He brought her hand to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on her fingers. “Okay. I’ll remember that next time. Now let’s go before the children drive them crazy and they eat without us.”
Kids?She knew she was definitely overdressed now. And that’s what I get for not doing my research like I normally do.
Gareth didn’t even need to knock on the door. Charisa was already pulling it open. “I’ve been waiting for you all day.”
He laughed. “I thought you had school.”
Charisa giggled. “Yes, but I have been waiting for at least five minutes.” Then she peered around him and saw Brooke. “You’re not a little girl.”
Gareth said, “I said I was bringing a friend. This is Brooke. Brooke this is Charisa.”
Charisa pouted. “I thought she was going to want to play with me. I have a new dolly and no one to play with.”
Brooke bent over and said, “What is your dolly’s name?”
Charisa smiled. “Dolly. Want to see her?” She reached out for Brooke’s hand and led her inside.
Alex and Ziva were standing behind Charisa for the entire exchange. Ziva said, “Charisa, you know you can’t play with your doll until after dinner. Besides, I’m sure Gareth and Brooke are hungry.”
“Oh Mommy. I’m not hungry, and I don’t think Rookie is either.”
Alex said, “Her name is Brooke, not Rookie, and you heard your mother. Dolls after dinner.”
Charisa didn’t let Brooke’s hand go and said, “Then follow me and eat fast. Even your veggies.” She half dragged Brooke across the hall.
Brooke turned, wide-eyed, and said, “Good thing I’m hungry.”
They all followed behind. Charisa held out Brooke’s chair for her and waited until she sat down. Then she turned to Gareth and said, “You can sit over there in my seat. I want to sit next to Rookie. She’s my friend now. You can have Mommy and Daddy.”
They all burst out laughing. Gareth winked at Brooke and said, “You can have Rookie now, but she is coming home with me.”
Charisa pouted again. “Then no dessert or we won’t have any time to play.” She turned to Brooke and asked, “Do you like broccoli?”
“I do,” she replied.
“Can you eat mine and I’ll eat your potatoes?” In a low voice she added, “But don’t let Mommy see you or she’ll give us more.”
Ziva rolled her eyes. “Is this what I’m in for when Nikko gets older?”
Gareth and Alex shook their heads and Alex said, “No. It’s worst with boys.”
“How can that be?”
Gareth added, “Girls talk a lot and boys break everything. Somehow we look at it and it falls apart.”
Charisa said, “Oh no. Nikko isn’t touching my dollies.” Then she turned to her mother and asked, “Can we trade him for a sister?”
Ziva shook her head. Brooke leaned over and whispered something in Charisa’s ear. Charisa giggled again and said. “Okay, we can keep him.”
They all looked at Brooke, wishing they knew what she’d just said, but Gareth was glad she was able to make things all better. At least for the time being.
The rest of the meal was more talk about Tabiq than anything else. Gareth watched Brooke, who seemed to be soaking up every word. It was as though she wanted to know as much about the culture as possible. He understood why they normally didn’t speak of it, but he was surprised they spoke in front of Charisa.
There were a lot of details left out, mostly around the abuse, but a lot was discussed. When Charisa ran off to play, totally forgetting about Brooke, Gareth had to ask. “You aren’t worried that Charisa will be afraid to live here?”
Ziva shook her head. “I have lived here all my life. As a child we were told of the risk of growing up as a girl in this country. The only way to ensure we do not revert back to those days is to raise our children with the truth. Knowledge gives us power. And Charisa and the others are the future. They need to understand the past so they don’t repeat the mistakes.”
Gareth could tell Ziva knew exactly what those mistakes were. Both from their visits and from what Alex had shared with him. It blew his mind that Ziva could actually marry into the family that had practically sold her country into slavery. Yet even as they sat together, he felt no resentment from her toward Alex. Her acceptance of him was shocking.