Disclaimer: I do not own As the World Turns.
Notes: I can take back my previous note regarding Aaron; I found out that he's back in Seattle.
Part I – Chapter III
"My…my what?"
Her eyes flew open, purposely made dry. "Ruth…Ruth Mason. I'm the one who sent you that box." Ruth released Noah's hands, her face flushing. "I'm sorry; I know you probably don't want anything to do with me, but when I found out you met Riley, I…you're almost twenty and I haven't seen you since you were three. I couldn't deal with that anymore, and Amira convinced me that we should come see you so I just got on the first plane before I could change my mind."
"Okay, wait a moment," Holden said, releasing Luke but in doing so pushing his son behind him. He glanced at Jack, who gave a slight nod and pocketed his gun and his hand along with it. "Explain this from the beginning."
"What's with the gun?" Riley demanded, his arm still protectively slung around Amira.
"We've been expecting unwelcome company," Jack answered.
"Unwelcome…? Noah, I told you this had nothing to do with your father," Casey said.
"Noah was afraid that you were being forced to speak," Damian explained.
"Guys. Guys…guys!" Luke finally shouted, and the din settled unevenly. "Can we start this over, please?" Luke moved past his father to put his hand on Noah's arm; Noah was stiff and unresponsive to the touch.
"Hold it." Jack cast his suspicious glance at Riley. "Who's this?"
"This is Sergeant Riley Morgan. He was at Adam Hughes's memorial yesterday," Luke said. Riley took his military ID from his pocket and held it up for Jack to scrutinize. After a few seconds, Jack's hold on his weapon finally relaxed.
"Won't…won't you sit down?" Emma said, dropping her hand towel on the back of a chair and stepping back to gesture to her table.
The normality of Emma's steadfast politeness was enough to shock Noah's brain into working again. "You're Ruth Mason?"
Ruth nodded quickly as she took the seat playing host to Emma's towel.
"Luke, I'm going to get everyone from the barn," Holden said as Riley and Amira took seats on either side of Ruth. Luke nodded his acknowledgment as he and Noah took seats opposite Ruth. He took hold of Noah's hand under the table. Damian and Jack stood, like sentinels, by the door. Emma went to the stove, working on the dinner that worry had forced her to neglect; Casey awkwardly joined her a handful of seconds later.
"Mrs. Mason? I'm sorry; I think Noah's going into overload," Luke said, looking into the woman's face radiating the hope that Noah would say something.
"Oh, of course, of course. This is too much for anyone." Ruth ran a hand nervously through her hair. "So…I can take it that you didn't read my letter?"
"What letter?" Noah managed to force from his mouth.
"It was with the box. I sent it with your mother's things."
"It must have gotten mixed up with the ones from your mother," Luke said to Noah before looking at Ruth. "Noah never finished reading all the letters. It was…too hard."
"So…so you didn't write me off?" Ruth's face was the one of someone witnessing a miracle. "I was so afraid that you were too angry…"
"Angry? Why would I…?" If asked sometime in the future, Noah would swear that he felt his mind escaping from his head through his ears. "Can you…can you start from the beginning, please?"
"Absolutely." Ruth fidgeted, crossing her hands in her lap. "Charlene—your mother—had two sisters. There's me—Ruth, the youngest—and Susanna was the oldest. Susanna married Dylan Morgan and had Riley a few years before Charlene and…before Charlene had you." Storm clouds drifted into Ruth's eyes at the thought of her former brother-in-law. "Susie and Dylan…there was a car crash when Riley was just a toddler," she reached out to squeeze Riley's hand, "and they'd specified for me to get custody. They weren't fans of your father, either. Do you remember this at all? You were only three when you went away, but you and Riley played together all the time."
"I don't…I don't recall." It was only when Luke shifted that Noah noticed the death grip he had on his boyfriend's hand. Try as he might he couldn't force himself to loosen his hold.
"It's just as well you don't." Ruth pressed her lips together. "Seventeen years ago, your father sent Char to my house with a face full of bruises and a warning to never come back. We…discussed our options for hours. She wanted to stay in your life, but we had Riley to think about. We knew you were safe—that man was obsessed with you—but he'd go for the throat with anyone else, even if they were innocent."
Luke felt Noah twitch violently, and slid his free hand around Noah's arm.
"We decided that the best thing was for me to move and cut off contact with you. You were too young to even remember us. So I went to Memphis. She stayed in Georgia." The storm clouds in Ruth's eyes began to relinquish rain. "Char missed you so much. We both did. It broke her heart to get all those letters returned. And the last one came back with a death threat, so she had to flee…she came here, to Oakdale. When the police sent me the notification that Winston killed her—"
"Aunt Ruth, don't do this to yourself," Riley said, gently resting his hands on her shoulders. Luke bit his lip and felt the hitch in Noah's breathing shudder throughout his body; the precursor to his own tears.
"No, your cousin has the right to know!" Ruth yelped, furiously wiping at her eyes. "Noah, I knew it had something to do with you; that you'd be here. I could barely bring myself to send you that box. But I'd just gotten married and we were moving to LA; I couldn't bear to take her things with me. And I wanted you to know her. You could, now that she had nothing left to lose."
Her last words were lost in a sob and buried underneath the sudden bang of Emma slamming a serving dish of spaghetti in the middle of the table. The matriarch's sympathy and righteous fury shown in her eyes as she pulled the towel off the chair and held it to Ruth's face.
"Please, let's have no more of this…unpleasantness right now," Emma said. "I have more than enough food waiting to get eaten. Let's have dinner and continue this discussion afterwards."
"Grandma…" Luke almost nervously laughed out. Noah bent his head, hiding his face in his hand; Luke moved his free hand to squeeze Noah's leg.
"We can't impose," Riley said.
"Nonsense. You're Noah's aunt and cousin, and his friend." She directed her smile at Amira, who ducked her head. "That makes you family. And speaking of…" A small group had congregated at the border of the kitchen and parlor. Emma's grin widened as she beckoned for them to come into the kitchen. "Everyone, this is Ruth Mason, Noah's aunt, and Riley, Noah's cousin. And you all of course remember Amira."
Riley and a teary-eyed Ruth sent confused looks at Amira, but questions were cut off. "Noah has been staying with the family for almost two years," Emma continued, and gestured to each member of the Snyder clan as she listed them off. "I'm Emma Snyder; this is my son Holden and his wife Lily, and their children, Faith, Natalie, Ethan, and Luke's sitting with Noah. That's my nephew Jack and his wife, Janet, and his daughter Sage. You've met Casey, obviously; he's a friend to Luke and Noah. And that's Damian…a family friend. My daughter Meg and her baby Eliza will be back from the doctor's soon."
Ruth wiped all but the most stubborn moisture from her eyes and smiled weakly. "Thank you for opening up your home to Noah."
"It's no trouble at all. Noah's become one of the family," Lily said, gently patting Noah's shoulder. Noah looked up; his eyes were squinted to hold back saltwater.
"I'm so glad he's found people like that. I was so afraid the only family he'd ever have would be his father."
"We make good in-laws," Natalie said, smiling proudly.
"Nat!" Luke hissed.
"I'm sorry?" Ruth blinked.
"The Noah's Family Litmus Test," Luke heard Noah mumble, and suddenly his hand was on the table, still gripped tightly in Noah's.
"Maybe we should go back to the barn," Faith said after a few moments of silence and Ruth's shocked expression.
"Dinner is ready, everyone," Emma said, now bustling around the kitchen. "Jack, Holden, bring out the other table."
"You didn't mention this on the phone," Ruth said, turning to Riley.
"Janet, can you call Meg and see where she and Eliza are?" Emma said loudly, nearly shoving a salad bowl into Casey's hands. "Casey, I'm assuming you're staying."
"And you?" Ruth turned on Amira, flinging the words at her like an accusation. "Since it appears you've been hiding things from me for almost a year. What all do you know about my nephew?"
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Mason, but—" Holden started.
"This isn't the best time to discuss it," Damian and Holden finished together, before sending each other half-hearted glares. The slightly sick looks on Luke and Noah's faces pushed their perennial enmity far into the background.
"Oh, I'm…I'm sorry," Ruth said, her face betraying her shame at her breach of etiquette. "I'm…just a little taken aback, that's all."
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Mason," Amira said, her hands clasped together on the table. "I should've told you."
"This is the family in L.A. your mother knew?" Luke said, shifting his hand to let Noah know that his fingers were pressed uncomfortably into Luke's palm.
Amira shook her head and looked down, studying the table intently. "There was no family. I just couldn't stay here any longer."
"Can anyone please tell me what is going on?" Ruth said, flustered, her face growing pink.
"Mrs. Mason…Noah and I were married."
The rest of the kitchen continued to busy themselves—some taking seats, some bustling food aimlessly about the room, some disappearing into the parlor—but fell silent, surrendering the hope of a few stolen moments of peace.
"What?"
Amira shifted, gaze darting between Ruth, Riley, and Noah. "I haven't been…completely honest with any of you. For several reasons, I haven't been able to tell any of you my entire story. But all of you deserve to know the truth. Mrs. Mason…" Her glance finally settled on Ruth. "I've known about the Mayer family since I was two years old. My father died during the Gulf War and, for protection, my mother attached herself to Colonel Mayer."
"…Yes." Ruth's eyes suddenly narrowed. "Issnat."
"'Ismat," Amira corrected. "You knew of her?"
"Winston wrote to Charlene about her. So often that Char thought…" Ruth stopped, her face beginning to flush. "Winston claimed there was nothing between him and that…your mother."
"According to my mother, there wasn't back then," Amira said coolly. "He was saving our lives, Mrs. Mason. Al-Majjaanan…my father's family was, is involved in it. With my father gone, there was no need to keep his useless widow and baby. Colonel Mayer sent us money to pay off my relatives. Riley's organization didn't exist back then."
Amira moved again, now to face Noah. "This was all under-the-table, Noah. The diplomacy of the situation is very messy. This is why you never heard of me before I came to America. I'm not sure what the Colonel was doing half the time was entirely legal. But he managed to keep us alive and safe until he was sent back in 2003. That's when he and my mother…were together. When he came back home he continued sending us money until he was jailed. And by that time…my mother had inhaled something a bombing uncovered, and it burned her lungs. She passed not long after. And then it was just myself…and my father's family."
The memory of the first time he saw Amira, a timid stranger holding herself so tightly that words were trapped inside, flashed through Noah's mind, and his mouth went dry. "What did they do to you?"
"They made me an offer," Amira said, her voice beginning to shake. "They needed someone who would fly under the radar. Money can be hidden inside a burqa…and no one's going to question a group of women sitting together in a boarded-up house."
Ruth stood up suddenly, the back of her chair scraping the floorboards. The color of her face was beginning to rival the sauce atop the spaghetti. "How could you?!"
"I told myself that anywhere they went would be better than Iraq," Amira said, voice thick and eyes glittering. "I might have been right. Three weeks in there was a terrorist attack. I was staying with two girls in the house when a bomb went off outside. The house was destroyed and I…I was the only one to survive."
Amira's hands flew to her eyes and the entire room fell silent. Slowly Ruth sank back into her chair.
"I ran," Amira said, lowering her hands to reveal eyes still full of tears. "The attack caused a lot of confusion and I used that to escape. I went to another town and told the local authorities what my family had been doing for almost twenty years. They arrested the few members of my family that they could find. The ones they couldn't find…came after me. I had to run again. I told the authorities in the next city I went to that my name was Amira—it was a nickname the Colonel had given me; I made up the rest—and that my family had been killed in a bombing. Then I used the money that was on me when the house was destroyed to get a visa and come here. I went to Missouri to find the Colonel but, obviously, he wasn't there. I eventually managed to find Noah here in Oakdale, when my visa was set to expire, and to keep me in the country he married me."
"But he…did you know all this, Noah?" Ruth asked.
"No," slipped quietly out of Noah's mouth, his unbelieving gaze fixed on Amira.
"None of us did," Luke said more forcefully, pulling Noah's hand protectively off the table, away from Amira.
"I thought that, once my citizenship was secure, I might be able to raise awareness on al-Majjaanan, but I didn't want to risk broaching the issue with my status so uncertain," Amira said miserably. "There was only one person I told…the Colonel. While I was married to Noah," she again addressed Ruth, "the Colonel contacted us from prison. At the time I still felt indebted to him, and when he asked why I was going by my nickname…I had kept it bottled up, and I'd been able to trust him before…I told him everything."
"You don't know this girl as well as you think," Noah heard Winston smugly assert in his mind.
"When the Colonel escaped, he came here asking me for help, and because I still trusted him I let him take me to Brooklyn. And as it turned out his plan was to sell me back to al-Majjaanan in exchange for travel papers. I'd most likely be dead right now if Noah and Luke hadn't come to my rescue."
Ruth sent a look of mixed admiration and questioning at Noah, who ducked his head to let Amira continue.
"I was put in touch with the ACLU, and I told them about al-Majjaanan. They told me they would sue for asylum for me. But I was too scared to stay in New York. The people who gave Colonel Mayer the papers might find me there. And I didn't want to return to Oakdale to cause Noah more trouble. So I went with my lawyer to Los Angeles, and that's where I met the Masons. After my case was over—two months ago—my lawyer was set to move back to New York, and the Masons were set to move to Omaha. Ruth invited me to go with them."
"But they didn't know about your life in Iraq?" Luke piped up.
"I'm the only one who knew up until this point," Riley said. "I was able to come home right before the move, when Amira first came to stay with us, and once I told her what kind of organization I was involved in, she told me what she knew. We've done great work in Iraq because of her information." His mouth formed a wry smile. "If only she'd been from Afghanistan; we need that sort of luck there."
"Owen—my husband—and I only knew she was applying for asylum, not why," Ruth said tightly. "She told me absolutely nothing about Noah or what her childhood was like."
"I didn't know about you either, Noah," Riley said.
"I was advised to try to keep as much about my life under wraps," Amira said quietly. "My ability to stay in this country is still tenuous. The fact of coercion is all that keeps me from being held as an international criminal. The ICE has not been my biggest supporter, either… If I'd known that you were related, I might have told you, but the first I heard of it was yesterday. There'd only ever be one reason for me to return to Oakdale, and I figured I'd be able to make up some excuse when the time came. And that brings us to this…"
Amira reached down to the floor where she had set her purse, and from within it drew a set of folded papers.
"After I was granted asylum my lawyer managed to get the annulment papers completely drawn up. He told me it might be better if I didn't pursue it immediately, considering my situation, but it isn't fair to you to prolong this. I was planning on coming here before the end of summer, and this visit gave me the perfect opportunity." Amira unfolded the papers, placed them on the table, and pushed them towards Noah. "I signed already. Once you do, too, we can go to a judge and make our separation legal."
Luke was the one to pick up the papers when after several moments Noah didn't move. He allowed himself a half-second of feeling as if the world's most precious diamond sat in his hand.
"This is…a bit much to take in all at once," Lily finally said, breaking the shocked silence that had afflicted the entire room.
"Yes, yes it is," Ruth said, slowly pushing her chair back and rising. "I'm…I'm terribly sorry, everyone…Amira…" She floundered, looking for that intangible something to salvage her composure. "Lily, was it? Could you possibly show me to the ladies' room?"
"Absolutely," Lily said, making her way towards the door leading to the stairs. Ruth followed her, power-walking.
"Holden, Jack, I still think the second table is in order," Emma said, somewhat weaker than before, as Lily shut the door behind herself and Ruth.
"Sorry I'm late, Mama; the appointment ran longer than—oh, we have guests?" Meg stood in the doorway, holding Eliza.
Damian glanced at his son and Noah, and crossed the room towards the door, much in the same manner as Ruth. "Meg, may I speak to you out there?"
"Oh, I suppo—" The last part of the word was lost behind the screen door closing.
"Excuse us for just a minute," Luke said, rising, the annulment papers and Noah's hand still clutched tightly in either of his own hands. The two crossed paths with Janet, Sage, and Natalie entering the dining room from the parlor.
"So…" Casey haltingly took the seat Luke had abandoned, still unconsciously holding the salad bowl to his chest. "So Amira's a nickname, huh?" Amira nodded. "What's your real name? If, if you don't mind telling me…"
"Fayza." Her real name felt good in her mouth, just as it had delighted her eyes to see it on the annulment papers. "Fayza al-Karima bint Asim al-Fawi."
"Thank you for showing me up here."
"It's not a problem at all," Lily said, smiling warmly. "You needed a moment after tonight's…conversation."
Ruth dug her fingers into her purse, searching for nothing in particular. "I can't…I really can't wrap my brain around it."
"Amira?"
"Well, everything that's happened between yesterday and today, but yes. Mainly Amira. She's just…so quiet. Innocent, almost. I can't imagine her being caught up in something like that."
"I think it's just the Curse of Oakdale," Lily said, her smile taking on a teasing edge. "There seems to be an unwritten rule that anyone who lives in Oakdale for any amount of time must have experienced something horrible," she explained to Ruth's confused look. "And if it hasn't happened yet, it will. "There are more things 'twixt Heaven and Earth…" and they've all happened here."
"Ha! I can imagine. My husband travels, and he's been through this town, actually, quite a few times. He's told me about some of your headlines." She finally settled on drawing out a tube of lipstick and reapplying it to her still perfectly painted lips.
"What are you planning to do?"
"What can I do?" Ruth capped the lipstick and dropped it back into the recesses of her handbag. "Riley knows about her past, and he's very protective of me…if she were a danger he would have had her arrested. Of course, I think he's a bit sweet on her, but I don't think he'd allow a little crush to cloud his judgment. And it's not like throwing her out would do any good…those poor girls are still slaves, or dead. And God forbid I toss her out and some AM agent grabs her; I would never forgive myself…"
"AM?"
"Al-Majjaanan. Riley gives the abbreviation in his letters, to be safe. He hasn't been with his organization for terribly long, but he works so hard, you'd think he'd been there since its inception."
"You must worry about him."
"Constantly. Thankfully he hasn't re-enlisted for combat duty, but this organization works all over the world, so he'll still be fighting the slave trade at home. You know, most soldiers' families can stop worrying about them being blown up when they come back home. I…every day I'm waiting for a box of Riley's remains to show up on my doorstep." She looked almost guiltily at Lily, whose face had gone slightly pink. "I'm sorry; this is so morbid…"
"No, no, it's all right. I'm just remembering…I lost my nephew Bryant a few years back in a car accident, and I remember what it was like, waiting in the hospital for news of him. To feel like that twenty-four/seven…"
"I'm so sorry to hear that," Ruth said, gently touching Lily's arm even as her gaze fell. "I lost my oldest sister and her husband—Riley's parents—the same way." She glanced up, eyes pleading for Lily to allow a change of subject. "I…I take it you have a sister?"
"Three. Sierra is the oldest and lives in Montega. Bianca is the youngest; she lives in New York. And Rose…Rose was my twin. She passed away six years ago. It was an accidental poisoning."
"My God…it must have been awful."
"One of the worst times of my life," Lily said, feeling a knot forming in her throat.
"That was what it was like when Susanna died. All I could do was thank God that I had Riley. And my husband, when Charlene passed. And now I have…"
"You know, after Rose died we found out that she'd had a daughter," Lily said, after Ruth surrendered herself to silence. "Rose had given the baby up and never told anyone about her; we found out because my niece—Jade—had searched us out. It's wonderful, having a little piece of Rose. Though Jade was…not exactly what I would have expected."
"How so?"
"She was…well, something of a compulsive liar. Sneaky, manipulative, a thief…she caused a lot of trouble."
"…Oh."
"I could forgive her eventually, though. She was that way because it was how she knew to survive. She couldn't help it. And even though she went about getting it the wrong way, deep down she wanted the love of a family. Her being Rose's daughter made it slightly easier for me to accept her, I must admit…"
"Hmm?" Ruth cocked her head at Lily's pointed tone.
"I saw how you reacted when you saw that Noah was with my son. I had a difficult time when Luke came out to me," Lily continued in a rush before Ruth had a chance to speak. "But eventually I accepted him, because he's my son and I can never stop loving him. And I'm sorry; I don't want to be rude, but I say this because of my nephew and sister and niece, because I know that there's nothing more important in this life than family, even when they're not what you want them to be."
Lily's hope was suspended mid-air inside her, as Ruth didn't immediately reply. Ruth instead ran her hand through her hair and glanced at the sink, as if looking at a fixture would steady her.
"You have this picture in your mind," she finally said. "I…I always imagined him as growing up to be fair-haired. Because Charlene was blonde, I suppose. He'd be taller than me but not than her. And…you know what Charlene's profession was?" Lily nodded. "We fought a lot over that…I couldn't, didn't want to see Noah tangled up in something so…I wanted Noah to be normal. I would imagine Noah at this age head-over-heels for some girl, quibbling with whomever that it doesn't matter how young they are, he's committed to her."
"Noah and Luke will have been together two years this fall," Lily said. "They've had…I think two major fights, but they just can't seem to stay away from each other. It's really not my place to tell you the details, but they've been through a lot of awful things together. I have never seen two people so committed to each other. I know exactly what you're thinking right now. My ex-husband—Luke's father—and I thought the same things. And we were wrong. All you have to do is watch them; when you see two happy, healthy young men in a strong relationship, you feel like a fool for thinking anything else was possible."
"You're very passionate about this."
"Discrimination in general is unacceptable to me. But when it comes specifically to this…Noah's been an absolute angel. Much better than my niece when she first came here. And he loves my son very much. I wasn't exaggerating when I said he's become part of the family. Holden and I consider him our son-in-law. And we saw how lonely and sad he was when…when he lost his immediate family. I just don't want him to go through that kind of pain again."
"I know." Ruth raked her fingers through and then fluffed her hair. "Now I'm really, truly grateful that Noah found this family."
"So, you're…?"
"It's not my ideal world, but neither is playing hostess to someone with Amira's past." Ruth looked up, the corner of her lip tilted up. "I can't throw Amira out because I love her. She's been such a good friend to me ever since we met in LA, and she's becoming family to me. Noah is my nephew. No matter what my mind says, in my heart he's always going to be that little toddler running to his "Aunt Roof" because Riley's throwing snowballs at him. And nothing short of him becoming Winston Jr. could make me love him any less than I always have."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah." Noah allowed Luke to gently push him into sitting on the sofa. "I mean, I get my family and my annulment papers all in one fell swoop…but to hear all that about my mother and Amira…I'm a little shell-shocked, I guess."
"Okay." Luke let himself chuckle as he sat beside his boyfriend. "'Cause when you didn't pick up those papers, you had me worried for a second."
"Ha. Believe me, I've been waiting for this for a year; I'd be slightly more ecstatic if it was seemly."
"Leave it to you to use a word like "seemly"." Luke smiled and leaned over to kiss Noah.
"I can't believe Amira would be capable of actually helping the slave trade."
"I don't think she had any other choice, though," Luke said, grin disappearing as he settled back onto the sofa cushions. "It would have continued whether she helped or not, and this way she's still alive to tell others about it."
"That doesn't make what she did right."
"No, it doesn't. But it's not as wrong as we could make it out to be."
"You're something else, you know that?" Noah's arms snaked around Luke's body, meeting at the small of his back and pulling him closer. "I don't think I've ever met anyone who can match your level of compassion."
"Hey, you're the one who married her. Speaking of, careful; don't wrinkle the papers." Luke's grin had grown back; he moved the annulment papers so they were no longer sandwiched between two bodies. "How do you think your aunt's taking it?"
"I have no idea. She seems very kind, though. I mean, people don't invite foreigners to move with them from California to Nebraska. Well…I know some people who would," he jerked his head in the direction of the kitchen and its inhabitants, "but you guys aren't really representative of the population. And she didn't seem set to throw Amira out, even when she had that outburst, so…"
"I'm glad that you're related to someone like that. Hopefully like that."
"It's a step up from prostitutes and murderers." Noah bit the inside of his lip.
"Speaking of…how do you think she'll take us?"
"She didn't seem thrilled to find out."
"Yeah." Luke frowned. "I'd think Amira being involved in the slave trade tops you being involved with me, but people are so weird when it comes to this."
"On a scale of one to ten, ten being the absolute last thing she wants to deal with…"
"You should be negative three. Million." Luke planted another quick kiss on Noah's lips. "She was really happy to see you when you both first got here; I'd think she'd be at least civil considering how much she obviously loved your mother. And you, when you were little."
"I don't really have memories of either of them, but I sorta recall my aunt's face…and snow. I'm ninety-eight percent sure my mother was there that day, too, because I remember a woman with blonde hair. I wasn't a happy camper that time, if I recall correctly."
"Probably because I was pelting you with snowballs." Luke and Noah both turned in the direction of the entrance to the parlor; Riley stood leaning against the wall. "You were such a wuss back then," Riley continued, the corner of his lip turned up. "You tattled the hell out of me. Aunt Ruth actually spanked me for that day. In her defense though, there were rocks in a few of them."
"…Sorry about that." Noah stood; Luke did likewise a second after. "And I'm sorry for my rudeness yesterday."
Riley shook his head. "It's not a big deal. Aunt Ruth and Amira reacted similarly when I told them. Uncle Owen has the good fortune of never running across the man."
"Amira's information…has really helped you?"
"Immeasurably. It appears her father's family was the real backbone of the trade in Iraq, and once she gave us their names and locations, we managed to break them. There's still human trafficking—there always will be—but it's nowhere near as strong as it was. And speaking of Amira, I want to personally thank you, for marrying her and then doing whatever you did in New York to rescue her from Mayer. She's not kidding when she said you saved her life. There've been informants sent to us in cardboard boxes. The bombing that killed Adam probably had more to do with us than the general war effort."
"Then…should I do this?" Noah took the annulment papers from Luke's hand. "If her lawyer advised her that it's a bad idea…"
"Circumstances have changed since then. Because of her help, my organization—which is attached to the military—would go to bat for her if the ICE gives her trouble. And if her lack of ties to America is the problem, she can always marry me." For a fleeting moment he looked taken aback at his own words, but luckily a small, feminine voice broke into the conversation.
"Grandma says that if you don't come to eat now, everything will get cold," Natalie informed them dutifully.
"You're just doing all the talking tonight, aren't you, Natalie?" Luke said, smiling half-heartedly to let her know he was teasing. "Tell Grandma we'll be there in just a second."
"Okay." Natalie glanced up, awestruck and almost adoringly, at Riley. Face turning slightly pink, she tugged on his hand and whispered for him to sit with her. Sending an amused glance at Noah and Luke, Riley allowed himself to be dragged back into the kitchen.
"Guess she's over the "boys are yucky" phase."
"I am too, you know." Noah's free hand slipped around Luke's shoulders. "You know I only asked for her sake, right?"
"Yeah. I know."
Noah bent slightly to kiss Luke; he allowed it to linger slightly longer than usual.
"Now, you guys!" rang out from the dining room.
They laughed their way out of the kiss, though Noah still held tightly onto Luke. A stray pen was sitting on the coffee table, and Noah scooped it up with two fingers from the hand used to hold onto the annulment papers. He only let go when they reached the kitchen table; when he lay the papers and pen down he took up the pen with his other hand.
"So this is it."
Amira nodded, looking up at him, eyes unreadable with mixed emotions. "As soon as a judge confirms it."
Noah was slightly taken aback by the unfamiliar name gracing the line above where he was designated to sign, but quick memory told him it was probably Amira's real name.
"Fayza…I'll go put these upstairs, in Luke's room. If we leave them here, something will get spilled on them."
Amira smiled and ducked her head. Noah smiled back and turned to leave, but stopped short; the stairwell door was opening, with Ruth and Lily returning to the kitchen.
Noah expected for himself and his aunt to stand still for moments that would stretch out to feel like forever. Instead, the petite brunette went forward immediately and wrapped her arms around her nephew. Noah found himself not hesitating to embrace her as well. Ruth looked up, and Noah saw two streaks of water running down her face only to absorb into the fabric of his shirt.
"I wish your mother was here."
Noah swallowed the sudden lump in his throat.
"I do, too."
(Totally stealing this from CarolinaBlue…)
Next time on "Horiya"…
-Three foreigners appear at the docks on Lake Michigan.
-Margo's visit to the farm spells trouble for Damian.