Hamdan
I clear my throat in front of the mirror and adjust my headscarf. Okay, here we go again, I need to focus. Layla... or my dear Layla? No, just Layla sounds better. Layla, you have been the best friend I could've asked for and despite all the obstacles... Ugh, no. I don't like that. And when should I go down on one knee? Right at the beginning or should I talk first and then go down? I think it will be better if I do the talking first while standing up. Yeah, step one: the talking, step two: go down on one knee, step three: take out the ring. If only I wasn't stuck at step one this would be really easy, but I want to say the right things and I want everything to be perfect.
I take the small black box from the bathroom counter and open it up. The larger emerald cut diamond stands out while the other two smaller diamonds in the same shape take their places at each side. I like the simplicity of the lines of the cut and I know she will like them to. Well, I hope she does. At seven carat the size of the main piece is what makes the ring stand out. I wanted to go big with her engagement ring because I have been hiding and fighting this love for so long, that now I want to make every statement as grand as possible, I want to go to the top of the Burj Khalifa and shout how much I love her. But I also wanted to keep the ring functional, something that she can wear everyday without it getting stuck everywhere.
I close the box and try to concentrate on step one again. The words. I don't know what's wrong. I'm good with words, I have written countless poems about my feelings for her and now I'm stuck. There's so much I want to say but I'm struggling to turn what I feel into something I can say. All of my ideas so far seem awkward and just not enough. My phone buzzes with a text and it's from her; she's here. My stomach turns, it's time and I have no idea of what I am going to say. I take the box and put it in the pocket of my kandura to start heading downstairs. Okay, is not that bad, everything is ready for our picnic at the desert, weather is perfect and---
"Hamdan!" She calls my name and then I hear the main door slam shut.
"Coming!" I call back from the stairs.
"Argh!" Is the first thing she says to me when she sees me. "I hate everything and everybody!"
That's my beautiful bride and she's not happy. She's also not dressed for the desert, she's in her regular work clothes with a skirt that falls above her knees, high heels and a blazer. It's all good, I need to relax and she will too.
"What's going on?" I ask her while walking towards her.
She whines and kicks her shoes off. "I had the most awful day at work, I have been on the phone with Saniyah a thousand times and nothing seems to be going how I want to and I forgot the bag I had packed with clothes for today and didn't remember until like thirty seconds ago."
Saniyah is the head of the wedding planning team and the girl who said she didn't want to be bothered with every single detail about her wedding, now seems to have shifted to actually micromanaging every tiny detail. I haven't dared to say anything because her mood has been all over the place lately and I really want to make it to our wedding alive. So I just hold her for as long as she needs to.
"I'm sorry." She tells me without letting me go.
"What for?" I ask her.
"For ruining our plans for today."
"Wait," I push her back, holding her by the shoulders. "We still can make it, your clothes don't matter."
She makes the biggest pout. "Please, don't make me go to the desert."
"But-- but it will be good for you, we can relax, you know?"
She tilts her head to the side. "You know what I really want? I want to have a quick dinner here with you and go home and sleep. Well, Maktoum's home."
I inhale in an attempt to convince her to stick to the plan but I'm interrupted by her phone.
She puffs when she looks at the screen. "It's Saniyah."
And just like that I lose a hold on her and she drags her feet to sit on one of the couches. I don't think there's a chance she's coming to the desert, maybe I could try another day. No! There's no time! The announcement will be put out the day after tomorrow and I really want her to have a ring by then. Come on, Hamdan. Think! Maybe we can set up the quick dinner she wants somewhere in here, the gardens maybe and I can propose there.
"Hamdan?"
I turn around. "Yeah."
"Didn't you hear what I said?" She asks me.
I come to sit next to her. "Sorry, I-- I have a million things in my head."
"Want to have a million and one things to think about? What kind of silverware do you want for the wedding?"
"Silverware?"
"Saniyah is sending me options."
"Layla, I thought the point of having her was so we were not bothered with these things!"
"Yeah! But her suggestions were always off! She wanted to give us a red and gold wedding, Hamdan. Red and gold, I mean, no, not gonna happen, I want everything in white, ivory or champagne, it's a wedding!"
"I thought you didn't care." I remind her.
"Well... I do now."
I can't avoid a smile from emerging from my lips because she cares about our wedding. I tried to be understanding about this not being her thing, that all the planning was making her anxious more than happy but I'm glad that it has turned out to be something special for her. Now I have to make this proposal special too, plan A didn't work but I will figure something out.
"Anyway," she continues. "Can we have burgers for dinner or something like that?"
"Sure." I tell her. "Let me talk to Mohammed, I'll be right back."
I rush to the kitchen and run into Mohammed before I make it through the door, I take him to a corner and begin whispering our dinner requests. Hamburgers don't seem like the most romantic option but if that's what she wants... Besides, it will make a good story.
"I need everything to be set up on the big terrace," I carry on with my indications to Mohammed as he takes mental note of everything. "Make it nice, with some candles."
I'm determined to keep a positive attitude, this new plan will work, I mean, it's not like there's a chance she might say no to me and that's the most important part, however this happens I know what the answer will be.
I head back to the living room to tell Layla that our dinner will be ready soon but I come to halt when I see her laying down on one of the couches, her eyes are closed and her phone is about to fall from her hand.
What the hell is going on today? This is unbelievable. I would scream if that didn't wake her up. But I look at her and I'm smitten by the serenity on her face, it's the first time I have seen her looking like that since we came back. Gently, I take the phone from her hand and grab a blanket to cover her. Looking on the bright side I know she needed this, she needed some rest more than she needs an engagement ring. I give Mohammed new instructions and ask for the dinner to be left ready in the kitchen and everyone gets dismissed for the day. Sitting on the other couch, I scroll aimlessly through my phone waiting for her to wake up.
I'm down in the rabbit hole of the Internet, I don't know what brought me here but now I'm watching videos of puppies and kittens and I think this is the highlight of my day. Layla moans and starts moving a little bit, she finally stretches her arm over her head and opens her eyes.
"What time is it?" She asks me. "I didn't sleep for long, did I?"
I shake my head. "For about an hour."
I keep myself from making any more plans for my proposal. At this point I don't even know if this is happening today, I'll simply wait for the right time to happen and when that comes I trust that I will know.
"Are you hungry?" I ask her.
"So hungry!" She tells me still laying down on the couch.
I stand up and offer my hand to help her get up. "Come on."
We walk to the kitchen and I turn on the light as we step inside. Half of the room remains in the shadows but it is okay since it's only the two of us. A lonely tray awaits with two plates covered with stainless steel cloches. Layla lifts one up and reveals the burger she wanted with a side of the potato wedges she loved the other day.
"Are these--"
I finish for her. "The potatoes you liked the other day."
"Yay!" She smiles.
She lifts herself up to sit on the stainless steel table.
"Don't you want to go somewhere else?" I wonder.
"No." She replies, taking her burger with both hands.
I sit on the same table, leaving the tray between us and star nibbling on the potato wedges, looks like I have lost my appetite.
"Do you think we could have like a normal kitchen in our house?" She tells me.
"Normal? What do you mean?"
She swallows her food before answering. "This kitchen reminds me of the one at palace, it's a professional kitchen, if such term exists, but I really liked what we had in Canada, you know? It was big but cozy and not everything was stainless steel and I feel that it would be too intimidating for me to try and cook anything in a kitchen like this one."
I give her half a smile. "Sure, we can have whatever you want in the new house."
"You know what I would really love? To have a little kitchen nook by a big window where we can eat, just the two of us and where the kids can have their breakfast before leaving for school." She finishes and takes a big bite out of her burger.
"Kids?"
She nods her head joyfully while chewing her food.
She has never mentioned kids before, let alone in plural. She stopped denying the idea of having children but this is the first time she's actually talking about them, she even has an image in her head of them having breakfast at our new home.
This is it. This is the moment, I just know it. The minute I let it go, it happened and I know exactly what to do. I push myself from the table to stand up and I look at her right in the eye. She takes another bite from her burger and looks at me intrigued.
"Layla, it's probably my biggest dream to have a family of my own and I have never thought of anyone else to make that dream happen with, just you."
Her chewing starts to slow down and she puts her food back on the plate.
"You are caring, smart and funny." I continue. "You're a hard worker and you're beautiful inside and out. You have been the best friend I have ever had and there's something I need to ask you."
I take the box out of my pocket and bend down on one knee, she jumps from the table and puts a hand over her mouth. My heart is pounding and my fingers tremble as I open the box to reveal the ring inside. When I look up at her, I see her eyes filling up with tears before she moves both her hands to cover her whole face.
"Layla?"
She lets her arms fall down to the sides.
"Yes?" She replies with a trembling voice.
"Will you marry me?"
She lets out a sob and nods her head repeatedly. "Yes... yes, yes, yes!"
I smile and take her left hand to slide the ring into her finger and as soon as it is in place I stand up to hug her. She wraps her arms around me tightly and I do the same. I can't believe it finally happened.
"I thought you were never going to ask!" She says.
I break our hug to look at her. "I asked you so many times before! But you would always call me crazy and say no!"
She chuckles and pecks my lips. "I love you so much."
"I love you too."
She puts her hand on my chest to admire her ring. "Hamdan, this is gorgeous and it's huge!"
"Do you like it?"
"It's beautiful." She steps back and extends her left arm as if she was showing her ring to a nonexistent audience. "Yes, that's right, I'm engaged to the hottest Sheikh on Earth." She chuckles and comes back to me to kiss me again but her smile disappears suddenly. "Wait a minute! Is this why we were going to the desert today? Oh, no! I ruined everything, didn't I?"
"It's okay, it's okay." I comfort her. "This was perfect, just you and me."
"I'm sorry," she apologizes. "And then I fell asleep! But you're right, it was perfect, everything you said and I love my ring."
"I'm so happy that you're happy about this."
"About what?" She asks me.
"Everything!" I shrug. "The ring, that you actually care enough to plan our wedding, that you're thinking about our future kids... I know you were not sure a while ago and I was a bit worried that perhaps I was pushing you to do something you didn't really want."
Her palm goes up to the side of my face. "Coming back to Dubai allowed me to heal an open wound and when that happened I realised that you're my person. You're the right person for me and all my fears just vanished. There is no one else in the world I could do this with."
I smile and kiss her softly. "Are you ready? Because things are about to get really crazy around here."
She sighs deeply. "I have never been more ready."
---
Yaaay!
Layla is ready, Hamdan is ready... are you?
Thank you so much for being here.
Love,
Sophie.