Promised Land
Page 20
“I’ve learned my lesson. I’m not talking to Hana about anything unless she brings it up. Then I’m going to listen, nothing else.”
* * *
Rahal enjoyed spending time alone in a sauna. The hot room gave him an opportunity to retreat into his thoughts as impurities escaped through his pores. The steam room was well equipped with cold drinks, multiple places to sit, and piped-in music. An intercom connected him to the outside. He was sitting on a marble bench sipping a drink when a voice came over the intercom. It was Khalil.
“Sir, I’m here for our appointment and will be waiting for you in the lounge.”
Rahal checked a digital clock on the wall. He’d forgotten about the meeting with his assistant. He took a final dip into a pool of icy water in one corner of the room. Invigorated, he put on a luxurious white robe with gold piping and entered the lounge adjacent to the sauna.
“Do you have the financial reports for last week?” Rahal asked.
“Yes, sir.”
Khalil handed him a thin folder that Rahal quickly flipped through. Oil revenues had been on a steep downward slope for over a year. The depressing financial figures ruined in a matter of seconds the beneficial effects of his hour spent in the steam room. Rahal tossed the folder onto a side table. Sitting down in a small chair, he crossed his legs.
“There is good news,” Khalil continued.
Rahal pointed to the folder. “An increase in income of two percent from our services to the American military base hardly qualifies as good news.”
“It has to do with Daud Hasan.”
Rahal perked up. “I’m listening.”
“We hired a private investigator with an office in Al-Quds. As soon as I mentioned that I worked for an American company interested in hiring a man named Daud Hasan, the investigator told me that he’d known Hasan for years.”
“That’s risky,” Rahal cut in. “He might notify Hasan that someone is making inquiries about him.”
“We don’t care if he does,” Khalil replied. “The investigator told me Hasan is living and working in America, so it’s natural that a company would be conducting a background search before contacting him.”
“Good point,” Rahal said.
“Because of his existing knowledge of Hasan, the investigator said he would be able to respond quickly. I promised a bonus payment if he did so.”
Khalil held up his tablet. “I already have his report and can summarize it for you.”
“Go ahead.”
Khalil hit a few buttons. “Hasan left Palestine because he married an Arab woman who is working for an American law firm in Atlanta, Georgia. Her name is Hana Abboud. She’s from Reineh, and I confirmed it’s the same woman in the photo I showed you the other day.”
“Excellent,” Rahal said. “Did he find out their address?”
“No, but he gave me the name of the law firm where the wife works. I went on their website and confirmed that she’s still there. She mostly uses the name Abboud, not Hasan. I’m sure their personal information and location can be obtained easily.”
“One option would be to inform the Chechens where Hasan is living and find out if they are serious about exacting revenge,” Rahal said.
“I mentioned that in my report. And I would like to target his wife as well. It should be possible to do so easily, especially if we offer to fund the operation for the Chechens.”
Rahal thought for a moment before responding. “I agree.”
* * *
Now that her pregnancy was public knowledge in Atlanta, there was one person Hana wanted to share the good news with as soon as possible. It was 3:00 p.m. before she could carve out the time to make the phone call. She reached Ben Neumann at work.
“I have some personal news that I’d like to share with you and Sadie,” she said.
“Are you pregnant?”
“How did you guess?”
“It wasn’t that hard,” Ben said, laughing. “Congratulations to you and Daud.”
“Thanks.”
“And I totally understand why you want to tell Sadie in person. Would you have time to swing by the house today for a few minutes on your way home from work?”
Hana had been working hard all day and could afford to leave a few minutes early.
“Yes, but I can’t stay for dinner. I want to get home to Daud. He’s been out of town for a few days and just returned last night.”
“I’ll let the visit be a surprise,” Ben said. “Are you going to bring Leon?”
“If it’s okay with you.”
“That will double Sadie’s joy.”
Hana sent Daud a text telling him what she was going to do. He responded immediately.
Will bring home Chinese food
Hana sent a smiley face in reply. One of their first meals together had been at a tiny Chinese restaurant in Jerusalem where Daud arranged for them to have the whole place to themselves.
“I’m going over to Ben Neumann’s townhome to tell Sadie about the baby,” Hana said to Janet as she left her office.
“How do you think she’ll take the news?”
“She’ll be happy.”
“I hope you’re right,” Janet said slowly. “There’s a chance she might feel jealous, if not immediately, then after she has time to think about it. Sadie knows you’ve given her your heart, and it will hurt when she realizes she’ll have to share you with someone else besides Daud, even if it’s your own child.”
It was a possibility Hana hadn’t considered. During the drive she prayed about what Janet said.
Leon woofed in greeting as Sadie threw open the door.
“I was in the living room and saw you walking down the sidewalk,” she said.
Sadie knelt down, buried her face in Leon’s fur, and ran her fingers over his back. The dog tried to turn his head to the side so he could lick her, which he did when she faced him. Ben appeared in the doorway.
“Come in,” he said. “Letting a dog lick a child’s face in public may violate the rules of the homeowners’ association.”
“I’ll take Leon to the backyard,” Sadie said, trotting off with the dog in tow.
Hana could smell something baking in the kitchen. “What are you cooking?” she asked.
“Sadie is making homemade cookies. As you’ve seen, the culinary class she’s taking as part of the science curriculum has had a huge impact on her. She doesn’t just learn what to put into a cookie; she learns how the ingredients interact at the molecular level.”
“She’s so smart.”
“Speaking of cooking, would you and Daud be available one night this week for dinner with Laura and me? After taking a break, we’ve been spending more time together, and things are better than ever.”
“Probably,” Hana replied casually. She knew the meeting would have to take place eventually. “I’ll talk it over with him and let you know.”
Through the double glass doors, they could see Sadie and Leon playing in the backyard.
“Sadie has new-dog fever in the worst way,” Ben continued. “I’ve told her it’s not a good idea to leave a dog alone all day while I’m at work and she’s at school, but she’s not buying my argument. Also, Laura is highly allergic to any form of animal dander. Her eyes start itching if she comes too close to dogs in a public park. It would be cruel to introduce a puppy into Sadie’s life and then have to give it away.”
“There are hypoallergenic breeds. I know someone who has a—” Hana started but stopped when Sadie burst into the kitchen.
“He’s playing with the ball I bought with my own money,” the little girl announced. “It has batteries and squeaks and rolls on its own.”
Leon leapt into the air and pounced on the live-action toy as it scooted away.
“Can you stay for supper?” Sadie asked. “We’re going to eat pasta cooked in the microwave. I can share with you.”
“No, I just stopped by for a few minutes, but I’d love to try your cookies and take one to Daud.”
Ben moved toward the kitchen door. “I’ll let you ladies have a cookie talk for a few minutes.”
Sadie checked the timer on the oven. “They still need to bake for five minutes, but I can tell you what’s happening while we wait.”
They sat at the kitchen counter as Sadie rattled off the chemical changes taking place in the cookie dough. Hana was impressed. The beeper sounded. Sadie jumped up and slipped an oven mitt over her hand, then took the hot cookie sheet from the oven. It was an act that she couldn’t have done when they first met. She placed the sheet on a metal trivet, reset the timer, and returned to the counter.
“They need to cool for a few minutes before we eat them. I call these ‘extra-special cookies’ because they have all the stuff I like in them.”
“They smell delicious.”
“You need to sign this sheet of paper that says I explained everything so I can give it to Mrs. Rosenstein.”
Hana signed the sheet of paper and added a sentence about Sadie’s excellent job.
“Thanks,” Sadie said. “Would you like milk with your cookies?”
“Yes.”
Sadie opened the freezer and took out two frosted glasses. “Milk tastes better in a cold glass.”
She carefully poured milk into the glasses and placed one in front of Hana, who took a sip.
“It’s whole milk,” Sadie continued. “Do you believe that skim milk is whole milk with water added?”
“I’ve never thought about it, but that makes sense.”
“No, we learned that they put whole milk in a machine that spins it around really fast.” Sadie paused. “It’s called a centerfudge and makes some of the fat go down a tube.”
“Centrifuge,” Hana corrected, thinking about the more ominous use of the spinning devices to prepare uranium for nuclear weapons.
“Yes, I have trouble getting that right. Mrs. Rosenstein brought in some raw cow’s milk for us to try. I was scared at first, but when I took a sip it tasted like melted vanilla ice cream. I told Daddy we should buy some. He could put it in his coffee.”
“I drank raw goat’s milk every day when I was a girl,” Hana said. “We even poured it on our cereal.”
The beeper sounded again. Sadie dislodged the cookies from the metal sheet with a plastic turner. The cookies were speckled with chocolate chips, crushed pecans, and flakes of coconut. Sadie put one on a plate and presented it to Hana, who inhaled the fragrance before taking a sample bite.
“This is delicious,” she said immediately. “I can see why you call them extra special.”
Sadie beamed. They each ate a cookie, then another.
“Wait,” Hana said. “You haven’t eaten supper yet.”
“It’s okay,” Sadie said dismissively. “I’m with you.”
Hana took a drink of milk. “It’s because you’re so extra special to me that I stopped by,” she said. “I wanted to share some exciting news with you. Daud and I are going to have a baby.”
Sadie’s eyes widened. She immediately glanced at Hana’s abdomen.
“I just found out a few days ago, so you can’t tell by looking at me. But it won’t be long before the baby will grow bigger and bigger.”
Hana took out her phone and showed Sadie the approximate size of the unborn child. Sadie’s half-eaten cookie remained untouched as she stared at the images.
“What do you think?” Hana asked.
Sadie took in a deep breath. Her eyes were serious. She looked directly into Hana’s face. “I’m kind of excited, but are you and the baby going to be okay?”
Hana instantly realized Sadie’s response was an unexpected consequence of the death of the little girl’s own mother. For Sadie, the connection between mother and child was not a safe one. Hana reached out and pulled Sadie in close for a long hug.
“Everything is going to be fine,” she said, stroking the girl’s dark hair.
Sadie buried her head into Hana’s shoulder. It had been a while since she’d held Sadie like this. Hana realized how much she missed it and how deeply she loved the girl. After a minute passed, she kissed the top of Sadie’s head and released her.
“I love you,” Sadie said. “And I hope you have a girl. If you do, you can name her Sadie. I don’t mind sharing my name.”
Hana embraced Sadie again. “That is one of the most giving, unselfish things I’ve ever heard.”
“Not really. But if you do it, you may want to use a nickname so you don’t mix us up.”
“I’d never let that happen.” Hana took another bite of cookie and patted her stomach. “Whatever his or her name, my baby loves your cookies. I’d like to take a couple of them home for Daud, but I can’t promise I won’t eat them in the car on the way.”
Chapter 24
The fragrance of fresh-baked cookies caused Leon’s nose to twitch. Hana wasn’t tempted to eat the treats during the drive home from the Neumanns’. Her heart was heavy with the still-fresh layer of trauma that the news of her pregnancy had revealed in Sadie. The death of the child’s mother was a wound requiring many healings.
“I’m home,” she announced as she stepped through the door.
Daud was rubbing his eyes as he stood in his socks beside the sofa. “Sorry, did I wake you up?” Hana asked.
“No, but Leon did.” Daud yawned. “Supper is in the oven.”
“And Sadie baked dessert.” Hana held up the plate of cookies.
Hana brewed tea. When they sat down to eat, the only sound at the table was the clicking of chopsticks.
“Would you ever like to go back to the Chinese restaurant where we ate in East Jerusalem?” Daud asked, expertly scooping up some rice and delicately seasoned chicken.
“That was a wonderful meal,” Hana answered. “And even more so because you reserved the whole restaurant just for us.”
“They only had a few tables, and it was around four thirty in the afternoon. They wouldn’t have had many customers anyway.”
“Don’t cheapen the memory.”
“That’s not possible, because you were with me.”
Hana smiled and pointed a chopstick at Daud’s face. “Well said. Tell me about your day.”
“Except for going out to pick up the food, I was here all day writing reports and resting.”
“Didn’t you talk to Jakob Brodsky? He told me he was going to call you.”
“Yeah, we talked twice.”
“He said there was new information about the Ivanov matter.”
“Yes.”
Hana listened to Daud describe the status of the investigation. “You’d like to be in the middle of it, wouldn’t you?” she asked. “I can hear it in your voice.”
“I’m an investigator,” Daud said and shrugged. “That’s what I’ve done for years. Even before I was a professional, I spent a lot of time as a kid roaming about the desert investigating things.”
Daud got up to fill his bowl with more food.
“You must be hungry,” she commented.
“Yes, and I don’t want to snack later. You know how Chinese food doesn’t stay with you.”
“Oh. Ben invited us out for dinner with him and Laura, his girlfriend.”
“Without Sadie?”
“Right. He believes it would make things more complicated if Sadie was there. I remembered what you told me about letting Ben set the agenda, so I didn’t argue.”
“And you think dinner with them is a good idea?”
“It has to happen eventually. I’d rather start collecting information now rather than later.”
“Collecting information?” Daud replied. “I’m supposed to be the investigator.”
“This is an investigation of the heart.”
Hana told him about her time with Sadie at the townhome. She became teary when she told him about the girl’s reaction to the news that Hana was pregnant. “Isn’t it sad
that Sadie immediately made a connection between my being a mother and danger?”
“Yes, but it’s sweet that she wants to share her name. How about Miriam Sadie Hasan?” Daud offered.
“That might work.”
They finished their meal.
“Ready for a cookie?” Hana asked.
“Or cookies.”
While Hana warmed them in the microwave, Daud sent a text to Ben about dinner. He immediately replied.
“Tomorrow night for dinner with Ben and Laura,” he called out to Hana.
Hana returned with the cookies. “Before meeting with them, would you like to see the new house? I can’t wait to show it to you in person.”
“I guess so.”
“Don’t you agree that we’ll need more space for us and a baby?” Hana asked. “With only one bedroom and bath, this house isn’t going to work for us.”
“I’m willing to consider a move. To the right house in the right place.”
Something about the way Daud spoke didn’t sound like a yes, but Hana wasn’t sure exactly why.
“Okay,” Hana said. “Oh, do you want some milk?”
“No, thanks.”
Deciding to change the subject, Hana told Daud about her milk conversation with Sadie.
“It brought back memories of the goat’s milk I drank as a girl. Is that what your mother gave you?”
“Yes, and I also drank camel’s milk since my grandfather was a camel broker.”
“How did that taste?”
“Salty—and it can have strange flavors depending on what the camel has been eating. My grandfather loved it warm and straight out of the camel. I remember him taking big gulps that caused it to run down the corners of his mouth. If we give it to our baby when she’s little, she’ll like it her whole life.”
Hana stayed up later than usual reading and listening to music. Daud went to bed early. When she awoke in the night, Hana slipped out of bed and returned to the living room. The first matter on her heart was Sadie. She meditated on God’s promises to the orphan and the fatherless, substituting mother for father. The tenderness and zeal of the Lord’s affection toward those who had suffered great loss never failed to touch Hana deeply. She prayed from Psalm 142 that the Lord would watch over Sadie’s way. Turning to Psalm 37, she asked that he take note of the motherless girl’s grief and hold her hand. Hana prayed that the next time she held Sadie’s hand it would reflect the spiritual reality.