Ouch.
Finally, with a signal to the vendor, who was eyeing them with interest, Sadira grabbed an oval-shaped, green stone ring from the stall and placed it in Amie’s hand. “Here,” she said, “I want you to have this.”
Amie nearly glowed as she stared down at the ring. It was a deep green stone with unique flecks and different shades of green and blue throughout. It was set in a silver casing with a band that looked like a twisted silver rope. It was a stunning.
“It’s gorgeous!” Amie exclaimed, as Sadira handed over several colorful bills as payment. “It’s so beautiful, Sadira. Shukran!”
Sadira laughed. “Well, now you have both American and Rabayati rings to remember your culture by. You’re one of us now, after all.”
NINE
More than three weeks had passed since the festival of the Nine Nights. Amie had since had several more outings alone with Malik’s mother and sister and was feeling absolutely secure in the success of her and Malik’s ruse. They’d spent the last few weeks attending functions, hospital benefits, and family dinners, all the while keeping up appearances as a happy engaged couple.
The only problem? The more time they spent together, the more Amie struggled to draw the line between fantasy and reality. This was especially true today, as Malik informed her that he had a surprise for her: they would be spending the weekend somewhere outside of the city.
Malik made use of his jet once more and flew the two of them from Rabayat to Egypt in just a few hours. By lunchtime, they had arrived in beautiful Cairo.
As their taxi pulled into the city, Amie exclaimed that it was everything she had pictured it to be; a sprawling metropolis, deeply rooted in its ancient past. There were urban shopping areas and large malls, as well as palm trees and familiar highway traffic. The beautiful architecture of the buildings made her swoon, and the bustling downtown left nothing to be desired. The heat beat down on them relentlessly, but Amie wouldn’t have it ruin her day trip.
Amie couldn’t help jumping for joy with every famous attraction or historic site they passed. Malik mocked her as an over-enthusiastic tourist, which was when she informed him that she’d never been outside of the United States before—even back home, she’d only visited a few places: Indiana, Chicago, New York and Colorado. She was seeing things she’d only ever seen on documentaries or travel programs.
Malik took her to the bazaar district and told her in Egypt haggling was the norm. He tried his best to help her find the best deals. There were endless souvenirs of famous pharaohs and Ancient-Egyptian-inspired jewelry; so many, in fact, that by the end of it Amie couldn’t choose any one thing to take home with her.
After a long day of exploring, the pair returned to their home for the weekend: a private residence owned by two of Malik’s childhood friends, Ali and Selma, who cooked an amazing, authentic Egyptian feast and told them all the local gossip. Before long the foursome had talked well into the wee hours of the morning. The hosts insisted they share a bedroom and, after much protesting, Amie and Malik finally relented.
Malik insisted on taking the floor, and Amie was too tired to protest. She watched as he set up the spare pillows and blankets and start making something resembling a bed on the space next to the mattress. She watched him for several minutes before she finally came down to lay on the floor with him.
“This kind of defeats the purpose of me being down here,” he whispered.
“Talk to me, just for a minute,” she said with a sleepy smile, stealing some of his blankets.
“You want to talk about how silly and proud you look when someone mistakes you for a local?”
“Pass,” she giggled. “How about… why you brought me here?”
Malik looked at her for a moment and then turned on his side, propping his head up with his hand. “I love Egypt,” he said plainly. “You become a whole other person when you’re exploring a monument or when you’re in the market.” He shrugged as best he could with only one free arm. “It’s infectious, and I wanted for you to be able to experience it. Besides, I thought we could use a break from all the acting.”