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Taking in a deep, shaky breath, she said the words that had bubbled inside her since she had seen him first in the market today. She did not know if she had the courage, but now, there was no going back. “My love, please, I am pregnant.”
Everything froze. Time, the air, the sun, the beating of their two hearts. There was nothing but silence to fill the space of her small apartment, because this was the moment that would decide their future.
“Pregnant?” His voice was small, questioning, but it did not yet sound angry.
Keisha could only bring herself to nod her head in answer. She was still waiting for her heart to beat again. At his next words, it did.
“I’m going to be a father?”
It was not a sad or shocked or angry question, but rather one filled with excitement. Maybe some nervousness, too, but mostly it was just a giddiness that surprised Keisha. His arms wrapping around her and lifting her out of the tub as he stood also surprised her. She let out a small laughing cry.
“Ahmed!”
“My beautiful love! The mother of my children! My everything!”
He swung her around in his arms, not caring that they were both naked and both still wet from the bath. He kissed her all over, tender sweet kisses that spoke of his excitement and love. They made their way back to the bed where Ahmed laid her back down on the bed. This time when he crawled back over her, his face stopped above her belly and he smiled down at it, as though he could see right through it to the tiny person that grew in her womb.
“You will be my most beloved thing,” he whispered to it as he caressed her stomach gently, sweetly, thought there was not so much as a bump there yet to indicate she was with child. “You and your mother both.”
Keisha could not fight back the tears in her eyes, so she let them fall silently as she watched him speak to her tummy as though the tiny thing inside it could hear him at all.
His excitement and acceptance of her was overwhelming. It was more than she had ever dreamed of, but it worried her, too, because it told her that he had yet to think of the consequences of this. He hadn’t realized yet that it was not just a matter of them being unmarried and pregnant. It was a matter of who he was and of the very reason they had kept their relationship a secret for so long.
After all, there was no way that the future Sheikh would be allowed to marry a pauper.
Chapter Two
Ahmed Kandalama stood as straight as he could muster, his hands firmly clasped behind his back. If he was truly going to do this, he would have to do it now. There was no more time, not for this, and if he was going to ever have a chance to marry for love, it might be now.
His mother, Aisha, came into the large open room looking both pleased and regal. Her long hair was braided down her back and the blue she wore was unquestioningly beautiful on her. Her eyes sparkled, much like Ahmed’s he’d been told, as she caught sight of her son.
“Oh, you look so handsome!” she cooed. She reached for him and embraced him tightly. He was her only son and thus infinitely more important than anything else in this world that she might call hers, despite having three additional children, all girls. They were older than Ahmed and though he loved them dearly they took too much of an interest in him, he thought, and often interfered with his life.
He could not help but glance behind her quickly, checking to see if his father was coming on her heels, but it seemed she was alone.
When she pulled back she must have caught sight of his nervous gaze, because she chuckled a little and said, “It is only me, my son. Your father will join us shortly, but he has a small importance to address before he does.”
Ahmed gave a quick nod. “Of course. I did not meant to be rude, mother. I am, of course, pleased to see you, too.”
She laughed a little at that, and patted him on the arm as she linked her other through the crook of his elbow. “I know, I know. And I love you for saying that, but in the end, it is your father’s opinion that you seek tonight.”
It was true. Although he valued his mother’s opinion very much and they had always been close, it was ultimately not her say. She might have some sway with his father, since she was his beloved wife, but Ahmed understood that her opinion in the end was worth very little in this matter. At least, officially.
Unofficially, he hoped desperately that she would understand what he was feeling.
“Might we sit and talk anyway?” he asked her hesitantly, motioning towards a large marbled table nearby. It was empty as was the entire room save them. “I would like to talk to you about things before… before father gets here.”
His mother looked at him curiously, but answered with an, “Of course.”
He pulled out a chair for her before taking one himself. There was a long pause as he gathered his thoughts, his mother waiting patiently for when he was ready to speak. Finally, taking a deep breath, he began the conversation that he knew would change his entire life and the lives of those around him.
“Mother, I must talk to you about the future. My future, specifically,” he began hesitantly. Steeling his courage, he added, “I think it is time for me to marry.”
Aisha’s eyebrows disappeared so high on her forehead that she nearly joined her hairline. He had never before shown any interest in marriage, despite her and his father’s attempts to entwine him with several daughters of well to do families. After her initial shock, his mother’s features turned to eagerness and even delight.
Reaching across the table for his hand, she all but squealed as she said, “Oh, Ahmed! I’m so pleased! I have lined up a host of other girls for you to meet! They are delightful young ladies, and some of them you’ve even interacted with as children and—”
This was the part he’d been dreading. Ahmed had been anticipating his mother’s eagerness and excitement at the announcement of marriage, but he knew, too, that all of that would quickly change once he explained the rest of his personal intentions.
