The Romance Adventure

Chapter 30

On the last day, they sat on the riad patio eating breakfast before her scheduled flight. "I will pick you up at two so you arrive at the airport in plenty of time for your trip home. I am talking to my mother again today to win her approval. Do you want to join me?"

Reni shook her head. "Maybe not getting her approval and losing the bracelet are omens. They're signs that we need more time to figure it out and see if this is real. We rushed it and got caught up in the moment. This is a life-long commitment, and we need to make sure."

"I have no doubts."

"You're not listening. Your mom will never accept me." She pushed the eggs and fruit around on her plate.

"She will. Give it time."

"You don't want to live in America."

"My family is here."

"And mine is there." Reni took a sip of her tea.

"They have each other. Your mother and father are strong." His eyes begged her to see his point. "We can visit often."

"Your mother has your brother and sister-in-law. Bisma seems pretty hearty to me."

"It is not the same. I'm the oldest. I should take care of her."

"What about me? You're supposed to support me too."

"I can do both."

Reni stood and stalked the patio. "I thought we could have a life together, but we've been wasting our time. It's all been an impossibility, hasn't it?"

"We can figure this out. Our life together is full of possibilities." He ran a hand across his beard. "I love you."

"Not enough to live in America."

"I could say the same. You don't love me enough to give up America and move here."

"Everything we had is disappearing."

"Stop talking that way. We'll find a solution."

"Can we? It seems hopeless. I guess I should be grateful for what we had. You're a good person, and I've never felt a love like what I had with you. I should be happy for the time we had together."

"You really don't believe there's a solution?"

"We've been asking the same questions for days and getting the same answers. You can't leave your mother. I'm not sure I can give everything up and live here." She bit her lower lip for a moment. "I'm confused. Your mother, who should be my biggest support, hates me—"

"She doesn't hate you."

"Bisma is most definitely not a fan. It's more than your family. I'm not sure I can live in your world or how I feel about your culture. Parts are so beautiful and amazing while other things, such as how women are treated, scare me."

"There's good and bad, just like in America. You will come to love Morocco as much as I do."

"Maybe, but there is a chance I won't, and I'll be stuck here after giving up everything."

"Above all, I want you to be happy." He reached for her, capturing her hand and drawing her close.

Reni sat on his lap. "I want the same thing. I want you to come to America, but you'd be miserable. If I come here, the same might be true. I want to say, 'Do this for me,' but I can't. It would be selfish. We need to let each other go."

"I don't want to. I love you."

"It's asking too much from the other person. Circumstances are keeping us apart, not our feelings. Maybe, someday, that will change."