Chapter 2: Boredom
Aladdin spent most mornings playing in the garden with Laleh, followed by lessons with her tutor, but this morning he was not able to. Jasmine was preparing for royal a visit to the palace. The Egyptian princess Cleopatra IV announced that she was going to visit the royal family of Agrabah, hoping to make a trade allay.
Because of the importance of the visit, Jasmine expected Aladdin to look his best. The prince consort's plan was to get ready for the visit, he wanted to make a good impression while Laleh played with Genie and Abu.
Aladdin, dressed in only in a pair of white undershorts, stood in front of the bathroom mirror attempting to shave. The prince consort considered himself lucky that he didn't need to shave very often, but he had decided that he should shave for the royal visit.
Suddenly, the bathroom door flew open.
"Daddy, I'm bored," Laleh cried.
Aladdin sighed, "Daddy needs some privacy. Why aren't you playing with Genie?"
"Because Grampa needed him for something," Aladdin picked up the sarcastic tone in her voice. She must have been spending to much time with Iago.
Before Aladdin could respond, Laleh started pestering him.
"What are you doing?" the four-year-old asked her father.
"I'm shaving," Aladdin replied, "so that I will look good when the guest comes."
Laleh sat down on the side of the bathtub, "Why are you in your underwear?"
Aladdin started feel a tad annoyed, "Because I don't want to get my clothes wet."
Laleh looked around the room coming up with more questions to ask her father, she loved how he had an answer for everything. "Daddy, why do we have to pour water down the toilet after we use it?"
Aladdin started to feel peeved, he felt his face growing slightly red "To make sure it all makes it to the sewer, because if you don't the toilet will smell." Wanting to change the subject Aladdin turned to Laleh, "Why don't you go play with Rajah, or annoy Iago?"
"Because I want to be with you," the four-year-old princess replied.
"Can you please just leave me alone for fifteen minutes" Aladdin demanded raising his voice.
"But Daddy, I'm bored." Laleh cried as she ran out of the room.
Aladdin immediately regretted what he said. Laleh was only four, couldn't help it that her usual routine was interrupted by the royal visit. He felt like a failed parent.
Aladdin pulled on a pair of white silk pants, gold boots, and a blue berry colored jacket, and ran after his daughter. He had a good idea where she probably was hiding, because it would be where he would have hidden at her age.
The prince consort descended the staircase that separated the private quarters from the public areas of the palace. He reached the little door under the stairs that was used as a storage closet. The closet was used to hide things no one wanted anymore such as: broken pottery, half used candles, old chamber pots from before the palace had plumbing, tapestries that were faded from years in direct sunlight.
Aladdin knew that this was Laleh's favorite hiding spot during their raucous games of "hide and seek tag."
"Laleh?" Aladdin called softly as he gently opened the door.
"Go away," Laleh cried, whipping tears from her eyes. She was sitting under an old Ottoman with a gross stain on the upholstery.
Aladdin slid down on the floor as close to her as he could, not caring if he got his pants dirty. "I'm sorry, Laleh, I shouldn't have yelled at you. Sometimes even daddies make mistakes."
Laleh reluctantly scooted closer to her father.
"I was so obsessed with trying not to screw up in front of your mother's guest, I guess I'm still getting used to all this prince stuff." Aladdin sighed, "and I shouldn't have expected that Genie would be able to entertain you all morning. Sometimes I forget what it is like to be your age."
The four-year-old princess got out from under the Ottoman and gave her father a gentle hug. "I forgive you daddy,"
"Thank you, aibnatu," Aladdin gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead.
"I remember a story from when I was only a little bit older than you, and was in a very similar situation, when adults had expected too much from a young child, I don't suppose you want to hear it, it's kind of embarrassing?"
"I love your embarrassing stories," Laleh giggled.
Aladdin picked up his daughter and set her in his lap. "So not too long after I turned five, my mother took me to a 'grown-up' party at a local mosque. My mother had expected me to sit still and quiet for a couple of hours while she talked to her friends about adult stuff I didn't understand. After two hours of trying so hard to be good, I really had to pee," Aladdin's face grew slightly red, "and I knew my mother would not have wanted me to go to the privy by myself, especially since we were somewhere unfamiliar. After waiting as long as I could, I got up pulled on her dress and told her very loudly that I had to go now. My mother angerly grabbed my arm and dragged me out to the privy, yelling at me all the way and giving me a swat on my backside. I was taken aback she usually was very patient with me, but all grownups can have their limits. Later that night after we returned to my aunts and uncle's house my mother apologized to me, saying that she shouldn't have expected me to be quiet and still for so long and felt really bad about what she had said to me."
"Did that really happen?" Laleh asked her father suspiciously.
"Of course, it did," Aladdin laughed, "Do you think I would make up such an embarrassing story."
"There you two are," Jasmine laughed as she stood outside the closet door. "I just received a message that Cleo has taken ill and will not be visiting us today."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Aladdin responded but with a tone of relief in his voice. He turned to Laleh and then to his wife, "Why don't we spend the rest of the day just the three of us. What does daddy's little girl think of that?"
Laleh hugged her father, "She says yes."
