AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Basil sighed. “What am I supposed to do now? Talk to her about it or not say anything?” he asked her. Basil didn’t know what to do with Sanaa. He didn’t have the right words to make her pain melt away.
“Talk to her,” Janet said softly.
“And say what?” Basil raised an eyebrow.
“Let her know that you’re here for her, hug her, kiss her.”
She spoke as if it was easy. Maybe for her, it was easy, but for Basil, it wasn’t. Emotions, hugs, kisses, Basil wasn’t good with those kinds of things. He was good at gas and oil engineering and at running a business.
Janet smiled and touched his arm. “It’s good that she’s starting to talk again. Don’t worry too much; it’s going to be okay,” she said, then turned on her heel and headed out. She paused in the doorway and looked at him.
“I’m sorry I came in here rudely, I just thought it was important that you knew.” She smiled and headed out of the room.
It was strange how Janet’s smiling used to annoy Basil; she was always talking too much and smiling too much. He couldn’t take her seriously. Now her smiling made him feel better. After talking to her and having her smile at him and tell him that everything was going to be okay, he felt hope.
Basil sat down at his desk and switched on the computer. He had come home early because he had an important document in his home office that he needed to review before an important business trip he was going on the next day.
After a while, Basil checked his watch; it was 5:40. Sanaa must be awake now, he thought to himself. He stood up and walked out of the office and headed down the corridor. As he approached the living room, he heard the TV on. He went over to see if Sanaa was in there, and she was.
Sanaa was sitting on the sofa, leaning against Janet, with her elbow on her thigh. The two of them were sitting so comfortably and were so focused on whatever they were watching on the TV. He just stood in the doorway and watched them for a moment. It warmed his heart, just seeing his daughter like that. She was smiling; it had been a while since he had seen her smile.
Janet turned her head and saw Basil standing in the doorway. She smiled at him and nudged Sanaa.
“Hi, Sanaa,” Basil greeted his daughter. Janet narrowed her gaze at him before she burst out laughing.
“You’re so awkward,” she mumbled. Basil rubbed the back of his neck; he was going to let that comment slide. How could his employee laugh at him so easily like that? he wondered. She was a bit cheeky at times.
Janet whispered something in Sanaa’s ear. Sanaa looked up at Janet, and they both smiled at each other. Sanaa got off the sofa and walked over to Basil. She gestured for him to come closer. Basil crouched down in front of her. She wrapped her arms around him and placed a small soft face against his. Basil wrapped an arm around her and held her tightly.
It was such a nice feeling to be able to hold his daughter in his arms. He kissed her on the cheek and ran his hand through her hair. So many emotions coursed through him, happiness, sadness, grief, guilt.
One of the maids walked into the room. “I’m sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to let you know that dinner is ready,” she said. Basil wasn’t bothered by the maid’s interruption because he wasn’t sure what to do after hugging Sanaa, or what to say.
“Okay,” Basil replied. The maid quickly exited the room. Sanaa pulled out of Basil’s embrace.
“Can Janet have dinner with us?” she asked him. Basil narrowed his gaze at her.
“The first time you speak to me in a long time, and it’s about Janet.” Basil rose to his feet.
“Jealous?” Janet grinned at him.
“Let’s go,” he said to Janet.
Sanaa giggled and rushed to Janet’s side. She took her hand, and the three of them walked through the adjoining door at the right corner of the room and walked into the dining room. There was a maid in there setting the table.
“Set a place for Janet,” Basil instructed the maid.
“Yes, sheikh,” she replied. She headed into the kitchen to retrieve more cutlery. Basil sat at the head of the table. Sanaa sat at his right side and Janet at his left. The maids brought in the food and served them swiftly.
As they started eating, Basil watched Sanaa for a moment. Her mood had changed completely; it was amazing. Then he looked over to his left, there was Janet, sitting there eating. It was the first time he had ever eaten a meal with her. It was odd, he thought to himself. Basil picked up his fork and started eating.
“I like it when you come home early,” said Sanaa. It was lovely to hear her voice once again.
“You do?” Basil asked her. She nodded.
“We get to eat together.”
“I agree with Sanaa; you should always come home early,” said Janet. Basil raised an eyebrow at her. His work kept him so busy. It required him to work long hours to make sure that everything went smoothly. Basil didn’t want his business to fail, not even slightly. However, he felt guilty about not spending enough time with Sanaa. He was the only parent she had left, and he needed to do better.
