Note: Wouldnt Alex be the hottest teen? Just a thought, for he is about my age in this story. But think about it, he's cute at 8, think of how he would be at 15!
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Emily, Meelesh, Tom, and 6 of his men rode into the front gate of the O'Connell's Egypt home. A woman come running out of the house, throwing her arms around Emily, who had just a second before dismounted.
"EVY!"
"EMILY!"
Rick and Jonathan walked up to them, and Emily threw herself into Rick's arms, gave him a tight hug, then into Jonathan's arms, hugging him just as tight. Suddenly, a large chatter fell over the group as they talked about how great it was to be around each other, and Meelesh stepped in to get her fair share of hugs from the group.
Finally, a young man came out of the house. He was about an inch shorter then his Rick, and had the same blond hair. He smiled at the visitors, flashing a smile that was unmistakable. He crossed to a stunned Emily, wrapping his arms around the woman and picked her off the ground in his hug.
"OH MY GOD! ALEX!" Emily said, as the fifteen-year-old hugged her tight, "Who are you and what did you do with my short little friend!"
"I grew up!" He said, his face beaming, as he sat Emily down. "It is so nice to see you again! My word! What has it been, 5 years?"
"Just about." Emily turned and looked at her friends, a huge smile across her face. "I can't believe it has been so long since we have seen each other! We have so much to catch up on!"
In all the excitement, Tom stood off to the side, and his mother and aunt hugged a bunch of strange people who talk funny. He did not see the warrior who stepped up behind him, lifting him in the air and tickling him. His young, joyful laughter filled the air and everyone turned and looked at the Med-jai and the boy.
Hajeb, one of the warriors she had battled in the garden of this very house, 5 years ago, continued to tickle the little boy. Emily laughed as she crossed to Hajeb and Tom, taking her son from the warrior.
"You were always good at making him laugh like that." She said with a bright smile.
Turning, she carried her son to her friends.
"Everyone, this is my son, Tomas Bay. Tom, these are the people I told you about, the ones who I met when I also met your daddy."
Ever the shy lad, Tom buried his head into his mom's shoulder. "Now, don't be shy, they are very loving and kind people." Tom lifted his head, and Emily pointed to Evy, "This is Evy O'Connell, this is her husband, Rick. Her brother, Jonathan, and this," she pointed to Alex, "is Alex."
They all took his little hand and shook it, Jonathan throwing in a little pat on the back, and Alex pretended to buckle under the weight of Tom's handshake.
"That's some hand shake you got there Tom!" he said, "You're a strong one, I bet you could take me down like that!" he snapped his fingers, and Tom giggled. He liked Alex.
"There will be no roughhousing," Evy said, shooting a look at her son.
"Yeah, he has enough of it at home." Emily said with a sigh.
The warriors took in Emily's, Meelesh's, and Tom's small suitcases, and took the horses around to the back yard, to a small stable that had been recently built. Ten horses could not hit into the 5-horse stable, so they tied the extra horses to the poles on the out side of each little room.
"I am so happy that those stables are being used, we have had no need for them yet." Evy said as they journeyed inside.
The house looked just the same as the last time Emily had been in it, five years before. She could not believe that it had been so long since she saw her friends.
"Emily, you and Tom will be in the guestroom down the hall, if you don't mind, and Meelesh, you will be in the one upstairs." Evy said.
"Wonderful." Emily let out in a content sigh.
Maria stuck her head out of the kitchen and smiled brightly, then returned back in to finish diner. And Charlie appeared with a bright smile and welcomed Emily back to the house.
~~
Emily could not help but feel her heart sink as she walked into the guestroom she had inhabited 5 years before. The room where she first laid eyes on Ardeth, first spoken to him, first fell in love with him. Not much in the room had changed, except for new pictures on the bedside table, one, of her and Ardeth on their wedding day. And had it not been for Evy walking in at that moment, Emily would have broken down, crying.
"Happy to be back?" The English woman said as she entered the room.
"In many ways, yes." Emily said with a sigh, as she fell back on the large bed, her hand finding its way to her stomach.
"Where is Ardeth?" Evy asked sweetly, sitting next to Emily.
"Off…helping an old…friend." Was all that came back, Evy knew not to press her luck.
"It is a delight to have you, Meelesh, and Tom here. He is the cutest little boy, reminds me a lot of Alex at that age. He has his father's looks, but he has your eyes." She said softly.
"And he has his fathers sense of adventure." Emily said with a sigh, as she sat up. Evy laughed.
"Yes, Alex has Rick's sense of adventure, and my sense of getting into and out of trouble." The pair giggled.
"At least there are no more mummies coming after you this time!" Emily giggled.
"Or doomsday cults!" Evy shot back, as they both fell back on the bed, laughing. Rick poked his head in and looked at the giggling girls.
"Um…children…dinner will be ready in about five minutes." He said, and ducked at the pillow that flew at his head.
~~
Emily and Evy joined everyone in the dinning room, and for the first time, Emily noticed a blond woman sitting next to Jonathan. All stood when they entered the room and crossed to the table. Rick was sitting at the head of the table, 1 space on his left were empty, next to the empty space sat Tom, in a booster chair, and Alex. On the other side of Rick, were another empty space, then the blond woman, and Jonathan. At the other head of the table, sat Meelesh.
Evy let out a little gasp and said, "Emily, I don't believe you have met Carol, Jonathan's wife."
Emily nearly bust out in laughter when the word 'wife' left Evy's lips, but she bit her tongue and held it in. She extended a hand, and the woman took it, shaking it with a bright, wide smile.
"Wonderful to meet you, Emily, I have heard much about you." Carol said with a soft, British accent.
"Like wise, Carol, I have heard nothing at all about you."
This made the blond giggle. She was about 5'7, her hair pulled up into a high pony tail, it had to have been down to her mid-back, he had bright blue eyes that twinkled when she moved them.
All who were standing sat down, and Maria and Charlie brought them their meals. After Evy said a quick grace, they dove in to their meal and conversation, and Emily could not wait to hear about this strange woman who could put up with Jonathan enough to marry him.
"Tell me about yourself," Emily said, turning to Carol. As she talked to the woman, she cut up to tiny pieces of food on Tom's plate and placed the fork in his hand, giving him a little, 'you better eat this' squeeze.
"Well, I met Jonathan here about 7 years ago, Right after he and the O'Connell's got back from their trip down here. We were just friends at first, but after they came back from here 5 years ago, we became more then friends, and have been married for three and a half years!"
Emily looked at the woman, then at the smiling Jonathan. He could tell she was thinking, 'How can she put up with him?' and he winked at her. Emily sat back a little, nodded, and then said, "I am happy for you two. Its wonderful to know a wild one like Jonathan could be tamed."
This caused the whole table to erupt in laughter, except for Tom and Meelesh, who had no idea about Jonathan's past. Jonathan put a hand on his wife's, and said with a joyful smile,
"Well, 'tamed' is a bit to strong of a word." And the lot of them laughed again.
~~
Three hours later, Emily sat on the padded bench that sat on the patio of the house. Everything around her reminded her of Ardeth. She thought about the night the Fajarah kidnapped her, how she and Ardeth had kissed for the first time that night. She sighed and looked over at her son, who was asleep next to her.
~~
"What do you think of, my love?" Ardeth said softly, holding her close to him. The newlyweds were sitting in front of the large bonfire that was burning in the center of town.
"I think of my family, Ardeth, of my brothers and grandfather."
"Have you not gotten a letter back from them?"
Emily sighed and stared at the fire, after a long time she said, "I got a letter from them today."
"Oh? What did it say?"
With another sigh, she said, "It said that…that my brothers could not except what I have done. Nor could they except you into their lives."
"Why?" He looked at her with deep, sad eyes.
"They can't seem to see why I fell in love with you or why I married you. The letter said they couldn't understand why I would give up them to live in the desert with…with…"
"With?"
"With an entire nation of sheep stealers." Emily looked down, tears coming to here eyes. "I can't understand why they won't except you. I just don't understand it. They don't see how much I love you and how happy I am. They think I belong back in America…married to some rich fool from the town. They said that…that I was letting them down and deserting them." Finally, the tears came and Ardeth pulled her closer to him, kissing the top of her head gently.
"Emily…it will all be ok. They will except your choice and me one day. They will have to, once they see how much you love me, and how much I love you."
He held her for a long time, before she said, "Luckily, my grandfather excepts it."
Ardeth couldn't help but smile. "See? They will have to except it if your grandfather does."
"I wish my brothers were that simple, but they are not. Grandfather said that he was glad I fell in love with a Med-jai, over all the other Bedouin tribes out here. And he also said that he understands what it is like to fall in love with someone from another culture and have your family dislike the whole thing. He told me not to worry about the boys, because he will make them see that what I did was right."
Ardeth smiled and brought her face close to his. "He is a good man, your grandfather." His lips come to hers, locking on to them. The kiss was long and deep and it left Emily feeling lightheaded.
~~
Emily opened her eyes and looked around. She was not at home with her husband; she was still on the balcony, with her son asleep next to her. She knew it was late, so she picked up her son and carried him down to their room. Emily laid him on the bed, and gently took off his little boots and little Med-jai robes. When he wore the outfit, he truly looked like a mini-Ardeth. She to, undressed, and put on a short slip, and crawled in to the bed. This movement made Tom wake up, and he looked at her, green eyes shining.
"Mommy?"
"Yes dear?"
"Why are we here, and where is daddy?"
Emily realized that during all that was going on, she had not explained it to her son.
"Your daddy is out, helping an old friend. You know that will take him away from us for a while. And we are here because I had to get out of our town. I had been there for too long, and I just had to get out of there for a while. And since our friends live here, I decided to come visit them."
"Then why is Aunt Meelesh here?"
"Well…she came…she came to look over me."
"Why? Are you sick?"
"No, but there is something going on inside of me."
"What?"
"Well, Tom, you're going to be a brother. You see, I am pregnant, and in a few months, I am going to give birth to the child inside of me and you will be a brother."
Tom's eyes lit up and he smiled brightly. "I'm going to have a baby brother?"
"Or a baby sister. Yes."
"Yay! Where is the baby?"
"It is right inside here." She placed Tom's tiny hand over her stomach. "And in a little while, I am going to become really big. Just like some of the woman in our tribe do at times. You know? They get really big, and then their large stomachs go away? That's what happens to them, they have a baby."
"How long do I have to wait!?"
"About seven months."
Tom pouted like Ardeth did when she told him the same thing, so long ago. "But that's so long!"
"I know, I know. But you have to be patient. And look at it this way, little one, when the baby comes out, you will have all your life to play with them."
Tom giggled.
"Now, we go to sleep, son. It is late, and we have much fun to do tomorrow. Dreamland awaits you." She pulled the blanket up over the two of them and turned off the small bedside light.
~~
Emily almost didn't make it to the bathroom of the guest bedroom the next morning. But she made it; throwing her head over the toilet and letting the vomit go. Oh, she hated morning sickness. For the two day span it took her to get to Cairo, she had been able to hold it all down, not really wanting to have to throw up behind a dune. Which was what she had to do when morning sickness hit her at home. She let out a moan when she stopped vomiting; her head still hung over the toilet. She felt a second wave coming, and let it go, the past two days catching up to her.
Oh, Ardeth would pay for this. As soon as he got home, when ever that would be, she would tell him the wonderful news, then kick him in the crotch. So that he could never do this to her again. A third and final wave of it came, and when it was over, she flushed the toilet, another moan coming out of her.
~~
"'Morning!" Evy said brightly, as Emily walked into the kitchen.
"'Morning," Emily said, crossing to the table and sitting down. "What's up?"
"Oh, nothing. We are the only two awake so far. What are you doing up so early?"
Emily looked at the clock in the kitchen and saw it was 6:30 in the morning. The sun was just about to break over the horizon, aside from the fact that there were large, dark clouds hanging over the horizon as well.
"I always get up this early, crack of dawn…that's when all the Med-jai get up."
Evy smiled softly at her American friend, finding it hard, to this day, to think of her as the queen of the Med-jai.
"How do you like being there?" She asked, sipping her coffee.
"I just love it…it is…divine. I love being with Ardeth, and everyone there is just so wonderful. You know that. It is such a simple life, but such a perfect life. I couldn't think about living any other way." Emily smiled to her self at the thought of waking up next to Ardeth, just about every day for the past five years. "I really love it there. It is my home."
"That is so wonderful, Emily, I am so happy that both you and Ardeth are happy."
"We are very happy." As she said this, Emily stood and crossed to the coffeepot, and started to fix herself a cup.
"What about you? How is England?"
"Oh my…I an thankful we got out of there when we did. There is a war going on up there, you know."
"No…I don't. I don't hear of news from the outside world."
"Heavens, you are lucky then. Yeah, Germany is up there, trying to take over everything. And England is fighting it. There are just some horrible things going on up there."
"Damn Nazi's." Came another, scruffy, voice. Looking up, the two women saw Rick standing in the doorway of the kitchen, looking tired, dressed in a robe that was not tied that properly. He let out a small smile and crossed to Emily and, more importantly, the coffeepot. He poured himself a rather large cup, downing half of it black, and in one sip. He then filled the cup again, this time putting in two sugar cubes and a bit of milk. He tasted the coffee, then threw in two more sugar cubes.
"Bastards are trying to take over the world. They are even down here, but not a lot of them, thank god. You'd think that Hitler guy would have something better to do then send all the Jew's to their deaths."
"Rick, come on, this is not pleasant morning conversation." Evy said, as her husband crossed to the table, sitting next to her.
"Hey, you two started it. I just put in my opinion." He mumbled, and attacked his coffee cup again.
Emily, who was still standing by the coffeepot, giggled and sipped her own creation. Enjoying every sip of it she could take in. She never got sugar and cream with her coffee at home, at least, not real cream. Of all the thinks she got used to in the Med-jai City, goat's milk was still not one of them. Suddenly, Emily let out a tiny gasp and moved her free hand over her stomach.
"What is it, Emily dear?" Evy said, noticing this, and standing.
"I have some wonderful news!" Emily said, putting down her coffee cup and placing her other hand on her stomach.
Evy looked at her kinda puzzled for a second, and then her face broke into a bright smile.
"Are you…?" She gasped out.
Emily smiled. "Yes, I am."
Evy's eyes lit up and she grabbed her friend, wrapping her arms around the woman.
"That is wonderful!" She exclaimed.
When the hug broke, Evy placed her hand over Emily's stomach, trying to feel a movement, but she felt nothing.
"Oh well," she said with a smile, "we won't feel it for a while."
Rick looked up from his coffee cup, and looked over at the smiling women.
"What's going on?" He asked puzzled.
"It looks like Ardeth and Emily are going to be parents!" Evy exclaimed.
"Oh…" Rick said puzzled, he took another sip of caffeine. "But…aren't they already…OH!" It finally hit him. He turned towards Emily, "Really? Another?"
She giggled and nodded.
"That's wonderful!" He said, standing up and crossing to her, hugging her tightly. "Congregations!"
"Thank you!" She laughed. They all sat at the table, and began to talk about the upcoming baby. Over the next hour, Jonathan, Carol, Meelesh, and Alex all got up, all but Alex making their tired way to the now almost empty coffeepot. At one point, they had to make another pot.
Alex walked over to the large kitchen windows, staring at the dark clouds that hung in the distance, which seemed to be getting closer.
"That looks like a thunderstorm…" He said softly, turning to his family at the table. "Don't get those down here often."
Emily's attention was torn from her conversation with Rick and she looked over at the windows, nodding her head in agreement.
"It's been about two and a half years since the last one." She said softly, "I remember the last one very clearly." The sudden memory of the last thunderstorm she had been witness to, made her sit back in silence. But she did not stay that way long, for Tom came jumping into her arms, giving her a morning hug.
"HI MOMMY!" He said, squeezing her neck a little.
"'Morning Tom, how did you sleep?"
"Fine!" She picked up her son and placed him in her lap. A string of "Good morning" fell over the table, as Maria placed a plate of fresh muffins and butter in front of them all. Everyone dove into the breakfast, chatting about the day's events.
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Emily, Meelesh, Tom, and 6 of his men rode into the front gate of the O'Connell's Egypt home. A woman come running out of the house, throwing her arms around Emily, who had just a second before dismounted.
"EVY!"
"EMILY!"
Rick and Jonathan walked up to them, and Emily threw herself into Rick's arms, gave him a tight hug, then into Jonathan's arms, hugging him just as tight. Suddenly, a large chatter fell over the group as they talked about how great it was to be around each other, and Meelesh stepped in to get her fair share of hugs from the group.
Finally, a young man came out of the house. He was about an inch shorter then his Rick, and had the same blond hair. He smiled at the visitors, flashing a smile that was unmistakable. He crossed to a stunned Emily, wrapping his arms around the woman and picked her off the ground in his hug.
"OH MY GOD! ALEX!" Emily said, as the fifteen-year-old hugged her tight, "Who are you and what did you do with my short little friend!"
"I grew up!" He said, his face beaming, as he sat Emily down. "It is so nice to see you again! My word! What has it been, 5 years?"
"Just about." Emily turned and looked at her friends, a huge smile across her face. "I can't believe it has been so long since we have seen each other! We have so much to catch up on!"
In all the excitement, Tom stood off to the side, and his mother and aunt hugged a bunch of strange people who talk funny. He did not see the warrior who stepped up behind him, lifting him in the air and tickling him. His young, joyful laughter filled the air and everyone turned and looked at the Med-jai and the boy.
Hajeb, one of the warriors she had battled in the garden of this very house, 5 years ago, continued to tickle the little boy. Emily laughed as she crossed to Hajeb and Tom, taking her son from the warrior.
"You were always good at making him laugh like that." She said with a bright smile.
Turning, she carried her son to her friends.
"Everyone, this is my son, Tomas Bay. Tom, these are the people I told you about, the ones who I met when I also met your daddy."
Ever the shy lad, Tom buried his head into his mom's shoulder. "Now, don't be shy, they are very loving and kind people." Tom lifted his head, and Emily pointed to Evy, "This is Evy O'Connell, this is her husband, Rick. Her brother, Jonathan, and this," she pointed to Alex, "is Alex."
They all took his little hand and shook it, Jonathan throwing in a little pat on the back, and Alex pretended to buckle under the weight of Tom's handshake.
"That's some hand shake you got there Tom!" he said, "You're a strong one, I bet you could take me down like that!" he snapped his fingers, and Tom giggled. He liked Alex.
"There will be no roughhousing," Evy said, shooting a look at her son.
"Yeah, he has enough of it at home." Emily said with a sigh.
The warriors took in Emily's, Meelesh's, and Tom's small suitcases, and took the horses around to the back yard, to a small stable that had been recently built. Ten horses could not hit into the 5-horse stable, so they tied the extra horses to the poles on the out side of each little room.
"I am so happy that those stables are being used, we have had no need for them yet." Evy said as they journeyed inside.
The house looked just the same as the last time Emily had been in it, five years before. She could not believe that it had been so long since she saw her friends.
"Emily, you and Tom will be in the guestroom down the hall, if you don't mind, and Meelesh, you will be in the one upstairs." Evy said.
"Wonderful." Emily let out in a content sigh.
Maria stuck her head out of the kitchen and smiled brightly, then returned back in to finish diner. And Charlie appeared with a bright smile and welcomed Emily back to the house.
~~
Emily could not help but feel her heart sink as she walked into the guestroom she had inhabited 5 years before. The room where she first laid eyes on Ardeth, first spoken to him, first fell in love with him. Not much in the room had changed, except for new pictures on the bedside table, one, of her and Ardeth on their wedding day. And had it not been for Evy walking in at that moment, Emily would have broken down, crying.
"Happy to be back?" The English woman said as she entered the room.
"In many ways, yes." Emily said with a sigh, as she fell back on the large bed, her hand finding its way to her stomach.
"Where is Ardeth?" Evy asked sweetly, sitting next to Emily.
"Off…helping an old…friend." Was all that came back, Evy knew not to press her luck.
"It is a delight to have you, Meelesh, and Tom here. He is the cutest little boy, reminds me a lot of Alex at that age. He has his father's looks, but he has your eyes." She said softly.
"And he has his fathers sense of adventure." Emily said with a sigh, as she sat up. Evy laughed.
"Yes, Alex has Rick's sense of adventure, and my sense of getting into and out of trouble." The pair giggled.
"At least there are no more mummies coming after you this time!" Emily giggled.
"Or doomsday cults!" Evy shot back, as they both fell back on the bed, laughing. Rick poked his head in and looked at the giggling girls.
"Um…children…dinner will be ready in about five minutes." He said, and ducked at the pillow that flew at his head.
~~
Emily and Evy joined everyone in the dinning room, and for the first time, Emily noticed a blond woman sitting next to Jonathan. All stood when they entered the room and crossed to the table. Rick was sitting at the head of the table, 1 space on his left were empty, next to the empty space sat Tom, in a booster chair, and Alex. On the other side of Rick, were another empty space, then the blond woman, and Jonathan. At the other head of the table, sat Meelesh.
Evy let out a little gasp and said, "Emily, I don't believe you have met Carol, Jonathan's wife."
Emily nearly bust out in laughter when the word 'wife' left Evy's lips, but she bit her tongue and held it in. She extended a hand, and the woman took it, shaking it with a bright, wide smile.
"Wonderful to meet you, Emily, I have heard much about you." Carol said with a soft, British accent.
"Like wise, Carol, I have heard nothing at all about you."
This made the blond giggle. She was about 5'7, her hair pulled up into a high pony tail, it had to have been down to her mid-back, he had bright blue eyes that twinkled when she moved them.
All who were standing sat down, and Maria and Charlie brought them their meals. After Evy said a quick grace, they dove in to their meal and conversation, and Emily could not wait to hear about this strange woman who could put up with Jonathan enough to marry him.
"Tell me about yourself," Emily said, turning to Carol. As she talked to the woman, she cut up to tiny pieces of food on Tom's plate and placed the fork in his hand, giving him a little, 'you better eat this' squeeze.
"Well, I met Jonathan here about 7 years ago, Right after he and the O'Connell's got back from their trip down here. We were just friends at first, but after they came back from here 5 years ago, we became more then friends, and have been married for three and a half years!"
Emily looked at the woman, then at the smiling Jonathan. He could tell she was thinking, 'How can she put up with him?' and he winked at her. Emily sat back a little, nodded, and then said, "I am happy for you two. Its wonderful to know a wild one like Jonathan could be tamed."
This caused the whole table to erupt in laughter, except for Tom and Meelesh, who had no idea about Jonathan's past. Jonathan put a hand on his wife's, and said with a joyful smile,
"Well, 'tamed' is a bit to strong of a word." And the lot of them laughed again.
~~
Three hours later, Emily sat on the padded bench that sat on the patio of the house. Everything around her reminded her of Ardeth. She thought about the night the Fajarah kidnapped her, how she and Ardeth had kissed for the first time that night. She sighed and looked over at her son, who was asleep next to her.
~~
"What do you think of, my love?" Ardeth said softly, holding her close to him. The newlyweds were sitting in front of the large bonfire that was burning in the center of town.
"I think of my family, Ardeth, of my brothers and grandfather."
"Have you not gotten a letter back from them?"
Emily sighed and stared at the fire, after a long time she said, "I got a letter from them today."
"Oh? What did it say?"
With another sigh, she said, "It said that…that my brothers could not except what I have done. Nor could they except you into their lives."
"Why?" He looked at her with deep, sad eyes.
"They can't seem to see why I fell in love with you or why I married you. The letter said they couldn't understand why I would give up them to live in the desert with…with…"
"With?"
"With an entire nation of sheep stealers." Emily looked down, tears coming to here eyes. "I can't understand why they won't except you. I just don't understand it. They don't see how much I love you and how happy I am. They think I belong back in America…married to some rich fool from the town. They said that…that I was letting them down and deserting them." Finally, the tears came and Ardeth pulled her closer to him, kissing the top of her head gently.
"Emily…it will all be ok. They will except your choice and me one day. They will have to, once they see how much you love me, and how much I love you."
He held her for a long time, before she said, "Luckily, my grandfather excepts it."
Ardeth couldn't help but smile. "See? They will have to except it if your grandfather does."
"I wish my brothers were that simple, but they are not. Grandfather said that he was glad I fell in love with a Med-jai, over all the other Bedouin tribes out here. And he also said that he understands what it is like to fall in love with someone from another culture and have your family dislike the whole thing. He told me not to worry about the boys, because he will make them see that what I did was right."
Ardeth smiled and brought her face close to his. "He is a good man, your grandfather." His lips come to hers, locking on to them. The kiss was long and deep and it left Emily feeling lightheaded.
~~
Emily opened her eyes and looked around. She was not at home with her husband; she was still on the balcony, with her son asleep next to her. She knew it was late, so she picked up her son and carried him down to their room. Emily laid him on the bed, and gently took off his little boots and little Med-jai robes. When he wore the outfit, he truly looked like a mini-Ardeth. She to, undressed, and put on a short slip, and crawled in to the bed. This movement made Tom wake up, and he looked at her, green eyes shining.
"Mommy?"
"Yes dear?"
"Why are we here, and where is daddy?"
Emily realized that during all that was going on, she had not explained it to her son.
"Your daddy is out, helping an old friend. You know that will take him away from us for a while. And we are here because I had to get out of our town. I had been there for too long, and I just had to get out of there for a while. And since our friends live here, I decided to come visit them."
"Then why is Aunt Meelesh here?"
"Well…she came…she came to look over me."
"Why? Are you sick?"
"No, but there is something going on inside of me."
"What?"
"Well, Tom, you're going to be a brother. You see, I am pregnant, and in a few months, I am going to give birth to the child inside of me and you will be a brother."
Tom's eyes lit up and he smiled brightly. "I'm going to have a baby brother?"
"Or a baby sister. Yes."
"Yay! Where is the baby?"
"It is right inside here." She placed Tom's tiny hand over her stomach. "And in a little while, I am going to become really big. Just like some of the woman in our tribe do at times. You know? They get really big, and then their large stomachs go away? That's what happens to them, they have a baby."
"How long do I have to wait!?"
"About seven months."
Tom pouted like Ardeth did when she told him the same thing, so long ago. "But that's so long!"
"I know, I know. But you have to be patient. And look at it this way, little one, when the baby comes out, you will have all your life to play with them."
Tom giggled.
"Now, we go to sleep, son. It is late, and we have much fun to do tomorrow. Dreamland awaits you." She pulled the blanket up over the two of them and turned off the small bedside light.
~~
Emily almost didn't make it to the bathroom of the guest bedroom the next morning. But she made it; throwing her head over the toilet and letting the vomit go. Oh, she hated morning sickness. For the two day span it took her to get to Cairo, she had been able to hold it all down, not really wanting to have to throw up behind a dune. Which was what she had to do when morning sickness hit her at home. She let out a moan when she stopped vomiting; her head still hung over the toilet. She felt a second wave coming, and let it go, the past two days catching up to her.
Oh, Ardeth would pay for this. As soon as he got home, when ever that would be, she would tell him the wonderful news, then kick him in the crotch. So that he could never do this to her again. A third and final wave of it came, and when it was over, she flushed the toilet, another moan coming out of her.
~~
"'Morning!" Evy said brightly, as Emily walked into the kitchen.
"'Morning," Emily said, crossing to the table and sitting down. "What's up?"
"Oh, nothing. We are the only two awake so far. What are you doing up so early?"
Emily looked at the clock in the kitchen and saw it was 6:30 in the morning. The sun was just about to break over the horizon, aside from the fact that there were large, dark clouds hanging over the horizon as well.
"I always get up this early, crack of dawn…that's when all the Med-jai get up."
Evy smiled softly at her American friend, finding it hard, to this day, to think of her as the queen of the Med-jai.
"How do you like being there?" She asked, sipping her coffee.
"I just love it…it is…divine. I love being with Ardeth, and everyone there is just so wonderful. You know that. It is such a simple life, but such a perfect life. I couldn't think about living any other way." Emily smiled to her self at the thought of waking up next to Ardeth, just about every day for the past five years. "I really love it there. It is my home."
"That is so wonderful, Emily, I am so happy that both you and Ardeth are happy."
"We are very happy." As she said this, Emily stood and crossed to the coffeepot, and started to fix herself a cup.
"What about you? How is England?"
"Oh my…I an thankful we got out of there when we did. There is a war going on up there, you know."
"No…I don't. I don't hear of news from the outside world."
"Heavens, you are lucky then. Yeah, Germany is up there, trying to take over everything. And England is fighting it. There are just some horrible things going on up there."
"Damn Nazi's." Came another, scruffy, voice. Looking up, the two women saw Rick standing in the doorway of the kitchen, looking tired, dressed in a robe that was not tied that properly. He let out a small smile and crossed to Emily and, more importantly, the coffeepot. He poured himself a rather large cup, downing half of it black, and in one sip. He then filled the cup again, this time putting in two sugar cubes and a bit of milk. He tasted the coffee, then threw in two more sugar cubes.
"Bastards are trying to take over the world. They are even down here, but not a lot of them, thank god. You'd think that Hitler guy would have something better to do then send all the Jew's to their deaths."
"Rick, come on, this is not pleasant morning conversation." Evy said, as her husband crossed to the table, sitting next to her.
"Hey, you two started it. I just put in my opinion." He mumbled, and attacked his coffee cup again.
Emily, who was still standing by the coffeepot, giggled and sipped her own creation. Enjoying every sip of it she could take in. She never got sugar and cream with her coffee at home, at least, not real cream. Of all the thinks she got used to in the Med-jai City, goat's milk was still not one of them. Suddenly, Emily let out a tiny gasp and moved her free hand over her stomach.
"What is it, Emily dear?" Evy said, noticing this, and standing.
"I have some wonderful news!" Emily said, putting down her coffee cup and placing her other hand on her stomach.
Evy looked at her kinda puzzled for a second, and then her face broke into a bright smile.
"Are you…?" She gasped out.
Emily smiled. "Yes, I am."
Evy's eyes lit up and she grabbed her friend, wrapping her arms around the woman.
"That is wonderful!" She exclaimed.
When the hug broke, Evy placed her hand over Emily's stomach, trying to feel a movement, but she felt nothing.
"Oh well," she said with a smile, "we won't feel it for a while."
Rick looked up from his coffee cup, and looked over at the smiling women.
"What's going on?" He asked puzzled.
"It looks like Ardeth and Emily are going to be parents!" Evy exclaimed.
"Oh…" Rick said puzzled, he took another sip of caffeine. "But…aren't they already…OH!" It finally hit him. He turned towards Emily, "Really? Another?"
She giggled and nodded.
"That's wonderful!" He said, standing up and crossing to her, hugging her tightly. "Congregations!"
"Thank you!" She laughed. They all sat at the table, and began to talk about the upcoming baby. Over the next hour, Jonathan, Carol, Meelesh, and Alex all got up, all but Alex making their tired way to the now almost empty coffeepot. At one point, they had to make another pot.
Alex walked over to the large kitchen windows, staring at the dark clouds that hung in the distance, which seemed to be getting closer.
"That looks like a thunderstorm…" He said softly, turning to his family at the table. "Don't get those down here often."
Emily's attention was torn from her conversation with Rick and she looked over at the windows, nodding her head in agreement.
"It's been about two and a half years since the last one." She said softly, "I remember the last one very clearly." The sudden memory of the last thunderstorm she had been witness to, made her sit back in silence. But she did not stay that way long, for Tom came jumping into her arms, giving her a morning hug.
"HI MOMMY!" He said, squeezing her neck a little.
"'Morning Tom, how did you sleep?"
"Fine!" She picked up her son and placed him in her lap. A string of "Good morning" fell over the table, as Maria placed a plate of fresh muffins and butter in front of them all. Everyone dove into the breakfast, chatting about the day's events.