reaching Faizan really difficult. That lady, Miriam, didn’t have her phone charged regularly and so a lot of times, the phone battery was dead. Ken picked up his phone and began to dial Miriam’s number while Audrey prayed that they would get through to Faizan. If they didn’t and couldn’t reach him quickly, he would go to town to pick them up on the day they were due to arrive and not see them. And then his hopes would be dashed.
Ken put the phone to his ear and Audrey eagerly gazed at him, praying that they would reach Faizan, but at the same time, nervous for them to. She wasn’t looking forward to hearing how utterly let down he would feel when they told him they wouldn’t be able to come.
After a while, Ken shook his head and removed the phone from his ear. “Miriam’s phone isn’t ringing. The battery is probably dead again.”
Audrey covered her face with her hand. “Oh… no! And who knows when she will go back to town to charge her phone? Poor Faizan. I wish we could solve all these problems so we could go and see him. I wonder what he will think when we don’t show up on the day we are supposed to. I hope he doesn’t think something happened to us.”
“I will keep trying to reach him,” Ken said.
Audrey said, “It would be so unfair to leave him in the dark.”
“It’s not really our fault.”
“I know, Ken. Still…” Audrey felt despondent. First, it was her inability to get pregnant, and then Stan’s return to try to take Ruby away from Trisha, and Sienna’s awful panic attacks. Now it was the fact that they couldn’t go and see Faizan nor could they even inform him that they couldn’t go. Who knew when they would next get the opportunity to go and see him? It was all too much. Audrey felt like weeping, but crying would do no good.
“Maybe we should just return to Miami,” Ken said. “This vacation is a bust. Plus, we will see Esther again. I miss our precious daughter.”
“I miss Esther too, Ken. But I would love to stay and be here for my sisters. They need me now. Besides, Esther is having a great time with her grandparents and cousins. Remember how happy she looked and sounded when we facetimed her yesterday.”
“I know,” Ken said. “Well, if you want to stay here, I will stay with you.”
She beamed and then looked up at the clock on the wall. It was three p.m. She said to him, “Talking about Esther, I have an overwhelming desire to call her.”
“So do I,” Ken said. “We should facetime like yesterday.”
Audrey stood up. “Let me go get my laptop. I want to see her beautiful face on a big screen.”
“Okay,” Ken said. He put his hand on his chest as she started to walk away and pretended to have a heart attack. “Hurry back to me, my darling,” he said in a dramatic voice, still clutching his chest. “I cannot live without you.”
She laughed at his silliness and shook her head before turning around and walking out of the living room.
Chapter Nine
Leila’s eyes flew open as someone called her name and tapped her on the shoulder. The tent was dark but she immediately recognized the voice of the girl who had called her name. It was Sherifat, the young woman who was both her friend and Zainah’s. Immediately after Sherifat had arrived at the camp, she had stuck to Leila and Zainah’s side.
At first, Leila had been irritated when the young woman started to follow her and Zainah everywhere. She just wanted alone time with Zainah, especially as Zainah spent most of her free time with Faizan, but Sherifat got in the way of that. She insisted on tagging along wherever they went. After a while, Leila began to grow fond of her. The girl was spunky and beautiful, with skin almost as dark as Zainah’s. And she was a very nice person and very helpful, too. When Sherifat wasn’t busy running errands for Miriam or a few of the older women, she was with Leila or Zainah, or with both of them.
Leila sat up and whispered so she would not wake up the other women in the room. “What is it, Sherifat? What time is it?”
Sherifat switched on a flashlight she was holding and Leila instincti
vely shut her eyes. She opened them again and said, “Where did you get that?”
“Miriam bought it the last time she went to town.”
Leila shook her head. Sherifat was Miriam’s only tentmate and the camp leader trusted Sherifat with her things. But somehow, Leila knew Miriam had not given permission for Sherifat to take the flashlight. “You took Miriam’s flashlight without her permission,” Leila said incredulously. “And what are you doing here at this time, anyway?”
Sherifat said, “I need you to follow me somewhere.”
Leila stared at Sherifat. “I’m not following you anywhere. What time is it?”
“It’s almost five o’clock.”
Leila’s eyes widened in surprise. “You want me to go somewhere with you at five o’clock in the morning? What is wrong with you?”
Sherifat stooped down and whispered, “Some days ago, I overheard Zainah and Faizan talking about a camp… a men’s camp near us. At first, I didn’t know what to think, whether to believe it or not. But they both said they had been there and so I had to investigate. The day after, early in the morning, I took this flashlight and headed out. And guess what I saw? Another camp in the distance. I was too scared to go near, but Zainah and Faizan are right. I think there is a men’s camp some distance away from here.”
Leila stared at her with chagrin as she listened to Sherifat’s words. So Sherifat had found the men’s camp that Zainah had talked about. That wasn’t good. If she told someone else and they found it, soon the whole camp might know about it, and then what would happen to their little haven? It sure would not be a haven anymore. It would become just like the outside world, with all its distractions and hang-ups. She couldn’t let that happen.
Sherifat stared at her and said in a high-pitched voice, “You know about the men’s camp, Leila!”
“Shh! Lower your voice, Sherifat! Do you want to wake up my tentmates?”
Sherifat said in a hushed tone, “So Zainah told you about the men’s camp. Have you been there?” Her voice was now animated and full of curiosity.
“No,” Leila answered. “And I am never going there. Neither are you.”
“I’m going there now,” Sherifat said. “Will you come with me?”
“You’re not going,” Leila said to her. “You don’t even know what type of men they are.”
“From what I heard Faizan and Zainah say about them, I think they’re Christians and they are harmless. Faizan spent a day with them.”
“Aren’t you ashamed, listening in on other people’s conversations?”
Sherifat straightened. “I’m going, Leila. If you don’t want to go with me, then that’s fine. But I am going.”
Sherifat began to leave the tent and Leila sighed. She didn’t want to go to the men’s camp, but someone had to keep an eye on Sherifat or she would do something stupid like alerting the other women. She stood up from her sleeping rug and went after Sherifat. “Wait!” she called out as soon as she was outside the tent.
Sherifat turned around, shining her flashlight in Leila’s direction. Leila hurried over to her and both of them walked away from the camp.
They walked on together in silence. Leila sighed as she went. This was so typical of Sherifat. The girl was like a fairy, restless and skipping from one place to another. The first time Sherifat had discovered the men’s camp, she hadn’t gone in because she was too afraid. Now, without a doubt, she would enter boldly and who knew what else she would do? Leila had to restrain her from doing anything stupid. “Stop walking so fast, Sherifat!” Leila said.
“Where are you going?”
Leila’s heart stopped and she froze. That was Miriam’s voice. How did she find out? Leila turned around at the same time Sherifat did.
Miriam had a kerosene lamp with her and she was walking toward them with a scowl on her face. She reached them and glared at Leila. She turned her eyes to Sherifat and shook her head before turning back to Leila. She said, “Where are you going, Leila? No, don’t tell me. I already know where you’re going.”
Leila’s mouth flew open. Miriam was so intuitive. Still, how did she know about the existence of the men’s camp? Because from the look on her face, Leila was sure she knew about it.
Miriam said, “You are going to that men’s camp, aren’t you? You and Sherifat. I expected more from you, Leila.”
Leila finally found her voice and asked in a small voice, “How did you know about the men’s camp? And how did you know that was where we were going?”
“I saw when Sherifat took my flashlight. I was awake, but she didn’t know. At first, I thought she was just going out to ease herself or something, but when she didn’t return, I knew something was up. And Faizan told me about the men’s camp. I somehow guessed that Zainah had also told you about it since you are best friends. And knowing how Sherifat follows you around, Leila, I knew this one here was going to get you to be her accomplice. When I saw you both sneaking away from the camp, I had to follow you.”
Sherifat looked down at the ground and said in a trembling voice, “I’m sorry, Miriam. I was the one who asked Leila to come with me. She didn’t want to go, but I’m sure she came along in order to keep an eye on me.”
Leila said, “Stop it, Sherifat! You don’t have to cover for me.” She said to Miriam, “I didn’t know anyone else in the camp knew except for me and, of course, Faizan and Zainah, who told me about it. I really didn’t want anyone else to find out, but Sherifat overheard Zainah and Faizan talking about it in their tent.”
Miriam stared at them for a minute and then said, “Well, let’s go. Why are you both standing here, looking at me?”
Leila nodded and began to head back to the women’s camp.
Miriam called out, “Where on earth are you going?”
Leila turned around again and Sherifat turned, too.
“I said let’s go to that men’s camp. Since we are out here and this far from our camp, we might as well go on.”
Leila lifted her brows in disbelief. Miriam, the responsible and logical one, wanted them to go to the men’s camp? Leila turned and looked at Sherifat. She had an incredulous look on her face too.
Miriam waved her hand and began to walk forward. Leila and Sherifat ran to catch up with her. “Do you know the exact directions to the camp?” Miriam asked, looking at Leila and Sherifat.
“I know the way,” Sherifat said. “I investigated some days ago and found it.”
“Of course you did,” Miriam said in an amused voice.
They continued to walk on in silence. Sherifat walked one step in front of Leila while Miriam walked slightly behind her. They walked for about twenty minutes and then Leila gasped. She could see in the distance an open fire and tents just like theirs back at the women’s camp. She pointed. “Is that it, Sherifat? Is that the men’s camp?”
“Yes,” Sherifat said. She pointed her flashlight in the direction of the camp and Leila’s eyes scanned the vicinity. She saw a man standing some distance away from where they did. As they came nearer, she saw there was a huge pot on the open fire.
“Let’s stop here,” Leila said. “I don’t think we should let them see us.”
The man who was near the fire walked away and Leila was grateful he had not looked their way. Around this place, there was nowhere to hide, and once it was daybreak and this men’s camp awoke fully, it would be impossible not to see them.
“But we just got here,” Sherifat said.
“You are right, Leila.” Miriam looked at her. “It is best that the men don’t see us. We certainly don’t want them knowing there is a women’s camp anywhere near here. Even if they are not dangerous, we don’t want them invading our camp and getting our women all excited and worked up.”
But rather than turn around and go back to the camp, they stood watching in fascination as two other men dressed in white tunics and pants strode out of one of the tents. Another man who looked older than them also walked out of the tent.
Just as Leila repeated a
gain that they should leave before they were found out, the men turned around and looked at them.
“They have seen us,” Sherifat said, but not in the alarmed voice that Leila had expected. She sounded happy to have been discovered by these men.
Leila’s eyes widened in shock as Sherifat began to walk toward them. “Come back, Sherifat!” Leila called out to her.
Sherifat kept walking and Miriam said sharply, “Sherifat, come back now!”
Sherifat turned around and then turned back again toward the men and moved toward them.
Leila went after her with Miriam close behind. The men did not speak or move. They just stood transfixed, the expression on their faces ranging from shock to eagerness.
Sherifat reached them and Leila got to them at almost the same time. When she looked into each of their eyes, the men turned away. The older one turned around again and said, “You shouldn’t be…” He stopped mid-sentence; his eyes planted on something.
Leila turned to see what he was looking at and saw it was Miriam. His eyes were fixed on her face, and Miriam’s on his. Her eyes where wide and glassy, and she had an expression on her face that Leila had never seen before. If Leila didn’t think the situation was so detrimental to their camp’s well-being, she would have thought it was funny. The man and Miriam were staring so intently at each other.
Leila blinked. Come to think of it, Sherifat has said nothing since we came here and she always has something to say, especially when she’s nervous.
Leila turned to Sherifat and saw that just like Miriam, her eyes were fixed on one of the men—a handsome young man who was staring at her with equal parts shyness and hunger.
Leila groaned. This can’t be happening, she thought. She had been in love before and she knew the beginnings of it. This was it… or infatuation at its worst. And of all people to be struck by infatuation, it was the last person she expected. Miriam was still staring at the man who looked like the leader of this camp as though she had never seen a man before. It was just ridiculous.
Well, someone has to put an end to this madness, Leila thought. She snapped her fingers and said loudly, “Miriam, we need to go now.” She grabbed Sherifat’s hand and said, “Come on, let’s go!” She looked at the men, who seemed to be coming out of their trance-like state, and said to them, “We’re sorry for intruding. We will just be on our way now and not bother you anymore.”