Chapter 8 - Dharak - Nahla's Explanation

Arqarin didn't bother to come tell Dharak what she'd found. She simply sent a message via the Jackals' network saying, Target found. Marid's Solace Inn, Dhahab Street.

Dharak arranged for payment in the way he always paid the man - through intermediaries. It seemed like a lot of extra bother to him, but it was the only way Bair or whatever his name was would do business with him.

Dhahab Street, thought Dharak. Not quite the slums, but it might as well be. Why on Gilon would Nahla be working there? Surely it can't be that she needs money!

Ruvy wanted to go in for a beauty treatment before heading into work, so Dharak took the opportunity to go find this Marid's Solace Inn.

He found the place easily enough and stood outside regarding it for a moment before heading in. It was utterly banal and pedestrian, far below his standards. And the neighborhood didn't seem to be the best, either. What was Nahla thinking?

He stepped inside the inn. In the scrying, Nahla had been working in the common room and kitchen, so he went to the common room. It was empty, so he went and seated himself at a table.

Nahla started when she saw him, but since he was the only customer in the room at that hour, she had no choice but to come serve him. When she arrived at his table, she asked coolly, "How may I help you?"

Dharak asked, "What the Hades are you doing here?"

Cocking an eyebrow at him, Nahla replied drily, "Working, what does it look like I'm doing?"

"Nahla," he said in annoyance. "That's not what I meant. Why are you here working?"

"Because it's my shift, Dharak."

He glared at her. "Why aren't you at home with the children? And speaking of, where are they?"

"They're at school. They're fine. Didn't you get the note I left? That's why I'm here."

"It's over? What in Hades are you talking about, woman?"

"Dharak, if you want an answer to that question, I suggest you order something. My employer appreciates slacking in his employees even less than you do." Nahla darted a glance back toward the kitchen, but Felaadi had her back turned to the common room. Too bad.

"Nahla," snarled Dharak, "I want an answer. Now."

Nahla replied airily, "I see you need a few more minutes to make up your mind. Everything we have today is written on that board over there." She pointed at it. "I'll give you some more time to think about what you want to order and return shortly." She quickly left the table and returned to the kitchen.

"Felaadi," she said in an urgent whisper, "my husband is here!"

Felaadi raised her head in startlement to look at her. "Do you want me to serve him?"

Stirring the soup that would be served at dinner, Nahla replied, "No. He seemed to not understand the note I left him. Is there any chance I could have about 5 minutes to explain it to him and arrange a time to meet with him to go over arrangements regarding our children? I'd meet with him on my day off, of course."

Felaadi replied, "It's before the dinner rush, so sure. Just don't spend longer than that. You know how Bhorak feels about idleness."

Nahla nodded. "I do. Thank you."

Returning to the common room, she told Dharak, "I have 5 minutes. You can order something if you like, or we can go out back for a short talk."

Dharak was more accustomed to giving orders than taking them and he balked. "I am a paying customer. I don't want to go out back."

Nahla replied, "You haven't ordered, so you are not yet a paying customer. The note? It means our marriage is over. I've left you, Dharak. Now, unless you want to talk about that here in the common room where anyone who walks in and possibly other inn staff can hear us talking about our dirty business, I suggest you come out back with me. You're the one who is always so concerned about loss of reputation around others hearing that aired." She kept her tone reasonable, though she wanted to strangle him.

At first, Dharak was so shocked he couldn't respond. "Fine," he finally ground out. "Lead on."

Nahla led Dharak through the inn and out the rear exit. She said, "About 3 or 4 nights ago you were at your club with a young woman who looked to be about Deniz' age. She wore a very short skirt and you reached up it to touch what was presumably her bare bottom. You two were so into each other that for a moment it looked like you might become physically intimate right there in public view of the city. That same night, you received an urgent message at your club. I know, because it was delivered to our house first, and I brought it to the club myself and asked them to deliver it to you. I saw the two of you on the balcony. About a week before that, I told you that if any further indiscretions happened that I would leave you and you promised they would stop. Seeing as you broke your promise yet again, I decided to do as I said I would, and so I have. You will always be the children's father and I have no desire to stand between you and them. I suggest we meet to discuss arrangements for seeing them as well as for their schooling on my next day off, which should be in another week or so. I will send you a note with the date and time and a suggested location once I know when I will be off." She paused a moment to let him digest all of that.

Dharak's mind whirled. She saw...what? Leaving me? Arrangements for the children?

Seeing his befuddled look, Nahla sighed. "I know this is a lot to take in. And maybe I have not picked the best way to go about telling you. But it is clear to me that we no longer want the same things anymore and we have already grown so far apart as for it to seem like we are not even married. We might as well make our living arrangements match the reality of our relationship."

Dharak thought, I will not be rejected by any mere woman! If anyone is going to do the rejecting here, it's me! But in order to buy himself some time to decide how he was going to make the rejecting happen, he agreed to Nahla's suggestion.

However, he did say, "I don't feel confident that the children are safe here. Send them back to the house."

Nahla said, "It will do them some good to live like poorer people for a time. A time may even come in the future when it serves them well. You must attend to your business, and I do not want a stranger caring for them when they are already stressed out enough with the changes of moving out and our splitting up. They need someone familiar with them to care for them, and you cannot do that."

"All the more reason to send them home. They can have their home as a constant. I can hire someone to watch them and I can provide for them better than you can."

But Nahla stood her ground. She said, "Dharak, do not use the children as a means to punish me. Let your thoughts be only for their well-being. You cannot take them if they do not wish to go with you. I will talk to them and see what their wishes are, but I can tell you already that Kiardha at least has expressed a desire to stay with me. I will ask Mahko, though, and once he has made his wishes clear, we can talk more about this when you and I meet."

Dharak snorted. "Kiardha is a girl." His tone implied the opinions and desires of a girl, even his own daughter, meant nothing to him. "She has no idea what she needs."

"Nonetheless, Dharak," Nahla insisted, "I will not make her or Mahko go with you if they do not wish it. Now, my break is over. I will be in touch with you as soon as I know when my day off is going to be."

Nahla turned and kept her head high and her back straight as she went back into the inn.

Dharak glared at her retreating form, then walked around to the front of the inn. How dare she leave me! She has no right!

Thoughts began whirling in Dharak's mind about how he could get his children back.