Coming Home (English Version)

35. Late

I wonder if the possibility of a pregnancy has crossed her mind, because I have also come to realise that she's not good at keeping track of her period, so there's a chance she might not even be aware of how late she is. Never in a million years did I think I would be this invested and interested in my wife's cycle, but here I am.

Layla lets out a big yawn. "Is this gonna take long? I'm kind of tired."

Could that be fatigue? Because that is a symptom, my entire internet search is full of pregnancy related stuff and I read somewhere that tiredness and drowsiness could be some of the early symptoms.

"Hamdan?" She says.

"Uh... no, I just have a few papers I need to sign before leaving," I reply.

And I have one surprise for her. The Crown Prince offices are located at the first home I got, it was a gift from my parents and it looks a lot like old Dubai. I wanted a space that was for work only, so I moved out of there and kept it as a place where I can have meetings and entertain in work related matters. People usually come to see me there, or at NAS for more casual occasions, but my home is sacred and no one is allowed unless I make an invitation, and those are only for a few family members or very close friends. I feel even more protective about my home now that I get to share it with Layla. 

I park at my spot and both Layla and Saeed come inside with me. Saeed stays in the main living area by the foyer and Layla sits before me at my desk.

"So..." I begin while I scribble my signature on the papers already waiting for me at the desk. "Where are you going to work now?"

She pouts while seemingly thinking of her answer. "Well... I guess at the house. I mean, we both have offices there."

"Yeah, but that would be for when you don't want to leave the house, or for when you're working by yourself," I explain. "What if you're supposed to meet the kids with the best grades in Dubai? Where would you see them?"

She opens her eyes wide. "Am I going to do that? I mean, I would love to but... I— I don't know."

I leave my pen and the papers ready to be collected, walk around the desk and offer my hand to her to walk across the grand staircase and into the office in front of mine.

I open the crystal door and bring her inside with me. "I know it's a blank canvas but I didn't want to do much to it so you could decide what to do with your office."

"My office?" She wonders.

"Across that door there's a smaller office attached and I figured Reem could use that one," I point in the opposite direction. "And your bathroom is over there. You can also use the majlis, which I believe need a bit of an update with the decoration, perhaps you would want to take on those tasks or we could call—"

I'm cut off by her lips crashing into mine, followed by a tight hug.

"This is amazing! Thank you!" She tells me before breaking away from me to walk around the room. "Yes! I— I can see all the kids in Dubai over here, and have a meeting with those ladies from the charity I told you about the other day, and there's space for me and for Reem and..." She's out of words and out of breath.

"This will be our work space. But to be honest, I'm rarely here, I have a feeling you will end up using it a lot more than I do. I wouldn't want you to use our home for work," I explain.

"I wouldn't want that either."

I get another hug and a kiss on the cheek that leaves a mark of her lipstick that she makes sure to erase before we leave her office.

"I'm going to call the guys that did my office at Dubai Media, they did a great job with the renovation," she tells me as we approach the couches where Saeed waits for us.

Layla takes a little detour to steal a piece of chocolate from the crystal bowl on the coffee table in front of Saeed. He hurries up to the exit and Layla keeps talking about her plans for the office and the majlis, but she comes to a sudden halt with half a chocolate in her hand.

"What's wrong?" I ask her as we stand near the main entrance.

She's staring into space and brings her hand over her mouth accompanied by a retching motion. Immediately, she turns around and starts running toward my office and I follow her asking her what's happening. Layla goes into my private restroom and I find her spitting the chocolate over the sink. I take the half piece she left on the counter to inspect and it looks and smells perfectly fine.

"There's something wrong with that!" She says before taking some water to rinse her mouth.

"No, it's not," I reply to her and then... it dawns on me.

"Yes, there is! It's disgusting!" She rinses her mouth once more and then proceeds to smell her fingers. "Ugh! And the smell! Please, throw that away!"

I throw the candy away and as she washes her hands thoroughly, I'm thinking about how to state the obvious.

"Layla, there was nothing wrong with the chocolate," I say calmly.

"Your highness, is everything okay?" I hear Saeed ask from the office.

"Yes, Saeed, thank you. Just a couple of minutes," I reply, without taking my eyes away from her.

Layla reaches for a towel to dry her hands. "I adore chocolate, Hamdan, and I'm telling you, never before in my life did I have a reaction like that to it, it was awful. How could chocolate make me want to vomit?"

Come on, Layla. Think!

"It doesn't make any sense," she carries. "And the fact that—" She stops talking and her jaw stops dropping slowly. "Oh, no."

"What?" I ask to make sure she's thinking what I'm thinking.

"Could it be possible? I assumed it would take more time!" Her hands are still gripping the towel.

I will play dumb. "What are you talking about?"

"Okay, don't freak out," she warns me. "But remember how Lati couldn't stand coffee the first few months of her pregnancy even though she likes it so freaking much?"

I'm a horrible actor and me pretending to be shocked will probably make anyone laugh. So I'll try to remain stoic. "When was the last time you had your period?"

I can see her do the math on her head. "I don't know! Reem told me to get this app to keep track of my period but I never did!" She laments while throwing the towel on the counter. "Let me think..."

So she thought about cheating too and keeping track of her period? Argh! It doesn't matter now. Besides, she never got around to it. Come on, habibti, it is very easy to remember.

"Yes!" She shouts abruptly. "It was the day after Maryam's birthday party, remember? We were there, it was a Friday and then I woke up the next day with the worst cramps ever!"

"Okay, so that was like..." I pretend to do some math myself.

"More than a month ago, it was more than five weeks ago," she says in a lower voice. "I'm so late, Hamdan."

We stare at each other and I can't keep a smile from breaking my lips apart.

---

Hey! Thank you for your patience this week. I started a new job and I think I might switch to weekend updates, not sure yet, but I'll figure out a schedule and I will definitely not leave you guys hanging.

I looooved this chapter and I'm really excited for the ones ahead!

Lots of love,

Sophie.