Page 110 of Sheltering You

“You should not have been…”

The door opened, and Derrick climbed in. “You guys ready?” When he saw them, his eyebrows draw together. “What’s wrong?”

“Rabie and I are discussing what happened last night.”

“Why?” By his tone, Derrick still felt it wasn’t the kid’s business.

“Because it looked unseemly, and we are not to give even the appearance of sin, is that not true? I believe we gave the appearance of sin, so we ought to explain. It’s about holiness.”

Derrick’s mouth snapped shut. He shifted into gear and started driving.

Jasmine turned her attention to Rabie again. “You are correct, Rabie. I should not have been there. We gave the impression that we had done something wrong, and it made you feel uncomfortable, which I did not wish to do. So, I want to explain now that I was only beside Derrick because I was sad and frightened after what happened, and he wanted to comfort me. We were talking, and we fell asleep. That is all. There was nothing else. Do you understand?”

Rabie’s gaze flicked from her to the back of Derrick’s head. He nodded.

“Will you forgive me for making you feel uncomfortable?”

His little lips quirked, and he straightened, triumphant. “I will. Now, I have forgiven you both for something.”

“Does that mean you win?” She asked the question, even though it made no sense to her.

“Of course.”

Beside her, Derrick chuckled. “Okay, bud. Back to sleep. We have three more hours.”

He didn’t argue this time, just pulled the blanket up over himself and tucked in. Within minutes, he was out.

After a few miles, Derrick asked, “What did you mean, holiness? If we did nothing wrong, how was it about holiness?”

“To be holy is to be set apart, no? To be set apart for God, but also to look set apart to the culture. To Rabie last night, we looked as if we had sinned. I didn’t wish for him to believe that about us. It’s even more important when you think of what his brother tells him about all American women. I think many in America don’t understand, but in my country, and I think in much of the world, people believe all Americans are Christians.”

“Really? Why?”

“Perhaps because most countries do not have so much…difference? Different cultures and religions?”

“Diversity?”

“Yes, this is right. When Dari says American women are all, you know⁠—”

“I remember.”

“What he’s saying is that Christian women are like that. He believes Christians have loose morals. All Christians are evil and impure. You see? I didn’t wish for him to believe that. He needs to understand that what his brother says is not correct. Also, I didn’t want him to hold a grudge against me or to think you and I had done something we hadn’t done. It felt wrong not to explain.”

He grunted. “I guess I was being a little stubborn.”

“A little?”

His quick grin didn’t hold. A few minutes later, he said, “Can I ask…?” But his words faded.

When he didn’t finish, she prompted with, “Ask what?”

“If you don’t want to talk about this, I get it. And if it’s none of my business, then I get that too. Just tell me, and I’ll shut up.”

She twisted to check on Rabie, but he hadn’t moved. “Okay.”

“I get that you feel married.”

Irritation spiked. “I am married.”