Читать книгу Red-Hot Desert Docs - Carol Marinelli, Amalie Berlin - Страница 11
ОглавлениеIT WAS A busy morning and lunchtime soon came around. Adele made good on her promise to visit Leila.
‘You are looking so much better.’ Adele was delighted to see the other woman sitting up and that she had some colour in her cheeks. Her hair was up and, despite wearing a hospital gown, she looked amazing.
‘I am feeling it,’ Leila agreed. ‘Thank you for all your help yesterday. Honestly, I shudder to think what might have happened. We could have been at afternoon tea!’
‘Don’t think like that.’ Adele smiled.
‘It’s hard not to,’ Leila sighed. ‘There’s not much else to do here. It is so nice to have you come and see me. I am used to being very busy. To just lie in bed is so frustrating. Zahir and Dakan have been in, of course, and the nurses here are very kind, but I am so bored.’
‘Will your husband come and visit you now that he knows you’re having surgery?’
‘No.’ Leila shook her head. ‘He does not like hospitals.’
It must be lonely for her, Adele thought.
‘He was going to send one of my handmaids but I have told him not to. I have asked Dakan to bring my embroidery from the hotel. That will take my mind off things.’
Leila was so easy to talk to. She was the complete opposite of Zahir, who, Adele guessed from the little she had gleaned, took after his father. Leila was more open and outgoing, rather like Dakan.
‘So you have days off this weekend?’ Leila asked.
‘I do.’ Adele nodded. ‘Then I’m on night duty for a fortnight.’
‘They must be tiring,’ Leila said, and then looked at Adele and saw the smudges under her eyes and her pale features. ‘Though you look tired now, even before you have started your night duty.’
‘I am tired,’ Adele admitted, and not just to Leila but to herself. It had been an exhausting few years and Janet was right to insist that she take her leave. ‘I’ve got a holiday coming up.’
‘That’s exciting. Are you going anywhere nice?’
‘I haven’t decided yet. I’ll have a think about it this weekend.’
As they chatted Adele revealed that she was going on a date that evening.
‘A first date.’ Leila beamed.
‘I’m actually not looking forward to it,’ Adele admitted. ‘I’m thinking of cancelling but I can’t come up with a good enough excuse.’
‘What do your parents think of him?’ Leila asked.
‘They...’ Adele paused. ‘I think your idea of a first date and mine are a little bit different, we’re just going out for dinner.’
‘Oh, yes.’ Leila nodded. ‘I sometimes forget. By the time I had my first date with Fatiq he was already my husband.’ She laughed.
‘Had you met him before you married?’
‘Yes, there was a selection ceremony two months before the wedding. I knew though that I would be chosen. Or rather I hoped. From when I was a little girl I always knew who I would marry. I told him that I came with conditions, though,’ Leila said, and tapped the ruby at her throat.
Adele guessed Leila meant she had told Fatiq that she must be kept in splendour.
‘Well, I can’t see myself ever marrying Paul,’ Adele admitted. ‘I can’t even picture getting through dinner.’
‘Your parents haven’t met him, then?’
‘No.’ Adele shook her head. ‘My parents divorced when I was very young and my father has never had anything to do with me.’
‘And your mother?’
‘She was in an accident,’ Adele said. ‘She’s very unwell and is in a nursing home. I see her every day.’
‘And you’re visiting me too!’
‘No, I like visiting you,’ she said, and then closed her eyes on the sudden threat of tears.
Adele never cried but she was suddenly close to it now as she had practically admitted the truth—she didn’t like visiting her mum.
Leila’s hand went over hers.
It was unexpected and also terribly kind, given what she had just said.
‘She can’t talk or react,’ Adele told Leila. ‘She’s just a shell of herself. I don’t even think she knows that I’m there.’
‘You know that you’re there for her, though,’ Leila said. ‘That’s the important thing.’
Finally, someone who understood, Adele thought.
Her family, friends and colleagues all encouraged her to step back. Even the nursing staff at the home gently implied that Adele didn’t need to visit quite so much.
Adele knew that she had to sort out her life—she didn’t need to be told that but it was so nice to have someone understand.
‘I’m worried about going on holiday,’ she admitted.
‘Can I tell you something?’ Leila offered. ‘I want to have a holiday. I love my country and my people but because of certain ways...’ She hesitated and then explained. ‘Always there must be a royal in residence. Fatiq was already a king when we married so I never even had a honeymoon. Now one of my sons steps in if we have to go away for formal occasions. Usually it is Zahir, but both of them have busy lives, so they only return when they must. I know that a holiday would be rejuvenating. I dream of having some time away with my husband to replenish myself, although I can’t see it ever happening. Take some time for yourself, Adele, and you will return refreshed and better able to take care of your mother.’
It helped to hear that.
The wise, gentle words made Adele feel better about taking a short break.
‘I must get back to work.’ It had been nice talking and before she went Adele wished Leila well for her operation on Monday.
‘I doubt you’ll be up to visitors on Monday night but I’ll come in after my shift on Tuesday morning.’
‘I shall look forward to it,’ Leila said. ‘Enjoy dinner tonight.’
Adele did.
Her date went well, in fact. Paul was nice, and perfectly fine, except she didn’t fancy him.
Not a bit.
And it neither started nor ended with a kiss.
It just wasn’t there.
For Adele at least.
Monday came and in the afternoon Adele lay in bed, trying to get some sleep before her night shift.
Then Helga and James started to row.
Again.
She had gone to look at the one-bedroom flat, along with many others. She had put an application in and all Adele could do now was hope.
Oh, Leila was right, she needed a break.
She had two weeks of night duty to get through and then the world was her oyster.
Not quite.
She sat up and reached for her laptop and checked her bank account.
Still, it didn’t stop her from daydreaming. She liked the look of Greece though she was still considering the South of France when an advert for exotic honeymoon destinations caught her eye.
Well, not the honeymoon word. Adele couldn’t even get the excitement up for a second date. Paul had called over the weekend, suggesting that they go to the movies, but she had said no.
There was no point.
No, it was the destination that had her pause.
Mamlakat Almas.
That was where Zahir was from.
Adele clicked on it and immediately she was swept away.
She found out that the name translated to Kingdom of Diamonds.
It looked incredible. Adele watched a short film. It was taken from the air and she saw the azure water and the pristine white beaches. From snatches of conversations when she had worked with Dakan and from the odd comment Zahir had made, she had thought it was all ancient buildings and desert. And, yes, there was all of that—the film led her through the desert and she saw a caravan of camels and Bedouin tribes as well as colourful souqs. The city skyline, though, was modern, with golden high-rise buildings that shimmered in the sun.
And there, most beautiful of all, was Qasr Almas.
Diamond Palace.
Zahir’s home.
It was spectacular—an imposing white residence with beach and ocean on the one side yet the desert started directly behind and spread into the distance.
The palace was dotted with stones, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires and some diamonds too.
Adele wanted to see it and she wanted to be there in the souqs and especially out in the desert.
She read the comments and most agreed it was an amazing destination. There was a certain magic to it, many said, and it was perfect for a honeymoon or romantic getaway.
Then Adele read the negative comments and they were all pretty much the same.
Don’t get taken ill there!
Bring your own medication!
And one was aimed at a tour guide.
He couldn’t even answer why the palace is called Diamond Palace and yet it is mainly coloured stones.
Oh, she would love to go there.
Right now, though, she needed to sleep.
It was bad enough trying to sleep when she was working days—her flatmates liked to party hard, it didn’t matter what day of the week. Trying to sleep during the day was almost impossible—there were doors slamming, arguments breaking out. After a fitful sleep Adele woke to the sound of the television blaring and loud chatter from the kitchen as supper was being made.
She was tired before her shift even started. It was going to be a very long night.
* * *
Zahir also wasn’t having the best of days.
While he was grateful that his mother’s operation had gone smoothly, he was furious that it had to come to this.
There was only one small hospital in his home town. Zahir had had several architects working on plans for a new one, yet his father had halted him every step of the way and in the end the project had been abandoned.
The whole health system in Mamlakat Almas needed to be addressed and better ways implemented.
The main reason that Zahir and his brother had chosen to study medicine had been so that they could knowledgeably implement the changes that were needed, yet they were thwarted at every turn. Their father refused to move forward and over and over he came up with reasons why the plans for the hospital could not go ahead.
Zahir had now had enough.
Finding out that his mother had had to travel to another country just to get suitable treatment did not sit well with him.
He looked at his mother, drowsy from anaesthetic, and was told by Mr Oman that surgery had gone well. ‘I’m surprised she waited so long,’ the surgeon commented.
Zahir was sure his mother had been struggling for a long time and it meant his mood was not the most pleasant as he made his way back to the emergency department after visiting her.
And Zahir’s already dark mood did not improve when he saw a woman holding a large bouquet of flowers asking one of the nurses if they could be delivered to Adele Jenson.
‘She’s not on duty till tonight,’ the nurse said, taking the flower arrangement. ‘But I’ll see that she gets them.’
Once the delivery woman had gone a debate took place as to who had sent the flowers.
‘She had a date with Paul on Friday,’ someone said.
Zahir did not want to think about that but the flowers seemed to follow him everywhere.
They were in the nurses’ station as he wrote his notes. And when, having checked on his mother again in the late afternoon, he went to make a drink, someone had moved them through to the staff kitchen.
He went to his office to make a call to his father.
The King.
He sat at the desk for a long moment, thinking hard. There was a lot on his mind. Admin were demanding his signature on a new contract, as they had every right to do.
Zahir knew, though, that he needed to go home and not just for a visit this time.
He was thinking of going head to head with his father so that he could get the hospital under way.
There was another reason, though, that he hadn’t signed his new contract—Adele.
The attraction had been instant and troublesome. He could still vividly remember the first time he’d laid eyes on her. Working on a patient, usually nothing could have drawn his attention, yet for a fleeting moment she had.
Her china-blue eyes had met his and Janet had explained that Adele was there for an interview.
He hadn’t wanted her to get the job.
That was how much he was attracted to her. Even before they had spoken, he would have preferred that they never had. Of course she had been given the role and two weeks later he had walked into the nurses’ station to the sound of her laughter and her fresh fragrance.
‘Zahir,’ Janet had said. ‘This is Adele. She is a graduate nurse...’
‘Adele.’ He had responded with a brief nod.
‘Hi!’ She had smiled.
‘Adele did her training here,’ Janet had explained, ‘so she’s familiar with the place.’
Zahir had shut her out at every possibility. He’d asked for more senior staff when possible. He’d ignored her slightly wacky humour and had not rewarded it with a smile.
He’d dated sophisticated beauties and he’d told them upfront that he was in no position to settle down.
Currently he was dating Bella.
That was about to end and he knew Bella sensed it. He had used the excuse of his mother being sick this weekend not to see her and now she had come up with tickets to the theatre next week.
He would end it before then.
Soon he would marry a bride considered suitable.
Of course he would be consulted, but the effect of her laughter on the edge of his lips would not be taken into consideration. Neither would the fact that the mere scent of her made him want to turn around.
There would be a more logical thought process when it came to the selection of the future Queen. Perhaps her country would have a considerable army, for it would be a marriage of countries rather than hearts. Of course Zahir was not considering Adele for such a role. Yet, on sight, his guard had gone up and he’d known he’d have to be wary of the attraction he felt.
It was an attraction so intense that over the last year every time he had driven past her at the bus stop he had wanted to slow down and tell her to get in. Not to take her home but to take her to his bed.
To make slow, tender love to her.
Yes, he had slowed down the car once, but the sight of her in that short wet dress had been too much.
She was a relentless assault to his senses and six feet three of turned-on sheikh had decided it was safer to drive on.
It was hell to drive past her and leave her standing in the dark. It was hell to work alongside her.
It was hell.
And perhaps time away was needed before self-control ran out.
Nothing could come of them, Zahir knew that. It was the reason that he kept his distance.
His feelings for Adele were serious and that was why he held well and truly back. But it was getting harder to do so.
And it was another reason why it might be better to return to his country.
Zahir rang home.
‘I have just come from visiting the Queen.’ Zahir spoke formally with his father. ‘She is doing very well.’
‘How long until she can come home?’ The King asked.
‘Not until she is ready,’ Zahir said. ‘I have spoken with Mr Oman and usually it would be several weeks before she could fly but, given she will be on the royal jet, I don’t expect it to be that long. And I shall accompany her, of course.’ He took a breath and then told his father what he had decided. ‘I am not renewing my contract at the hospital. I’m coming home to sort out the building of the new hospital. I’m going to be speaking with architects over the coming weeks. I shall do my best to find someone who can understand the need to respect our traditions, as well as incorporate the new. When I return things will immediately get under way.’
‘Nothing is to get under way without my permission.’
‘Too many lives have been lost,’ Zahir said. ‘Your delay in implementing changes has caused your own wife to collapse. What about all our people?’
‘I am King.’
‘And I am Crown Prince and I refuse to do nothing until your death. I shall be returning with the Queen and change will happen.’
‘Don’t speak of this now, Zahir. Not when I am concerned for my wife—’
‘No,’ Zahir interrupted. ‘You can no longer ignore that fact that there are better ways. The Queen collapsed while she was visiting me at work. What if she had been at a formal dinner or a royal event? Luckily she was in a hospital at the time.’
Zahir let out a tense breath, embarrassed on behalf of his mother as to how events could have panned out.
He was so grateful that Adele had dealt with things so discreetly.
Adele.
All roads led to her.
Even in the middle of a difficult conversation he smiled at the memory of her blocking his path as he had tried to get into the cubicle to care for his mother.
Then his smile faded and he returned to the subject.
‘We shall discuss this in person,’ Zahir said to his father. ‘For now, know that she is resting comfortably and that she is receiving excellent medical care.’
‘If you are returning then there shall be a selection ceremony and a wedding.’
‘You know where I stand on that,’ Zahir said. ‘I will not marry and have children when I cannot ensure adequate health care for them.’
Zahir hung up.
He saw a few more patients and then went through to the staffroom. Those flowers really were following him. They had been placed on the table and the word ‘Adele’ had been written on a sheet of paper, as well as an arrow, a row of hearts and a lot of question marks.
It was tease from the other nurses, informing her that she would need to explain!
Zahir did not want to hear it.
* * *
Adele walked into the staffroom fifteen minutes before the start of her shift to the beautiful sight of Zahir stretched out and asleep on a sofa. His mouth was slightly open, he needed to shave, but she’d prefer that he did not. But then her heart sank when she saw the large floral arrangement and the note with her name on it. Not for a second did she hope that the flowers were from Zahir. With trepidation she opened the card and read the message.
Adele
Thanks for a great night. Hope to do it again very soon.
Paul x
Unlike their date, there was a kiss at the end.
Zahir awoke to the sickly scent of flowers and to Adele’s blue eyes as she stood in the middle of the staffroom.
She looked over as he stirred and wondered what it would be like to wake up beside him.
‘You got flowers.’ He stated the obvious.
‘I did.’
But not from you, her eyes accused.
Never anything from you.
Not even a smile.
‘How is your mother?’
‘She’s doing well.’ Zahir stretched his long body. ‘The operation went smoothly.’
‘That’s good.’ she said, wondering how the mere sight of him stretching had her on slow burn. How a night being wined and dined by a friendly and good-looking Paul couldn’t garner a kiss, yet she could happily go over and straddle Zahir right here and right now.
Honestly!
She had never slept with anyone but she could almost feel the pull in her groin to walk over to him, to bend her head and to kiss that sulky mouth.
He sat up and she was very glad that he did.
‘My mother said that you have been visiting her and are going to see her again.’
‘I just thought with her being so far from home—’ Adele started to explain, but Zahir cut in.
‘I appreciate it,’ he said, and then abruptly stood and left.
It didn’t feel as if he appreciated it, Adele thought as he stalked off.
Still, she wasn’t visiting Leila to earn favours from him.
She liked his mother and enjoyed their conversations.
Adele missed talking with her mum so much and Leila helped with that.
Zahir went home and it was a quiet night in Emergency, which made it a very long one. By morning, all Adele wanted was to go to sleep but she remembered she had promised to visit Leila.
‘Don’t forget your flowers,’ Janet called out as she left.
Blasted things, Adele thought, but then she decided they might brighten the room up a little for her visitor.
‘Flowers!’ Leila was wearing a gorgeous nightgown, had all her jewels on and was back to looking stunning. She smiled when Adele knocked on her door and quickly dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief. ‘You shouldn’t have.’
‘I didn’t,’ Adele admitted. She knew Leila had been crying. ‘The man I went out with on Friday sent them.’ She rolled her eyes.
‘Do tell.’
Adele did.
Well, a little bit.
‘It didn’t go well.’
‘Why?’
Because he wasn’t your sexy son!
‘It just didn’t,’ Adele said. ‘I kept wanting to check my phone. That’s not a good sign, is it?’
Leila laughed.
‘Then he called over the weekend and asked me out again and I said no. I thought he’d got the message but he sent these. I didn’t want to look like an idiot on the bus, and I thought they might cheer you up.’
‘Well, they have.’
They were like a snowflake in a snowstorm, though, Adele thought as she looked around.
There were flowers everywhere.
‘How do you feel?’ she asked Leila.
‘I had a lot of pain in the evening but they changed my pain control and now I feel much more comfortable. I’ve just had my first drink of tea. I asked Mr Oman when I can go back to the hotel. He says not for a few more days.’
‘You’ve got on your jewels.’
Leila nodded. ‘I was appalled when they told me I had to have them off for surgery. I insisted they were brought to Recovery and I was to wake up with them on.’
Adele smiled.
‘Adele,’ Leila said, ‘I’ve been thinking.’
‘About what?’
‘Well, I need a private nurse and I would very much like it to be you.’
‘I’m on night shift for the next couple of weeks,’ Adele said.
‘No, I’m not talking about back at the hotel. I mean for you to fly back with me. You said that you wanted a holiday.’
Adele’s shocked expression was misinterpreted.
‘I wouldn’t be making too many demands on you,’ Leila said quickly. ‘I would just feel safer knowing I had a nurse for those first few days at home, and then you could do what you wanted. I would page you if required. You would have your own wing with its own beach and of course you would be well reimbursed.’
‘Leila...’ Adele didn’t know what to say.
She was stunned to be asked and very flattered too.
And the more she thought about it, the more excited she felt.
There, in her chest, was something that had been missing for so long—the hope of adventure.
The thought of Zahir didn’t enter her head. Not at that moment. He would be here, working. This had nothing to do with him.
It was the thought of a holiday at such an exotic location. Yes, it would be a working holiday perhaps but that suited Adele even better—it didn’t have to be a holiday or a new flat, she could have both.
Yet hope was dashed even before it took form.
‘Ah, Zahir!’
Adele, who had been perched on the bed, hurriedly stood up as Leila greeted her son. He was dressed in a suit for now. No doubt later he would be wearing scrubs, but for now he was all glossy and freshly showered, and the scent of his cologne as he came over was more heady than a room full of flowers. ‘I was just saying to Leila that I need a private nurse and she had told me that she has some annual leave coming up. I thought—’
‘I will arrange your nurse,’ Zahir interrupted, and his voice was terse.
‘I don’t need you to arrange anything,’ Leila said. ‘I would like Adele—’
‘Adele is a junior emergency nurse. I shall find a surgical nurse who specialises in women’s health to take care of you. In fact, I already have. She will be looking after you when you go back to the hotel.’
‘Zahir!’ Leila reprimanded her son.
‘It’s fine.’ Adele halted them. Her cheeks were on fire and she was angry and hurt at Zahir’s cutting words. Clearly he didn’t even think her capable of nursing what would by then be a two week post-op patient. ‘It was lovely of you to think of me, Leila...I really do have to go now.’
She said goodbye and gave a very brief nod to Zahir.
‘Zahir,’ his mother admonished once they were alone. ‘You were very rude to speak like that in front of her.’
‘I work with Adele.’ He shrugged. ‘I shall find a more suitable nurse. Anyway, perhaps you were the one who was rude. Adele might already have plans.’ He tried not to think of her topless on a beach in France and then he thought of Paul. ‘Maybe she wants to go away with her boyfriend...’
‘Rubbish,’ Leila said. ‘She doesn’t have one. In fact...’ She gestured to her locker and those flowers really were following him everywhere because Zahir caught sight of them as Leila continued to speak.
‘She had a disastrous date on Friday. She said all she wanted to do was to check her phone. She spends all her spare time taking care of her mother and I want to do something nice for her.’
Zahir held in an exasperated sigh.
There was a debt to be paid and his mother had now come up with a way to pay it.
‘I shall think of a more suitable way to thank her,’ Zahir said, and then he asked a question. ‘Why do you want Adele?’
It was a question he had asked himself many times over the past year.
‘I find her easy to talk to and she knows about...’ Leila shook her head and lay back on her pillow and closed her eyes. ‘It doesn’t matter. I’m going to have a little rest now. I’ve been up since five.’
The subject was closed.
So many subjects were closed.
He could see that she had been crying and Zahir thought about what Adele had said to him in the car: You need to discuss that with your mother.
He didn’t know how to, though.
He could speak with grief-stricken parents, he could tell someone, with skill and care, that they did not have long to live.
Yet this was a conversation that was almost impossible to start. From seven years old he had been warned not to ask questions. Not to upset his mother or anger his father by bringing the subject of his brother up.
But they weren’t at the palace and things had been left unsaid for far too long.
‘I miss him too,’ Zahir said to his mother, and he watched her face crumple. ‘I know I never saw him, but I still think of him and when I go to our desert abode I pray for him each time.’
As Leila started to cry he let her and then after a while she asked him something.
‘Could you pass my bag?’
She took out her purse and Zahir saw his brother for the first time as his mother spoke. As he finally found out what had happened Zahir wasn’t in doctor mode, or crown prince mode, he was just remembering the sadness and the silence that had returned with his parents to the palace and he looked at the tiny, beautiful reason why.
‘Zahir, I had to tell the doctor about Aafaq and Adele was there when I did so. I don’t want to go through it all with another nurse. I am very tearful at the moment. I know that. Mr Oman says it is to be expected after such an operation and it may continue for a few weeks. Maybe the nurse you arranged can care for me at the hotel—’
‘You don’t need to be in a hotel,’ Zahir said. ‘Please come back to my home.’
‘Your home is in Mamlakat Almas,’ Leila told him. ‘I would prefer to stay in a hotel.’
Despite being more open than Fatiq, she did not approve of his lifestyle here. Leila did not like the fact that Zahir and Dakan dated when there was an array of brides waiting for them to choose from.
Staying in a hotel was her protest.
‘Please let me have Adele care for me.’
‘I’ll think about it,’ he said.
Adele was all he could think about of late.
He had been about to head to Admin to tell them he was taking the last fortnight on his contract as leave and that he would not be renewing it.
The ramifications of a relationship with Adele had long troubled him—his father frowned on his lifestyle here and certainly any serious relationship would be even more frowned upon. It would be dire indeed if anything happened in Mamlakat Almas. He could never choose Adele. The rift it would create between him and his father would be irreparable.
The King was a stickler for tradition and those traditions did not allow for a woman without a title who had dated before.
He could well be exiled and unable to fulfil his duty to his country.
No, he did not want to consider his mother’s request.
He was trying to get away from Adele.
Not bring her to his home.
