Abby said, “That was different.”
Lil said, “Sure, so different. Let’s see. You hooked up with Dominic, flew to another country with him, the world thought he’d kidnapped you, but you were really in love with him and ready to marry him. I can see how this is totally different.”
Abby sighed and then laughed. “I hate when you’re so wrong and so right at the same time. It makes arguing with you very hard.”
Lil laughed too. “Just because I see things differently doesn’t make my view wrong. Now, can we get back to Zhang? Zhang, are you still there?”
Zhang chuckled. “Yes, I’m here.”
Lil asked, “You’re not being forced to marry Rachid, are you, Zhang?”
Zhang hesitated. She doubted either of these women would understand how honor trumped personal happiness. Americans saw themselves as individuals, responsible only for their own happiness. They prided themselves on their independence. Even though there were parts of her culture that she had defied, family honor was still as important to Zhang as her own life was. She knew Rachid felt the same. Beyond that, it wasn’t as if she could explain the tangled sexual web she’d woven for herself. So she simply said, “No one is forcing me.”
Abby asked, “You’re happy?”
Yes would have been a lie. “I want to marry him.”
Abby said, “It seems so sudden.” From the worried tone in her voice, it was clear that she was still unconvinced.
Lil said, “Well, I think it’s romantic. And we get to attend a second wedding in one week!” She thought about it and asked, “Zhang, can we do that henna thing? You know, how they do those temporary tattoos?”
Zhang said, “The wedding is going to be very small. Family and a few friends. It’s more of a formality than a celebration. I doubt we’ll follow many traditions on either side.”
Lil pressed, “You only get married once. Why not enjoy it?”
Lil had a point. Yes, there were aspects of the wedding that she had no control over, but why not enjoy what she could? It was time to give the palace staff something to do besides guard her.
Zhang said, “If you come on Friday, I’ll have a henna party with you both.”
“Really?”
“Sure.”
Abby said, “That’s not necessary, Zhang. It’s your wedding. You don’t have to do anything special for us to attend.”
Zhang said, “I don’t have to—I want to.”
Lil said, “Abby, relax. This will be fun. And I bet Zhang is looking for a way to keep her mind off everything that’s going on.” Zhang didn’t deny the claim, and Lil continued. “Abby doesn’t think like us, Zhang. Dominic is the only wild choice she’s ever made.”
“Us?” Zhang asked.
Lil said, “I knew when I first met you that we were kindred souls, Zhang. I know exactly how this situation made you feel when it got out of control. I do shit like this all the time. Just know that the mortification and embarrassment you feel passes. Sometimes it even turns out well. You can’t let the ugly stuff they’re saying about you in the news get to you.”
Abby hastily put the brakes on her sister’s monologue. “Lil, you’re not making Zhang feel better.”
Lil countered, “You don’t think she’s read the papers?”
Oh, Lil. Zhang said, “I appreciate what you’re trying to do. No matter what the papers say, though, we’re going with the story of a staged bride-napping elopement.”
Lil asked, “And you want us to keep to that story?”
Harsh as it sounded, some things needed to be said. “No, I’m asking you to say nothing. Don’t talk to anyone about this.”
“Don’t worry, Zhang.”
“Lil, this is important. No one.”
Lil sighed dramatically. “I made one mistake with the paparazzi and it never aired.”
Zhang stressed, “Lives will be lost if you make that mistake here, Lil. This isn’t Boston or New York. A mistake won’t be embarrassing here, it’ll be deadly.”
For once, Lil didn’t have a witty response.
Abby asked quietly, “Is it safe for us to come?”
Zhang said, “I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t think so, but perhaps Colby shouldn’t . . .”
Lil said, “I’ll ask Marie to watch her. She loves Colby and she won’t mind flying out here to do it. Jake would probably have insisted on that, anyway. I used to think he was so in control of his emotions, but you should see him melt when she cries. She knows exactly how to wrap him around her little finger. It’s hilarious to watch.”
Always a planner, Abby asked, “So the earliest you’d like us to come is Friday morning? We’ll set up things on this end and then we can fly over early if you’d like.”
As lovely as the two women were, the less time they actually spent in Najriad, the less of a chance there was that something else could go wrong. “Yes, I have things I need to do before you arrive.”
Like find my sanity.
Zhang continued, “On Saturday, Rachid and I will sign various contracts with our parents. We’ll actually be married then, but only our families will attend that. We will have a dinner that night to celebrate.” Fresh from attending an elaborate and joyous wedding, Zhang felt that she needed to prepare her friends for the difference. Circumstances had diminished what would have been a weeklong extravaganza in Zhang’s or Rachid’s culture into a formal, low-key, one-day affair. Neither family was particularly proud of the publicity that surrounded their wedding day. Since the outcome would be the same, there was really no use focusing on what would have been. If you spend your life mourning what isn’t, you miss out on what is. “It won’t be like yours, Abby, but I’m pleased that you’ll both attend.”
“Anything special we should know?” Abby asked.
Zhang thought about it and said, “Dress conservatively. Even for the wedding. Wear something that covers your shoulders, and keep your skirts long.”
Lil said, “How oppressive. I can’t imagine living somewhere where I can’t dress the way I want to.”
Zhang said, “Different isn’t better or worse, Lil. Often better is merely whatever you’ve grown up with and are used to.”
Never one to hold back, Lil asked, “Are the women there treated like second-class citizens?”
Zhang answered honestly, “I haven’t been here long enough to tell you how the majority of women are treated. However, I would suspect that Najriad is just like every other society—it has its strengths and it has a dark underbelly. Show me a country that doesn’t have something it’s ashamed of and I’ll show you a people who are living a lie. There is always something beautiful and always something ugly. That’s the balance of nature.”
Abby interjected, “It’s difficult for even me to imagine you being told what to do, Zhang.”
“I’ll admit that not every aspect of this will be easy for me.”
Lil said, “I wish . . . I wish I was as good at giving advice as you are, Zhang. You really helped me understand myself better. I want to do the same for you, but I don’t know what to say.”
Zhang smiled gently into the phone. “Sometimes all you can do is support someone.”
Abby said, “We can do that.”
Putting the seriousness behind her, Lil asked, “Hey, will you have a camel at the wedding?”
Abby groaned.
Zhang laughed. “The castle we’re staying in is in the middle of a large city . . . about the size of London. You’d have a better chance of seeing a camel in New York.”
Abby added, “Not to mention, Lil, it’s an awful stereotype to have of an entire region of the world that is actually quite modernized.”
Lil challenged, “Are you telling me that there are no camels at all over there?”
Zhang admitted with a guilty smile that only Lil could wring from her, “I did see one near the desert castle.”
Lil leapt on that one. “Desert castle! I knew it! Oh, Zhang, you are going to have to tell me everything.”
Sorry, Lil, it’s
a bit too spicy to share.
Abby said, “Lil, some things are private.”
Confidently, Lil replied, “Not between Zhang and me. We have this connection.”
Zhang’s smile widened and unexpected tears filled her eyes. She didn’t have any female members of her family that she was close to. No one had ever spoken to her the way Lil did, and for a moment she wondered if this was how it felt to have a sister. Even though Abby and Lil bickered, did these two women realize how absolutely blessed they were to have each other?
Zhang said, “I am honored that you will both attend my wedding. Abby, I do regret you cutting your honeymoon short for this.”
Abby said, “Well, it’s not like we were holed up in a private cabin. We were touring potential sites to build schools. As a wedding present, Dominic started an educational foundation in my name, and we’re starting a program in South America. It’s exciting work, but nothing that can’t easily be done in a couple of weeks. Your wedding is important. Dominic will be busy with his new Chinese server the following week. I’m just happy that his impromptu visit to Najriad didn’t get him in trouble.”
So am I, Zhang thought.
“So, I’ll see you both on Friday?” Zhang asked in closing.
Abby said, “We wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Lil said, “Wait? What do you want as a wedding present?”
“I have everything I need, or almost everything,” she said. “Bring my phone.”
The second call Zhang made was to the head of her security team. After a brief explanation of the situation, one based on her elopement story, Zhang said abruptly, “Plant men in and around Najriad. I’m staying in the city palace in Nilon. No one can know you’re here. As of now, I don’t need you to do anything except stay close and ready.”
When you pay someone well enough for long enough, they don’t ask why—they just follow your orders. He asked, “Do you have a specific concern, or is this a precaution?”
“A precaution for now, but keep your ears open for chatter. I have a bad feeling, but I can’t pin it down.”
“Do you want someone in the palace?”
Zhang thought about how loyal the servants had proven to be so far and said, “Yes, but you’ll have to recruit a local and be extremely generous.”
Her team hadn’t disappointed her yet in the six years they’d worked for her. I’m not a helpless captive. It was time she showed Rachid exactly who he was marrying. A few days of being with the real her and he might quickly change his mind about how long their marriage would or wouldn’t last.
Oddly, that thought saddened her more than she liked to admit.
Her third call was the one she least wanted to make. She gathered the lead team of Eight Lions Developments, her real estate company, and informed them that she would be temporarily working from out of the country . . . very far out.
Why?
Oh, I’m getting married.
Since she didn’t trust any of them enough to share the real story, the explanation was a painfully long exchange of lies and congratulations. Followed by more lies and reassurances that her marriage would only affect her ability to meet with clients for a short time.
Zhang returned to her suite, alone and tired. She slipped off her low-heel shoes and pulled the gown over her head, folding it neatly and placing it on one of the benches in her room. In just her underclothing, she padded over to the walk-in closet and chose a peach silk nightgown. A quick hot shower eased some of her tension, but her mind was still racing when she slipped into the large bed.
Alone isn’t all bad.
Didn’t married women complain of snoring, fighting for blankets and odd smells that were denied in the beginning of marriage and joked about as the couple became more comfortable? Her bed had been the same way for more than ten years—absolutely quiet, all hers without dispute and lightly scented by her preferred perfume—a jasmine oil. All of that would change on Saturday night. Legally, she and Rachid would be married as soon as they signed the contracts. Rachid might wait until after the guests left on Sunday before moving her to his room, but she doubted that he’d be that patient.
One of Zhang’s strengths was that she made decisions quickly. Indecision hinders action and breeds weakness. There is strength in the mere act of choosing a course and directing all of your energy toward it.
I told him that our marriage would be for six months.
I told him that I didn’t want to sleep with him again.
He dismissed both ideas.
Zhang flipped over onto her stomach and punched the pillow.
Am I angry at him for not listening to me?
Or angry at myself for being happy he didn’t?
Maybe it’s something in the coffee, but I don’t seem able to think straight in Najriad.
Tomorrow, I go back to drinking tea.
The next morning, respectfully covered in a simple blue-green ankle-length dress and matching scarf, Zhang sat across from Hadia in a small café after their tour of Nilon City. Najriad was modern in some ways and strictly traditional in others. Women of all ages were either fully covered by abayas or dressed in a more westernized—though still modest—style, favoring high necklines, long sleeves and long hems. Zhang had asked Hadia for guidance in this matter. She didn’t want her first public appearance to be an offensive one. Hadia’s tour had started with a perusal of the older woman’s closet.
Although Hadia was in her seventies, one wouldn’t have guessed that by how she kept up to date with international fashion designers. She joked that once upon a time she’d had a closet for the street and a closet for her husband, but now she simply dressed for herself. That didn’t mean she didn’t show her respect for the old ways. She still kept mostly covered in public and wore a scarf over her hair.
When Zhang had chosen her clothing based on Hadia’s suggestions, Hadia had commented, “When I read about your very independent life, I wasn’t sure if I could see you as the queen of Najriad, but you have impressed me.”
Zhang had shrugged and replied, “I walk the line between two cultures already—what is a third?”
In the café, Hadia ordered coffee and Zhang ordered sanity, a British blend of it. Hadia referenced the guards who stood nearby and asked, “Does it bother you to not be able to go out alone?”
Zhang shook her head. “I lost that privilege years ago when I had my first real taste of success. If you have something, there will always be those who wish to take it from you. I usually travel with my own security.”
Hadia looked around the busy streets. “And where are these men today?”
For a woman who spent most of her days in a palace, she was sharp about the ways of the world. “They’re close,” Zhang admitted. She didn’t doubt for a moment that had she called out in distress, one of her men would have materialized from the surrounding crowd.
Hadia nodded in approval. “So, what did you think of Nilon?”
“It’s beautiful, and the focus that Rachid has placed on higher education is apparent.”
“His goal is to strengthen math and science skills at all levels so that when he moves his headquarters here, our people will not only work in the city—they will invent, create and redesign our economy through innovation.”
“An admirable goal.”
And one much like my own.
Both gracefully thanked the young woman who served their drinks. The girl recognized the king’s mother and bowed repeatedly. She was dressed in a modest, embroidered shirt and loose pants. Uncovered, her long black hair was tied neatly at her neck. Earlier, Hadia had explained that the rules for the youth were changing—something she was both happy and concerned about. However, clothing choice was no longer the topic Hadia was interested in. She said, “My grandson takes his responsibility very seriously, but he struggles with himself. Did he tell you that his mother passed away in childbirth?”
Zhang shook her head and sipped at her black tea. The topic reminded her of how little s
he knew about the man she would marry in a few days.
Hadia sipped her coffee, nodded with approval to the server who retreated when she did and said, “It shaped who Rachid is, but he won’t speak of it. His mother was quite controversial. She was English and no one accepted her.” Hadia smiled as she remembered the woman. “My son loved her, though. For a while, I feared that he would leave us for her, but they married and she joined him here.”
Zhang sat forward in her seat. “That couldn’t have been easy for her.”
“I imagine it wasn’t. She was rigid in some of her beliefs and that made it more difficult for both of them. She loved Amir, though, and that was enough for me to accept her. The people weren’t as easy to win over. She might have succeeded, but she got pregnant within their first year of marriage and was sickly through most of the pregnancy. She died before the people knew her—or she them.”
“That’s so sad.”
Hadia put her coffee down and looked up, revealing sadness in her eyes. “It was, in more than one way. My son, Amir, took her death hard. He was angry with himself, with the people who didn’t mourn her—even turned against his faith for a time. Amir couldn’t bear to be with Rachid in the beginning. He said it was too painful. Sometimes I think that Rachid has spent his whole life paying the price for a tragedy that was not his fault.”
“Is that why Rachid was sent away to school?” Zhang’s heart broke for the little boy who’d lost everything and for the man who somehow blamed himself.
Shrugging one shoulder slightly, Hadia said, “Amir said it was because he wanted to bring technology to Najriad. His reasoning was sound, but I never agreed with the decision. Rachid was sent away at only eight years old, too young to be on his own. He should have at least brought him home each summer, but he didn’t. He remarried, and perhaps it was easier for all to have Rachid out of the picture. I love my son, but Amir should have called Rachid home when Ghalil was born. Raising one son here and sending one son away has kept them strangers to each other. Strangers make easy adversaries. Ghalil has never had to compete for his father’s love, and everyone believed that he would become king one day.”
“Even though Rachid was the eldest?”
The Legacy Collection Box Set Page 47