Forgiving You (Dublin Sisters #2)

Chapter 67

Nawal slid behind the steering wheel. Reciting bismillah under her breath she inserted the car keys in the ignition. The engine came to life and her heart skipped a beat. Her hands sweated as her fingers gripped the steering wheel tightly. She mustered all her courage and remained calm, not giving Salman any inclining that she was nervous.

But Salman was shrewd and smart. He could read Nawal's body language even if she didn't utter a single word. She didn't need to voice her thoughts. He could easily understand her despite all their differences.

"I am here. Don't worry." He whispered reassuringly.

Nawal put the car in first gear, "I am not worried" and then without a second thought drove off.

Salman chuckled but restrained from commenting.

"What are you laughing about?" Nawal asked as she accelerated.

"That my wife is a wonderful woman and I love her."

Nawal kicked the brakes joltingly. The brakes screeched and the car came to a sudden halt in the middle of the small lane a few streets away from her parent's home. She glared at him, "Will you stop this? I need to concentrate while I am driving."

His index finger lightly tapped Nawal's nose, "Ok! I will behave but on one condition."

"What?" she exhaled in frustration.

"Once we go home we are going to sit and talk this out like adults."

Nawal bit her lip, her anger slipping away. "Yeah over the ice creams." She spoke as she put the car in first gear again.

He knew the secret to his wife's heart. And it was ...

Ice creams!

****

In the dark hall, Nawal stepped out of her bedroom. She carefully closed the bedroom door ensuring that Rania would not be disturbed in her sleep. The plush hand woven Oriental rug in the hall muffled her footsteps. There was an eerie silence in the room, as she crossed through the darkened rooms to the back of the house where Salman had asked her to join him. She gasped as she entered the conservatory. The sunroom was one of Salman's favourite rooms. He would spend many hours reading or studying files in the room. The wall facing the backyard was made of glass, the ceiling also was partly glass which made the room airy and bright when the sun was shining on the Irish skies. However, on this autumn night, the curtains were partly drawn, the dried leaves were swirling on the grass field and bare trees shadows hovered from the glass panes of the room giving a mystical atmosphere. What caught Nawal's attention was the light remained closed in the room, instead, Salman had lit numerous gigantic apple and cinnamon scented candles around the wooden ethnic swing that was handcrafted with floral design. There was an array of colour Bohemian design cushions on the swing. And in the middle of the swing was a huge bowl of ice cream where there were four different flavours of scoops.

"I know you don't like to share. But I thought with four scoops you will be able to share one scoop with me?" Salman huskily whispered standing behind her, holding two dessert spoons.

Holding his gaze, Nawal took one of the spoons and whispered back, "I am not selfish."

"I never said you were." He promptly replied.

Nawal gingerly sat crossed legged on the swing with the ice cream bowl on her lap. Salman sat beside her and lazily rocked the swing with his leg. His arm was stretched behind her on the cushions and the backrest of the swing as they quietly shared the ice cream for many minutes.

"It's so peaceful here," she said in a hushed tone.

"Yah, I like spending time here," he leaned forward to scoop some of the pistachio ice cream in his spoon.