Cheers for reviews and follows, they are all appreciated
Apologies for delay, this chapter will be a mixture of Sheldon and Amy and will swing back and forth between them
Amy's first working week at the University passed quickly for her, she had been given a small group of English speaking neuroscience students and after finding out where they were up to in their studies, arranged three lectures a week with them, she introduced her own ideas and she was also give her own translator for when she was working on the addiction studies, she found herself drawn to the monkey cigarette study that was taking place and spent most of her time helping out with that one, Amy was so busy that she didn't have time to think about missing Sheldon, she barely had time to check her emails anyway
On Friday the family went to Jeddah in Faisal's private jet to Faisal's younger brother's palace for dinner, they stayed the night and in the morning the group went to the nearby beach for fun and games and in the afternoon, they flew back to the Palace to prepare for the Palace staff and family sports day the next day
On Sunday the first races were very early in the morning to accommodate the camels so they wouldn't overheat in the sun and Amy found herself incredibly excited as she reached the final round and as she raced around the course and being cheered on by Nadia and Maya who were not racing
"Go Amy, you can beat Faisal" cheered Maya
As Amy encouraged her camel Oli to go quicker by talking a few Arab words to it, she wasn't quick enough however as she crossed the line second to Faisal and both of them shared a quick hug and covered in sweat thanks to the heat, one of the camel ranch assistants came over with some water and cooled the camels down before the group went back to the palace for more events later in the day
"So Amy do you think you can beat me in the swimming? Asked Faisal as Amy drove them back in the Ferrari
"Oh I think so, I have been practicising a lot" replied Amy smiling at her friend
"There is another event that is only usually open for the men but I think you would like this one"
"What's that?
"A timed lap race in a sports car that I have hired for the day around the palace grounds"
"Count me in for that, what does the winner get?
"The chance to have the car for a week" replied Faisal
"What sort of car is it? Asked Amy as she swung in to the palace grounds
"A Bugatti Veyron, one of the most powerful cars in the world" replied Faisal
"Do we get a practice beforehand?
"Oh yes, everybody has a practice run with a trained driver who will be with you in the actual timed lap, just for safety of course"
"Of course and what time is that?
"After all the other events have been completed and the children have had their races" replied Faisal
"Ok, it's nice that they all get on so well despite their age differences" replied Amy
"Yes it's true, there is a big difference to mine and Mayas oldest Bashair who is 14 and Ghaydias youngest at just 1 but they all get on well" replied Faisal
"Will you have anymore? Asked Amy to be curious
"For sure, Maya has three with me as you know, but Nadia and Ghaydia have expressed desire for more, so we will see soon"
"And more wives? Asked Amy again persisting as they passed the car over to the Faisal's garage assistant to park up
"Perhaps and maybe you could help me choose" replied Faisal giving her a little smile
"Oh no I don't live with you so I couldn't make that decision, leave it up to Maya!
"I will get Maya to send you pictures of any possible future wives in any case, I like that you get on so well with them, but in any case the swimming starts in one hour, as you know the men who are not married to you will not be able to watch you, so it will be ladies only and then men only, its just that we like to keep the custom going so I will see you afterwards and we can compare times" replied Faisal as he walked Amy to her apartment
Amy had a chance to freshen up and have some lunch before she sat down to check her emails, she found a couple from Bernadette and Penny asking how she was and she sent a couple of quick replies and uploaded the pictures she had taken that morning
Meanwhile Sheldon had just finished his train trip across Canada when he discovered something in the bottom of his bag, he had the spare key to Amy's apartment, he wondered whether he should risk flying back to LA and just staying in her apartment for the remainder of his time but knew his mother would have many questions if he didn't show up to her place, he would have three weeks left after his visit to Texas so he made the decision to go back to LA then, but he wouldn't be telling anybody just yet about his plans and didn't think about how weird it would be to stay in his girlfriends apartment and not be contacting anybody, he turned to Eric who was checking his train route map
"So where are we going next?
"I would suggest that if you are going to Texas then just take the next train in that direction" replied Eric
"Are you coming with me? Asked Sheldon
"Oh no, I am going to carry on to Alaska" replied Eric
Sheldon who was itching to just get to Amy's apartment, wondered about how long it would take to get from Vancouver to Texas by train and then decided to just go to the airport and get to Texas quickly and spend more time with his mother and meemaw instead and told Eric this
"Very well, I will see you again in a few weeks if you like? I am planning to ride the north west again soon"
"Maybe" replied Sheldon cryptically
"See you buddy" said Eric slapping Sheldon on the back and going off to the next platform where his train was pulling in
Back in Saudi Amy was enjoying herself enormously, she found that she had a fast competitor in the swimming races from Maya and Nadia but won the swimming races and then helped organise the children's event in the afternoon before meeting with Faisal for the car practice
"Amy this is Malik, he's a professional racing driver and speaks English so follow his instructions and you will be fine" said Faisal introducing her to the tall man beside him
"Hi" said Amy shyly and suddenly nervous
"Hi to you and please join me in the car, Maya will be coming with us as chaperone of course" added Malik
"Of course" replied Amy
Malik helped her in the car and Amy watched and listened intently to the instructions as Malik whizzed around the grounds quickly and they stopped at the entrance gates where Faisal was waiting
"OK Amy you have a practice run of your own and then you have a timed lap" said Faisal
Amy jumped in to the drivers seat and sped off quickly and before she knew it she was back at the entrance where Faisal was waiting with the stop watch ready for her to go
"Amy you know Faisal likes to win these events and it will be so funny if you win against him and all the guys, go for it" said Maya from the back seat
"Oh I'm going to try my best" smiled Amy turning to her and gunning the engine
Amy shot off quickly and thanks to her instructions, go round the course very quickly and found that she was the quickest of the day so far, with only Faisal and Abdul to go, she turned and gave a high five to Maya and they waited while the last two went off and Amy got her answer 10 minutes later when Faisal arrived back one second later than Amy was
"Congratulations Amy, you have the use of this wonderful car for a week" said Faisal handing her the keys
"Thank you and to thank you all for a wonderful day, I am going to cook for you all tonight"
"Amy you know we have people to do that, please relax and enjoy yourself" replied Faisal
"Well at least let me make my special ice cream for you all"
"This special ice cream doesn't have alcohol in there does it? Asked Faisal
"Usually yes but I can put other things in there" replied Amy
"Come I will take you to the kitchen and you can tell the chef what you would like to do" said Maya guiding her away after a nod of approval from Faisal
Sheldon arrived in Texas after a flight that caused him many nerves, he took a taxi to his mother's house and greeted her warmly much to Mary's surprise
"Shelley, what are you doing here?
"Coming to visit of course"
"Yes but I thought you were not coming until next week?
"Change of plans, that's ok isn't it? Asked Sheldon walking into the lounge and finding his Meemaw there
"Of course, come sit down and tell me about your travels and then we can talk about why you are really here" replied Mary giving her son a look that he recognised
"I just wanted to get here quicker that's all" replied Sheldon evasively as he gave his Meemaw a hug
"Moonpie its good to see you" smiled Meemaw giving her grandson a warm hug that Sheldon couldn't pull away from
"I know you Sheldon and I will get the truth out of you, believe me" replied Mary giving him another look and going off to the kitchen
"You know she will eventually, so how are you doing really? Asked Meemaw joining Sheldon on the sofa
"Mostly ok, I am enjoying the trains and just went through Canada on them" replied Sheldon showing her some pictures he took
"Very good but is it making you happy travelling?
"Yes of course" replied Sheldon looking anything but
"Look your mother is going out this evening to her friend Ron's, we can talk more then if you like? Asked Meemaw
"Maybe" replied Sheldon shrugging his shoulders as Mary came back in with a tray of tea and biscuits
Back in Saudi, Amy and her hosts had just finished another wonderful meal and the ice cream that she had helped to create, she went for something that everybody would enjoy which was a buttered popcorn chocolate and vanilla flavoured one with sprinkles on top, the younger children definitely enjoyed it and wanted Amy to make it every day she was there, she went off to her apartment feeling happy after a successful first week at work and an exciting weekend in Saudi and went off to bed after Skyping with first her mother and then Penny and Leonard
Am going to do more with Sheldon, Mary and Meemaw in the next chapter but that won't be up until next weekend