Craving Temptation

by Deborah Fletcher Mello

  “I can’t say that I agree with you, Mr. Salman. Amina followed her heart. She loves me and she trusts I will be good to her.”

  “As her father I know what’s best for my children when they do not know what’s good for themselves. I believe in a patriarchal society and there are traditional roles charged to men and women that need to be followed for our own preservation. The family lineage passes through the father. The father establishes religion for his children. As head of the household the husband provides leadership for the family. A Muslim woman does not follow the leadership of someone who does not share her faith and values. When a Muslim woman marries outside our faith it impedes the growth of our community.

  “I know nothing about you, or your family’s history. I don’t know that we share the same values and I should have been able to ensure that the man who married my Amina was an honorable man. All I know of you, Mr. Elliott, is that you have challenged my political agenda and questioned my ethics. Then you sneak in and steal my daughter from me and you expect that I should toss up my hands and be happy about that. Well, I’m not happy. Not happy at all. My trust has been betrayed.”

  “I understand your concerns, Mr. Salman, but I have to respectfully agree to disagree. I love Amina. I want her to be happy and I am going to do everything I can to ensure that. If it’s her desire to continue to follow her Muslim ways then I will support that. I have no expectation that she should give up her religion if she does not want to. Nor do I expect that she will follow mine if it does not serve her well.”

  Nasser stared at him with reservation, saying nothing. He finally nodded. “What’s done is done. I would naturally have preferred Amina to marry someone who shared my principles. But ultimately it is her choice. As a father I have done all I can do. I have worked to ensure she knew and understood my values. Amina should have trusted that. Her choices, however, indicate I did not serve her well.”

  “I’m sorry you feel that way, sir.”

  Nasser swiped a large hand over his face. “Mr. Elliott, I pray that Allah blesses you both in your choices.”

  Nasser called out Amina’s name. When she came back into the room she looked from one to the other, nothing about either’s expression giving her reason to relax.

  “Yes, Father?”

  “I have concerns about the influence you seem to have had on your sister, Amina. I fear that you and your mother both have not been good for her. When I talk to Rasheeda I will insist that she return home immediately and when she does she will be forbidden to have any contact with you. Rasheeda has always been obedient and I anticipate that she will continue to honor my commands. I hope that you will respect my decision and not make this difficult for her. You are to stay away from your sister.”

  Tears rose to Amina’s eyes. “But Father . . .”

  Nasser held up his hand, stalling her words. “I love you, Amina, but I have to do what I think is best.”

  He moved from his seat to her side, cupping her face in the palms of his hands. He kissed her on one cheek and then the other. “Assalamu alaikum,” he said, wishing her peace and blessings.

  “Wa’alaikum assalaam,” she responded, bidding him the same as well.

  And just like that, Nasser dismissed them both, moving from the room as he asked them to leave his home.

  Amina wept. The last time she’d cried that hard was when her mother had left them, her feeling as if her whole world had exploded beneath her. Nothing Troy could say or do was of any consolation. Her heart was broken. Her father’s rejection yet another explosion that she found difficult to bear.

  As he sat alone in the kitchen Troy could hear her sobbing in the bedroom. It broke his own heart to hear her so completely devastated. He took a deep breath and then a second as he reached for his coffee mug. His cell phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket. Pulling it into his hand, he saw that it was Amina’s mother, calling again to check on her. They’d spoken three times since he and Amina had left her father’s home. This time he ignored her call, having nothing new to tell her. He pushed the appliance back into his pocket, turning off the ringer.

  Mike had been calling him as well, annoyed that Troy had cancelled all of his appearances for the day. Feigning an illness, Troy had begged the afternoon off, imploring his friend to extend his apologies to the Memphis Rose Society, the Women’s Foundation for Greater Memphis, and the Tennessee Historical Society. Until things were well with Amina, Troy was willing to put his obligations on hold, his wife being his one and only priority.

  Her sobs had gone quiet. Troy sat with his coffee for a moment longer, then made his way into the bedroom to join her. Amina was sitting in the center of the bed, shaking the cell phone in her hand.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked. “What’s wrong with your phone?”

  “This stupid thing just froze on me,” she said. She swiped her hands over her eyes.

  “Here, you can use mine,” he said as he reached back into his pocket.

  She shook her head. “I just reset it. It should be okay in a minute.”

  He met her gaze as she lifted her eyes ever so slightly. “Are you feeling any better?” he asked.

  She shrugged her narrow shoulders. “I’m angry. Angry at my father. Mad with myself. I shouldn’t let him get to me. My mother warned me. But it still hurts my feelings.”

  “You only wanted your father’s approval. Most people know what that’s like. I know I understand it.”

  “I did. I love my father. I also know that he’s a little unrealistic about some things. I tried but he never once gave me credit for my efforts and now he says I’m a bad influence on Rasheeda. That makes me really mad!”

  Troy smiled. “Have you spoken with her?”

  “I was trying to call her when my cell phone froze up.”

  “I’m sure you two will be able to work things out but I don’t want you to be upset if Rasheeda decides to follow your father’s orders.”

  “Do you think she will?”

  “I don’t think Rasheeda would defy him if he told her to stay away from you.”

  Amina fell back against the mattress. She felt like crying again but didn’t have a tear left to cry with. Troy crawled against her, wrapping his arms around her torso. He hugged her close, planting a damp kiss against her cheek. She blew a soft sigh, sinking into the warmth of his body.

  “Did I ever tell you that Rasheeda wants to go back to school?”

  “Back?”

  Amina nodded. “She has a bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Memphis. She wants to get her master’s.”

  “She should.”

  “Father won’t let her go back. One of the reasons she likes this Todd person is because he supports her dreams.”

  “Then why don’t they go ahead and get married?”

  Amina blew a deep sigh. “She’s not ready. She wants to work and live on her own before she commits to any man and I have great respect for that.”

  “And she wants to work in her field?”

  “She does. She really is an advocate for at-risk populations. She gave a presentation to the women at the cultural center where she spoke about domestic violence against women. She explained how it’s really a global problem and that all men needed to rise up and protect their women and children. She made everyone understand that violence against women is not the monopoly of any single group. That domestic violence affects all segments of society irrespective of race, religion, or socioeconomic status. She spoke so eloquently and with such genuine concern. I was so proud of her!”

  “I’m sure she knows that and I have no doubts that you two will be able to continue to support each other.”

  Amina blew a deep sigh. “I really wish I could have been the woman my father wanted me to be.”

  “Your mother raised you to be your own woman. Even your mother found it difficult to be the woman your father wanted.”

  “I know that but I wanted things to be different. I wanted what Rasheeda had.”


  “And what’s that?”

  “When I saw how Rasheeda and the other women at the mosque embraced Islam, I imagined myself being able to do the same thing. Many of us have a very deep misunderstanding of the religion. Even I did, at first. But then I imagined myself being this Muslim-American attorney who’d help rectify that misunderstanding. My father convinced me that I could help people to see me not as an exception to Islam; that I wasn’t a decent person despite my religion, but that all the good things I am are because of Islam. I wanted to educate people and I didn’t want to let constant prejudice deter me or anyone else from doing whatever we wanted to do. And I wanted my father to be proud of me for doing so.”

  “I guess what you need to ask yourself, Amina, is if that was what you really wanted for yourself, or if it was your father’s dream and you bought into it to make him happy. Because if that’s what you want, you can still do that. No one is stopping you. But I get the impression that you were somewhat willing to embrace the principles of the religion but you didn’t necessarily embrace the sentiment behind it. You might need to ask yourself why.”

  Amina blew another sigh. “It’s too much. I suddenly feel broken.”

  Troy kissed her forehead. “You are not broken. You are overwhelmed trying to be all things to all people. Take a step back and pray on it. Think it through, then pray on it again. You’re an intelligent woman. You’ll figure it out.”

  She pondered his comments as he held her. Minutes passed without either of them saying anything at all. Amina suddenly sat up, turning to stare down at Troy. The man was beautiful and she couldn’t imagine loving him more.

  “I need chocolate!” she exclaimed.

  Troy smiled. “I might have an M&M in the cabinet.”

  She shook her head. “I need good chocolate! I need your brother’s chocolate cookies.”

  “That’s going to require a trip to the bakery.”

  Amina jumped from the bed. “Shotgun!”

  17

  Tears misted Rasheeda’s eyes, her brother’s screams pounding through her head. His verbal attack was mean-spirited and unnecessary but she knew he was only being this way because of Kareem. She clenched her hands into tight fists as he snatched her by the arm and threw her into the backseat of Kareem’s car, the other man eyeing her with disdain.

  She folded her body into the corner, pulling her knees to her chest as she wrapped her clothes tight around her body. Her tears dripped past her lashes, saturating the edge of her veil.

  “You should be ashamed of yourself,” Basil hissed as he eased into the passenger seat, securing his seat belt around his torso. “Father is so disappointed. What did you think you were doing?”

  Rasheeda didn’t bother to respond, instead curling her body into a tighter ball.

  Basil shook his head, continuing to rant. For ten minutes all Rasheeda heard was what she’d done wrong. She’d been mortified when Basil had found her and her friend Todd in the hospital cafeteria enjoying a quick cup of coffee before Todd had to return to his shift in the emergency room. Todd would never have known anything was wrong with the performance Basil had put on, her brother pretending to be concerned about her well-being. Todd had kissed the back of her hand before sending her off with him. Rasheeda had wanted to protest but would never have caused a scene. Even when Basil escorted her back to her hotel for her belongings she didn’t say anything, not wanting to draw attention to either of them. The door to her room had barely been closed when her brother had threatened to hit her, throwing a punch against the wall instead. It had scared her to death. She’d barely caught her breath before his fist smashed into a lamp on the table, sending it straight to the floor. Her head was still spinning from his yelling at her. She felt battered, her entire spirit bruised.

  Like every time before, Basil had blamed her for what he’d done. It was her fault that he was mad, thinking it was okay to threaten to cause her harm. It was her fault that he’d been made to reprimand her. It was her fault that he’d caused her pain, hurting her feelings. And like every time before, Basil had wiped her tears away, berating her to be good and dutiful so that he would not have to be mean to her ever again. But things were different this time and Basil didn’t even begin to know. Rasheeda blew a deep sigh as she laid her head down on the seat.

  “So what now?” Kareem snapped.

  “I need to get her back home and then we need to deal with Amina.”

  “She’s married!” he spat, the ire of his having lost painting his expression with pure rage. “How do we deal with Amina?”

  Basil cut his eye toward his friend. “She can still be of use to us. She married an Elliott. His name alone will allow us to still do this deal.”

  “How do you figure that?”

  “We’ll transfer the property into her new name. No one will think twice about the property moving from one family member to the other. She can say her husband transferred it to her as a wedding present.”

  “And how do you think you’ll be able to make her do that?”

  Basil smiled. He waved Rasheeda’s cell phone in the air. Since he’d arrived there’d been no fewer than thirty calls from Amina trying to reach her sister. He gestured into the backseat. “She’ll do anything to keep our baby sister safe and happy. Nasser says Rasheeda can have no contact with Amina. I will make sure she wants to. And I’ll make sure the only way she will ever know whether or not Rasheeda is well is if she does what I say, when I say.”

  “Neither one of us can afford for this to go wrong, Basil. I have some serious reservations.”

  “So do you have a better idea?”

  “Yes. I think we need a little more insurance. So Rasheeda will marry me. And she’ll be an obedient wife. Because if she’s not, she’ll pay the price. That should give your sister a little more incentive.”

  Basil nodded, a slight grin rising to his face. “Father would approve of Rasheeda marrying you, especially after the embarrassment that Amina has caused us all. Rasheeda can say that she realized she felt more for you after our sister betrayed you.”

  “We don’t need an elaborate ceremony. We’ll tell everyone that Rasheeda thought long and hard about committing to her boyfriend in Maryland and realized that she and I were a better fit for each other. There was no reason for us to wait. And you need to make sure everyone at the mosque knows how treacherous Amina was; how she dishonored both of our families with her marriage to that man.”

  Basil tossed his sister a quick look. “This is for the best, Rasheeda. Your submission will serve you well. You will marry into a wonderful family!”

  Rasheeda had been listening intently. She met the stern stare her brother was giving her, her own eyes devoid of any emotion. Knowing that there was nothing she could do from the backseat of Kareem’s car, Rasheeda closed her eyes. It would be a long ride back to Memphis. She had at least fourteen hours to figure out what she needed to do to make all of this right.

  Amina, Harper, and Rachel were seated at a booth at Bonefish Grill after an entire day of shopping at Carriage Crossing. They’d dropped their credit cards at Abercrombie & Fitch, Caché, Ann Taylor, Chico’s, Talbots, Soma, and at least six other stores; the trunk of Rachel’s SUV looked like its own clothing warehouse.

  The waitress had just delivered two chocolate martinis and an iced tea to the table when Amina lifted her cell phone to try Rasheeda’s number one more time. Her frustration showed on her face when she got no answer.

  “It’s been three days now and she hasn’t answered any of my calls!”

  “Who?” Rachel asked as she took a sip of her drink.

  “My sister.”

  Harper shook her head. “You don’t think anything’s wrong, do you?”

  Amina blew a heavy sigh. “Everything’s wrong. I would never have thought she would allow my father to do this to us.”

  “What about your mother?” Harper asked. “Has she talked to Rasheeda?”

  “She hasn’t heard anything from her either.”<
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  “That’s not cool!” Harper chimed.

  There was a pause in their conversation as the waitress came to take their orders. Rachel was excited to try the Chilean sea bass and Harper and Amina both ordered the pecan Parmesan-crusted rainbow trout, sautéed and topped with artichoke hearts, fresh basil, and lemon butter.

  They made small talk while they snacked on the restaurant’s signature Bang Bang shrimp. When their entrees were on the table, everyone enjoying the meal, Rachel resumed their conversation about Rasheeda.

  “Why don’t you just go to your father’s house and talk to your sister? I find that if you corner someone unexpectedly you leave them no other choice but to talk to you,” she said.

  Harper laughed. “Or knife you. You can’t box everyone in a corner and expect it to turn out all right.”

  “I would but I’ve been banned from the property. My father doesn’t want me talking to Rasheeda so I’m not allowed to see her.”

  “Can you go to the mosque?”

  “I thought about that but I ran into one of the church mothers and my name is mud in the community. Apparently I disgraced the family name when I married Troy.”

  Rachel and Harper both shook their heads from side to side. “That doesn’t make any sense,” Rachel said.

  “I’m an only child,” Harper started, “so I don’t exactly know what it’s like to have a sister although I claim my best friend Jasmine. But Jasmine does have a younger sister. There’s a four-year age difference between the two of them and I don’t think they’ve ever had a close relationship. They grew up in the same house together and you and Rasheeda are closer than those two ever were.”