Page 13 of Shâhzâdeh

With confidence, I looked up into brown eyes that mirrored mine and nodded. “I’m esure.”

A grin broke over his face and I could already hear what would come out of his mouth next before he spoke.

“Wallah, she must be esomzing extraordinary to have you going to zhese extremes.”

He leaned back in his cushioned leather office chair looking every bit a man of power. His almost jet black hair was streaked with gray, a change my mother said only made him more distinguished and irresistible. His height was slightly shorter than mine, with a full salt and pepper beard. My father made no secret of ensuring he took care of himself so that my mother was still just as attracted to him after almost forty years as he was to her. They never lost the desire to want to be their best for one another and it was a sentiment I prayed I had the chance to carry into my union.

“I’m esure you’re more zhan familiar with zhat experience. Zhe one vhere your heart stops beating and when it begins again it is a cadence zhat only she is privy to.”

“I am. And I’m blessed to relive it every single day I awake to see Babette’s beautiful face. But is she going to be to you vhat your maman is to me?”

He steepled his hands in front of him, a move not challenging my decisions but forcing me to think it through. He was like that often. It was born of his own father’s inability to do more than dictate. Bâbâ never wanted to be anything like the man that made him a prince and then snatched it all away.

“Bah fazl Khoda khahod shod, baba. (By God’s grace it will be).”

His head bowed briefly in agreement and sending a silent prayer to God. “Mashallah. Vhen are you planning to make zhis move?”

I slouched slightly in my seat letting my head fall back against the back of the chair. “Soon. I was given advice zhat I need to allow her to see zhe prince and protector in me more zhan zhe…” I waved my hand in the air unsure of what I could truly say to describe myself.

“Psycho? Deranged?” He was hurling out insults lovingly knowing he was where part of my inability to react normally to slights came from. Despite being in this country for years, his accent was still heavy whenever he spoke.

“I was going to saybrutalbut somehow your words hold more accuracy.”

“We all have zhat in us. Even your love I’m sure. But balance is de key to all zhings,pasar man.”

He’d always addressed me as my son when he needed to impart a lesson. Rarely did he or maman call me by my name. It was a way of expressing their love by reminding me of the bond between us.

“What are my two favorite men talking about?” My mother glided into my father’s office without bothering to knock.

He always told her that every room in the house was hers and they didn’t need any secrets between them. She could keep him out of whatever space she wanted, but he would never keep her from anything or anywhere.

Vanya’s aura reminded me so much of my mother’s but not maternally. They looked nothing alike besides being beautiful, but their spirits felt similar. It was the way Vanya exuded this soft femininity that wasn’t diminished by her ability to be a boss. So many of the women in my friend group held the same power. Vanya expressed herself in bright colors, florals, and something that called to me like she was the flower and I was the bee happily buzzing around her to bask in her beauty.

Maman walked toward me, pecking the top of my head, before walking into my father’s open arm and taking a seat on his lap. Even though I knew what was coming, I waited patiently as they greeted each other. The kiss lasted longer than normal, which meant they were going to be putting me out soon to finish what they were starting now. If it weren’t for a botched surgery that ended my mother’s ability to have children, I’d probably have had a newborn sibling yearly since my birth with the way they went at it.

I cleared my throat, and the two of them still took an additional few seconds to come up for air. My mother’s golden toned face was slightly flushed, my father’s eyes fixated on her lips. Her long, deep brown and midnight black hair was in a soft bun at her nape. She wore what she called a housedress, but was probably nicer than most women’s evening wear. From the looks of it, it was printed silk with a tie that emphasized her narrow waist. It was as bright as she was, with geometric shapes decorating the fabric.

“If zhe two of you are done.”

“Awww,mon amour, we can still make him blush at this age. It means we are doing something right in this life.” She pecked my father quickly before turning on his lap to face me.

My mother was a beautiful woman. She was often told that she favored Lonette McKee and Lena Horne. She had deep dimples, a slender nose and wavy hair. Despite having a son my age, her figure was still fit and she worked out to ensure that her health was in top shape. I glanced behind their heads at the picture my father had painted of her when they were married and she barely looked any different. Her smile lines were more prominent and she had tiny lines around her eyes so she said, but they were only in her head.

I sighed and balanced my chin on the hand that was propped up on my knee. “You live to embarrass your son.”

“I live to show you the good example of what love should be. Take notes.” She pointed at me sharply before wrapping her arms around my father’s shoulders.

“After a lifetime of witnessing it, I zhink I could write the book.”

“Forget zhe book, put your knowledge into practice and make your mother happy.” My father’s hand now rest on my mother’s hip as she snuggled further into him. I was used to having them with both eyes on me, existing within the same space and to see them like this always brought me joy.

“Zhat is what we were discussing,habibi.”

She sat up, my father pulling her back down into his arms and she turned to him with a scowl. “Without me? Tsk tsk tsk, you will never learn.”

“Maman—”

“No, I want to hear this plan that has been hatched without the input of a woman. What have you two come up with?” She clapped her hands and then waved them as though to beckon the information out of me. I glanced behind her to my father but as usual, he was on her side.

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