Sarah was awake even though it was not what she wanted. Her foot was starting to hurt again and the splint felt too tight. Trying to gather the energy to sit up and adjust it, she turned sideways with her eyes still closed. Her dazed mind was fighting to make sense of what had happened since she left the hospital, everything came in disarranged flashes that she was struggling to put together. There was movement on the bed and Hamdan's cologne hit her nose. It made her realize where she was and who she was with and that was comforting. Blinking her eyes open, she saw him lying next to her, resting his body on one elbow.
He was looking back with half a smile. "Does it hurt?"
She cleared her throat and swallowed, attempting to find her voice. "A little bit," it still came out raspy. "What did that doctor give me?"
"I don't know but it was fun to watch," he chuckled and she followed suit. "Do you remember everything?" He added.
She rubbed her forehead. "Kind off... I remember telling Salem the worst jokes. He's going to really fire me now..." She trailed off as she recalled naming Sheikha Fancy-pants. Biting her lip she was frantically racking her brain for how much information she had shared.
"Well, you won't be at the stables for a while, so..." He shrugged.
"Six weeks? Is that right?" She asked, hoping to be wrong.
"At least."
"That is so long, Hamdan," she complained, as she started to consider all the other things she would not be able to do; it was a lot more than just riding horses. "What am I going to do?"
"You'll be here, so you don't have to worry about anything," Hamdan reassured as if it was nothing what he just said.
Sarah propped herself on one elbow as well. "What? I can not be here for six weeks! That's crazy!"
"No, you going back to your apartment is crazy," he tucked her hair behind her ear.
She went on to feel her head with her hand and realized what a mess she was looking like. She pulled off the elastic band that was keeping her hair tied.
Hamdan continued. "Here you don't have to think about chores or taking Rooster out for a walk or—"
She instantly forgot about her appearance. "Oh my God! Rooster!"
"I'll send for him and the rest of your things. You have your keys, right?"
"In my bag," she answered automatically. Poor Roster had been alone since before the sun came up, she prayed he did not make too much of a mess to punish her for the abandonment.
"You're obviously not training or volunteering, and you can design from here. So you're staying and we'll get a nurse—"
She snapped at the word nurse. "Whoa! Hold on," her palm was in front of Hamdan. "Okay, I'll stay but it's just a broken foot. I don't need a nurse."
He frowned. "And what about when I'm not here?"
"I'll manage," she half lied thinking about the crutches she still needed to learn how to use, but she knew she would get the hang of it. Eventually. "I'm staying, but no nurse."
Hamdan puffed and pressed his lips together.
She angled her head. "Come on, meet me halfway."
"Fine," he agreed. "But if you change your mind—"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll let you know," she waved her hand dismissively. "Now, please, would you be a dear and take the splint off? Is choking my foot," she begged, whimpering.
She lay on her back as Hamdan released the velcro bands that kept the splint in place. He took the whole thing off and she lifted her head to get a look. Her foot still looked like a loaf of bread with toes, despite Hamdan claiming that it was a bit better. Her index toe was wrapped around with the middle one to help heal the fracture. She tried to remember the name of the other bones broken and failed miserably. All she could recall about that, is how relieved she was when the doctor said no surgery was necessary. Hamdan offered to put some ice on it and went on to get a pack that he placed on the swollen foot.
"I need a shower," Sarah confessed, enjoying the cool sensation of the ice.
"You really do," he joked, standing next to her.
She went on to slap his arm but he dodged it easily. "Shut up!"
"I think a bath would be easier," he advised.
Sarah pondered on the idea, imagining the impossible task of washing her hair while standing on one foot. "I guess you're right..."
"I'm sorry, what?" Hamdan leaned his ear closer.
"What?" She wondered skeptically, as she did not believe he did not hear her.
"Nothing," he shrugged, standing straight again. "That's two times today, I'm on a roll."
She laughed, admitting to herself that he did seem to always be right, but that was something she would never say out loud.
"Bubbles?" He offered, walking to the bathroom
"Yes! Extra bubbles, please!"
Who needs a nurse when you have Prince Charming?
And just as Prince Charming would do, he came back and carried her in his strong arms to the bathroom. He put her down on the white ottoman chair that she noticed had been moved closer to the bathtub with the water still running.
Kneeling in front of her, he scratched his beard. "Do you want to squeeze your foot through your leggings?"
"No!" She claimed, elongating the o. "Do you have scissors? Just cut them."
He went through a couple of drawers before coming back with a pair of scissors. Making a small cut at the bottom, he proceeded to rip the fabric apart with his hands. Once he got to the waistband, he handed her the scissors over and she finished the job, releasing her right leg completely.
Hamdan pulled her leggings off the other leg and went to check on the water. Sarah removed the black long-sleeved t-shirt and sports bra and suddenly felt very self-conscious. Crossing her legs and the arms over her chest, her eyes dropped to the floor to keep Hamdan from seeing her blushing. His bare feet came into sight, he was standing in front of her.
He kneeled down again, his hands on the ottoman chair on each of her sides. "I have seen you naked before, you know?"
It was helpless, she was sure her face was looking like a ripe tomato. "I know! But we were having sex and this different."
He was holding back a smile. "Well, if that's what it takes to make you comfortable... I can take one for the team."
She laughed and rested her forehead on his shoulder. Breathing in to put herself together, she straightened up and planted a kiss on his lips. "No, just help me up."
He did and she immediately cut him off when he offered to help with the rest of her underwear. Having to hold onto Hamdan's forearm she had no choice but to push down her panties with the other hand. When the fabric slid down her legs, her arm went back to cover her breasts. Perhaps the nurse idea was not so bad after all.
"Why are you so shy?" He insisted
"I don't know, I just..." She let go of his arm and clasped her hand against her eyes. All she wanted was to jump into the bathtub.
She felt his arms wrapping her and she exhaled leaning against his chest. He did not ask more questions and simply held her, his fingers gently traveling up and down her spine. That moment was the highlight of a pretty tough day.
Kissing the top of her head, his hands moved to his waist and he tilted back to look at her. "Okay, I think the best way to do this is if you sit on the edge and I'll help you with your legs."
Hamdan's plan worked and Sarah started to unwind the second her legs soaked in the warm, bubbly water. Once settled in completely, she took a deep breath to take in the sweet jasmine smell that surrounded her. Glancing over at Hamdan, she saw him smile, squatting next to the bathtub with his arms settled on the edge.
"Do you want to talk about it?" His index finger was making circles on the bubbles.
"Talk about what?" She replied pretending not to know and playing with the bubbles in front of her too.
"Sheikha Fancy-pants."
She rested her head back and cave in. "I'm sorry!"
"About what? That's a great nickname!"
Sarah felt like immersing completely in the bathtub and maybe it would all go away. Before the horse incident, she had decided not to tell Hamdan about what she heard and now she was trapped in the conversation.
"What happened, Sarah?"
Thinking it was better to just get it all over with, she explained the details of everything she heard. Hamdan listened attentively, not showing much expression on his face, as if it was a story he had heard before.
"And how do you feel?" He wondered when she finished talking.
Sarah took a moment before answering. "Futaim is the only member of your family that I've actually met and she's always so nice that it made me wonder what if... you know?" She drew her legs close to her chest. "What if she knew? And I had a tiny trace of hope that maybe she wouldn't be totally against it, but now I don't."
"We don't know that..." He pinched her cheek. "Um-hum, her name is Aisha and she-"
"Please, spare me the details." She begged.
"Alright. Is there anything you want to know?"
Sarah did feel curious about her, but the last thing her self-esteem needed was to learn about all the great features of Hamdan's ex. So, she limited herself to the only thing she really wanted to know.
"Was she important?" She asked casually, rubbing her hands together and blowing some foam away.
Hamdan's head tilted from side to side. "At some point, I thought she was."
"You thought?"
"Well, it's just that now you've put everything into perspective."
"How?"
"For instance, in the almost ten years that I've been living here, you're the first girl that I've had over." He explained.
"You're lying!" She accused sprinkling water on his face with her fingers.
"No!" He squinted his eyes and wiped the water off. "I would invite them to other homes, but not this one. This one is too personal."
"Them? That sounds as if there were dozens before me!"
"Dozens? Nah." He wrinkled his nose. "Hundreds! Maybe thousands..." He teased with bugged eyes.
She sprinkled his face again, with extra foam. "I hate you!"
He chuckled and wiped it off with his t-shirt.
"But wait..." Sarah continued. "The first time we had dinner, it was here, and now you want me to stay here all these days?"
"Yes, because you are you and you're not like anyone I've met before."
Leave it to Hamdan to make her feel all giddy and special on a day when words crushed her soul and a horse crushed her foot. She laced her arms around his neck and kissed him. When she pulled back, she realized his jaw had some foam on it, so she completed the look with a nice foam hat and full white beard.
He gave her a peck and stood up. "I'll arrange for your things and Rooster to be brought here," he grabbed a hand towel and cleaned himself up.
"Can you get me my phone?" She requested as he walked away. "I'll call Ali so he can help with Rooster, otherwise he'll freak out if he sees strangers in the apartment."
Hamdan came back, scrolling through his phone and handed over hers.
"Sarah, when was the last time you ate?" He mumbled, his eyes still fixed on the screen.
"Uh..." She was starving, but preferred bath over food. "I had an energy bar before the last loop..."
"What?" He looked at her. "That was hours ago! What do you want to eat?"
"Pizza! And Fries! And Cheesecake!" More ideas kept coming to mind.
"That doesn't make any sense!"
"I don't make much sense when I'm hungry," she pouted.
Sitting on one of the couches with her legs stretched out on it, she felt quite cozy wrapped on one of Hamdan's bathrobes. She swallowed one last of piece of the margherita pizza that had been brought upstairs for them and started going through her little web of lies, before moving on to the cheesecake waiting on the coffee table.
"Okay, my parents don't know I can't put any weight on my foot, so they think I can do almost everything with only the splint. People at the stables think I'm staying with a friend - thank God Uma is out of town or she would be insisting on a visit - and Tom and the girls, well, they know the truth. I guess we're all covered, right?"
Hamdan was sitting on the carpeted floor with his back against the couch where Sarah was sitting. "I think so."
There was a knock on the door and he got up to get it. The door was not even half way opened when Rooster came bursting in. Sarah called his name and he ran to jump onto her, sniffing and licking everywhere around her face. Two male servants came into the room and left her bags. When she managed to finally calm Rooster down, he went on to sniff the splint on her foot. She assured him she would be fine and the dog cuddled down at her feet.
There was one thing about the conversation of Futaim and Sheikha Fancy-pants that was still bothering her and Hamdan had not mentioned yet.
"So..." She began. "Futaim's party... you're not going are you?"
He sat on the arm rest close to Rooster. "Would you mind?"
"Of course not," she puffed, lying.
His eyes roaming around her face. "Well, in that case..." Hamdan folded his arms. "I think I might go."
What?!
If this was a challenge she was not backing down. "If that's what you want..." She shrugged carelessly.
Hamdan angled his head. "What do you want, Sarah?"
"I want you to do whatever you consider is right," she finished, guessing he would not go for it.
"Good. Then I'll go change," he stood up and walked over to the closet.
Her eyes followed him with her jaw on the floor until she lost sight of him. "He's not going is he?" She mouthed to Rooster.
She started biting on her thumb, not believing what was happening. He could not leave her and go to the party. But if that was what he wanted... It was not like he was going to fall for Sheikha Fancy-pants again, especially after knowing what her plan was. Yet, Sarah imagined them sitting together, her laughing at his jokes, sharing memories of their happy times together.
He can't go!
The jealousy was making her heart beat fast. A few minutes later, Hamdan came back wearing a white kandura and fixing the headscarf around his head. Sarah straightened herself up to disguise the discomfort but her blood started boiling at the fact of how handsome he was looking to go see Sheikha Fancy-pants or whatever her name was.
He came over and said good-bye with a kiss on the cheek, asking her to not wait up for him. She saw him walk away and her hands curled up into fists, fingernails biting on the skin of her palms. When his hand reached the door handle his name tripped off her tongue.
"Hamdan!"
***
Place your bets! Is he or isn't he?
As usual, thanks for the love. It means a lot that you read my humble story.
XOXO,
Sophie.