The air in the conference room crackled with anticipation as Khalid, poised and polished, presented his new communication technologies. Around him, a sea of colleagues leaned forward, rapt in his every word. Slides flicked by on the screen, a kaleidoscope of charts and graphs illustrating Khalid's meticulously crafted plan. He was in his element, confident and commanding, the consummate professional.
Then, amidst the hum of discussion, Khalid's phone buzzed insistently. He glanced at the screen, a frown furrowing his brow. It was an unknown number. Hesitantly, he excused himself, stepping out into the quiet corridor.
"Hello?" he answered, his voice cautious.
A woman's voice, laced with urgency, crackled through the receiver. "Mr. Khalid? This is Nurse Sarah from City General Hospital. I'm calling about your uncle, Mr. Muhsen. He asked me to talk with you."
Khalid's blood ran cold. His uncle had been battling lung cancer for months. This couldn't be good.
As the nurse spoke, Khalid's world narrowed to the phone in his hand. Her words, clipped and clinical, painted a grim picture. Muhsen's condition had deteriorated, and he'd been transferred from a hospital in Makkah to be treated in Jeddah at the behest of his own after having a sudden crisis and was hospitalized.
The carefully constructed world of Khalid's presentation crumbled around him. Numbers and graphs blurred; the faces of his colleagues faded into an indistinct haze. All that mattered was the rasping breath on the other end of the line.
"I'll to be there immediately." he choked out.
"Of course, Mr. Khalid," the nurse replied kindly. "Please come as soon as possible."
He ended the call, his legs turning to lead. The office felt suffocating, the air suddenly stale. He stumbled back into the conference room, his face pale and drawn.
"Excuse me," he managed, his voice barely a whisper, "I need to leave. It's... it's a family emergency."
His colleagues, used to his unflappable demeanor, exchanged stunned glances. Khalid offered no further explanation, just a curt nod and a hurried exit.
As he raced out of the building, the city lights blurring past his windshield.
In the crowded parking lot, Khalid fumbled for his car keys. He opened the car door and slid in behind the steering wheel. After a couple of minutes, he reached into his side thobe pocket and pulled out his cell phone and called Fajr. He started up the car and pressed the cell phone hard up against his ear; "Honey," he said, his voice warm against the cool air. "Just wanted to let you know that I'm going to be late tonight."
"what happened?" He heard the edge that accompanied the concern in her voice.
"I'm in a hurry. I'll talk with you later."
"Ok, take care."
"in sha Allah"
He tossed his cell phone on the passenger seat.
Upon reaching the hospital, he went through all the necessary procedures, then the Egyptian Nurse, Sarah brought him into a ICU where Muhsen was lying.
Khalid stood frozen, his hand still hovering over the cold metal doorknob to the ICU. His uncle, Fajr's father lay on the other side, tethered to a symphony of machines that beeped and whirred like a metallic lullaby.
Though Muhsen had been fighting cancer with the tenacity of a lion, but the battle had taken its toll.
The doctor's words echoed in Khalid's ears, "We'll do everything we can." he'd said, his voice grave. The patient is going into residence and we'll have him under observation for 24 hours a day."
"Is his health condition bad?"
The doctor nodded sorrowfully; "well, to be honest with you, his health seems already in a serious condition."
Taking a shaky breath, Khalid pushed open the door. The sterile air hit him like a physical blow, carrying the metallic tang of disinfectant and the faint whisper of antiseptic. Muhsen lay on the bed, a tangle of tubes and wires snaking across his chest, his face pale against the stark white sheets. His eyes were closed, his breathing shallow and labored.
Khalid sank onto the chair beside him.
"Uncle?" he whispered, his voice barely audible above the mechanical symphony. "Uncle, it's me, Khalid."
Muhsen's eyelids fluttered open, a flicker of recognition lighting up his gaze. He managed a weak smile, his lips cracked and dry. "Khalid," he rasped, his voice a mere whisper. "You came."
"I'm here, Uncle," he whispered back, then added; "Grandpa and dad are in their way too."
Muhsen nodded and closed his eyes. "Fajr! Have you told her?"
"Not yet, but she has to know. She is much stronger than you think."
Muhsen shook his head, and after a two-beat pause said, "No. Just till I feel a little better. She can't see me like this."
Khalid sat with him until his father and grandpa came along with Fahd. Fahd told him that he could go home for he was spending the night beside his uncle.
When Khalid reached home, he headed to the living room. He was greeted with a quiet stillness, punctuated only by the rhythmic rise and fall of Fajr's chest who was sleeping on the couch. He approached cautiously, his shoes scraping against the hardwood floor. He sat down, removed his shemagh and rubbed his temples.
Fajr stirred slightly. Her eyes fluttered open, blinking in confusion before focusing on him.
"why are you sleeping here?" He asked her as she straightened up.
Fajr stretched her arms lazily then closing her hands around her neck; "I was waiting for you."
"But I told you not to wait."
She looked at the clock, it was almost midnight. "I got worried and couldn't sleep. Where have you been?"
"I got tied up with some matters."
"What matters made you come home this late?" Fajr questioned with annoyance.
Khalid pressed his fingers into his forehead and rubbed his temples to relax himself so he could decode his scrambled mind "Wallahi I have no energy to quarrel with you right now, Fajri. I have a headache and want to sleep right now."
She focused on his facial features. He looked extremely tired. She placed her hand over his shoulder; "you smell like hospital!"
Khalid stared at her face for a few moments, then sighed; "because I was in a hospital... visited a relative." he added.
"How's he?" she asked with concern after he'd finished his statement.
"F...Fine. I hope." he stuttered, not knowing what to say.
Fajr put her hand at the back of his head; "Do you want a Panadol?"
"no need, let's go to sleep."
Anyway, Khalid couldn't sleep. He knew that he shouldn't hide this from Fajr especially if Muhsen would start the cancer treatment. This topic prevented him from sleeping. He lifted his head form his pillow and leaned against the headboard, his head rested on his forearm. His gaze dropped to Fajr's sleeping face. She was fast asleep in her featherlike gown, her hand tucked under her cheek. Some of her hair strands were scattered along her face, and her breathing was low.
He made his mind to talk with Muhsen about this tomorrow morning. It was not right that everyone knew about his sickness except his daughter.
Unfortunately, Fajr found out about her father's cancer the hard way that she got shattered and humiliated.
********
The next morning, Khalid left early for work, but before that he headed to the hospital. During the late morning, Fajr was vacuuming the floor when a sudden rush of nausea passed through her. She rushed to the toilet and threw up. Once she walked out of the bathroom, wiping her mouth with the towel, she heard the doorbell ringing.
She went to the door, looked through the peephole, surprisingly Reem was on the other side. Fajr could remember this pair of eyes well enough. She opened the door with a faint smile, her chin firm.
"Asalam Alikum" Reem greeted. Then removed her veil and stepped in before she was asked to.
Fajr replied her greeting that went unheard because Reem was already inside. Fajr rolled her eyes at the lack of manners, closed the door and followed her.
"I would have asked you to come in, but I didn't get the chance" Fajr smirked.
Reem carelessly kept looking around the apartment as if it was her own.
"Oh no need, I just feel so familiar with the place...you know." she said. "it's true there are some changes, but it's not that much. I can feel Khalid's touches everywhere."
The way she said Khalid's name made Fajr shoot daggers at her.
Reem walked to Khalid's favorite chair near the bookcase, placed her hand on it and said; "here he would be sitting reading a book after dinner."
She pointed at the table; "and there he would usually sit with his laptop working or listening to his favorite "Shilat" if you know what I mean."
She looked at the door of the room at the left of the bedroom and said; "he chose that room to be our baby's room."
Reem's remarks could get on Fajr's nerves especially the last one and the way she said "our baby".
Reem turned to look at Fajr as if she was talking to her friend; "But Khalid couldn't forgive me for the miscarriage and we broke up."
Fajr managed as the jealousy climbed up from somewhere inside her. "Well, I don't think you came here to recall memories of the past."
Reem looked over Fajr dangerously and took steps to the spot where Fajr was standing. She pointed her finger at her; "you have a point..." She fumbled through her purse and took an item out of it. In a dramatic way she stretched her hand with the sunglasses in it. "Actually I came to return Khalid's sunglasses that he had forgotten at our house when visiting us in Riyadh."
Fajr's eyes fell from Reem's face to the sunglasses. With a trembling hand, she took them.
It was true... those were Khalid's sunglasses that he had lost somewhere during his trip to Riyadh, but how they ended up in Reem's hands? had Khalid really visited them? if so, why he didn't mention that to her?!
"Poor Khalid! He found himself in an unenviable position of having to be a man of his word. Instead of solving our problem, he has been thrown into a tough problem situation by getting married to you. Khalid who had been always thinking low of those western girls, now he is married to one of them. How ridiculous"
Fajr closed her eyes, determined not to give Reem the satisfaction of seeing the reaction she desired. "what are you talking about?"
Reem smiled evilly, in a satisfied way; "it seems you know nothing about the talk that took place between Khalid and Dad."
Fajr took a deep breath, recalling what Khalid said to her once.
"I can't believe you are too narrow-minded that you let Reem get into your nerves like this."
"Listen Reem, I have no time to waste on you; if you have anything to say, be quick." She exclaimed, her voice sharp.
"Well, I was actually visiting Aunt Badriya, when she went to the hospital this morning I thought you would be there too..."
Fajr frowned as Reem continued; "...by the side of your father I mean!"
As if she slapped her hard; "hospital! Dad!" Fajr repeated those two words. The sunglasses dropped from her hand.
Reem made a face as Fajr was taken off guard. She pretended surprise at Fajr's shocked face; "Oh don't tell me that you don't know! Haven't Khalid told you?!"
All of a sudden, a thought jumped into her mind;
Wait a second! last night, Khalid said he was in a hospital visiting a relative. Could it be really ...??
The questions that arise in her mind, made her heart-beat fast as her instinct alerted her. Her face went white with shock and her heart pounded in her throat; "What are you saying?! What happened to dad??" The blood in her veins, her heartbeat, her breath... all stopped for a heartrending moment.
"Oh sorry! I didn't know that you know nothing about your father's illness and the whole scenario he came up with to make up with the family and settle down here to secure your future with someone from the family!"
Fair slowly shook her head. Her mind had simply stopped, utterly unable to absorb what she was hearing. Reem's words had been lost on her. She stuttered badly; wh.. W...what illness?
Reem shaped her mouth into a small circle. She shook her head pretending sympathy that she didn't feel; "As I heard it's lung cancer!"
With wide open eyes, Fajr enquired; "Ca.. can.. Cancer? dad?!"
Reem nodded. Fajr felt the ground slip away from under her feet.
"why do you think grandpa softened with your dad and felt sorry. it was after he'd known about your father's suffering...
Fajr dropped down on a nearby chair, as she considered Reem's words. She was lost in the complexity of her emotions. Suddenly everything got out of her vision, she was staring at Reem, but all what she could see was her words.
Her father is sick! He has a lung cancer...he is in a hospital and Khalid kept her in the dark!
Her breaths came out in an unbalanced way, her lips and hands were trembling. Tears welled up in her eyes.
The sound of Reem's heels clicking grew louder with every step she took.
Reem spotted a jug and a glass lying on a nearby table. She picked up the jug, tilted it, poured some water into the glass, then came closer.
Fajr looked up and saw Reem bending over her, holding a glass of water; "you want water?" An almost gloating tone entered her voice.
Fajr slammed the glass so hard that the glass went flying. It hit the edge of the coffee table and shattered, splashing water across the polished wood floor.
Reem stunned at Fajr's violent reaction. She made a sound with a muffled tone of frustration, "Oh God! You foreigners are really ungrateful!"
Holding her breath, Fajr clenched her fists and shouted, "get out of here!"
Reem made a show of dusting off her shoulder and straightened up; "No need to follow me out, know my way."
Reem walked away, the sound of her heels echoing throughout the open hall.
Fajr stood unsteadily, hardly could gain her balance, and walked to the kitchen. She kept dialing her father's number, but there was no answer. His phone was switched off. She literally crumpled to the floor in slow, holding her chest. She sat down upon the ground leaning her head upon one of the lower cabinets.
Back to the days of London, her father hadn't been feeling well. She had never thought the cough or the vomit followed coughing were symptoms of such a serious disease. He had always confirmed her that there was nothing serious. "it's just coughing" he would keep telling her. It all made sense now, why her father suddenly suggested that she go to KSA and wanted to marry her off. He'd been securing her future in the only way he knew how. Her father, the only person in her life who was always there for her. So afraid of losing him, she felt so much unsecure. Suddenly fears were replaced by the anger.
It seemed that everyone knew a lot about her dear father except her. The worst thing was that she was supposed to know it from her man, her own husband, the one whom she trusted the most. But it seemed that he was too busy thinking about his exwife and didn't care less about her whole being, let alone her feelings. Thoughts hadn't stopped flooding in her head. Her father had a cancer, and transferred to hospital in need of full-time medical care while she was kept in the dark, not knowing what was going on around her? Why couldn't Khalid think for once about her feelings? Her right hand had stiffened, clenched around her cell phone. At last she decided to call him. As soon as he answered, she just said; "can you come home right now?"
At the sound of her voice, quivery and thin, Khalid was instantly on alert, "What happened? Are you Ok?"
There was a long pause as Fajr evidently was trying to control her voice enough to continue speaking. "You will know once you come here."
Before he said anything further, the call was disconnected. It was strange, Fajr would never end their call in that way. He called back, but there was no answer. In his way home, he tried to call her again and again, her phone kept ringing without being answered. He ran a hand through his hair, then scrubed his face, willing the knot of anxiety in his stomach to loosen. He gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles shone white, the worn leather offering no comfort. His mind, usually a quiet meadow, was now a whirlwind of anxieties. what happened to her? why wasn't she answering his calls?
Fajr's phone buzzed next to her, one final time before falling silent. She stared at the screen, not willing to pick up.
Khalid's old behaviors at the early days of their marriage made her always feel down, but this time it was unforgivable, it seemed he destroyed her whole being. She could probably forgive him for anything, but not this- not when something related to her dear father. With one image appeared in front of her eyes- her father lying on hospital bed alone and she was here away from him neither feeling his pain nor knowing about it- her head started to pound, she couldn't keep this up. She couldn't pretend that everything was going to be fine, pushing it down, it was her father and it was eating her up! Wiping the tears from her face with the back of her hand, she heard the door open and Khalid walked in.
**************
It's a long chapter I think :)
I'd love to know your expectations