Page 36 of Seventeen Years Ago

Reesa entered the office again and said, “I’m sorry about that, but there was an issue I needed to bring to Bennett's attention.”

That’s never a good sign. Bennett only got involved when there was a threat that Reesa was concerned about.Maybe that’s why she’s been having me leave early lately. She’s trying to keep me from being at the office at night.It made sense, but I was not sure if it was accurate. It’s our history that makes my mind run to the worst scenario. I must remind myself that this is a new Tabiq. Not every whisper is about something evil, something life threating.

“How about we get this meeting started?” Reesa suggested she smiled. She seemed to be in a positive mood, so whatever they had spoken about, wasn’t upsetting to Reesa. That helped to ease my mind.

Before she could start, my cell phone rang.Damn it.I had meant to put it on silent. I pulled it out of my purse and noticed it was my grandmother. I hit ignore and would call her back when I was free. But she called me again. “I’m sorry. Can you excuse me for a moment? I need to take this.”

“Of course,” Reesa said.

I left the office and answered, “Hello, Grandma. Is everything okay?”

“No. My arthritis is killing me. It’s a flare-up like I haven’t had in almost twenty years. It’s going to be a bad one,” she said.

“Oh, no. I’ll come and get you. I’ll bring you to the hospital and maybe they can give you something to help,” I said.

“No. I’m calling you to make sure you prepare the cottage. It’s going to be a bad one,” she said again.

“You need me to make sure the cottage is easier for you to get around?” I ask. She really must be suffering badly if that was the case. She was so proud and hated admitting that she needed assistance.

“No. The storm. It’s coming. It’s going to be a bad one. You need to prepare the cottage. You need to be someplace safe.”

“Grandma, what are you talking about? It’s a beautiful day. The sun is shining, and it’s supposed to be the same tomorrow,” I let her know.

“I do not care what the sky is doing now. I am telling you, the storm is coming. My body is telling me so. Listen to your grandmother. I know. I’m not wrong,” she said firmly.

I didn’t want my grandmother to feel as though I was questioning what she was telling me, but I also didn’t have time to discuss this right now. “Grandma, I will do what you said. But I am in a meeting with the president and need to get back to work.”

“Good. Tell her what I said. She needs to prepare the country for the storm,” she said firmly. “Promise me you’ll tell her.”

And here we go again with more promises. What is it about me and that damn word?

“Yes, I promise.”

“I love you, Aiza.”

“I love you too, Grandma.”

I ended the call and went back into the office. They were in the middle of talking about reviewing some papers, but Reesa looked up at me and asked, “Is everything okay?”

I nodded. “Yes. I’ll tell you about it later. You have better things to do right now,” I said.

“I’m sure we can take a break,” Steven said.

I sat down and Reesa added, “Yes, we can. What did she say? You look upset.”

“She is in a lot of pain. Her arthritis is really acting up. She said I must go home and prepare the cottage for the storm. She wanted me to tell you that it’s coming. I told her that it’s not. I saw the weather on my phone. It’s supposed to miss Tabiq.”

“Aiza, what did she say exactly?” Reesa asked.

“That it’s going to be a bad one. Her body is telling her so. That it hasn’t been this bad in twenty years,” I said. I looked at Steven and added, “I told you that you should’ve continued with your meeting.”

Reesa put the papers she was holding back into the file and quickly started to put everything else she’d taken out away.What are you doing?The meeting couldn't be over already. I hadn’t been on the phone that long. Did Steven shut her down without even giving her a chance to go through the entire presentation?

“Reesa, is something wrong?” Thankfully, Steven asked what I couldn’t.

She looked very serious and said, “We need to finish this another time. I have things I must prepare. The storm is coming.”

Oh. Not you too.

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